Skip to main content

Tamburino Talks Law: Coronavirus and Vacation Rental Refunds



The Coronavirus crisis has affected every aspect of our lives including our plans for vacations. Many people have had to cancel their vacations and specifically they’ve had to cancel their paid reservations for short-term rentals with businesses like Airbnb, VRBO, and Direct Rental. So, people are wondering – what, if any, recourse do they have to get a refund?

Click here to watch this: Tamburino Talks Law Topic

In order to answer that we need to look at four issues.

First, look at the individual contracts with the short-term rentals. When you reserve a short-term rental you form a contract with them, and the contract may have provisions for refunds or provisions for refunds due to “acts of God” or “force majeure” which means a superior force (hurricanes, tornadoes, fires, floods, or pandemics) that cause the rental to be voided. If your contract includes such provisions, you may be eligible for a refund.

Second, look at the provider’s current updates on their websites. For example, Airbnb and VRBO have updated their websites with new information concerning cancellations due to the Covid-19 crisis. Airbnb is giving refunds for reservations on dates between March 14th through May 31st that were cancelled because of the virus. On the other hand, VRBO is strongly encouraging their providers to give vouchers and/or partial refunds for reservations on dates between March 13th and April 30th that were cancelled because of the virus.

Third, look at the executive orders issued in the state where you planned on vacationing. For example, Gov. DeSantis of Florida has issued an executive order which has prohibited short-term rentals until April 30th. He defined short-term rentals to include all rentals that are less than 30 days, which basically covers almost all of Airbnb’s and VRBO’s rentals. Therefore, anyone who rented a place for a couple of weeks in Orlando in April, will have to cancel their plans.

Lastly, review the particular state’s attorney general’s website. Here in Minnesota, our attorney general, Keith Ellison, is accepting emails and comments from citizens who wish to report that a business has treated them unfairly. So, anyone could email our attorney general and submit a complaint regarding their negative experience with a short-term rental provider.

All of this means that you may be eligible for a refund for your cancellation. You should review all of the above to determine what your options are.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tamburino Talks Law: Gov. Walz Issues Statewide Mask Order

Click Here to Listen to Tamburino Talks Law: Governor Walz Issues Statewide Mask Order When the new rule goes into effect July 25th, Minnesota will be the latest of about 30 states who've introduced similar mask-wearing requirements. Gov. Walz makes it mandatory that anyone older than 2 years old wear a mask when they enter any building or structure that is open to the public.  Such places would include gas stations, stores, coffee shops, public restrooms and schools.   Public and private schools and places of higher-learning are expected to open in some form this fall, and anyone entering those places (students, faculty, staff, or visitors) would need to wear a mask as part of the order.  The order would also apply to anyone in daycare and after-school centers, which means that a 4 year old child in preschool up to a twenty-something student in college would need to wear masks when they’re at school. While individuals can face a misdemeanor fine of up to $100 or a busine...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tamburino Talks Law: Minnesota on New York State Travel Advisory List

Click Here to Listen to Tamburino Talks Law: Minnesota on New York State Travel  Advisory  List  Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York recently added Minnesota to the list of approximately 22 states that are part of  New York  special travel advisories and quarantine rules.   New York  decided that any person traveling to  New York  from a state that has a positive Covid-19 testing rate in excess of 10%, or a number of positive cases exceeding 10 per 100,000 residents, based on a 7 day rolling average, must self quarantine for 14 days before they are allowed to travel freely within  New York  state.  There are exceptions for essential workers (such as health care professionals), and for people who are simply traveling through  New York  and would only be in the state for less than 24 hours.  The new rules also differentiate airline travel from non-airline travel.  First, if you fly into any airport in  New York...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tamburino Talks Law: Wisconsin pharmacist charged in vaccine case

  A Wisconsin pharmacist convinced the world was “crashing down” told police he tried to ruin hundreds of doses of coronavirus vaccine because he believed the shots would mutate people’s DNA, according to court documents released Monday. Police north of Milwaukee, arrested Advocate Aurora Health pharmacist Steven Brandenburg last week following an investigation into the 57 spoiled vials of the Modern vaccine, which officials say contained enough doses to inoculate more than 500 people. Charges are pending. A detective wrote in a probable cause statement that Brandenburg, 46, is an admitted conspiracy theorist and that he told investigators he intentionally tried to ruin the vaccine because it could hurt people by changing their DNA. Misinformation around the COVID-19 vaccines has surged online with false claims circulating on everything from the vaccines’ ingredients to its possible side effects. What are the full scope of charges Brandenburg could face related to tampering with CO...
Post a Comment
Read more