How Airbnb is Endangering the Lives of Tourists
It is no secret that because of the Coronavirus many parts of the world are on lockdown, quarantine, or voluntary social distancing. Among the hardest hit parts of the world is Europe, and tens, if not hundreds of thousands of tourists are stranded.
Our family is currently stranded in Spain on a government-mandated quarantine, not allowed to leave their residence for any reason other than going to the pharmacy or grocery store. The problem? They’re stuck in an Airbnb and their reservation expires tomorrow.
If they leave their Airbnb, they will be faced with fines, jail, or even contracting the deadly Coronavirus and dying. They are in the highly vulnerable group of people where being exposed to this virus could result in severe health consequences.
Airbnb’s response? Pay whatever price the host demands to charge, or leave.
Plaza Mayor, Madrid (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
The Backstory
Our family landed in Spain and installed themselves in their Airbnb. Shortly after they arrived, the Coronavirus cases really took off. In a matter of days the situation went from bad to worse, with the Spanish government cancelling all gatherings, including the event that they showed up for.
Being flexible, they decided they would stick around in Valencia for a couple more days and explore until they could leave. Their original reservation ended on March 20th.
The Quarantine
Two days later, the Spanish government mandated that no one should leave their homes in an attempt to flatten the curve. Tourists were given the chance to leave if they needed to get back to their homes.
While that all seems great on paper, what do you do if your country doesn’t have any flights back the country you need to get to? This was the case for our family, as Argentina closed their borders for 30 days to all flights from outside of the country.
Rescue flights were planned, but with over 10,000 citizens stuck in Madrid alone, and only one flight a day, it would take 50 days to get everyone out of Madrid. That doesn’t even take into account all of the other citizens stuck in other cities around the country.
The solution? Shelter in place – do not leave – wait it out.
The First Response
We reached out to Airbnb and explained the very unique situation. The government ordered that no one shall leave their home, and we’re stuck in an Airbnb. The host could not also accept any new reservations under the law, as no one is allowed out of their homes, even tourists.
We explained this to the host, but he insisted on charging a ridiculously high amount. We explained to Airbnb that there were two options. 1) We stay in the place, as squatters, as mandated by the Spanish government, and pay $0 or… 2) We would agree to be civil, and pay a small amount, around $25 a night, because the host obviously has costs associated with running the place. Lights are on, gas is running, mortgages need to be paid. We’re not savages, after all.
Airbnb listened, and understood. They would issue a coupon to cover the difference between the cost that the host wanted to charge and what we agreed to pay. We also agreed that if the quarantine extended past March 31st, Airbnb would extend another coupon.
After all, you can’t send elderly people to their potential death, dragging luggage all over a city where they can’t find a place to live.
The Follow-Up Response
Sure enough, the Spanish government extended the quarantine to the 12th, so we reached back out to Airbnb to get them to extend another coupon so we can stay. The host was once again not willing to budge on their price-gouging amount, so we looked to Airbnb for help.
The response was less than thrilling:
“At this time I’m doing some additional research to see if this request is truly possible. Being that Airbnb has no controll over this lock down, there really isnt a policy we have that allows this specific type of coupon issuance.
I am reaching out to a higher up.â€
Airbnb was telling us that they’re seeing if the new request was actually possible. Since Airbnb can’t control the government, they don’t have a policy about issuing coupons.
So, Airbnb helped us in the past, but now they’re concerned about not having a policy? Apparently they’re also not concerned about elderly people getting sick and turning into homeless refugees on the street. Are they also not concerned about their hosts price gouging during a time of worldwide pandemic?
It has been over 5 hours since this first response and our case has been closed and re-opened 4 times, each with us having to explain to someone new the entire scenario, only for them to “speak to someone else” and get it escalated.
Air Force One Phone
Lockdown and Arrests
Just this past Sunday alone, the Spanish government arrested 84 people and fined or cited 9,430 people. On one day, Sunday, alone.
I’m not about to send my elderly family members on the street to face sickness, fines, imprisonment, stress, or even worse, death.
Can’t get home
There is no place for our family to go. As we mentioned before, the Argentine government didn’t just eliminate flights into the country, they closed the borders, even for their own citizens to return. To my knowledge, it is the only country out there to do this, not even allowing their own citizens to repatriate.
