Airbnb owner wants proof of vaccination

[garlictwist]

OH and I are due to go away on Monday as restrictions ease. We booked an air bnb several weeks ago when Boris announced the road map and all was fine.

Yesterday the owner emailed me to ask me to send her proof of our vaccinations.

We haven't had it. I'm 40, OH is 35 and it hasn't been our turn yet.

When I told her she responded saying she was going to cancel the booking.

We will get a refund but AIBU to be really pissed off! There was no mention of any vaccination requirement when we booked, it's not our faut we haven't been vaccinated and now we have to find a new holiday home with two days to spare.

I haven't had a week off work since 2019 and I'm just fed up.

Its an individual's choice to have or not have the vaccine, its also their choice to refuse service to someone who hasn't had the vaccine.
Just get a refund, find somewhere else and stop moaning.

Not until the point everyone has been offered it. It’s not my choice that I won’t get my first dose till the summer. It’s because of my age. I’m fine with being at the end of the queue because covid is a very low risk to me. But I haven’t chosen this so yes, I will whinge fucking incessantly if this kind of situation becomes widespread.

@crikeycrumbsblimey

Be very careful of cottages.com - places they say are available aren’t but they take your money anyway and don’t give it back without significant hassle. We got stung among many others last year.

Really? We booked with cottages.com shortly after the roadmap was announced, the booking is for the middle of May. How did you get stung? When did you find out?

I would complain to Airbnb. If she wants to insist on vaccination (fine - her house her rules) she needs to specify that on her listing. Lots of other people will book her property in good faith too and then get disappointed last minute and I think Airbnb need to tell her to list her requirement on her page or scrap it.

Pretty unreasonable of them to assume you would have had a vaccination when loads of us haven’t been offered it yet and won’t be for months.

I own a couple short term rentals. She is being beyond cheeky. Unfortunately I don’t think that there’s much you can do if she cancels. Would you want to force her to let you stay? This would be very uncomfortable.

And i believe you can only leave a review if you’ve completed a stay. If it’s been cancelled, there’s nothing to review (from Airbnb or Vrbo’s point of view).

Sorry this has Happened. Try to complain to Airbnb bit at the same time, start looking at other options.

Also the vaccination card doesn't have your name on

Mine does. It's written in the box that says "name".

Well everyone’s been banging on about Covid passports being the way forward, ignoring the fact that the majority of under 50’s haven’t been vaccinated. People asked, people got. Maybe now some will reconsider their idiocy.

Leave a negative review, don't let others fall for her sly tricks.

@makingmammaries

Health is a protected characteristic so I think that is likely to count as discrimination and contravene Airbnb’s terms and conditions.

Don’t be daft. Disability is the protected characteristic. Not being vaccinated isn’t a disability!

What about age? Younger people less likely to be vaccinated.

@ButterflyHoneyPot

Well everyone’s been banging on about Covid passports being the way forward, ignoring the fact that the majority of under 50’s haven’t been vaccinated. People asked, people got. Maybe now some will reconsider their idiocy.

It has been clearly stated that the Covid passports are expected to include having had a negative test/having had Covid in the last 6 months , not just vaccination.

It’s entirely reasonable to not have unvaccinated people. People can choose vaccination or not and like most decisions that may impact on what you can do. As you have not yet had the chance to be vaccinated, it would have been much better if that was made clear earlier in process.

She might well carry additional risks and be quite fearful of guests bringing the virus to her. That’s reasonable. It’s unfortunate you were impacted, but glad you have somewhere else. I think bad review would be unkind and heaven knows, we need kindness at the moment.

I have a vaccination card with my name, date of vaccination and the date for the second vaccination. I was vaccinated a couple of days ago.

I’m in the UK

The Equality Act won't cover health, however it does cover age discrimination.

It arguably is illegal to cancel your booking on the basis that you haven't been vaccinated because you haven't had the opportunity to be vaccinated. It would probably count as indirect age discrimination.

This is why the government are currently holding off vaccine passports. I'm sure its because they know if they introduce it now it can be challenged in court and is likely to be successful. They are making noises about the idea because they think its popular. I suspect if a lot of places decide to introduce it unilaterally they will soon run into legal hot water as someone will take it on.

