Another last minute cancellation/sob story

[TexasHusker]

I don't see how it would be either unethical or immoral or an owner to say, "I normally wouldn't do this but I can see from your address where you live so I trust that you're telling the truth. I'll issue the refund. Good luck and stay safe."

I'm not saying you are in any way obligated to do that, but if you chose to, I don't see anything wrong with you doing it. It's your place. It's entirely up to you if you're willing to forfeit the cost of that stay.

Buy trip cancellation insurance. Homeowners are not insurance companies. Our company would be breaching fiduciary obligation by transferring risk from the guest to the homeowner.

The homeowners bear plenty of risk wiithout taking on other people's risks:

Many $ billions in property destruction and lost revenue were suffered by these same owners last December with the Smoky Mountains fires. Would it have been reasonable to ask guests to pony up $$$ for their stay even though a cabin was burned down? Of course not. That risk is on the homeowner. Hopefully they had the risk appropriately insured. Its their responsibility- not the guest's, nor the tax payer's.

I myself lost a cabin to the fires. I've been paying a monthly mortgage payment on an empty lot now for 10 months, with likely 6 more to go. But that's my risk - it's not Wells Fargo's, nor the guest's, nor the tax payer's.

Folks need to accept their own risks. Ownership.

[Gailete]

Today, we had a guest supposed to arrive, and he called to say he wanted to cancel. He wanted his money back because he was fleeing hurricane Irma but as it turns out he didn't need the cabin.

We declined of course, and he became belligerent, stating we were being greedy and should be more lax in a natural disaster situation. I tried to explain that we can't by default just transfer consequences of various tragedies straight to our homeowners. He hung up on me.

Of course, we could have rented that place 10 times to other people, but he is demanding that the homeowner eat it since he ended up not needing it.

I'm sure I'll be disputing a chargeback tomorrow. Peoples' expectations are simply amazing.

Maybe I'm dense, but if they were fleeing the storm, why not come and take their vacation as planned? Seems that the vacation home that they had already rented would be a better shelter that a red cross type shelter facility. Things like this make my brain 'itch'.

[msomnipotent]

Maybe I'm dense, but if they were fleeing the storm, why not come and take their vacation as planned? Seems that the vacation home that they had already rented would be a better shelter that a red cross type shelter facility. Things like this make my brain 'itch'.

I would want to be there to asses damage, contact the insurance, try to stop looters, etc. I found out yesterday that my Citi card offers automatic travel insurance for whatever portion of the trip is purchased with the card. I had been looking up the rental car coverage, which is crap, but the travel insurance sounded very reasonable. I have no idea how hard it is to get them to pay, though. Maybe ask them to check their credit cards for coverage and transfer the liability to the cards and not the homeowner. If they know travel insurance wouldn't cover it, it is unreasonable to expect the owner to do so.

[disneysteve]

Our company would be breaching fiduciary obligation by transferring risk from the guest to the homeowner.

I'm sorry. I thought you were talking about a home you own. If it's a home that you just manage, certainly that decision shouldn't be made by you. That would be inappropriate. Now if the owner decided to grant a refund, there's nothing unethical or immoral about that. That's what I was talking about.

[disneysteve]

Maybe I'm dense, but if they were fleeing the storm, why not come and take their vacation as planned?

Maybe they had no way to get there. I have many friends and family in southern Florida. They couldn't have evacuated if they wanted to.

Also, many people don't want to leave their homes. They want to be there to secure the place before and start the clean up right away after. If I was in the situation, I'm sure I probably would have been cancelling any travel plans also.

[Gailete]

He wanted his money back because he was fleeing hurricane Irma

This is why I asked what I did. If he is fleeing anyhow, why not go to a place that is already paid for? Even if for a couple of days until they can go back home.

[TexasHusker]

What happened is that we are inundated with calls from folks evacuating, starting about a week ago. We could have rented every property 10 times for the same time period.

For many, they just decided to get out of the coming storm and enjoy a few days away, then go back.

This guy called the morning of arrival and said "Oh I guess we won't be needing it after all, by the way I want our money back since this was a natural disaster."