The only available flights are, of course, from Madrid to Buenos Aires, and they are not in Madrid and do not live in Buenos Aires.
What would you do in this situation?
The government says “leave under penalty of prison†and your Airbnb host says “you can stay, but we’re gonna charge you whatever we want to.â€
March 30, 2020
Super tough situation. I’m a little surprised that you chose an Airbnb, since they’ve showed that they don’t give a s#!t about the customer in pretty much any dispute situation. Have you tried the Argentine embassy or maybe the local government for guidance? What would your odds be of trying to do a chargeback? Does the owner of the place live nearby? Sometimes a face to face conversation will work when less personal channels fail. Explaining to the person that it’s a lot better to get some money than have squatters might also be a convincing argument.
March 30, 2020
“To my knowledge, it is the only country out there to do this, not even allowing their own citizens to repatriate.”
Incorrect. A lot of other countries have blocked all international flights (which basically means no one can get in) – Pakistan, India, Samoa, Turkey, and most west-african nations are a few that I know of with full airport closures.
March 30, 2020
Glad that you picked the most important part of the post. Have they closed repatriation flights for their own citizens as well?
March 30, 2020
Book a new Airbnb within walking distance if possible and move your stuff over the course of a day. If someone stops you just tell them you’re going grocery shopping.
March 30, 2020
As someone who was almost in a pretty similar situation a week ago (this situation is not that uncommon right now), here are my thoughts.
1) There are many countries around the world who have banned all flights, inbound or outbound. While Argentina banning citizens from returning to the country sounds unique, people’s inability to leave a country they were visiting is not. For example, US citizens vacationing in Peru cannot leave Peru (other than through those special government led repatriation flights). Even though US citizens are allowed to return to the country, if they are in a country that has shut down all flights, they’re stuck in shelter. I was in this situation in Central Asia last week before luckily getting out a couple days before they completely shut down the ability to leave the country. I do acknowledge your point about how Spain did give tourists a couple days notice to leave before flights would be cancelled but that it didn’t matter in your situation since your family wouldn’t have been able to fly back to Argentina. But there are many who are forced to shelter in place in a foreign country so that part is not unique.
2) When you say price gouging, how egregious is it? This is what I would tell the hosts (although you may have already played your hand so you may not be negotiating from a position of strength): I will stay until March 31. I’d be interesting in staying at your place for another couple of weeks to ride out the shelter in place, but I have a reservation at another place. For convenience purposes, I’d be willing to stay for $XX. Given the lack of travel, there are likely no other guests who will stay at your apartment but if we stay at your place, you can continue to earn some revenue that you otherwise wouldn’t get and we have the convenience of staying in place. I would think they want some $$ over no $$.
3) Airbnb should ban price gougers if egregious. That is illegal in many parts of the world although I don’t know anything about Spanish law. The only problem is that many other people who are being repatriated home are having to pay exorbitant airfare fees to get home. People either pay it or they decide to stick it out. It’s pathetic when businesses take advantage of the incredible demand with limited supply in urgent times but that’s just the reality of our world.
4) Personally, I don’t think it’s on Airbnb to cover the costs and the benefit your family received the first time was quite generous. If I were the company, I would threaten the host with banning them from our services if you engage in price gouging. That would get the host to cooperate because they don’t want to lose that revenue stream. This would be the least messy option and also cost effective for Airbnb if the owner cooperates. Clearly they have not thought this through. What I would do is read the terms and rights of an Airbnb host and guest and see what you can find in there to point specifically to in your correspondence and complaint to Airbnb. I would also ask them for a policy on price gouging to see if they have a policy or not. But at this point, I’d just pay up and continue to complain afterwards and see what you can get.
Good luck.
March 30, 2020
If it’s *truly* life or death, why would you not just pay ANYTHING to stay safe.
I mean, if it’s actually life and death, wouldn’t you trade your life savings to not die?
I think what’s a lot more likely here – is people want other people to pay for things.
And of course, it’s 2020, so everyone wants to complain about anything – and the Internet makes that perfectly possible.
AirBNB is garbage, there is NO question. That’s why reasonable people book hotels that have managers and staff and, you know, professionals.
