A Bookabach host is facing criticism for his refusal to reschedule a two-night stay at his Muriwai property for a group of young women unable to make the trip due to alert level 4 lockdown.
Auckland mum Sarah and her friends feel "ripped off" after paying more than $500 for accomodation from August 28 - 30 which was unable to be redeemed after COVID-19's Delta variant re-emerged in the Auckland community.
She had booked a girls weekend for herself and four friends, liaising with host David Young about the stay.
It was supposed to be the first weekend she and her best friend Chelcie were taking away from their kids since they were born.
Chelcie told Newshub the pair had been reluctant to have time away from their baby boys, but after some encouragement from their partners they decided to take a "much-needed girls weekend".
The three-bedroom home is billed as an "exclusive Sanctuary on the West Coast" with a garden and a balcony, around 600m from Muriwai Beach.
"Super nervous being too far away from our babies we booked only 15 minutes from our homes. Sarah and I started saving and booked the accommodation a month ago and we have been looking forward to this immensely. It's pretty much all we talked about the last month," she said.
When alert level 4 was announced on Tuesday, Chelcie says the prospect of losing the accommodation booking wasn't the first thing that jumped to mind.
"The uncertainty associated with COVID isn't nice for anyone… [but we thought] when we got out of lockdown we would be able to enjoy our booked girls holiday."
But two days later, Sarah's efforts to reschedule had been ignored by the host after emails, phone calls and leaving a voicemail.
In a screenshot supplied to Newshub of the interaction, David eventually replied: "We can not do any changes at the moment".
Confused, the group then attempted to change the dates through the app but David declined them. Cancellation policies on Bookabach are determined by each individual holiday homeowner.
"I asked for his reasonings to why we could change the date as he had no bookings for the next three months and had no reply so we contacted Bookabach customer service," Chelcie says.
"They had us on a 3-way call and he said, 'is this a conference call?' and that he didn't want to be part of it, then hung up on us."
The group then told David they were not wanting a refund but for their booking to be honoured because of the circumstances.
"He replied: 'Hi Sarah, sorry to hear about that. Please reach out to the insurance company you got your travel insurance'."
For a trip so close to home, the group didn't think they would need travel insurance.
Chelcie says David's response is more than disappointing.
"It's a time when people should be lifting each other up and doing their part. It's not the Kiwi way at all."
The initial booking amount came to $901.65, with the accommodation totalling $598 - $299 for each night's stay.
The payment is made in two instalments - the first deducted from Sarah's account totalling $503.15.
Once it was discovered David would not allow them to reschedule, Sarah was forced to contact her bank to stop payment on the outstanding $398.50 which includes a cleaning fee of $199 and the Bookabach service fee of $104.65.
"I feel we have been treated poorly and have been ripped off, when you pay for a service you are entitled to it and in this case that got taken from us out of pure greed."
Sarah and Chelcie said they're gutted and Bookabach has nothing in place this lockdown to protect travellers from money being taken with nothing in return.
"Bookabach have not been helpful at all - no help or guidance throughout the situation.
"Offer a credit for full value and flexible stay dates within the next year at no additional cost instead to travellers who can't take trips now due to COVID-19."
A Bookabach spokesperson confirmed Sarah had been in touch about contacting the host.
"The traveller had not been in touch with us again after they had tried to consult with the host, but now that we know the outcome, the Bookabach team is getting in touch with the traveller today and we will be refunding the traveller service fee which is the part of the booking that gets paid to Bookabach.
"Our customer service team had been in touch with the host last week but they stood by their cancellation policy in place at the time of booking."
Newshub's repeated attempts to contact David Young for comment were unanswered.
