Chuck,
I think it will be a very rare situation where an OTA will allow anything in our RA to override/affect cancellation policy as established in their platform. I agree it would be nice to have more tracking and evidence, but I think it's inherently complex. Changing a single punctuation can affect a legal document, and it would be unlikely for VRBO for example to get legal advice on interpreting anything in your RA. Only in the most extreme situations involving legal action.
I think of the RA for use in a different manner - if I am every severely impacted and cannot be made financially whole by the platform, I can always choose to pursue court action using my RA. I expect to never do that, it's just a safety net.
In any case, in my RA I say the following:
Guest is advised to purchase travel insurance. Guest agrees that Owner is not in a position to refund any payments except as covered by the cancellation policy. Absolutely no refunds will be made after Guest checks into the Property for any reason. No refunds shall be made for inclement weather conditions, health issues, pandemics or any other reason. Guest acknowledges that weather is inherently unpredictable and Owner has no control over accessibility of public or private roads leading to the Property. At times during inclement weather, mountain roads may be temporarily closed to traffic.
Notwithstanding anything in this provision to the contrary, in the event that Guest is entitled to any refund due to cancellation, retention of service fees shall be governed by the terms of the rental website or other booking provider, if applicable. Owner does not directly charge and will not retain any service fees.
Cancellation policy:
Cancellation policy for bookings paid using VRBO, Homeaway, Airbnb, Expedia and similar online travel agencies will be as determined at booking time on those electronic platforms.
Cancellation policy for bookings with initial and/or full payments directly between Owner and Guest shall be as follows
If Guest cancels this Agreement and
• If the notice of cancellation is provided more than 60 days before the Arrival Date, all amounts paid by Guest shall be refunded to Guest;
• If the notice of cancellation is provided 31 - 60 days before the Arrival Date, 50% of the total booking amount amounts paid by Guest shall be refunded to Guest; provided however that at a minimum, Owner shall be entitled to retain the entire Initial Payment; and
• If the notice of cancellation is provided less than 31 days before the Arrival Date, no amount shall be refunded and Owner shall be entitled to retain all amounts tendered.
