Airbnb refusing refund despite promises

Pootle1

We had an Airbnb reservation for a flat in Barcelona from Jun 3-8 2020. Following Airbnb's announcement on March 13th, my wife cancelled on March 28th. The host have refused to refund any money.

My wife raised a complaint with Airbnb and received an email saying "We reviewed your reservation carefully and confirmed that when you canceled this reservation on Mar 28, 2020, it was not covered by our Extenuating Circumstances Policy, which went into effect on Jun 3, 2020. According to the standard agreement between hosts and guests on Airbnb, the host’s strict cancellation policy was upheld. Your host was paid according to the terms of your original agreement, and Airbnb no longer has access to your payment to refund it."

There is no mention of any of this on Airbnb's website : https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/2701/extenuating-circumstances-policy-and-the-coronavirus-covid19 . There it says: "Reservations for stays and Airbnb Experiences made on or before 14 March 2020, with a check-in date between 14 March 2020 and 30 June 2020, are covered by the policy and may be cancelled before check-in."

Nothing restricting the date the cancellation should be made. No mention of "Jun 3, 2020".

They are not keeping their promise. What should we do?

Thrugelmir

Complain.................

missile

You made a mistake. I also had a booking with Airbnb. Back in March i.e. at the time you (and I) cancelled, per T&Cs you were required to contact host to request cancellation. If and only if they agreed did you get a refund. 

Pootle1

missile said:

You made a mistake. I also had a booking with Airbnb. Back in March i.e. at the time you (and I) cancelled, per T&Cs you were required to contact host to request cancellation. If and only if they agreed did you get a refund. 

That is no different to their normal cancellation policy, so what is the meaning of the new Extenuating Circumstances Policy, promising a full refund as per their webpage above? Read the wording, it says reservations "may be cancelled before check-in" with no other restrictions mentioned.