FEATURED COLUMNIST
Can I Get Refund from Airbnb for My Cancellation? By Christopher Elliott
Carl Baeuerlen cancels his vacation rental in Lanai, Hawaii. But Airbnb says he can’t get his money back. The owner says that’s wrong. Who’s right? ••• ast spring, I made an Airbnb reservation for a vacation rental in Lanai, Hawaii, in November 2020. Because of the COVID-19 travel restrictions, I canceled the reservation in May. Airbnb denied me a full refund. I attempted to phone Airbnb to discuss this denial, but the hold time was consistently over two hours. Feeling I had no other recourse, I disputed the claim with Capital One, my credit card company, and was given a conditional refund. Capital One sided with Airbnb a month later and urged me to resolve this directly with Airbnb. I attempted to do so. I applied for a refund online and was told that, due to the vacation rental’s refund policy, there would be no refund. I called the owner and she said she does not have a record of my reservation, nor does she have any money from me for my reservation. She also has no policy that would have denied me a refund. I contacted Airbnb with this information. A representative promised to call the owner and get back to me. Although she didn’t call back, I received a notification from my credit card issuer that a refund of $282 had been issued to my credit card. But I never received it. Can you help me get my money back? — Carl Baeuerlen, Los Altos, Calif.
L
••• ou should be able to get a full refund. But your case is a little complicated. Let’s see if we can unpack it. Airbnb had an “extenuating circumstances” policy that allowed guests to cancel reservations for stays made on or before March 14, 2020, with check-in dates between March 14, 2020, and April 14, 2020. But you were outside of that window. That means the Airbnb extenuating circumstances policy didn’t apply to your rental in Lanai. But here’s where things get interesting. Airbnb claims your rental wasn’t refundable, but the owner says there was no such policy. So who is right? I’ll get to the answer in a moment. You ran out of patience and filed a credit card dispute. In credit card parlance, that’s called a friendly dispute, because you were doing business with Airbnb. And your bank sided with Airbnb, which further complicated your case. I think a brief, polite email to one of Airbnb’s executives might have helped. I list the names, numbers and email addresses of Airbnb’s top customer service managers at https://elliott.org/companycontacts/airbnb on my website, Elliott.org. So whose policy should prevail — the owner’s or Airbnb’s? I think the rules to which you agree are the rules that bind you. But those weren’t the rules to which the owner agreed, so you have some wiggle room. I’m unhappy that the owner never received your deposit. That suggests Airbnb simply pocketed your deposit.
Y
I guess that’s how Airbnb justifies its $80 billion valuation. Given the fact that Airbnb had already promised a refund, I think the process should have been pretty straightforward. I contacted Airbnb on your behalf, and you received your $282 deposit back. n ••• Christopher Elliott’s latest book is
“How To Be The World’s Smartest Traveler” (National Geographic). Get help by contacting him at http://www.elliott.org/help © 2021 Christopher Elliott.
European Capitals
ACROSS
1. RPM gauge 5. Have a bawl 8. *”Neutral” capital 12. Paella pot 13. Mend, healthwise 14. Deadly snake of southeastern Asia 15. Multicolored horse 16. Estimator’s phrase (2 words) 17. “The Addams Family” manservant 18. *Northernmost European capital 20. One of British Isles 21. EUR, pl. 22. Ensign, for short 23. Pieces of glass, e.g. 26. Vacuum cleaner
alternative 30. “____ the land of the free...” 31. Oxygenate, as in lawn 34. Insane, in Spain 35. Just harvested, e.g. 37. A in IPA 38. Church song 39. Tiny amount 40. Military marksman 42. Fake tooth 43. Devoid of liquid 45. Jet setters’ vessels 47. Address abbreviation 48. Sports stadium 50. Japan’s highest mountain 52. *Capital that hosts Nobel Prizes 56. Sophia ____, Italian actress 57. Genesis twin 58. Curved molding 59. Tequila source
60. Non-permanent office worker 61. Like dental surgery 62. *Capital on a fjord 63. Possesses 64. Big top
11. To the ____ degree 13. Like voice after a pep rally 14. “A Fish Called Wanda” actor Kevin 19. Judea, alt. sp. 22. Mama sheep DOWN 23. *Bulgarian capital 1. Unit of pressure and actress Vergara’s named after Torricelli given name 2. Post sun-bathing relief 24. Long-necked bird 3. Wallace & Gromit 25. Rocky ridge modeling material 26. Pas 4. Desire 27. Hunt illegally 5. Aussie gas station 28. AudienceÆs approval 6. Desert wanderer’s 29. Frolics hope 32. “Atlas Shrugged” 7. Alexander Alexanauthor Ayn drovich ____, Russian 33. Cassius Clay poet 36. *Balkan capital and 8. *Also the capital of 1984 Olympics European Union location 9. James ____ Jones 38. Practical joke 10. Paddy grain 40. Canine command
41. Eyeball washing vessel 44. Offer two cents 46. Collusion 48. Away from harbor (2 words) 49. Drifts 50. *London was famous for these pea soup particulars 51. Russian mountain chain 52. Comedian Rogan 53. Shrek, e.g. 54. Not fatty 55. Patty ____ 56. ____ Tzu
© Statepoint Media
Answers on 31 »
www.tpgonlinedaily.com Aptos Times / May 15th 2021 / 25
