A hearing will take place in Montreal Dec. 3 to authorize a settlement between Airbnb and those Quebecers who found themselves charged fees higher than those indicated on the rental service’s mobile application and desktop website.
In a ruling on Sept. 23, Superior Court Justice Lukasz Granosik authorized the class action for the purpose of reaching a settlement that would consist of a maximum credit of $45 being issued for use on the Airbnb platform to those users in Quebec who were charged fees higher than those posted on the websites. Airbnb’s credits will have a maximum gross value of $3 million, according to a copy of the transaction agreement.
Users covered by the settlement would be “every person residing in Quebec, who between August 22, 2014, and June 26, 2019, while located in the province of Quebec, made a booking for anywhere in the world, for a purpose other than business travel, using Airbnb’s websites and/or mobile application and who paid a price higher than the price initially advertised by Airbnb (excluding the QST or the GST).”
The class action was launched by LPC Avocats after a plaintiff alleged that Airbnb violated Quebec law by showing consumers one price, but then added 13 per cent to 17 per cent more in the form of “service fees” as part of the final step of using its mobile application and desktop website.
Airbnb denied the allegations or that it violated the law, but on June 26, 2019, changed its pricing display for users accessing the platform from Quebec. The pricing showed accommodations that included applicable guest fees, resulting in pricing that is all-inclusive except for taxes and optional costs or services.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2019
