A Wodonga businessman was left shocked when travellers from Sydney blatantly refused to get a coronavirus test before staying in his Airbnb property south of the border.
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Depite this being a requirement of their entry permit into the state, the travellers flouted the rules and refused to cancel their booking.
Martin Page, who runs the Wodonga property, said after several phone calls and getting sent round in circles, Airbnb said he should either let them stay or get hit with a complete refund, a cancellation fee and a bad review on his listing.
"They just didn't care about the law," he told The Border Mail.
"And because we run the property as a buisness we face a fine of nearly $10,000 if we aren't going by the public health order.
"Plus we aren't comfortable with running the risk of those guests infecting us, the community and our future guests.
"Unfortunately we ended up having to suck up half a refund and just move on." Mr Page said after calling multiple agencies, including Business Victoria, DHHS and the Victoria Police, he was left to make the call on whether to run the risk of letting the travellers stay.
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"Everyone agreed that they were doing the wrong thing and that they should be abiding by their permit - but when I asked if they were going to do anything about it it was an overwhelming no from all areas," he said.
"Even though they are breaking the public health order, neither DHHS or the police were going to follow them up."
Mr Page, who has a lowered immune system due to a battle with swine flu almost a decade ago, said his concern was not only for his business, but for the border community. "Our booking requests went through the roof as soon as they announced the last border closure," he said.
"And they did again on Thursday when they announced it again - and I don't blame them, most have been siting in the lineup to get back in to Victoria for hours.
"It it worrying that all these people are funneling through out cities, staying in our areas, going to our supermarkets, and some are potentially doing the wrong thing.
"We have had to change the way people book our property now so we can cover ourselves from going through this debacle again.
"It falls back on us, and the wider community, to ensure people are doing the right thing."
