Los Angeles Times - 04.03.2020

LATIMES.COM/BUSINESS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 4, 2020C5

before the trip, I got a mes-
sage through the Airbnb app
that said ... ‘Hey, sorry we are
afraid of coronavirus,’ ” said
Kavi Pandian, a Fulbright
scholar from outside At-
lanta who had his reserva-
tion for a German Airbnb
canceled. “I got the impres-
sion ... that I might not have
gotten that message if it wer-
en’t clear from my profile
that I was someone from
Asian background.”
The outbreak began late
last year in China and has
now spread to almost every
continent. Global economic
growth could be cut sharply
as factories in China and
elsewhere shut down, en-
dangering supply lines.
Travel and tourism might be
hit especially hard as travel
restrictions kick in and con-
ventions and other large-
scale gatherings are can-
celed.
Airbnb spokeswoman
Mattie Zazueta said she did
not have information on
whether short-term home
rental cancellations are up.
But the spread of the disease
comes at an inopportune
moment for a company
readying for an initial public
offering. In a statement,
Airbnb said its “focus right
now is on how we can best
support our stakeholders as
they are impacted by this
global health challenge, in-
cluding hosts, guests, em-
ployees and the communi-
ties in which we operate.”
The company, on its web-
site, provides links to infor-
mation about travel advis-
ories and general informa-
tion about the virus and
urges people “to take neces-
sary precautions to protect
yourself when traveling or
hosting.”
Zazueta said the com-
pany has also directly con-
tacted hosts in some coun-
tries “to help them stay pre-
pared and follow best prac-
tices.”
Depending on the timing
of the booking, Airbnb said it
would also allow guests and
hosts to cancel without pen-
alties if their booking is in

mainland China or South

Korea, or if guests are com-

ing from those two nations.

Usually, the host chooses a

cancellation policy that sets

limitations on how guests

can receive a full refund.

The full-refund “extenu-

ating circumstances” policy

also applies to anyone

worldwide who needs to

comply with “disease con-

trol restrictions imple-

mented by relevant govern-

mental or health author-

ities,” as well as people “di-

agnosed or suspected of

being infected with

COVID-19 [the virus’ official

name] by a medical or

health authority.”

That doesn’t cover many

people who are simply wary

of getting on a crowded

plane and traveling to other

busy tourist destinations

amid what may turn out to

be a pandemic. Cancella-

tions are hitting countries

that haven’t seen wide-

spread reports of the virus.

Bogdana Butnar, who

helps her elderly parents run

an Airbnb in a Romanian

mountain village, said two

guests have already can-

celed, saying they have been

warned against unnecessary

travel.

“My expectation is this

will impact this summer’s

booking severely,” Butnar

said in an email. “My parents

are obviously disappointed

[because] the extra income

was nice and they loved hav-

ing people staying at the

house.”

On its website laying out

the cancellation policy,

Airbnb also asks “that all

community members be

mindful of respect, inclu-

sion, and our nondiscrimi-

nation policy when interact-

ing with other members of

our community.”

Zazueta said Airbnb

would “investigate all re-

ports of discrimination and

take appropriate action

when necessary, including

up to removal of users from

the platform.”

Pandian said Airbnb was

very helpful, got him a full re-

fund and gave him addi-

tional money to pay for a new

place to enjoy a German fes-

tival.

But some guests con-

sider the refund conditions

arbitrary. For example,

Airbnb’s offer of a full refund

applies to guests traveling to

mainland China who are

checking in April 1 or earlier.

In South Korea, it applies to

guests checking in March 9

or earlier.

That leaves out people

such as Kevin Huynh of Co-

rona. The 46-year-old elec-

trical engineer booked a

place in South Korea for a

June family trip with his wife

and two children. Con-

cerned, they’ve decided to

stay home.

He said Airbnb initially

told him he could receive

only a 50% refund, but after

he pushed back, the com-

pany eventually offered a

50% refund and a 50% credit

to book another trip. He said

he’s holding out for a full re-

fund because he doesn’t

want to deal with Airbnb

again after fighting with

their customer service rep-

resentatives.

Huynh’s experience

shows how Airbnb’s busi-

ness model can add com-

plexity to resolving disputes

at times like this. In one mes-

sage, an Airbnb rep told

Huynh the company’s hands

were tied because the host

was still willing to accommo-

date him and refused to

agree to a refund.

“Every cancellation, es-

pecially those which blocked

the host’s calendar dates for

a few dates, are lost business

opportunities” for the host,

the Airbnb employee wrote.

“Therefore, your host is the

best person to determine if

this refund request is ac-

ceptable after taking busi-

ness factors into consider-

ation.”

The employee recom-

mended that Huynh check

the cancellation policy for

future bookings, so “this

kind of matter will be

avoided in the future.”

Huynh replied: “Please

tell me how I can avoid

knowing in advance that a

global virus outbreak will oc-

cur in the country that I will

be traveling to. If you can I

can definitely avoid this

problem in the future.”

Zazueta, the Airbnb

spokeswoman, said the

company was sorry Huynh

had a bad experience and

noted it offered him a

coupon as a “goodwill ges-

ture.”

She said cut-off dates for

full refunds will be “updated

as needed, as the situation

evolves.”

There could be a silver

lining for some domestic

hosts. John Banczak runs

TurnKey Vacation Rentals,

which manages full-house

vacation rentals in the

United States on Airbnb and

other websites. He said the

company saw a large jump in

bookings last week, some-

thing he attributes in part to

coronavirus.

“They may be backing off

on international plans and

they are looking for alterna-

tives,” Banczak said of vaca-

tioners.

As virus spreads, an

Airbnb conundrum

THE GLOBAL spread of the coronavirus comes at an inopportune moment for

Airbnb, because the company is preparing for an initial public offering.

Smith Collection/GadoGetty Images

[Airbnb,from C1]

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