Airbnb Accused in Lawsuit of Ripping Off Hosts and Guests With Covid Refund Policy
Photo Credit: Airbnb hosts and guests in Cape Town, South Africa during happier times. A class action lawsuit on behalf of hosts seeks compensation because of Airbnb's pro-guest refund policy during the first months of Covid-19. Airbnb
Skift Take
This lawsuit on behalf of hosts will do little to deter Airbnb's proposed initial public offering. Although it will generate negative headlines, large companies like Airbnb often treat class action lawsuits as the price of doing business.
A lawsuit seeking class action status, filed Thursday in San Francisco on behalf of Airbnb hosts, alleges the company's refund policy in the United States during the first wave of the Covid-19 crisis ripped off both hosts and guests, and that the short-term rental giant secretly profited by retaining some of the monies in question for itself.
The lawsuit (embedded below), filed by the Gibbs Law Group and Traverse Legal, seeks class action status on behalf of the thousands of Airbnb hosts, treble and punitive damages, and injunctive relief. This includes an accounting of what Airbnb did with the money after announcing in March that it would unilaterally issue full refunds to guests caught in the Covid-19 travel collapse, and leaving hosts in financial distress.
The lawsuit filing takes place as Airbnb is poised to make public, perhaps next week, its initial public offering registration paperwork with the permission of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Airbnb initial
