From a friend, a few days ago:
We were supposed to be in Vienna today for a short vacation, but the city is at high risk and we would have had to be quarantined on the way back.
The hotel refused to refund the payment. I called and asked to extend from 3 nights to 10 nights. When they asked the reason, I replied that I just got back from Italy and am looking for a place to stay until the 14-day quarantine period is over. “I want to stay in one place and not move around,” I told them.
They canceled my reservation immediately.
Gotta do what u gotta do
Credit Card Chargeback.
You can’t just apply for a chargeback without a reason. If the hotel says they can’t give you a refund as per their policy, then the bank ain’t gonna give it to you either
@Anonynous That hasn’t stopped me from getting my money bank! It’s a last resort for sure but I’ve successfully done it a number of times
I’ve challenged hotels on charges, and all I had to do was quietly place my American Express card on top of my wallet at the check-out desk. They stopped arguing. It’s handy.
Airbnb site already addresses Covid-19: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2701/extenuating-circumstances-policy-and-the-coronavirus-covid19
Maybe hotels will follow suit????
This has been added to its prior policies on natural disasters, govt mandated travel restrictions, etc.. For example, we refunded a portion of an Airbnb booking because the City of Rehoboth Beach (Delaware) had closed for a 48 hour period ahead of Sandy. However, I heard that a lot of Airbnb guests weren’t aware that they were entitled to a partial/full refund, as Airbnb certainly didn’t try to advertise this option to them, and their “hosts” likely said nothing if not queried.