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Sigh…let’s see. How do I put this? Extenuating circumstances are only extenuating when they’re real. There are way too many guests out there who change their travel plans, make up false stories to try and get out of paying for their reservation and expecting us to eat the cost. In my days as a lecturer at a university, it astounded me how many students tended to lose their mothers-in-law…sometimes multiple times in a single semester (because they couldn’t keep their stories straight).
Bottom line is we’re running a business, and we have to protect ourselves.
I agree with Jack. I have heard my share of sob stories. They want to cancel because of a so called illness in the family but they really just found another place. I guess you haven’t had this happen too often.
Right. I get that we sign contracts, etc. Air has lawyers up the ying yang. They’re a billion-dollar enterprise. So, if a guest can provide proof of extenuating circumstances, then of course I’m not going to argue. The problem is, 99 percent of the time there is no proof because they are making the whole thing up. Of course I am always going to abide by rules I have agreed to. But, I’ll be damned if I am going to make life easier for slippery folks out there who are taking advantage of me.
I agree. If they want a refund then submit a copy of the death certificate or hospital bill. The fact that this person still hasn’t done so and probably never will proves your point. Some people will make up a sob story so you feel bad for them and give a refund when they’re not entitled to one.
So true and in my experience they don’t make the guest provide documentation.
I have strict cancellation. Lost out on a booking because this woman booked after her son broke his leg then wanted to cancel due to the broken leg?! I referred her to AirBnB for resolution. She got her money back of course and I lost out on the $2,000 BUT lucky for me a group of women saw it became available and booked that weekend out. Not as much money but wonderful guests…!!!
There is NO way a Credit Card company would have refunded this guest with pre existing broken leg… Even if it got worse somehow.
Death is a different matter and easily covered by Credit Card.
I am glad I saw this thread as I will remember to suggest to future guests with extenuating circumstances to resort to their Credit Card insurance first.
No-one is arguing that guests shouldn’t meet the criteria Airbnb lay down for extenuating circumstances. And that they shouldn’t provide the sort of evidence required by insurance companies to demonstrate the granny has died, their child has broken their leg etc.
I appreciate how frustrating it is for hosts such as @konacoconutz who have been given the run around by less than honest guests.
Bottom line is I wouldn’t ignore a guest who could be genuine about a death of a close family member because there are guests out there who are less than honest with the truth.
Sounds like they weren’t refunding her under extenuating circumstances but asking you if you chose to refund her without them going through the checks.
In your situation I would have said I would have been happy for them to process the cancellation and then if they were provided with the evidence that there had been a death in the family they could have applied their extenuating circumstances policy.
I can appreciate frustration over guest cancellations…I’ve had my share.
Maybe we are just not communicating well.
The 9/1/17 Airbnb terms of service that we either agreed to abide by or change platforms states:
“ 10.2 Cancellations and Refunds
10.2.1 If a Guest cancels a confirmed booking, Airbnb Payments will refund the amount of the Total Fees due to the Guest pursuant to the Listing’s cancellation policy and as otherwise in accordance with the Airbnb Terms (including the Guest Refund Policy or Extenuating Circumstances Policy). Airbnb Payments will also initiate a Payout of any portion of the Total Fees due to the Host under the applicable cancellation policy.”
It feels like some contributors on this thread are wanting to pick & choose the portions of the terms of service they want to abide by.
I absolutely think documentation should be required for the extenuating circumstances policy. I had to submit a Copy of the invoice for a water heater replacement when I postponed a guest’s check in for one day because the unit did not have water. When my AC broke during a heatwave, I had to submit documentation of the repair.
Totally get you. I once had hot water issues as well while I had guests in the house. I had a plumber out at lightning speed, and it was repaired within the hour. I voluntarily gave the guests a partial refund in cash as a gesture of apology for the inconvenience. They were very appreciative and kept insisting it hadn’t been a problem for them.
