Airbnb fire area no refund

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Hi there,
we had a booking to travel to Kangaroo Island, with the travel advice from CFA at that time being ‘delay all unnecessary travel’ we contacted the owners of the Air BnB and they told us initially they were looking into it and not to cancel. Finally we realized too late that we needed to press the ‘cancel’ button ourselves, and as we’d waited to hear from the owner, it was less than 7 days and we couldn’t get a refund. I thought the owners would be covered by insurance (they have multiple properties) so this wouldn’t be an issue, but they declined and advised that others were traveling to the island, so we should have also (?) Has any one else come across this? We don’t have heaps of extra $$ for holidays, so this really affected us.

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Hi and welcome to the community. Airbnb may waive the cancellation fee due to emergency circumstances.

Since you hadn’t cancelled, try contacting Airbnb directly and explain your circumstance.

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Thanks JodiBird,
Sorry I should have been clear, we did contact Air BnB and they reported as the owner had told them it was ok to be on the island they would not provide any refund,
thanks

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Well that is a bugger. It also appears to contradict Airbnb’s emergency circumstances policy.

It states circumstances that require special review such as “Natural disasters… that prevent the guest from travelling to or from the destination” and “Travel restrictions imposed by a government, law enforcement agency, or military that restrict travel to or from the listing or experience location.” This implies they would waive cancellation fees for these circumstances.

It doesn’t list a category for “the owner says it’s ok to travel so it must be ok”.

Has the owner indicated they’d be willing to re-schedule your trip? That may be one option. Otherwise,
I’d suggest you escalate a complaint to Airbnb stating that they appear to be contravening their own policy, and advise you’ll complain to your local fair trading or consumer affairs body if they don’t refund you.

Additionally, it may be worth posting on Airbnb’s social media.

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What part of the Island? Approximately…

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Thanks JodiBird,
We were surprised also, I think the difficulty is travel was not technically banned, just all non urgent travel advised to be postponed. The owner has now offered to re-schedule, but we were unable to change flights and other bookings (which were to Adelaide, so unaffected by fire), and are not able to book another holiday at this stage due to other reasons.

In reply to the other comment, the house we had booked was in the area unaffected by fire, but the vast majority of the island was (and still is) blocked from travel (road blocks to all tourist attractions) and they had requested delay to all travel to the island as the water treatment plant had been burnt, so there was limited clean water at that time on the island.

We will give it another go and see what happens,
thanks

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Did you have travel insurance (including credit card travel insurance)? If you booked before the fires started and can present the advice not to travel they may reimburse you some of the costs

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Choice made a timely guide

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I can see why this maybe challenging to resolve.

It appears that the accommodation and its access is okay, but access to areas where one might have enhanced the enjoyment of their stay (local sights and tourist attractions) may be limited/unavailable.

Is the water treatment plant for potable water or for sewage treatment…functions is different…and is the accommodation connected to mains water/potable water? The areas which may be affected…

Bushfires have impacted the Middle River Water Treatment Plant and pumping operations that supply drinking water to Kingscote, Parndana and surrounding areas.

Also, there appears to be still being supplied, however…

SA Water asks Kangaroo Island residents and visitors to limit non-essential drinking water use.

It is possible that the accommodation is off the public system and self sufficient…which means that any impacts of the fire is potentially negated.

Also, do you know of any official advice indicating that travel to Kangaroo Island is to be avoided? It appears that current advice is…

The CFS has advised that emergency travel restrictions have been lifted and visitors and tourists are welcome on the Island.

One also has to remember that many businesses have suffered significantly from the fires, and having tourists returning shortly after the fire helps them get back on their feet again.

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Hi php,
We were not traveling today, we were traveling 2 weeks ago, when the travel advice was different & locals were asked not to just limit water but not shower at all. The fire was still burning out of control and we have health reasons for not being prepared to be exposed to the smoke.
I have supported Kangaroo Island in a number of ways via charity, but holidaying in an active fire zone would have been stupid. I do believe it would be lovely to have those that are able return in March/April, with the economy currently being supported with many groups on the island completing wildlife rescue, support and now clearing dangerous trees ect. Honestly with over 1/2 the land mass burnt and all national parks closed, they need time to get things going again.

Happy to close this tread as I’m now getting unhelpful responses

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Apologies, I thought is was a current booking.

Looking at historical fire warnings, the status changed on 10 January. …to a watch based warning, later downgraded further rather than a higher levels. If the booking was after 10 January, it may have been possible to travel to KI with reasonably low risks.

