Coronavirus - is it affecting your bookings?

Up, down, could be better? How to get more bookings is our number one obsession. Talk shop here.
volcano
Posts: 84
Joined: Mon Mar 04, 2013 10:24 am
Location: Lanzarote

Post by volcano »

Read on trustpilot.com the reviews from last days for HA!
zebedee
Posts: 1270
Joined: Fri Sep 12, 2014 2:57 pm
Location: yorkshire dales

Post by zebedee »

I’ve just had a look and it’s the owners of the properties that are getting all the blame.......(no mention of insurance)
Pengman
Posts: 115
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:54 pm
Location: Portland, Dorset UK

Post by Pengman »

Booking.com's 'Extreme Cicumstances' policy means that, generally speaking, unless guests are travelling to or from certain specified countries, they are not automatically entitled to a full refund. However, B.c are giving hosts the opportunity to make a full refund if they wish to, and they appear to be telling guests to contact the host direct and request one. I even had a call from B.c yesterday asking if we would give a refund after I'd told a guest we woundn't.

We're not giving full refunds to guests who've booked on B.c. However, we are offering to reschedule their bookings at any date regardless of of season in the next 12 months. We're also saying that, if they want to cancel whilst they can still get a 50% refund, if they contact us again before they book, we will offer them a 50% discount on the same length booking for any time in the next 12 months regardless of season.

This is going down relatively well with some B.c guests but not with others. However, we've had one B.c guest say he wouldn't use B.c again, to which we replied - fine - youll find us elsewhere, and we'll still give you the 50% discount on a future booking.
I came, I saw, I bought it.
Joanna
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Location: Chester, North West England & Sidmouth, East Devon
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Post by Joanna »

Pengman - sounds like a good policy, I'm just about to contact our next guests and might offer them the same 50% towards a future booking option.

Had our first cancellation which happened to be via ABBs extenuating circumstances so they got a full refund. Now blocked off all our dates on ABB - we weren't getting any enquiries, but I'm not going to start blocking dates out for guests who can then cancel at the last minute with no repurcussions.

I know some people who are booking supermarket deliveries by putting a botle of champagne in their cart so they meet the minimum amount and then just holding that delivery slot in case they need it. In the meantime lots of people who are trying to self-isolate can't book deliveries for weeks. I'm concerned ABB customers might start applying the same principle to holiday bookings - book it and then cancel at the last minute if things are still bad.
Jo

Joint owner of Baker's Cottage in Chester & Chandler's Cottage in Sidmouth
Joanna
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Post by Joanna »

Actually, I just noticed that the ABB extenuating circumstances policy doesn't apply to bookings made after 14th March so maybe it's not quite as bad as I thought. We still won't be taking any more bookings through them for a while though.
Jo

Joint owner of Baker's Cottage in Chester & Chandler's Cottage in Sidmouth
hydroland2
Posts: 40
Joined: Wed Mar 02, 2016 4:16 pm

Post by hydroland2 »

I've had two cancellations so far. One set of guests from Spain who can't come next week as they're not even able to leave their house at the moment and today another group of elderly guests who are now self-isolating as they all have health conditions. Both of these groups have asked if they can postpone rather than refund. Added to that no new bookings since Jan and after the end of this week we're now empty until May. It would be nice to think we could use the time for some redecorating but I can't afford to spend money on the place with no money coming in.
From May we've got quite a few guests from HA. Going to be interesting to see what happens with them.
At least the people who were here last week have just booked another 2 weeks for October so maybe things will pick up later in the year....?
Pengman
Posts: 115
Joined: Mon Apr 22, 2019 4:54 pm
Location: Portland, Dorset UK

Post by Pengman »

If anyone has their place on a mortgage, in addition to the 3 month mortgage holiday, I've just asked my lender to a 12 month extension of my mortgage term by means of a 12 month extension of my low fixed term rate from 2 years to 3 years. Well why not? - we are living in extraordinary times. I'm not holding my breath though.
I came, I saw, I bought it.
Gazpacho
Posts: 82
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:42 pm
Location: Andalucia, Spain

Post by Gazpacho »

This appeared on the HA 'Discovery Hub' todayhttps://www.homeaway.com/discoveryhub/tips-and- ... 19-updates :

March 18, 2020
Today, we are introducing our COVID-19 Emergency Policy, a series of measures designed to help navigate these extraordinary circumstances.
If a traveler reaches out to cancel or delay travel, we ask that you offer a full (or expanded) credit for stay dates within the next year (at no additional cost) for travelers who can’t take trips now due to COVID-19. If the travelers are unwilling to accept a credit, we strongly encourage you to offer a full refund of their stay.
We expect you to provide at least a 50% refund on cancellations for all stays with a night that falls between March 13 and April 30, 2020, including trips that are outside the set cancellation policy. We will refund our Traveler Service Fee in full for all cancellations.

I note the words "we expect you to...." in the final paragraph. What sanctions do they plan, I wonder, if we don't refund at least 50%?
Gazpacho
Posts: 82
Joined: Tue Aug 27, 2013 2:42 pm
Location: Andalucia, Spain

Post by Gazpacho »

And here's the answer to my previous question!

"Here’s how HomeAway will enforce the policy stated above:

HomeAway will reward partners with additional visibility in traveler searches. The more partners do now for travelers, the more we will reward them moving forward (so a 100% credit/refund will count more than 50% refund).
Partners who do not abide by these standards (offering a 100% credit/refund of at least a 50%) will be disadvantaged vis-a-vis those who act within our policy.
Any intimidation of travelers (such as suggesting that travel is safer for them than staying home or dismissing the severity of the crisis) will result in permanent removal from HomeAway and Expedia Group."

See https://www.homeaway.com/discoveryhub/t ... ncy-policy for the full details.
jafa
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Post by jafa »

Am I glad I no longer use those shiiisters.
Jafa
AndrewH
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Location: Kefalonia, Greece
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Post by AndrewH »

jafa wrote:Am I glad I no longer use those shiiisters.
+1 and so am I.
aloneifly
Posts: 70
Joined: Tue Jan 10, 2012 2:20 pm
Location: Glasgow
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Post by aloneifly »

Olandbec wrote:
waterwitch wrote:Home Away have just sent an email to owners giving advice that "in the event of a cancellation, in the spirit of good hospitality, we strongly encourage you to offer a full refund".
But we can only refund the amount we receive after HomeAway etc have taken their commission. Will they refund their part too do you think??
I have had quite a few HA cancellations. I have honoured all of them. I called HA and they said they would refund customer in full but only take from me the actual amount they had paid me. They even said that would be in the form of a debit against future earnings.
craven24
Posts: 4
Joined: Tue Aug 20, 2019 8:52 am
Location: Barnoldswick
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Coronavirus affecting bookings.

Post by craven24 »

Yes, I've had a couple of cancellations (Lancs/Yorks dales) - just had one today for the end of August. Bookings have stopped completely, with the exception of a last-minute 4-night stay just before the lockdown.

This financial year, our first, we easily met the rules for being an FHL, with 150 paying nights. Next year, things aren't looking so rosy. I wonder if HMRC will make any allowance for Covid-19? We will be keeping spending down...
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roxytoo
Posts: 1701
Joined: Thu Feb 03, 2005 8:23 am
Location: Spain Costa Blanca

Post by roxytoo »

For bookings that have not paid the balance is anyone refunding the non refundable deposit taken at the beginning of the booking?
chipiechoo
Posts: 155
Joined: Sat Sep 28, 2013 7:07 pm
Location: SW France

Post by chipiechoo »

Good question, we haven't yet been asked but not certain how to respond either. These are direct bookings so how are others handling this?
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