Airbnb cancels homestay bookings in Japan under new law ... What happens if you are affected?!7/7/2018 I always advice people to book their flights and accommodations as early as possible to snatch cheaper deals and to ensure that you have more options to play around with. However imagine the scenario where you thought you can dive right into your trip without any worries because you had already booked everything online, only to find up that your Airbnb booking was cancelled because of a new law when you arrived at your booked apartment. If you are thinking "No way... I can't be that suay...." then maybe you have not heard the new law imposed in Japan which forces Airbnb to suspend nearly 80% (statistics from article published by the Japan Times) of its listing from Japan. ( ゚ Д゚)!! So what exactly is this new Japan law that is causing such a big suspension by Airbnb? In 2017, Japan legalized home sharing as part of an amendment to 1947’s Japanese Hotels and Inns Act. In early 2018, home owners (host) have to register their listing by 15 June 2018 with the local government, which will conduct fire and safety checks before issuing approval for home sharing activities. However a surprise annoucement was made by the Japan Tourism Agency on 01 June 2018 that any host without a license number must cancel any reservations made before June 15th, even if that host has already applied for the registration number. As such, Airbnb informed host that it would not display their listings until they showed that they had official permission to operate. When host submit proof that they are in compliance with the new law, their rooms will be posted on the website again. In the meantime, Airbnb have cancelled reservation made with properties under host that have not yet shown approval proof by June. The following are steps you can take to check if you are affected. Kindly note that the following are through for people with affected bookings through Aribnb only. If you have made bookings through other sources, you may contact your booking source for assistance instead. 1. Check if your reserved listing is still available on Airbnb siteYou can try to find your reserved listing on the Airbnb site. If your reserved properties is affected, you will see the following message when you try to search for your reserved properties: GGWP if you see this. However this is not a foul proof method to check if your host is in compliance with the new law. This is because Airbnb needs to check though each and every listing in its sites. This takes time. So listing that are still available as of now have a possibility of being removed by the time you arrived for your trip. 2. Check with your HostYou can send a message through Airbnb to your host to verify if they have received approval under the new law. If your host claim that they are licensed and registered under the new law, you can request for their registration number. Sadly there is no mentioned method for us to verify the registration number for now so it is up to you whether to trust your host. However some listing in Airbnb have already updated to include their license/registration number. It is your choice whether to trust your host on this. Similarly some host might inform you that they have already submitted the documents and is in the mids of waiting for approval. In this case you can either trust your host and wait about 1 to 2 weeks more (average time for submission to be approved) or you can consider finding alternative accommodation. Do take into consideration that you are not the only tourist affected by this new law and that your choice of alternative accommodation will be slimmer as you drags longer. My suggestion is to consider finding alternative that allows free cancellation as a backup plan as soon as possible. 3. Check with Airbnb if your reservation has been cancelledThe best alternative to check if your reservation is affected is to consult Airbnb directly. You can contact Airbnb for reservation verification and if need be refund process through their 24/7 support by calling 1-855-424-7262 or emailing to [email protected]. So what happens if you have confirmed that your reservation have been cancelled by Airbnb? According to press release by Airbnb, they are implementing a Japan Travel Response Plan as follows: 1. $10 Million Fund to Support Travelers. We have established a $10 million fund to cover additional expenses for guests who are scheduled to travel to Japan and have had their plans interrupted due to a cancellation. Through no fault of their own, some guests will spend extra money to secure new accomodations and may have other additional expenses, such as flight change fees. To support and protect our community, we’ve created this fund to cover unexpected and unavoidable additional expenses based on this sudden development. More information about this fund and how to apply for reimbursement is included below. 2. Full Refunds and Coupons for Travelers. If a guest receives a cancellation for a reservation on or after June 15 due to the listing not having a license number, we will provide a full refund and a coupon worth at least 100% of the booking value to use on a future Airbnb trip. In addition, these guests will receive a $100 coupon for an Airbnb Experience. Refunds and coupons will be processed within 10 days. 3. Help Finding a Place to Stay. If a guest can’t find accommodations that meets their needs on Airbnb, JTB – a leading travel agency in Japan with access to other accommodation options throughout the country – is available to assist with finding a new place to stay. Guests can visit JAPANiCAN for assistance and more information. 4. 24/7 Support. Our team is here to help, and we are standing by 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Guests who need assistance can reach us by calling 1-855-424-7262 or emailing us at [email protected]. The following is an email reply from Airbnb that you will receive in response to your query: On top of the refund effort mention above, you may be eligible for additional reimbursement. Airbnb will evaluate all reimbursement requests on a case-by-case basis. Generally, Airbnb will reimburse guests for reasonable additional expenses incurred as a result of a cancellation. To apply for reimbursement, please send Airbnb:
A member of Airbnb team will evaluate the documents you submit, contact you if there are any questions, and process your reimbursement. Receipts can be submitted to [email protected] Kudos to Airbnb for their response effort to a law change that they cannot control.
To those that may be affected by this issue, I hope that it can be resolved soon and may you enjoy your upcoming trips. Cheers!
0 Comments
|
KelvinYo. I am from Singapore. I love to travel. Follow me as I share my experiences and tips for budget travelling as well as my hunt for Ho Kangs around Singapore. Archives
November 2020
Categories
All
|