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I tried to find similar posts on this topic but cannot so hopefully this is not a duplicate of another one.
In my country NZ, we have been Covid free for most of this year. So we lived life normally and people were free to travel anywhere in the country but no tourists of course. Then a leak appeared and Delta case got through the border in our largest city which caused the whole country to go into lockdown at the highest level. That meant no travel anywhere, not across the country but in your own city. While that lockdown has been eased for most of the country our largest city (Auckland) is still travel restricted apart from essential travel.
Also one of the restrictions is the number of people at gatherings so people have had to cancel concerts, sports games and other functions.
I have been getting requests from people saying they want to cancel and get a full refund because
they cannot travel because they are in Auckland
the concert/sports game/conference they were attending has been cancelled (they donāt live in Auckland so could travel)
From my understanding under current AirBnB (and also Booking.Com) rules any travel post mid 2020 is not covered by Covid anymore since itās expected that everybody knows about Covid and the potential impact on travel. So just because you could travel when you booked and then the Govt blocked travel because of a Covid outbreak, doesnāt mean you qualify for a refund - you booked knowing that such an event could recur. I am not sure I should provide a refund in that situation since people in other parts of the country (or locally) could have booked and paid and I now have lost that income.
On situation 2, this is consequential impact and even clearer. While the event you planned to attend has been cancelled thatās no reason why I should have to bear the cost. You can still come and do something else.
On 1. I think offering a credit is a good compromise. On 2. I think I donāt think I should have to compensate at all if they have forfeited 50% of their cost.
I might be a voice in the wilderness here but would be interested in what other hosts would do.
I am in Australia
I have refunded every covid / lockdown situation on Airbnb and B.com.
I am lucky that I donāt have a huge mortgage to manage.
I have ensured that every one of those guests has my direct contact information and requested that if they wish to book, to please contact me directly.
I am doing what I would want to happen if I was in the same situation.
Airbnb in Australia is getting a poor reputation due to the cancellation policies of hosts - which I completely understand ā¦but in the long term will affect the business if it is seen as untrustworthy.
Itās good to get a view from somebody closer to home For situation 1 I normally provide a credit for another time and have refunded people. Then I ask them rebook with me directly the next time as you have indicated what you do.
For situation 2, I donāt think I am obligated to provide a refund when some event they cannot attend has been cancelled. I do offer a credit though sometimes.
That seems reasonable. I certainly am not motivated to provide a refund if some event they were attending was canceled because of Covid restrictions on number of people in a gathering. That has occurred many times recently with conferences and exhibitions canceled because of the limitation on the numbers in a gathering.
We got a same day cancellation this A.m. The guest said she could not find a car to rent and had been trying for several days, so she cancelled her trip from Ft. Worth, TX to Los Angeles. (The rental car shortage is indirectly due to the pandemic.)
I gave her our book direct info and offered her a future discount and we think we will give them a partial refund of about 1/2 the $ a little later. She was very nice about it and did not expect a refund.
I refund all or part on a case by case basis. There was one guy who made up an entire story about why he couldnāt come and his āfriendā at Air etc, etc, he didnāt get any; others have gotten full or partial for various reasons and both parties get good karma!
As we have a building project that might be completed due to this cancellation, and a full next week, I am actually relieved, happy and relaxed that she couldnāt come!
Airbnb gave guests back their money when guests couldnāt travel because of government imposed Covid restrictions under their EC policy last year, way after March 20, so for you to say they wonāt is incorrect.
Nothing to do with our UK wider consumer laws. Although these also say you cannot expect to be paid for a service you arenāt able to offer.
There was some press locally on this topic where people who could not travel because of government restrictions did not get their deposits refunded and the backlash against the hosts. Of course like any news item no one posted the deeper story about how people should know about potential travel disruptions and take out insurance. It just made for a good story from a consumer protection point of view and the bad business practices of Airbnb and booking.com which are international organizations.
I guess they were taking a lead from the national air carrier who would allow you to move your flight to another date but they would not provide a refund. So my policy of allowing a credit seems to quite reasonable in that light.
Unfortunately, itās not that simple. I have yet to find a policy that would cover a trip when governments mandate no travel. Iād love to see one if someone can find one.
I looked at @Jefferson link to world nomads and they donāt either. While travel insurance might cover you if you get sick before or during the trip, thatās about it. Insurance companies have written themselves out of any responsibility, including AirBnB because they say itās a known epidemic. Iāve been so frustrated with these policies overall!!! Iāve repeatedly read the fine print on these and see that travel insurance is not going to help in most of the Covid situations unless you get sick.
Right up front world nomads says: āCover is not available for loss arising from: government intervention including travel bans, border closures or broadly imposed quarantine requirements; events for which the Government (see your policy) has issued a āDo Not Travelā warning or its equivalent, for your destination(s); or failure to follow advice from official bodies.ā
Well you asked about infectionsā¦and so far the answer is yes. If you get sick before or during, at least from what I read, you can get coverage. So you might want to look at the policy @Jefferson linked toā¦and others.
BUT, if thereās another reason, either being afraid to travel or the government locking you out or down, well then youāre out of luck as far as Iāve found.
It was more a suggestion to give to guests to get insurance as I am continually allowing cancellations and full refunds for bookings affected by lock downs etc.
But a pointless suggestion if there is no coverage!
For situation 1 I normally provide a credit for another time and have refunded people. Then I ask them rebook with me directly the next time as you have indicated what you do.