I am willing to bet that the owner has got a better offer and is cancelling to let it out to someone else. Its just a good excuse to try it on.

The shortness of the notice isn't acceptable. She's had weeks to ask.

@Librarybooksandacoconut

YANBU.

Having ‘proof’ is nonsense anyway. I’ve been vaccinated and don’t have any actual proof of it. I didn’t get a card when I was done, but I’m in Scotland and I’m not sure if they are being handed out here.

I have proof...my vaccination record was updated within 24 hours on the NHS App online. Anyone can download their NHS details using the NHS online app so if you REALLY wanted to get your proof, you could do so 🤷‍♀️ it's actually quite fascinating seeing what information they have about you on there! My baby records, information about minor stuff that I'd completely forgotten about...it's a great trip down memory lane 🤣

It’s entirely reasonable to not have unvaccinated people. People can choose vaccination or not and like most decisions that may impact on what you can do.

Not unless you have been offered a jab or used connections to jump the queue. Additionally vaccine compulsion by the back door is a dangerous precedent. Make the case for compulsion honestly or not at all.

She might well carry additional risks and be quite fearful of guests bringing the virus to her

Its an AirBNB - all holiday lets are supposed to be deep cleaned (in the UK) as part of opening up. She isn't inviting them to share her bed.

She took the booking during a pandemic, she was presumably confident that she had opened in a covid safe way.

She can’t just decide to change the terms and conditions at a whim. You already have a legally binding contract in place, which can’t be altered without the agreement of both parties. 2 days notice is insufficient.
You should complain to air b&b in the first instance, then can impose a cancellation charge and block her diary out for that period.
You could also take the owner to small claims court for breech if contract and claim the difference between your booking and the more expensive one.

@LemonRoses Do you really think a bad review is unreasonable?. Lots of people haven't even been offered the vaccine yet. The owner should have been clear on their expectations. I'd leave a negative review in every possible place. Covid passports will have a negative test option too.

I'm shocked people think this is a reasonable policy.

I’m reading a lot of stories of air b n b (or similar) owners cancelling for spurious reasons - lots of unexpected repairs etc

The general view is that they are intending to rebook to someone else for more money

In your shoes I would explain you haven’t been offered the vaccine, offer to do a lateral flow test, and if that doesn’t satisfy her then leave a stinking review and try to find somewhere else.

I've had my first vaccine and all I have is a card with the date and batch number written on it in biro. If I was asked to prove I'd been vaccinated to go to her Air BnB all I'd have to do is write a date and batch number for the second vaccine on the card. There is no 'proof'.

I think she's taking the piss and wants to resell at a higher price. I would complain to Air BnB and write a negative review.

Cottages.com has been mentioned upthread - like pp we had a terrible time with them last summer. Ended up having to send them a letter alleging breach of contract, and then they finally refunded, would never use them again.

Also re vaccination, I am in Scotland where we don't get a vaccination card so if someone asked for this, we wouldn't have any evidence.

@LemonRoses

It’s entirely reasonable to not have unvaccinated people. People can choose vaccination or not and like most decisions that may impact on what you can do. As you have not yet had the chance to be vaccinated, it would have been much better if that was made clear earlier in process.

She might well carry additional risks and be quite fearful of guests bringing the virus to her. That’s reasonable. It’s unfortunate you were impacted, but glad you have somewhere else. I think bad review would be unkind and heaven knows, we need kindness at the moment.

So the op has the stress and extra expense of finding alternative accommodation at the last minute. But she should be kind to the owner ?

I'm 49 and have had my first vaccination but have no proof of it. I wasn't given a certificate or anything. Sounds like they're going to lose a lot of money cancelling bookings with that approach.

Awakened travel on fb and they have a new website
Lots of people with accommodations on there who aren’t enforcing people to jump through hoops

I would definitely complain to Airbnb anyway. At the moment you don’t need a vaccine to go to a holiday let in the UK. This woman is just being funny about it. She doesn’t have the right to demand you prove you’ve been vaccinated especially since most under 50’s haven’t had the vaccine yet. Like someone else said she probably wants to cancel you and bump the price up.