19. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Agreement
19.1 This Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Agreement shall apply if your (i) country of residence or establishment is in the United States; or (ii) your country of residence or establishment is not in the United States, but bring any claim against Airbnb in the United States (to the extent not in conflict with Section 21).
19.2 Overview of Dispute Resolution Process. Airbnb is committed to participating in a consumer-friendly dispute resolution process. To that end, these Terms provide for a two-part process for individuals to whom Section 19.1 applies: (1) an informal negotiation directly with Airbnb’s customer service team, and (2) a binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) using its specially designed Consumer Arbitration Rules (as modified by this Section 19 and except as provided in Section 19.6). Specifically, the Consumer Arbitration Rules provide:
Claims can be filed with AAA online (www.adr.org);
Arbitrators must be neutral and no party may unilaterally select an arbitrator;
Arbitrators must disclose any bias, interest in the result of the arbitration, or relationship with any party;
Parties retain the right to seek relief in small claims court for certain claims, at their option;
The initial filing fee for the consumer is capped at $200;
The consumer gets to elect the hearing location and can elect to participate live, by phone, video conference, or, for claims under $25,000, by the submission of documents;
The arbitrator can grant any remedy that the parties could have received in court to resolve the party’s individual claim.
19.3 Pre-Arbitration Dispute Resolution and Notification. Prior to initiating an arbitration, you and Airbnb each agree to notify the other party of the dispute and attempt to negotiate an informal resolution to it first. We will contact you at the email address you have provided to us; you can contact Airbnb’s customer service team by emailing us. If after a good faith effort to negotiate one of us feels the dispute has not and cannot be resolved informally, the party intending to pursue arbitration agrees to notify the other party via email prior to initiating the arbitration. In order to initiate arbitration, a claim must be filed with the AAA and the written Demand for Arbitration (available at www.adr.org) provided to the other party, as specified in the AAA Rules.
19.4 Agreement to Arbitrate. You and Airbnb mutually agree that any dispute, claim or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the applicability, breach, termination, validity, enforcement or interpretation thereof, or to the use of the Airbnb Platform, the Host Services, the Group Payment Service, or the Collective Content (collectively, “Disputes”) will be settled by binding individual arbitration (the “Arbitration Agreement”). If there is a dispute about whether this Arbitration Agreement can be enforced or applies to our Dispute, you and Airbnb agree that the arbitrator will decide that issue.
19.5 Exceptions to Arbitration Agreement. You and Airbnb each agree that the following claims are exceptions to the Arbitration Agreement and will be brought in a judicial proceeding in a court of competent jurisdiction: (i) Any claim related to actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of a party’s copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents, or other intellectual property rights; (ii) Any claim seeking emergency injunctive relief based on exigent circumstances (e.g., imminent danger or commission of a crime, hacking, cyber-attack).
19.6 Arbitration Rules and Governing Law. This Arbitration Agreement evidences a transaction in interstate commerce and thus the Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this provision. The arbitration will be administered by AAA in accordance with the Consumer Arbitration Rules and/or other AAA arbitration rules determined to be applicable by the AAA (the “AAA Rules“) then in effect, except as modified here. The AAA Rules are available at www.adr.org or by calling the AAA at 1–800–778–7879.
19.7 Modification to AAA Rules - Arbitration Hearing/Location. In order to make the arbitration most convenient to you, Airbnb agrees that any required arbitration hearing may be conducted, at your option, (a) in the county where you reside; (b) in San Francisco County; (c) in any other location to which you and Airbnb both agree; (d) via phone or video conference; or (e) for any claim or counterclaim under $25,000, by solely the submission of documents to the arbitrator.
19.8 Modification of AAA Rules - Attorney’s Fees and Costs. You and Airbnb agree that Airbnb will be responsible for payment of the balance of any initial filing fee under the AAA Rules in excess of $200 for claims of $75,000 or less. You may be entitled to seek an award of attorney fees and expenses if you prevail in arbitration, to the extent provided under applicable law and the AAA rules. Unless the arbitrator determines that your claim was frivolous or filed for the purpose of harassment, Airbnb agrees it will not seek, and hereby waives all rights it may have under applicable law or the AAA Rules, to recover attorneys’ fees and expenses if it prevails in arbitration.
19.9 Arbitrator’s Decision. The arbitrator’s decision will include the essential findings and conclusions upon which the arbitrator based the award. Judgment on the arbitration award may be entered in any court with proper jurisdiction. The arbitrator may award declaratory or injunctive relief only on an individual basis and only to the extent necessary to provide relief warranted by the claimant’s individual claim.
19.10 Jury Trial Waiver. You and Airbnb acknowledge and agree that we are each waiving the right to a trial by jury as to all arbitrable Disputes.
19.11 No Class Actions or Representative Proceedings. You and Airbnb acknowledge and agree that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, we are each waiving the right to participate as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class action lawsuit, class-wide arbitration, private attorney general action, or any other representative proceeding as to all Disputes. Further, unless you and Airbnb both otherwise agree in writing, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one party’s claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of any class or representative proceeding. If the “class action lawsuit” waiver or the “class-wide arbitration” waiver in this Section 19.11 is held unenforceable with respect to any Dispute, then the entirety of the Arbitration Agreement will be deemed void with respect to such Dispute and the Dispute must proceed in court. If the “private attorney general action” waiver or the “representative proceeding” waiver in this Section 19.11 is held unenforceable with respect to any Dispute, those waivers may be severed from this Arbitration Agreement and you and Airbnb agree that any private attorney general claims and representative claims in the Dispute will be severed and stayed, pending the resolution of any arbitrable claims in the Dispute in individual arbitration.
