Consumer panel orders Goa resort, Airbnb to pay Rs 10,000 to city resident for causing injury to her daughter

The complainant said that she along with her husband and daughter stayed in the room and when they were ready to check out and had been waiting for Mantu, a caretaker at the resort, to complete the formalities, he came around 1 pm and went to the room where her six-month old daughter was sleeping.

“The caretaker pulled the bedsheets and pillows as a result my daughter fell on the floor and started screaming and crying. Due to the caretaker’s negligence, my daughter suffered injuries and went into shock for which I had also taken online consultation from the doctor.

I reported the caretaker’s act to Airbnb and resort but, instead of taking action against him, they declared him as a ‘super host’,” Sharma alleged. For Airbnb, no one appeared despite notice, hence it was proceeded against ex parte.

Replying to the charges, Sky Villa Resort alleged the complainant’s husband Mayank Thakur had booked the property and on March 6, they reminded Thakur of the check-out time as 11 am, but he sought some more time for checking out and they conceded his request free of cost without any additional payment or consideration till 1 pm.

“Around 1 pm when Mantu visited the room, even at that time the complainant and her family were not ready to check out and asked Mantu that they would vacate by 1.30pm, as their taxi would come at that time.

Mantu then started cleaning the room, where the complainant was present and when he started tidying up things and tried to remove the bedsheets, the complainant’s daughter, who was wrapped by a blanket, fell, for which the caretaker immediately apologised to them,” the resort said.

The Commission on verifying the copy of the email dated July 25, 2022, along with documents provided by the complainant, found Airbnb and resort had offered a goodwill, one-time courtesy refund via a coupon worth Rs 4,320.02 to the complainant’s husband, but the coupon amount was never transferred/paid to the complainant.

“As it stands proved on record that the complainant’s daughter had fallen from the blanket in which she was wrapped while cleaning the room by the caretaker of the OPs (opposite parties), and that too due to the negligence of the caretaker, the said act clearly amounts to deficiency in service on the part of the OPs,” the Commission said.

The Commission said, “It is safe to hold that the complainant has successfully proved the cause of action set up in the consumer complaint and the present consumer complaint deserves to succeed. Thus, it ordered the resort and Airbnb to pay Rs 5,000 to the complainant along with interest at 9 per cent per annum from the date of institution of the present consumer complaint, which is June 10, 2022 onwards, along with Rs5,000 as costs of litigation.