“Infuriated” Airbnb guest slammed for “selfish” response after Hurricane Helene ruins vacation

An Airbnb guest was “infuriated” when she thought she wouldn’t be refunded for her vacation that was canceled due to Hurricane Helene in a saga that’s going viral on TikTok.

Hurricane Helene struck the southeast United States with life-threatening flooding on Wednesday, September 25, and continued to cause devastation in several states until Friday, September 27.

While many people lost their cars, homes, and everything they once owned, one TikToker named Chelsea was more concerned about the Hurricane ruining her mountain vacation at an Airbnb, which was located in an impacted area.

Chelsea, who is an Airbnb host herself, stated in a viral clip that she was “infuriated” after she was initially offered a partial refund for her vacation rental. 

She and her family of six booked the $2,500 getaway before information about the Hurricane was ever released. “We booked a mountain vacation not knowing that a Hurricane was gonna come and destroy the little town we were supposed to be going to, and we cannot be refunded,” she said. 

“When a natural disaster, that is out of everybody’s hands, hits, I expect some sort of accommodation… some sort of understanding,” she added.

As her rant continued, Chelsea explained how unfair it was to still be “expected” to go on her vacation or take the partial refund. She also claimed that natural disasters should always result in a full refund because, apart from rescue and aid, nobody should be booking accommodations in impacted areas anyway.

She added that her frustration stemmed from the property management company, Evolve, allegedly saying that they had to contact the Airbnb host before a full refund could be processed. Evolve books short-term rentals, servicing over 30,000 Airbnb hosts. 

“To make matters worse, how do we know that the owner doesn’t live in the area and isn’t stranded themselves? How do we know that we’re even gonna hear from the owner?” she questioned.

After her TikTok went viral, many viewers commented on how “selfish” she sounded, adding that they were disappointed to hear someone so concerned about money in a time of tragedy.

“Is she actually being serious? People are dead, towns are completely washed away and she thinks that they are going to prioritize HER MONEY over the people/towns lost or underwater? That’s wild bro,” wrote one.

“Her loss of money is minuscule compared to the lives lost. Your entitlement is showing,” said another.

Following the backlash, Chelsea posted an update to set the record straight. “It’s been brought to my attention that my last post about canceling our mountain vacation has struck a few nerves,” she said.

“My post was basically stating that the remote realty company [Evolve] handling the Airbnb for whoever the owner is, needs to be able to make the executive decision and cancel all reservations in surrounding [and] devastated areas.” 

Not only that, but she shared that due to Airbnb’s activated Major Disruptive Events Policy, she would be getting a full refund, after all. 

“In the rare circumstances that large-scale events prevent or legally prohibit completion of a reservation, the Major Disruptive Events Policy (the “Policy”) may apply,” Airbnb states on their website.

“When this Policy applies, guests can cancel their reservation and receive a refund, travel credit, and/or other consideration regardless of the reservation’s cancellation policy, and Hosts can cancel without fees or other adverse consequences, although their listing’s calendar will be blocked for the dates of the canceled reservation.”

Though those affected by Hurricane Helene are just beginning to piece their lives back together after the devastation, influencers and communities have donated supplies. Logan Paul and KSI’s Prime Hydration even made a huge supply drop in North Carolina.