Vancouver — An Ontario man who cancelled a Whistler, B.C., vacation at the height of Canada's third wave of COVID-19 cases isn't entitled to a refund, the province's small claims tribunal has ruled.
Paul Byrne sued Whistler Wired Vacations Inc. through B.C.'s civil resolution tribunal hoping to recoup most of the $3,748 he spent on a six-night stay in a vacation home, arguing that pandemic-related circumstances had rendered the rental unusable.
His vacation was supposed to begin on April 6, but the provincial government ordered the Whistler-Blackcomb Ski Resort into an early-season closure on March 29 due to high levels of COVID-19 transmission in the community.
Byrne noted that the rental was advertised as a ski-in, ski-out property.
He also argued the stay-at-home order Ontario imposed in early April should have triggered a clause in his rental contract ensuring him a full refund, minus a four per cent booking fee.
Tribunal member Shelley Lopez wasn't convinced.
While the resort's closure ensured no one would be skiing in or out of Byrne's rental home, Lopez noted the rental agreement he signed featured a force majeure clause covering unexpected closures due to insufficient snow and "other circumstances" beyond Whistler Wired Vacations' control.
The company does not provide refunds under those circumstances, according to the terms of the contract.
And while the agreement did promise a full refund in the event of "a government imposed border closure, or travel ban, prohibiting (the renter) from leaving (their) home province, or from entering British Columbia," Ontario's stay-at-home order didn't take effect until April 8 – two days after Byrne was supposed to have arrived.
It was announced on April 7, at which point Byrne had already tried to cancel his booking, according to the decision.
"Ontario's restrictions did not prohibit Mr. Byrne's April 6 trip and booking," Lopez wrote, adding there were also "no applicable B.C. restrictions preventing Mr. Byrne's travel."
She acknowledged he might have faced a 14-day quarantine upon his return to Ontario, however.
After the B.C. government closed the Whistler-Blackcomb Ski Resort, the rental company told the tribunal it contacted Byrne and offered him either a full credit or 50 per cent refund, but that he refused to accept anything less than a full refund.
Lopez ultimately found Byrne was not entitled to a refund under the terms of their contract, and that Whistler Wired Vacations' previous offers "are not binding on it, particularly given this litigation."
The tribunal also noted the rental agreement recommended that guests consider purchasing vacation insurance from a third party.
