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Coronavirus information and extenuating circumstances policy

airbnb.com

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Re: Coronavirus information and extenuating circumstances policy

#51

Post by sciinfo »

evilnames wrote: post #5

Airbnb, and others, cancellation policies will be a major reason for the spread of this virus. The sunk cost fallacy is alive and well here, people don't want to lose money just because they feel sick even though they know they shouldn't go when not feeling well. I think at this time the travel industry needs to stand up and relax it's policies even further. Airbnb will not refund you a stay unless your flight has be…

A hotel speeded up the international outbreak of SARS in 2003.

"The Metropole Hotel hastened the international spread of the 2003 SARS outbreak by the index case infecting visitors from Singapore, Vietnam, Canada as well as local people via close contact with the index case and the environmental contamination. The one-week quarantine of more than 300 guests and staff at the Metropark Hotel during the 2009 H1N1 swine flu exposed gaps in the partnership with the hotel industry. The subsequent guidelines for the hotel industry from the Centre of Health Protection focused largely on the maintenance of hygiene within the hotel premises."

https://globalizationandhealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10...

"This hotel is infamous as ground zero for a SARS ‘super spreader’ in the 2003 outbreak—here’s what happened"

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/14/hong-kong-hotel-hosted-super...

Re: Coronavirus information and extenuating circumstances policy

#52

Post by RileyJames »

sjg007 wrote: post #47
graeme wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The link says you can only automatically cancel for mainland china and korean trips. So any trips to Italy, Iran, Washington State etc can’t be refunded. It encourages people to still go. Sunk cost fallacy: people might not take a free trip to italy now, but they may go if they previously paid for one.

I would be surprised if Airbnb does business in Iran...

You don’t need Airbnb in Iran. Walk down 2 block of Tehran and by the end one or more people will have offered you their homes, for free..

You only need to book somewhere to stay for downtime/private time.

Re: Coronavirus information and extenuating circumstances policy

#53

Post by Thorrez »

DyslexicAtheist wrote: post #41
agumonkey wrote: post #16

Where's the alexa plugin that infers your covid19 status based on the sound of your voice, breathing, coughing and internet queries for medicine and things you can binge watch for a month ?

> things you can binge watch for a month? this should get you through March :) ... The Seventh Seal (1957) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050976/ The Last Man on Earth (1964) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058700/ The Omega Man (1971) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067525/ The Andromeda Strain (1971) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0066769/ Dawn of the Dead (1978) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0077402/ Outbreak (1995) https…

Is watching 1 movie/day considered a binge?

Re: Coronavirus information and extenuating circumstances policy

#54

Post by gruez »

RileyJames wrote: post #52
sjg007 wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would be surprised if Airbnb does business in Iran...

You don’t need Airbnb in Iran. Walk down 2 block of Tehran and by the end one or more people will have offered you their homes, for free.. You only need to book somewhere to stay for downtime/private time.

>Walk down 2 block of Tehran and by the end one or more people will have offered you their homes, for free..

Wait what? Is there more to this?

Re: Coronavirus information and extenuating circumstances policy

#55

Post by jtdev »

Shocking to see that sunk cost fallacy and groupthink are driving decision making rather than sound science and medicine.

Here’s a rather ironic example: HIMSS 2020, a conference of ~45000 attendees from 90+ countries is still scheduled to go forward at Orange County Convention Center March 9-13 - even as major participants withdraw from the event.

I was actually blocked by HIMSS PR folks on Twitter for inquiring about their preparedness plan... which is inadequate to say the least. To top it off, HHS Secretary Alex Azar is a keynote speaker, so now it’s also a huge political can of worms.

Re: Coronavirus information and extenuating circumstances policy

#56

Post by maxerickson »

mlthoughts2018 wrote: post #49
maxerickson wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The costs of the cancellations may exceed the profits of the company (In which case it's still appropriate for investors to take the loss, I'm just pointing out that there's a wider range of possibilities). Or the pricing of refundable tickets vs non-refundable tickets. It turns out if you agree to take on the risk of cancellation, most corporations are willing to give you a lower price on the ticket. Constraining th…

> “ It turns out if you agree to take on the risk of cancellation” This is a common fallacy that we can use the pricing mechanism to account for the risk. But whether it’s food poisoning (cheaper prices for expired goods), labor externalities (cheaper prices for goods made with slave / child / exploitative labor), or geopolitical risks (cheaper prices for travel that can be cancelled for reasons that regular citizens…

I'm not suggesting the pricing mechanism can be used to fully account for the risk, I'm suggesting that it isn't simply a matter of banning certain contractual conditions, that it is prudent to also consider the inevitable increase in prices that will accompany some of those actions. If you are comfortable with the higher prices, fine. As I point out in my other comment, real world behavior suggests a preference for low prices.