My guess is they decided their particular area wasn't in imminent danger. I get that, but guess what, you still pay for the house you reserved.

[disneysteve]

My guess is they decided their particular area wasn't in imminent danger. I get that, but guess what, you still pay for the house you reserved.

Definitely. In that case, there's no reason to even entertain the possibility of issuing a refund.

That makes no sense, though. If I wanted to book something "just in case", I would book a hotel room, not a rental property. At least with the hotel I can cancel 24 hours in advance or even the same day depending on the hotel. And if I don't show up, I only get charged for the 1st night, not the entire stay.

[Snicks]

If you are running a business, you just need to run the business. Someone's personal issues are not your problem. So, the policy is the policy, oh well.

[Gailete]

What happened is that we are inundated with calls from folks evacuating, starting about a week ago. We could have rented every property 10 times for the same time period.

For many, they just decided to get out of the coming storm and enjoy a few days away, then go back.

This guy called the morning of arrival and said "Oh I guess we won't be needing it after all, by the way I want our money back since this was a natural disaster."

My guess is they decided their particular area wasn't in imminent danger. I get that, but guess what, you still pay for the house you reserved.

It sounds like one of the things is that you have to emphasize that the fee is non-refundable no matter the excuse (except maybe they died). People tend to block out what they don't want to hear, so it needs repeated at least three times. And perhaps a separate paragraph on the contract about the non-refundability that they sign to show they understand that their fee will not be refunded for any reason and if they want to buy insurance what to do.

[disneysteve]

perhaps a separate paragraph on the contract about the non-refundability that they sign to show they understand that their fee will not be refunded for any reason and if they want to buy insurance what to do.

This is a perfectly good idea, but I guarantee it won't help.

[TexasHusker]

It sounds like one of the things is that you have to emphasize that the fee is non-refundable no matter the excuse (except maybe they died). People tend to block out what they don't want to hear, so it needs repeated at least three times. And perhaps a separate paragraph on the contract about the non-refundability that they sign to show they understand that their fee will not be refunded for any reason and if they want to buy insurance what to do.

We have this very prominently in our rental agreements already. It makes no difference.

A lot of people look at contracts/agreements from a purely selfish standpoint: If there is something in the thing that ends up causing them anguish, then they just ignore it altogether.

[disneysteve]

We have this very prominently in our rental agreements already. It makes no difference.

Life's biggest lies: I have read and agree to the terms and conditions.

[TexasHusker]

Here's the latest sob story:

"Hello...my name is _________________ and we rented a cabin under the name of _________________________ (my girlfriend) for the hurricane Irma evacuation. Unfortunately as the storm path evolved it was made clear to us that leaving and moving into the storm could be more dangerous than staying home. As of now we are unable to make it to the cabin. This has been a stressful time trying to make the right decisions to keep our family safe. Our two vehicles have over 200,000 miles on them so it would be risky to go that far unless we had to, which it looked like we did when we made the reservation. I would like to call upon your compassion as a fellow American and human being and ask for you to refund as much as possible...We live below the poverty level and any amount would be a big deal to our family."


OK so let me get this straight:

1. You are below poverty but you rented a luxury vacation home for evacuation?

2. Why would you make a reservation for a vacation home that you believe you can't safely drive to, even in nice weather?

3. The homeowner you are asking for a refund could have rented the place to 10 other people, but can't because you reserved and then cancelled it. Is it being a good fellow American and human to now ask them to pay for the house in lost revenue, because you decided you couldn't use it?

4. Why don't you behave like a good fellow American and Human Bean and pay for your own mistakes, without trying to toss them onto some innocent soul who doesn't even know you?

As a side note

I googled this guy on facebook and he appears to be a rocker living near the beach in SC. Does a lot of gigs and a lot of partying and fishing, judging from the photos. If he's living below poverty, it's by choice.

His girlfriend is a Stress Relief Facilitator & EFT Practitioner, as well as the owner/hostess of a Karaoke Bar and photo booth.

But they deserve a refund.

Sheesh.

[Gailete]

life's biggest lies: I have read and agree to the terms and conditions.

lol