Travellers around the world claim to have been left short-changed after believing they would be entitled to refunds for cancelled reservations. However, despite Airbnb promising “coverage for Covid-19 to help protect our community and provide peace of mind”, hosts are only liable to pay out if they include a refund clause in their terms and conditions.
The vacation rental platform no longer sees Covid-19 as what it calls an “unforeseen event” and customers may even have to pay cancellation fees, even if government legislation makes travel to holiday accommodation impossible.
However, hosts are not obliged to cancel Covid-affected trips as this would force them to provide refunds to customers under contract law. In many cases, it is at the discretion of the customers to ask for refunds, although Airbnb can still claim the service fee of a cancelled booking.
The tier system imposed by the UK Government has caused confusion when it comes to contract law determining what businesses are legally obliged to pay back to customers in the event of unforeseen circumstances.
Contrastingly, government department and consumer watchdog, The Competition and Markets Authority [CMA], says that customers affected by government cancellations through no fault of their own should be refunded and businesses have a duty to offer them.
The likes of Sykes Holiday Cottages and vacation rental site Vacation Rentals, which owns holiday lettings firms such as Hoseasons and Cottages.com, were ordered to abandon their no-refunds policy after the CMA launched a probe into their actions and threatened legal action if they failed to comply.
Airbnb told The Observer that hosts were responsible for both defining and fulfilling booking contracts, due to the fact that it is a  “marketplace” rather than a “travel agent or accommodation provider”.
The platform issued the following statement to the newspaper: “We want to make it as easy as possible for hosts and guests to follow the rules and stay safe. That is why current government restrictions, and host cancellation policies, are made clear to guests on the platform before they book.
“Hosts set their own cancellation terms that are right for their personal circumstances, with the majority having policies that allow guests to cancel without penalties,” it added.
Airbnb later extended the window for when guests could request refunds for their cancelled stays so that travellers who had booked stays and / or Airbnb Experiences on or before 14 March with a check-in date between then and 15 June would be eligible to receive a refund.
Its previous policy only permitted refunds for trips with a check-in date between 14 March and 31 May.
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