So here is an #AirBnBRefundNow thread about botching business things in the pandemic, and how lots of people who probably considered them a now-routine choice for accommodations will think really hard about giving them another dollar. @airbnb @AirbnbHelp @jenniferfolsom

In early March, we were scheduled for a college visit for my kids to Roanoke, Va. The scheduling was a little haphazard as we tried to fit this weekday visit, scheduled for Friday the 13th, into five work-school schedules.

We made the decision on the trip on 9 Mar 2020, and booked an @Airbnb in Roanoke. There were several factors in the calculation: Closer and cheaper than area hotels, and for all-family trips, we prefer getting a house-type accommodation over hotel rooms. @AirbnbHelp

I read the host's cancellation policy, which we will come back to in a moment, and knew it was restrictive. If you recall, the week of 8-14 Mar 2020 is kind of where the US started grinding to a halt quickly.

And even though we knew it was a restrictive cancellation policy, there is a thing called force majeure, which basically says things that are not reasonably foreseeable or out of the contract parties' control can negate contractual requirements. https://www.mwe.com/insights/force-majeure-and-covid-19-frequently-asked-questions/

And blah blah it's all case-by-case and turns on the 'reasonable man' doctrine, etc. etc. Force majeure is not a lead-pipe cinch to get you out of a contract, it is simply a doctrine that says, Sometimes shit is out of control and contract terms can't apply.

Two days before the event at Roanoke College, which was two days after I booked the @Airbnb, and one day before the reservation date, Roanoke College, like hundreds of other colleges that week, canceled all in-person events, including ours.

I immediately canceled the reservation, asking the host to take the circumstances into consideration and grant us a refund. He ignored the request entirely.

This is where @Airbnb cancellation policies come into play. AirBnB (used to, anyway) grants hosts wide leeway in determining cancellation and refund policy.

In the case of my host, his refund policy was cancellation within 48 hours of booking *and* at least 14 days prior to check-in date. Interpret this as you will. Either way, I was inside the no-refund zone when I made the booking.

At the same time I messaged the host, I escalated to @Airbnb @AirbnbHelp , who ignored my request for 8 days before closing the ticket with no resolution.

Sometime in the month after canceling my trip (and losing the $119 fee), I saw a news story about @Airbnb changing their cancellation and refund policies to make them more consistent across hosts. I am unable to find that story now, but we will come back to this idea in a mo.

We forgot about it for a couple of weeks, cursing @Airbnb to anyone every time it came up, then last Sunday 19 Apr 2020, @jenniferfolsom suggested we go back and take a look at whether cancellation policies had been changed (a month in COVID-19 time is years).

The missus found an article on @Airbnb @AirbnbHelp page, screencapped and sent to me. The screencap is attached.

The next morning, this past Monday 20 Apr 2020, I went to find that article and submit a new extenuating circumstance claim. Either that @Airbnb @AirbnbHelp support document is gone, or verbiage in an existing post was altered, either way, we cannot find that language.

It has been replaced by their current policy, which is reservations made before 14 Mar 2020 (that's us) for stays between 14 Mar 2020 and 31 May 2020 (not us, as our stay was 12 Mar 2020). @Airbnb @AirbnbHelp doc linked, but expect it will change again: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2701/extenuating-circumstances-policy-and-the-coronavirus-covid19

I submitted a new extenuating circumstances ticket Monday 20 Apr 2020 and @Airbnb @AirbnbHelp was responsive, but ultimately has rejected my claim. This seems to be in line with others nationwide who report that AirBnB uses weasel language to get out of refunds.

I will screenshot and post relevant interactions with @Airbnb @AirbnbHelp.

That is me opening the new extenuating circumstances ticket.

There was some administrative back and forth before I got to an (allegedly) real person, here is the relevant portion of his message:

So clearly, @Airbnb @AirbnbHelp has indicated my situation falls under COVID-19-related extenuating circumstances, and all I need to do is provide supporting documentation.

Yep, that's all I need to do, just whip out that justification and it's a done deal, refund!

Yeah, no, that's not what happened.

Here is that supporting documentation in the form of a (cropped) email from Roanoke College in the afternoon of 11 Mar 2020, two days after I made the reservation and one day before our stay.

In this note they tell us directly this is a COVID-19-related cancellation. The same as hundreds of colleges nationwide did that week and the following week.

Here is @Airbnb @AirbnbHelp response: Official communication from the college canceling our reason for being in town due to COVID-19 is not considered valid.

BUT helpfully our support rep will message the host and ask for a refund. Spoiler alert...

But the host refused. Not surprising, as he ignored my request last month.

Here is my response. @Airbnb @AirbnbHelp has set a bar so high that it cannot be met. No flights were canceled and the Virginia governor has not restricted travel. So thanks for the generous pandemic refund policy that no one can actually take advantage of.

I then posted the screencap (up thread) of the now-deleted (or buried) refund dates, then I went back and took another look at the listing we reserved.

Here is what I found: The host's refund and cancellation policies have been altered in such a way that I *would have* qualified for a refund if that policy had been in place at the time of my reservation.

AND SINCE that new cancellation policy was put in place as a result of COVID-19, it makes sense for @Airbnb to honor it retroactively as a recognition of force majeure and a way to say, Hey we're a billion-dollar company and we don't want to create ill-will with customers.

There are a number of morals to the story. The first is that there is no playbook for how to deal with a pandemic the right way, but there are a million ways to deal with it the wrong way.

Another moral is, Just book the hotel. It would have cost twice as much and been a less family-friendly situation, but any hotel would have granted a refund.

Another moral is, think about your future gains.

I am just one @Airbnb customer (two, actually with @jenniferfolsom), but in keeping monies from customers impacted by COVID-19, the company has decided the value of those current funds is greater than the value of future bookings to lost customers.

This is a very B-school way to say that I may not boycott @Airbnb, because they fill a gaping hole in the market, but I sure as hell will examine every competing alternative before settling on AirBnB.

And I will also be sure to badmouth @Airbnb every chance I get across all media. Another B-school lesson: Unhappy customers are 5x more likely to complain publicly than happy customers are to praise publicly. Kind of the point of this thread.

Sample future tweet: Hey guise I'm going to Some Big City and guess who I'm not staying with? That's right, @Airbnb!

Here's the host we booked with, don't use him:
https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/6244334