That said, if your life is on the line, and it’s $1000/night for the place – wouldn’t you pay it HAPPILY?
Like I said, it’s more than likely that.. it’s just an inconvenience you want to complain about, because, you know it’s actually not life or death at a..
March 30, 2020
You’re an idiot. Normally I don’t say that about our readers but your response was truly and unabashedly idiotic. You’re saying that I should wipe out a life’s savings to pay some asshole who is gouging people with no other solution. You sir… are a bad person. Oh, and an idiot.
March 30, 2020
The reader is right. Airbnb is a terrible company because you are dealing with individual home owners instead of a corporation with bigger pockets and often formal policies and contingencies and ability to help in a crisis. But people save money taking the risks of an individual property owner and a lot love Airbnb. That’s fine. Airbnb is basically a travel agency like Expedia that has no control over individual properties or airlines,
I don’t blame an individual property owner wanting a higher price for future stays he did not agree to beforehand. If you are set to leave on a certain date, the individual property owner has a moral right to not accommodate you or to charge a higher price to factor in the risks or demand. The property owner may want to return to his property but is willing to accept a higher price because he lost his retirement savings and investments or lost his job.
COVID-19 isn’t something that suddenly hit. President Trump closed travel from China in January and we knew in the beginning of March Italy and Iran spread to the rest of the world. People should have left and repatriated home when they had the chance. But travel bloggers were downplaying it even in March and criticizing the travel ban from Europe which most other countries in the world later enacted.
March 30, 2020
Wow. You went totally in a different direction. This has nothing to do with China Italy or Trump. You should watch less foxnews
March 31, 2020
While it doesn’t have too much to do with Trump, it does have to do with Italy. There were very VERY clear signs as early as late February/early March that Europe was going to be hit HARD. If you didn’t take that into consideration, this situation is partly on you. That being said, I of course sympathize with your situation and agree that Airbnb and other travel companies should be doing more. I would reach out to the embassy to see if any repatriation flights are available soon. Or, as other commenters have suggested, move to another property/hotel within walking distance. Coronavirus is not airborne – stay away from others and you’ll likely be perfectly safe.
March 31, 2020
Again, I’m not there…
March 31, 2020
Sorry dude, but Jackson is correct. This was predicted to be a pandemic back in February. Companies were already making plans about how to best deal with potential disruptions. You could see this coming. Oh, and yes, airbnb is a crap company. Whether you like Fox News or prefer PMSNBC, the truth is what it is. Bad planning.
March 31, 2020
George is right. It’s NOT life or death, as evidenced by the fact that you’re not willing to pay “any” price. It is, of course, incredibly unfortunate for all parties involved, including the host. I’m presuming the host would like you OUT of there and knows that if he keeps the price low you’ll have no incentive to leave.
Have you used the threat of squatting as a negotiation tactic with the host? Perhaps that would get them to realize that a reasonable compromise price is the best solution for all parties involved.
Best of luck.
March 30, 2020
$0 and/or $25 per night seem lowball to me, so I have to ask what “egregious” is? And how does the rate they want for the extension compare to the rate you paid for the original trip?
March 30, 2020
All other properties around this one are $15-20 a night. So him wanting to charge $118 a night is gouging
March 30, 2020
The risks have changed. That has to be factored into the price to account for the risk. These property owners may have lost all their income and retirement investments. There might be people willing to pay more to stay in a safe place. Airbnb is not an unlimited option. If a home owner doesn’t want you in his property you have no right to stay if you don’t meet his price.
March 30, 2020
That’s actually not true. The government wins out over the right of a homeowner. If the government says “don’t leave under penalty of jail” you don’t get to change the rules as a homeowner.
March 30, 2020
“So him wanting to charge $118 a night is gouging”
I agree that the host is gouging you and is absolutely wrong to do so.
However, $118/night is $3,450 for one month or $7,080 for two months. This amount will wipe out your life’s savings??? Seriously, you only have that little amount of money saved?
I avoid Airbnb because I have heard so many horror stories about them. I am sure as a travel blogger you know about this. Knowing this, why did you choose Airbnb?You were putting yourself at the mercy of a questionable person by renting through Airbnb, so why were you surprised that the scumbag is trying to take advantage of you. What he is doing is wrong, but you chose to stay at an airbnb despite all the bad press out there.