I'm not arguing against regulation, I'm arguing for regulation that acknowledges that certain regulations have an obvious impact on pricing.

There's plenty of middle ground. Bed and breakfast regulation could include a provision allowing the government to make public health the higher priority and require refunds during some declared period of time, and let operators set their own terms otherwise.

Re: Coronavirus information and extenuating circumstances policy

#57

Post by PeterisP »

entwife wrote: post #20

I'm traveling in Seattle, where as of this morning the health department has confirmed 6 cases of coronavirus of which only one was a recent traveler to China.[0] I would appreciate the ability to cancel a reservation if I feel sick, especially at a reservation with a shared bathroom. [0] https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus

If you're from Seattle, then the recent research of Trevor Bedford (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) and the Seattle Flu Study group might be relevant - they've posted a quick summary on https://twitter.com/trvrb/status/1233971278735761409 while there's still the weekend; but in essence they've done genetic analysis of the Covid-19 strains in Washington sate, and it suggests the following worrying things:

1. their analysis (virus mutations / differences in individual patients?) suggests it has been spreading in Washington state for some 6 weeks already;

2. "Our best current expectation is a few hundred current infections" (that's about WA only! not the entire USA) - it's not confirmed and identified cases, but the number suggested by virus variation; it's not like there's 6 patients who have all been "imported" or form a single clear cluster, they have been infected by some patients who have not been identified, have not been isolated, and have been spreading it in the cummunity.

To me the situation in Washington State seems very similar to where Italy was a week ago.

Re: Coronavirus information and extenuating circumstances policy

#58

Post by ghaff »

jtdev wrote: post #55

Shocking to see that sunk cost fallacy and groupthink are driving decision making rather than sound science and medicine. Here’s a rather ironic example: HIMSS 2020, a conference of ~45000 attendees from 90+ countries is still scheduled to go forward at Orange County Convention Center March 9-13 - even as major participants withdraw from the event. I was actually blocked by HIMSS PR folks on Twitter for inquiring abo…

What sorts of preparations would you consider adequate--other than not holding the event? While some things are being cancelled or postponed, the fact is that there are events and travel still happening more or less as usual around most of the world. People are still taking public transit. People are still going into offices. Sporting events are going on. I honestly have trouble distinguishing most of the events that have been cancelled (outside of Asia) from those that are going on.

For example, there was just a ~45,000 person security conference held in SF last week.

Re: Coronavirus information and extenuating circumstances policy

#59

Post by sci_prog »

PeterisP wrote: post #57
entwife wrote: post #20

I'm traveling in Seattle, where as of this morning the health department has confirmed 6 cases of coronavirus of which only one was a recent traveler to China.[0] I would appreciate the ability to cancel a reservation if I feel sick, especially at a reservation with a shared bathroom. [0] https://www.doh.wa.gov/Emergencies/Coronavirus

If you're from Seattle, then the recent research of Trevor Bedford (Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center) and the Seattle Flu Study group might be relevant - they've posted a quick summary on https://twitter.com/trvrb/status/1233971278735761409 while there's still the weekend; but in essence they've done genetic analysis of the Covid-19 strains in Washington sate, and it suggests the following worrying things: 1. t…

You couldn't be more right. Just wait for the news from kirkland hospital that should be coming out today

Re: Coronavirus information and extenuating circumstances policy

#60

Post by pbourke »

ghaff wrote: post #58
jtdev wrote: post #55

Shocking to see that sunk cost fallacy and groupthink are driving decision making rather than sound science and medicine. Here’s a rather ironic example: HIMSS 2020, a conference of ~45000 attendees from 90+ countries is still scheduled to go forward at Orange County Convention Center March 9-13 - even as major participants withdraw from the event. I was actually blocked by HIMSS PR folks on Twitter for inquiring abo…

What sorts of preparations would you consider adequate--other than not holding the event? While some things are being cancelled or postponed, the fact is that there are events and travel still happening more or less as usual around most of the world. People are still taking public transit. People are still going into offices. Sporting events are going on. I honestly have trouble distinguishing most of the events that…

It’s simple: large, non-essential public gatherings need to be cancelled. Especially if they involve substantial travel from attendees.

It’s fiddling while Rome has caught fire to do anything else.

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