I have several friends that were screwed over because Airbnb isn’t refunding deposits to people who can’t travel because of corona. This is some terrible corporate policy. I never use Airbnb because I think the whole concept is disgusting. Yes more disgusting than a motel.
But they are taking money from people who are already screwed because of the quarantine. They are not showing much solidarity with Americans who are all of us struggling. I have posted on Instagram and I hope we can encourage a boycott until they agree to refund peoples monies.
Contact your credit card for a chargeback. I booked in January for June. Shouldn’t have to argue about pandemic or provide proof of having virus. Go through the process with host then Airbnb both online. Document correspondence. Cancel. Be prepared for $100 refund on over $3000. Document. Call bank and file a dispute. Bank replaced $$ within 12 hours and they will pursue Airbnb. I will be banned from Airbnb for life but I’m not giving you my money because you cry louder than I. Visa MasterCard etc.
Airbnb is refunding 100% of all money to guests who booked before 14 March 2020 and whose check-in date is before 31 May 2020. The end date of 31 May is likely to be extended depending on continued travel restrictions.
If a guest is not getting a refund, it’s because the guest booked after 14 March, after a global pandemic was declared.
There’s the fine print though – you have to cancel on or after March 14. So I had booked a stay in the UK in February with a check-in on March 16. I cancelled it on March 12 after I realized that if I took the trip, I would not be allowed to fly back to my home country of India, only to be told that I was not eligible for the refund. They are just beyond ridiculous.
I booked in January for over $3000 for a month stay in Japan (April17-May17)
Now since Airbnb further extended refund window to May 31st and sets aside $250 million for hosts my booking is eligible for a refund but still they are refusing a refund stating that I cancelled the booking myself. India is under lockdown as well but these people don’t want to refund my money at all.
I wish Airbnb gets bankrupt !!
Sign a petition about AirBnB’s terrible handling of this emergency: http://chng.it/mt8Py92Hpm
Message from air B and B March 31:
“We will pay $250 million to hosts to help cover the cost of COVID-19 cancellations.
When a guest cancels an accommodation reservation due to a COVID-19 related circumstance, with a check-in between March 14 and May 31, we will pay you 25% of what you would normally receive through your cancellation policy. This applies retroactively to all COVID-19 related cancellations during this period. This cost will be covered entirely by Airbnb. These payments will begin to be issued in April. “
Go to SBA. You might be able to get a loan or grant for some of your losses.
Cancel for any reason” coverage
The only way to be compensated when you need to change or cancel your trip to avoid a high-risk area during a viral outbreak is by purchasing a cancel for any reason (CFAR) benefit with your travel insurance w3policy. CFAR coverage usually adds about 50 percent to the price of a basic policy, which averages 4 percent to 10 percent of a trip’s cost, says Stan Sandberg, cofounder of TravelInsurance.com, a site for comparing and purchasing travel insurance policies. Older travelers, who may be more at risk of health issues, tend to pay at the higher end of that range.
There are eligibility requirements for CFAR coverage: You usually are required to buy it no more than 21 days after paying for your trip. You also can’t cancel
Actually travel insurance offers an option that will cover everything and pays 75% of costs. It includes anything, including pandemic.
Well my flight was cancelled, and also our government has advised against any travel indefinitely overseas. I attached a screenshot of the government advise and guess what, my refund request was rejected. You’re right, it affects reservations with strict cancellation policies but my booking in particular was made on the 1st of February, before the pandemic was declared so I definitely think that I should be entitled to a refund. I’m not saying for the hosts to be screwed over, but I don’t think it’s fair to pay for a service that will not be provided.
I booked in January before the pandemic was declared !!!
These people are rejecting the refund !!
https://www.change.org/p/airbnb-change-airbnb-s-emergency-cancellation-policies/dashboard?source_location=user_profile_started
Airbnb is absolutely horrible, the lack of solidarity is shocking. I’m on the same boat, my host won’t refund me and have heard nothing from Airbnb in days…this is not the time to rip people off. Get your friends to sign the petition above about their policy. Together we might be able to do something about it.
I think Air B and B should be motivated by something that would appeal to their heart or conscience to give us all full compensation, both guests and hosts. If you could think of ideas along these lines J would be interested in them. This is something that not only involves air B and B but Vrbo too. These companies have literally billions of dollars and could easily compensate everyone and boost their image. Thank you
So instead, they should “screw over” the hosts that depend on the income? Airbnb already allowed full refunds to all guests worldwide for all reservations that had at least one night between March 14 to April 14, and hosts were (are) really upset about it. Should the burden continue to fall on them? It’s a tough situation and some people are going to get screwed.
Now, there are two scenarios for guests. First, guests “can’t travel” because they are prohibited from doing so, if their flights were cancelled, if they are sick, etc. Airbnb still has their extenuating circumstances policy to cover this and guests can get full refunds by submitting proper documentation. All they have to do is submit the documentation–and probably wait awhile since Airbnb is going to be backlogged due to the volume of cancellatinos. Second, guests “can’t travel” simply because they are afraid of catching the virus. This doesn’t fall under Airbnb’s’ extenuating circumstances. The guests are making a choice and they need to pay for that choice. They can ask the host to mutually agree to a cancellation, and if the host is agrees, the guest can get a refund. BTW, you do realize that this applies ONLY to reservations made on listings with Strict Cancellation Policy and guests agreed to the policy when they booked.
Also consider that actual travel insurance would not cover a pandemic at all, so absolutely anything Airbnb offers for COVID-19 cancellations is better than anything a travel agency would offer.