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Covid 19 started in China and was spread all over the planet by tourists and business travelers. Close to 400,000 people died in our country alone. This isn't a good time for vacations. Stay home and stay safe.
I agree that your vacation isn't my business -- until you return with the virus and infect the neighborhood.
Last edited by mgforshort; 01-14-2021 at 08:26 PM..
My sister an AIRBNB VRBO host and always goes above and beyond. And weve always had good experiences with then.
However, that being said, as more people use the service and start to consider it a necessity, such as staying in a house as opposed to a hotel where they feel they will be infected, the less the hosting companies feel they have to accommodate. Take as an example Uber. Remember when Uber first started and every car had chargers, bottled water and we clean and new? Think back to the last time (pre-covid) any of that was true. More and more people wanted to use the service, not using taxis, more drivers needed. The cars got dirtier, older, there were less perks to using the service. I heard of people having their children with them.
Once they corner the market they dont have to put in the effort anymore.
mgforshort, yeah that wasnt the point of this post. Staying home is no safer than going on a private vacation, particularly a long extended vacation of 2 months such as this one. My grandmother who is terrified of it got it and she never went anywhere. My son has it and hes been isolated at home with us for months.
If you used a credit card you could possibly dispute it though them since you did not get the service you paid for.
Yes, I put in a claim with my credit card. When they owner gets wind of that, she'll for sure withdraw her supposed "credit voucher". Actually, B of A just refunded the separate $337 for cleaning/damage deposit that was on a separate credit card. Now for the other few thousand....
Thing is, I did not cancel so I feel the refund policy on cancelling is not directed at me. I was prevented from coming through no fault of my own. I didn't choose or ask to cancel.
We'll see if it makes a difference. Besides the original loss, we spent like $700 on covid tests, taxis and hotels, just getting to the airport.
Chris Elliot was very helpful in general, just would not take my case. Natch. I did get a list of VRBO execs from them that I can work my way through with letters. I'll do it. And include her threatening one to me. Gotta keep trying....
If you stay with a reputable hotel chain (Hilton, Mariott, etc.) these problems rarely exist and, on the rare occasion that they do, they will more than make you whole. It's simply just good business to do so. AirBnB and VRBO are brokerage services with little connection to the property owners. For this reason, the service level is always a crapshoot and they both have ludicrous cancellation guidelines - the latter alone is a non-starter, especially during COVID. There is also little in the way of consumer protections and the overall value is also usually quite minimal when compared to a good hotel. Caveat emptor, my friends.
You are right. If I could afford to stay in a nice hotel for months, I'd choose that. We do for a few days' stay. But kind of out-of-reach for LONG stays.
Well, that didn't take long. Ten minutes after contacting Chris Elliot:
________________________________
Unfortunately, this is not a case that we could successfully mediate. Vrbo did not implement a COVID cancellation policy that would require a refund in the circumstances you describe. The following article - question 7 explains further and offers some guidance as to what you might do to negotiate a fair outcome with the owner. https://www.elliott.org/answers/coro...estions-guide/
__________________________
On our own again. Thanks anyway!
If you're determined, you should still go through and contact the executives as they suggest to do.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sand&Salt
Chris Elliot was very helpful in general, just would not take my case. Natch. I did get a list of VRBO execs from them that I can work my way through with letters. I'll do it. And include her threatening one to me. Gotta keep trying....
Yep do it! They have a best practices list that might help in this process. Just off the top of my head I think it's probably something like being polite, short and straightforward, and be reasonable in your request. So probably best to forget about reimbursement for the covid tests and other extraneous expenses, although you could mention them as costs you incurred.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sand&Salt
BTW, how do you book a hotel for "a few nights" but only get charged for one if you don't show up? Is that standard?
This would be standard for non-"pre-paid" bookings. So if you pay a normal refundable rate, which generally for the international chains is 10-20% higher than pre-paid, then your booking can be cancelled 24-72 hours in advance (depends on the company). And therefore it usually means that if you don't cancel in time for a full refund then you'll be charged for just one night.
We have used both VRBO and AIRBNB and have had no issues with them. One time in Puerto Rico with an AIRBNB stay, we were to have a full kitchen/stove but got there and nope, only a hot plate with a pot. The kitchen sink leaked all over under the sink, the fridge had no shelving at all, no utensils, it was a nightmare. We got resolution after having to stay there 2 nights until we could find another place and AIRBNB reimbursed us all but the two nights. The towels were bad/stiff and we had plastic on the bed under the sheet, haha, and husband tried to shower the shower head popped off hitting him in the head. We just had to laugh at that point or cry. So very happy we got resolution on that one.
Were you traveling for pleasure? If so did you have travel insurance? I'm sure you know most of Europe is back on lockdown and US citizens are persona non grata just about everywhere in the world.
I don't think you are going to have any kind of legal recourse due to the fact that it is another country. Ditto her legal counsel. Do you think she is going to spend money to have you served legal papers in the US from Spain.
Lastly, why are you traveling for pleasure during a pandemic?
If you were traveling for business, can your company help you?
If you can refute the cost with your CC company, I would do that.
I would start aggrivating the begeezus out of VRBO/Homeaway offices. I would try the Homeaway angle also.
Good luck!
PS Not being judgemental at all. If I had known that Ireland was open to visitors this summer, I would have been on a plane.
Yes, I put in a claim with my credit card. When they owner gets wind of that, she'll for sure withdraw her supposed "credit voucher". Actually, B of A just refunded the separate $337 for cleaning/damage deposit that was on a separate credit card. Now for the other few thousand....
Thing is, I did not cancel so I feel the refund policy on cancelling is not directed at me. I was prevented from coming through no fault of my own. I didn't choose or ask to cancel.
We'll see if it makes a difference. Besides the original loss, we spent like $700 on covid tests, taxis and hotels, just getting to the airport.
Chris Elliot was very helpful in general, just would not take my case. Natch. I did get a list of VRBO execs from them that I can work my way through with letters. I'll do it. And include her threatening one to me. Gotta keep trying....
That's the great thing about credit cards. My response after that exchange would be "my credit card company will charge you back so fast your head will spin, have a nice day". If it was American Express I would suspect you have no problems.
Keep and publish your complaint, it was well written. Ignore and laugh away her legal threat. Credit for future stay also no worries, I suspect you never want to stay there now regardless.
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