I will no longer be an @Airbnb customer. I once loved their message about building community and a sharing economy. But I don't buy it anymore. Here’s a thread about why. 1/11

. @airbnb have a lot of nice words on their website right now about “getting through this together”. But their policies are clearly designed to protect themselves financially, with no concern for their community. #covid-19 2/11

My lab was planning a trip to the @iale-na meeting in Toronto in May. On Feb 20, I made a 6-day reservation for a large rental from @airbnb for 6 of us. It was a large place and a long stay, and I paid nearly $3000 up front. 3/11

On March 12, we learned that the @iale_na meeting would be held online due to the #COVID19 #pandemic. On March 13, I cancelled my @airbnb reservation, with the hopes that my host would be able to find someone else to book his space. 4/11

My @airbnb host’s cancellation policy was to refund only half of the fee (just under $1500 in my case). I asked him about adjusting this policy given the #COVID-19 #pandemic situation. He refused (as is his right). 5/11

I reached out to @Airbnb. They were offering refunds only for reservations through mid-April, so they refused to reimburse the remaining $1500. They suggested that I wait as their policy was changing due to rapid flux in the #pandemic situation. 6/11

. @Airbnb did, in fact, change their cancellation policy. Now any reservation made before March 14 with check-in between March 14 – May 31 is covered. This matches my reservation (made in February, with check-in date of May 10). 7/11

I reached out to @airbnb to again request a reimbursement. This time, I was told that my reservation isn’t covered because I cancelled before the new policy went into effect, even though my dates match their current cancellation policy dates. 8/11

That’s right: If I had waited until March 14 to cancel (instead of cancelling on March 13), they’d refund me fully. But b/c I cancelled as early as possible, in an effort to be a good @airbnb citizen, they'll be keeping my $1500. 9/11

I’m really disappointed. I believed @airbnb’s origin story, the founding myth about creating community, a friendly sharing economy, and belonging. But … 10/12

This experience has clearly shown me that @airbnb’s #1 concern is their own short-term finances, not their community. Alas, they are trading-off their long-term security, as they will be losing my business and others’ for a long time to come as a result of their policies. 11/12

Not only have I lost $1500, I've lost hours emailing and calling their management and customer service. So that’s the short story of why @airbnb will not be seeing any business from me again. 12/12