It may all be over before the summer. There is also the added potential local (our Continent) guests. I think people are just being cautious. I am finding that I have lots of local (Canadian and USA) guests booking right through to the summer and half the usual booked for the summer only. I am thinking the last minutes people will be thrilled to find places available.
1 Like
Hosts here in Seattle are reporting that AirBnB is letting guests cancel under EC.
Emerald City Comic Con is in Seattle the weekend after next, and announced last night that they are not currently planning to cancel. They have around 100,000 attendees (including me). It is usually a profitable weekend for me as a host but weāll see if I get a booking.
Iām planning to change my cancelation policy from moderate to flexible. I donāt like that AirBnB makes us serve as trip insurance without premiums, but I also donāt want the host anyone who doesnāt want to be here.
1 Like
What you are worrying about is actually happening in Nice. The Mayor cancelled the Fair of Nice on Saturday. A guest (an exhibtor in the Fair) who had booked 11 nights starting this Thursday was able to get her reservation cancelled with a full refund today despite my strict cancellation policy. The Airbnb staff who cancelled on behalf of the guest claimed EC.
She is from another French town, 900 km from Nice
Involving air travel? I share your serious concern and personally, plan zero āairā (Petri dish) travel for the foreseeable future.
1 Like
And 180 in the other direction, Iām looking to take advantage of low prices. The problem is that Iād already determined that the big New Zealand trip I just returned from last week would take most of my annual travel budget. I just have one small trip to Phoenix planned in Sept.
1 Like
Exactly, a one hour trip in first class I may be willing to risk, a 12-14 hour international trip in coach sounds scary as hell right now. I am waiting to see how this really shakes out over the next few months. I have the short trip already paid for but I can drive if things are looking bad when that comes up end of May.
@KKC so you are thinking travel will get cheap? Buy on the dip as they say on Wall Street!
RR
1 Like
When you live in Alaska, you donāt have much choice. All air traffic from my part of the state to anywhere in the lower 48 goes through SEA, where they have just announced the 6th Covid19 death, and where locally known and nationally known virologists have just announced that there are probably hundreds of infected folks in the Puget Sound region by now, some of whom may never have symptoms, because very little testing was being done there 3 weeks ago. The virus is on the loose.
What folks here are worrying about are the cruise ships. We get up to 30,000+ passengers and crew ashore for the day here, all summer long. Crowded crew quarters and inside cabins with unfiltered ventilation systems, as well as swimming pools, hot tubs, bars and buffets, all make cruise ships the ultimate viral petri dish. This is one of the major reasons I would never take a cruise on one of these monsters.
At least on an airplane youāre getting filtered air. My problem with planes is that the new seats are designed specifically to torture my partially herniated lower lumbar disk.
I used the corona virus as my mental excuse for buying first class on my May trip, short flight and it was not terribly expensive, at least I will not be crammed in and will stay drunk, that will help. I had a guy sneeze behind me once boarding an airplane I could feel my hair part and the mucus hit me in the back of the head. He did not even say excuse me.
RR
Yes. Thatās my thinking. Weāll see.
1 Like
Itās the way the head rests curve forward that kills me. Fine if youāre 6 ft. tall- that curve sits in your neck, but if youāre 5ā4" they just push your entire head forward. I always have to bring a pillow to put on the back of the seat so the seat back is in line with the headrest.
1 Like
As hosts we are now part of the travel industry and right now itās rough. Travel insurance companies are not jumping to cover world pandemics, so those parts of the industry with strict cancellation policies are having to scramble.
Airlines and cruises, which up until now had strict cancellation policies, are rethinking that. American Airlines is allowing free flight changes for anything booked in the next two weeks. Viking Cruises is allowing 24 hour cancellation on their cruises through this summer.
I am not surprised Airbnb is on to these changes, and is trying to save us from ourselves. They are trying to get people to book at all. And then hope they will travel if things donāt go south.
1 Like
We are lacking bookings completely. Iām not upset, just understand that this situation needs to settle out, evolve, whatever it is going to do. It seems natural that potential guests would be hesitant to trust a host and host community to be healthy, and would be also hesitant to carry and share the bug themselves without knowing. I only wish that people would be as considerate about traveling, going to work or school with any other bug.
4 Likes
Same here. I always get an aisle seat so that I can get up and stretch
Weāre flying to Hawaii 5 days from now. Hoping that 6 days from now, the FAA will shut down all air travel in the US for a couple months. 
4 Likes
I agree. I am not upset my hosting has been disrupted. It is poor timing for me personally since Iām just finishing my bathroom remodel and March is when bookings start to pick up in Seattle. However, it is a minor disruption compared to what many families are going through. Though it is frightening being at the epicenter of the US infection, I am thankful my family is not part of the populations most vulnerable. I canāt be too upset my side-job has halted when other families are losing loved ones to this virus.
5 Likes
Yikes. Take that thought away!
Business Insider reported today that : ## Airbnbās hosts and guests impacted by the coronavirus outbreak can cancel reservations without charges.
1 Like