With non-essential travel banned throughout B.C., tourists are being asked to stay out of the West Coast but at least one Airbnb host is offering conflicting messaging.
A Victoria woman told the Westerly B次元官网网址 on Sunday that she had recently tried to cancel an Airbnb reservation in Tofino and was both surprised and disappointed when the host encouraged her to travel to the community and declined to offer a refund.
B次元官网网址淭hey were urging me to come out even though Premier [John] Horgan had made it very, very clear that this is not the time to be going to Tofino,B次元官网网址� the woman, who identified herself as Elizabeth and declined to give her last name out of privacy concerns, said. B次元官网网址淐ompanies like Airbnb are still encouraging tourism and travel in a time where itB次元官网网址檚 really not recommended, especially for these isolated communities that have such little resources.B次元官网网址�
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She said she had planned to travel to Tofino on Nov. 19 and booked the Airbnb on Oct. 14.
When she saw Premier John Horgan and Dr. Bonnie Henry speak against non-essential travel in the days leading up to her vacation however, she reached out to her Airbnb host to cancel.
B次元官网网址淒r. Bonnie Henry made it really clear specifically not to go to Tofino due to the fact that we risk increased transmission and we risk outbreaks in these small communities,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 enjoy the beaches and of course I enjoy playing in the water and surfing, but now is absolutely not the time to come out there and I appreciate that.B次元官网网址�
She said the host encouraged her to travel anyway and assured her the suite was contained.
B次元官网网址淪he said the only way I would get a refund is if she would be able to rebook the suite for that weekendB次元官网网址� I probably wonB次元官网网址檛 get my money back and I get it, itB次元官网网址檚 a business, but it very much bothered me that she was still rebooking the suite despite the fact that the province made these announcements and itB次元官网网址檚 just a very depressing thing to me because I felt like IB次元官网网址檓 kind of being punished for trying to do the right thing,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淚 did tell her that I was very disappointed that someone living in the community would be attracting tourism right now.B次元官网网址�
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She said she reached out to Airbnb and was told refunds are up to the host.
B次元官网网址淚 hope everyone is putting a lot more thought and consciousness into travelling in these uncertain times,B次元官网网址� she said. B次元官网网址淎t the end of the day, I think a bit of peer pressure and public awareness is almost the route we need to go because, unfortunately, some people are not taking government and public health statements very seriously.B次元官网网址�
TofinoB次元官网网址檚 acting mayor Britt Chalmers said the district is urging all accommodation providers to abide by the provinceB次元官网网址檚 travel restrictions.
B次元官网网址淲e realize that cancellations are tough on accommodation providers, especially for the vacation rental owners who lost revenue earlier this year when travel to the West Coast was curtailed at the beginning of the pandemic. Even though the major booking systems like Airbnb may hold back fees as a fraction of the booking amount, we believe that itB次元官网网址檚 the right thing to do to cancel all reservations until Dec. 8,B次元官网网址� Chalmers said.
B次元官网网址淎 hotel has one decision for many rooms, we now have many rooms with many different people making the decisions. I strongly believe that the vast majority are doing the right thing, but even as you have illegal vacation rentals, there are going to be people that donB次元官网网址檛B次元官网网址t is the individualB次元官网网址檚 choice and the district is trying very strongly to get the message out to everybody in the community to encourage rescheduling, cancellations and to not travel out of the community. ItB次元官网网址檚 just strong encouragement across the community on all fronts because we all have to do our part.B次元官网网址�
She said that while travel is being discouraged, locals are being encouraged to support their own townB次元官网网址檚 economy.
B次元官网网址淭he recommendations are to stay local, so letB次元官网网址檚 support local,B次元官网网址� she said.
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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