ANN ARBOR – Traverse Legal Principal Enrico Schaefer updates the latest news on the class action lawsuit he has filed against AirBnb on behalf of hosts who allege they have been cheated out of deposit refunds triggered largely by reservation cancellations from the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The Players: Airbnb, Inc., Airbnb Payments, Inc, and Airbnb Payments UK Ltd. (collectively “Airbnb”), operating through Airbnb.com, is a software platform acting as a ‘directory’ of short-term rental listings posted by its users (“hosts”). Listings added to the directory by hosts are organized by location and are shown to travelers looking for alternatives to hotels and resorts. Travelers can use the Airbnb search feature of the website to locate and book short term rentals (“STRs”) with hosts. Travelers locate properties primarily through a search feature filtered by the host cancellation policy, the traveler’s selected destination, travel dates, the ‘star’ rating of the host, and potential “Super Host’ classification of the host.

Airbnb Hosts have filed class action litigation against Airbnb, Inc and Airbnb Payments, Inc. in California seeking monetary damages and injunctive relief.