Now just imagine for a second that I had a booking with a guest on my calendar for weeks and then another person contacted me and said ‘cancel that booking and let me stay, because I am willing to pay more.’ So, I cancel the original guest out of greed, lie to them telling them I have plumbing problems and won’t be able to accommodate them and then expect them to scramble to find something else at the last minute and probably pay three times as much.
THAT’s what we are talking about. Believe it or not, guests do that to us ALL the time. It’s not that I find anything wrong withe the terms I agree to…it’s the number of dishonest guests out there who lie and then use the terms to screw us. That’s what we have to be on guard against.
How I wish the world were full of honest and respectful people, but sadly it is not, and we have to deal as best we can with that reality.
What a croc. So next time a guest says that something isn’t working or raises any kind of concern, no matter how minor, or checks out 1 minute late, I do expect to hear your referred them to Airbnb for evaluation.
I note nothing in the terms and conditions you quoted (unnecessarily as nobody is disputing the policy exists) states I have a ‘contractual’ obligation to ‘refer’ the guest anywhere
I have had at least 5% of my bookings do this (but not for at least 9 months as I have mostly Asian guests now who I find are much less scammy and respectful of rules IN MY PERSON EXPERIENCE (for anyone concerned). Not one attempted cancellation was really an extenuating circumstance and they couldn’t provide the flimsy proof Airbnb requires, 3/5 still came, 2 sent me abusive and threatening messages. Airbnb backed me on each one. Each one was a massive time waster.
It was pretty awkward for the 3 that turned up when they couldn’t get a refund after lying to my face (aka phone, then face at check-in. I don’t feel bad. I have a child to feed and I think liars are scum.
I have recently had a large uptick in last minute cancelations. Still a small number overall, but, since AirBNB’s change to refunding the fees, the number is distinctly higher. They have all cited illness, flight cancelation [well airline folded] or another significant event. Based on this thread, I check these folks out this morning.
I am pleased to report that not one of these three people actually has a review from a host in the Boston area, or even for the month of their reservation. Yes. A partner or friend could have made a reservation for the group that I wouldn’t see on AirBNB, but I am going to continue wearing my rose-colored glasses and believe their stories.
Sorry to hear you have had such a bad experience with these guests, but am glad to hear that these scammers weren’t backed by Airbnb.
I really think Airbnb should do what a lot of travel companies do here and say that you must travel with travel insurance and if you don’t take theirs, ask you to provide details about which company you are using.
I was actually particularly interested in @jackulas experience as he said ‘guests do this to us all the time’. So I was wondering how many guests had cancelled under extenuating circumstances - who he felt were scamming but Airbnb backed and refunded them in full anyway.
@Emily
My post wasn’t about guest complaints; it was about the extenuating circumstances policy & guest cancellations.
I try very diligently to deal with guest concerns and not refer them to Airbnb.
After this thread’s discussion of cancellations, I decided to take a honest look at my booking & cancellation statistics.
-183 bookings over 3 years
***13 cancellations
****1cancelled over 60 days in advance of their stay
****1was death in family - I referred them to Airbnb
****11 were related to Hurricanes Irma & Matthew which were covered by the extenuating circumstances policy (Luckily my home was fine, unfortunately roads throughout the state were flooded thus travel to the island extremely difficult)
I’ve been very fortunate that I haven’t had a problem with cancellations (not hurricane related) on the Airbnb platform.
I was interested in your experience of your guests regularly making false claims under extenuating circumstance as you stated in an earlier post in this thread that it happens to you all the time.
How would me ‘reading this forum once in a while’ help me understand that?
Why don’t you just tell us? I am sure a lot of hosts here would find it helpful to learn from your experiences of signs to watch out for where you have caught your guests lying.
My response related to your claim that we have a contractual agreement to refer guests to Airbnb for evaluation, we don’t, regardless of what they are complaining or cancelling. Guests are perfectly capable of lodging their own complaints, cancellations and contacting Airbnb.