The hosts would also know if they couldn’t provide the necessary essentials for a guests stay, such as water (drinking and bathing), electricity and safe access. If you can prove that these were not possible at the accommodation (rather than using general information which may or may not apply), one could argue that under the Australian Consumer Law that the accommodation services were not fit for purpose, and under this you could request a refund.

As the hosts appear to have indicated that the accommodation was okay, it maybe difficult to demonstrate it was not fit for purpose.

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I have personal contacts on KI - 2 weeks ago would have been an absurd time to travel there in any capacity from what I was told, unless you were a resident or a fire fighter - I believe you made the right choice regardless of any ‘official stance’ of the hosts or AirBNB who would seem to be acting purely out of self interest …

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A reasonable response. In particular if the fire had escalated after arrival, would insurance still cover your changed circumstances?

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Would suggest not!

Although, we have twice holidayed in tropical north Qld at well known holiday locations shortly after direct hits by cyclones. Long enough after the events that all services are back up and running and the roads open. The lack of other holiday makers is useful. However the experience can be challenging. Access to many places including national parks may be restricted. The beaches tended to have more natural wastes accumulated than usual, and most importantly many of the local businesses (cafes etc) are closed or delivering limited services.

Having arranged self contained accommodation and driving these may not be an issue. The beaches have always been near empty and the moody summer days typical of the tropics in summer.

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Can I then assume that you didn’t then travel to KI due to the bushfire situation?

I feel for the hosts wanting to get the income, but I agree with you that it would not have been wise going into a volotile situation.

As was earlier stated, I would contact AirBnB, but I would go to the complaints area or someone in authority. I have found this site Contact Airbnb Customer Service Quickly which is overseas, but it has the email addresses of the CEO and the Head of Customer Experience globally. Outline factually why you chose not to travel to the booked destination, including the travel advisories, etc.

The other option is if you paid by credit card to approach the cc provider and see if they will reverse the transaction for you again outlining why you did not travel.

Good luck, and let us know if you manage to get a result.

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Hi, did you have travel insurance? If you did this may be an easier option to advise the insurer that AirBnB have not provided a refund and due to the fire concerns / issues you were unable to travel to Kangaroo Island. If you purchased insurance before the fires started in that area, it should be considered unforeseen.
Good luck

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Unfortunately when it comes to AirBnB travel insurance is not the catch all many people think it is, especially when it comes to the consumer cancelling the booking. If you have a comprehensive travel insurance policy then you will be covered by most insurers for accommodation & travel costs if you need to cancel for what they consider a “valid circumstance” and natural disasters do come under that heading with most. Be aware though that the wording of the policy and the goodwill of the insurance company would come into play in this case - it was an advisory not a directive to not travel to KI, so depending on the wording of the coverage the insurer could say it was not an “official” disaster.

On a related note for information on travel insurance and AirBnB properties, you are not covered for property loss or theft unless you have rented out the entire property in most policies including most comprehensive policies - this can be problematic when you are booking something like a granny flat or renting a room at someone’s house. You will also miss out with most travel insurance policies if your AirBnB host cancels your stay at the last minute. Unfortunately AirBnB is risky when it comes to travel insurance, but I guess for those who want to save the dollars the risk might be worth it. For those taking the AirBnB plunge I’d suggest fully reading your insurance policy prior to making any bookings, and search hard for reviews on the property you intend to book with before outlaying any cash :). It still surprises me that many people will place more trust in AirBnB hosts they don’t know from a bar of soap, than they do in hotel chains that have been in business for decades lol.

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If they had travel insurance then they may be able to claim for the lost flights to Adelaide since this was part of their holiday.

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As an Airbnb superhost, I’m very surprised you have been unable to get a refund. Sometimes the system is a bit clunky and you do need to talk to a real human, but I would certainly persist in your request.
As an aside, wherever requested, our policy is to refund. There’s simply no point engaging in an argument with a customer that you can’t win. Providing the refund makes the customer far more likely to rebook at a later time. Refusing the refund ensures they will NEVER be a customer.

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I am an AirBNB owner, so I can understand their perspective, potentially losing business at a vital time of the year. But I am also a traveller.

Knowing AirBNB (been dealing with them since the start) you’ll end up with nothing but a very unwelcome trip to a Filipino call centre filled with agents who have no power (even if they had the desire) to do anything to help you.

I wish the news was better …

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Are you saying the AirBNB Host should keep the payment?

Why would AirBNB refund a client if the host Chose not to? After all they are just the booking agent. The Host is the supplier!

It seems a direct path to a zero star rating!
Or would AirBNB remove such feedback from it’s host reviews?