19.12 Severability. Except as provided in Section 19.11, in the event that any portion of this Arbitration Agreement is deemed illegal or unenforceable, such provision shall be severed and the remainder of the Arbitration Agreement shall be given full force and effect.
19.13 Changes. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 3 (“Modification of these Terms”), if Airbnb changes this Section 19 (“Dispute Resolution and Arbitration Agreement”) after the date you last accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms), you may reject any such change by sending us written notice (including by email) within thirty (30) days of the date such change became effective, as indicated in the “Last Updated” date above or in the date of Airbnb’s email to you notifying you of such change. Rejecting a new change, however, does not revoke or alter your prior consent to any earlier agreements to arbitrate any Dispute between you and Airbnb (or your prior consent to any subsequent changes thereto), which will remain in effect and enforceable as to any Dispute between you and Airbnb.
19.14 Survival. Except as provided in Section 19.12 and subject to Section 15.8, this Section 19 will survive any termination of these Terms and will continue to apply even if you stop using the Airbnb Platform or terminate your Airbnb Account.
20. Feedback
We welcome and encourage you to provide feedback, comments and suggestions for improvements to the Airbnb Platform (“Feedback“). You may submit Feedback by emailing us, through the “Contact” section of the Airbnb Platform, or by other means of communication. Any Feedback you submit to us will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary to you. By submitting Feedback to us, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, irrevocable, sub-licensable, perpetual license to use and publish those ideas and materials for any purpose, without compensation to you.
21. Applicable Law and Jurisdiction
21.1 If your country of residence or establishment is the United States, these Terms will be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of California and the United States of America, without regard to conflict-of-law provisions. Judicial proceedings (other than small claims actions) that are excluded from the Arbitration Agreement in Section 19 must be brought in state or federal court in San Francisco, California, unless we both agree to some other location. You and we both consent to venue and personal jurisdiction in San Francisco, California.
21.2 If your country of residence or establishment is China these Terms will be interpreted in accordance with the laws of China (“China Laws”). Any dispute arising from or in connection with this Agreement shall be submitted to the China International Economic and Trade Arbitration Commission (CIETAC) for arbitration in Beijing which shall be conducted in accordance with CIETAC’s arbitration rules in effect at the time of applying for arbitration, provided that this section shall not be construed to limit any rights which Airbnb may have to apply to any court of competent jurisdiction for an order requiring you to perform or be prohibited from performing certain acts and other provisional relief permitted under China Laws or any other laws that may apply to you. The arbitration proceedings shall be conducted in English. The arbitral award rendered is final and binding upon both parties.
21.3 If your country of residence or establishment is outside of the United States and China, these Terms will be interpreted in accordance with Irish law. The application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG) is excluded. The choice of law does not impact your rights as a consumer according to the consumer protection regulations of your country of residence. If you are acting as a consumer, you agree to submit to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish courts. Judicial proceedings that you are able to bring against us arising from or in connection with these Terms may only be brought in a court located in Ireland or a court with jurisdiction in your place of residence. If Airbnb wishes to enforce any of its rights against you as a consumer, we may do so only in the courts of the jurisdiction in which you are a resident. If you are acting as a business, you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish courts.
22. General Provisions
22.1 Except as they may be supplemented by additional terms and conditions, policies, guidelines or standards, these Terms constitute the entire Agreement between Airbnb and you pertaining to the subject matter hereof, and supersede any and all prior oral or written understandings or agreements between Airbnb and you in relation to the access to and use of the Airbnb Platform.
22.2 No joint venture, partnership, employment, or agency relationship exists between you and Airbnb as a result of this Agreement or your use of the Airbnb Platform.
22.3 These Terms do not and are not intended to confer any rights or remedies upon any person other than the parties.
22.4 If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision will be struck and will not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions.
22.5 Airbnb’s failure to enforce any right or provision in these Terms will not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by us in writing. Except as expressly set forth in these Terms, the exercise by either party of any of its remedies under these Terms will be without prejudice to its other remedies under these Terms or otherwise permitted under law.
22.6 You may not assign, transfer or delegate this Agreement and your rights and obligations hereunder without Airbnb's prior written consent. Airbnb may without restriction assign, transfer or delegate this Agreement and any rights and obligations hereunder, at its sole discretion, with 30 days prior notice. Your right to terminate this Agreement at any time remains unaffected.
22.7 Unless specified otherwise, any notices or other communications to Members permitted or required under this Agreement, will be provided electronically and given by Airbnb via email, Airbnb Platform notification, or messaging service (including SMS and WeChat). If your booking is in respect of a Listing in Japan, you agree and acknowledge that such notifications via electronic means in lieu of a written statement, satisfies Airbnb’s obligations under Article 59 Paragraph 1 of the Japanese Housing Accommodation Business Act.