March 30, 2020
You didn’t read the article I see.
March 31, 2020
Then move! They’re not going to arrest you for one-by-one making your way surreptitiously to another place down the block. How about you use some common sense to protect yourself instead of ranting on the internet about how you were wronged? A lot of people have lost a lot more than this minor inconvenience you’re facing.
March 31, 2020
How much were you paying initially for the property?
March 31, 2020
50 euros a night was the price before.
March 31, 2020
Looks like I nailed this one.
I thought we were talking about hundreds of thousands of dollars here. But it’s $7,500?
Good grief.
You write an article basically saying your life isn’t worth $7500.
Then, blaming other people and companies expecting a sympathy parade from the people who responded to your clickbait headline?
Good lord, No wonder people have such a low opinion of bloggers.
Pay the money or risk your life.
Ohhhh, yeah, there isn’t much risk here – you just want a free ride. And to throw a tantrum when you don’t get your way.
Typical travel blogger
March 31, 2020
Typical out of touch with reality commenter. You are totally OK with people taking advantage, in violation of laws, to charge whatever they want for an elderly couple? You sir, are a horrible person, and you should be ashamed of yourself. No wonder people have such a low opinion of people who troll in the comment section.
April 1, 2020
Moving to a different AirBNB would be inconvenient, but in this case, necessary. I just looked at available rentals in Madrid, and there are plenty of places available… Some as low as US$9 a night for a bedroom (I’m guessing it’s like this all over Spain). Perhaps the police would stop you on the way, but explaining that you were forced to move because your reservation had run out… I don’t believe they are going to put you in jail for that. You can’t expect anybody to rescue you from this horrible situation… Not AirBNB, and not anyone else. Take charge of the situation and teach that greedy AirBNB host a lesson. Let him sit with an empty property for a few months. There are plenty of AirBNB hosts that would appreciate you and the income they would receive. Sometimes bad things happen to good people. Don’t be a victim!
March 31, 2020
Hi Jon,
Although I certainly don’t envy your situation and hope everyone gets home soon, your title is misleading, unfair and irresponsible. It is unfortunate that the owner of the apartment wants more than a 100% premium (50 Euros to 118 Euros per day) versus the original price. However, this is no more AirBnB’s fault than it is yours. He can get this premium due to the Coronavirus situation. You can call it “gouging” if you want, but the reality is people typically pay even more than this premium for different times of the year. Take a look at holiday pricing around Christmas and New Year’s in many parts of the world, for example.
In any case, AirBnb connects consumers with home owners. This is not their inventory. They do not control it. I fail to see why they should be any more responsible for paying the extra daily amount than you seem to think you should be. It makes no sense.
Rather than unfairly insulting AirBnb with your title and this article (frankly, AirBnb it is fortunate that AirBnb exists as they open up housing options during this crisis that wouldn’t be there otherwise), why not be a responsible person and decide on one of the following options?
1) Pay the daily premium yourself.
2) Look at one of the other cheaper options in the neighborhood that you mentioned and move early in the morning or later in the day when fewer people are around (the police will realistically cut you some slack once the situation is explained to them).
3) Resort to “squatting” if you can’t or won’t move and refuse to pay what you seem to think is an egregious amount.
BTW, which city/town are we talking about? You could also see if the owner is advertising a different price online, and then have one of the other occupants in your family book it.
Good luck. I hope you get everyone back to Argentina soon. This is a horrible situation.
April 1, 2020
I hope everything works out and your family all make it home safe but I think you’re wrong on this one. You say that you chose to pay 50 Euros a night even though there were other places around that charged less than half that. Then the unscrupulous owner more than doubled the price, which is a real weasel move but when you mentioned being gouged, I’d imagined $500 a night or more, not $118. Airbnb is, as I mentioned above, an extremely unscrupulous company. Given your degree of experience with travel, surely you can’t have been ignorant of the company’s shortcomings. Then you chose to take your older and at least somewhat frail family members to another continent on vacation when a global pandemic was all over the news, then gripe about paying an extra sixty bucks a night to remain snug and safe? You genuinely don’t come across as a bad person normally, but surely you can see that your example doesn’t really paint you in a favorable light? Despite some extremism above, I think that might be what some other commenters are saying.