Woman chases Okanagan Airbnb host for refund during wildfire travel ban

Update August 23, 2023: The woman in this story said the host finally agreed to refund her stay. 

A Metro Vancouver woman who’d planned a trip to the Okanagan is facing an Airbnb host who won’t refund her despite the wildfire-related travel ban, in a troubling exchange that highlights the BC government’s lack of control over the housing rental platform.

Andrea from Surrey, who asked to only be identified by her first name, booked a stay in Lake Country from August 25 to 27 for her sister’s birthday. But on Friday, when the BC declared a Provincial State of Emergency after the McDougall Creek wildfire lit up the shores of Lake Okanagan, she knew it was a bad idea to go.

Things got worse on Saturday when the wildfire that torched at least 50 homes prompted BC officials to ban non-essential travel to the region to free up accommodations for wildfire evacuees.

Andrea reached out to her Airbnb host trying to get a refund but said the host wouldn’t budge.

“I’m trying to do the right thing to not go into an area where there’s a travel ban,” Andrea said. “I don’t want to be using the resources that people desperately need over there. There’s no business for us to be going up there.”

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After the host was allegedly uncooperative, Andrea got in touch with an Airbnb support member. But they apparently told her the company’s Extenuating Circumstances Policy only covers reservations in the region from August 17 to 23.

Andrea was confused why the policy ends on the 23rd when the provincial order runs until September 4. She said the only help Airbnb offered was advising her to call back every day to see if the policy timeframe gets extended.

“It’s not fair to the people of Kelowna that Airbnb is making it difficult for people to get their money back,” she said. “I’d understand if it was $100 or $200, but we’re talking about a $700 reservation.”

When she asked the host to cancel the reservation for her, she alleges the host wouldn’t — saying she wouldn’t see the money back from Airbnb and that she may lose her Superhost status.

Airbnb is not covered by BC’s emergency order

Premier David Eby expects Airbnb and its hosts to be flexible and accommodating given the emergency situation but revealed during a news conference Monday that the home-sharing platform isn’t covered by BC’s travel ban the same way hotels are.

The emergency order restricts the non-essential use of the following types of temporary accommodation:

• Hotels
• Motels
• Inns
• Bed and breakfasts
• Hostels
• RV parks
• Campgrounds

The government currently doesn’t have legislative power to force Airbnb to cancel and refund guests’ stays.

“For Airbnb and people who host on Airbnb, we’re really asking them to … have understanding. We’re asking people not to travel to the area, not to be tourists in disaster areas,” Eby said.

He wants hosts to be flexible about offering refunds.

“We’re calling on the company to be supportive of that … That’s our expectation,” he said. “You should not be travelling to these areas if you have an Airbnb booked. The answer is do not travel.”

The emergency order currently applies to Kelowna, West Kelowna, Kamloops, Oliver, Osoyoos, Penticton, and Vernon. Travellers are allowed to drive through the Okanagan on their way to another region.