An angry traveler claims Airbnb is denying her a refund and rebooking after she tried to cancel a vacation rental near the Los Angeles wildfire danger zone.

The landlord addressed the ordeal in a comment to the Post.

Ana Mostarac detailed the saga in an X post Tuesday night as the wildfire raged through the affluent West Los Angeles area, setting fire to millions of dollars’ worth of cars, schools and homes.

Mostarac, who booked a vacation rental near the Pacific Palisades area, said on

Despite the force majeure, the rental company rejected the finance manager’s request on the grounds that it was not covered by their catastrophe insurance.

“We’re sorry to hear that you won’t be able to make your upcoming reservation,” they said in a screenshot of their exchange. “Unfortunately, this cancellation is not covered by our Major Disruption Policy. This means your host’s strict cancellation policy applies.”

Mostarac was angry at the reaction.

“Thank you Airbnb,” she teased in the post’s caption.

“As always, their policies have not taken context into account,” she explained in a follow-up post. “The fires are getting worse and unfortunately many others are probably having to explain the bushfires to someone in another country at the moment.”

“You failed at the moment when it mattered most,” she continued.

X viewers sympathized with her plight.

“I hope you’re well, Ana! “Lord, pray the house doesn’t burn down,” one said. “What an inhumane response from @Airbnbhelp.”

“So basically you have to pay them even if they can’t accommodate you?” exclaimed another.

Mostarac replied: “That is my understanding.”

Airbnb representatives have looked into the incident and claimed the initial refund denial was because she booked after the fire started. “In this case, the guest booked on the evening of January 7, after the wildfires began,” a company spokeswoman told the Post.

However, she added that due to the “rapidly evolving situation,” the company “has contacted the guest to provide a full refund as a goodwill gesture.”

She also pointed to Airbnb’s Major Disruptive Events policy, which, according to the website, allows guests to cancel their reservation and receive a full refund and travel credit if it is impacted by “major events” that prevent the completion of a reservation or “legally forbid”. Hosts can also cancel without “fees or other adverse consequences.”

This overrides the standard refund policy, which states that refunds are at the discretion of the property host.

However, Airbnb notes that they only cover natural disasters if they result in events that “prevent the fulfillment of the reservation, such as: B. a mandatory evacuation order or a widespread failure of essential utilities.”

“When a major event occurs, we assess the situation to determine whether the Major Disruptive Event Policy applies,” the guidelines say. “If this is the case, we activate the policy for the affected area and period during which we expect the event to prevent or legally prohibit the completion of reservations.”

They add that “reservations outside the defined area and time frame may not be eligible.”

The exact location of the Airbnb rental in Mostarac is not clear.

The Post has reached out to the company for comment.