The chalet in Big White.

Image Credit: Vrbo

A Big White vacation rental owner who encouraged her potential out-of-province guests to ignore the Provincial Health Order and to come and ski at the mountain resort last winter has been ordered to refund $4,900 to the guests who had to cancel.

According to a Oct. 23 Civil Resolution Tribunal decision, Francine Borsanyi, Patrick Blain, and Dennis Diemert booked a week-long stay at Laurinda Kalawarny's Big White vacation rental for January 2020.

When a Public Health Order and Big White Resort restricted the out-of-province guests from making the trip, they asked for a refund, but Kalawarny refused.

"People should not use the pandemic as an excuse to abuse people's businesses," Kalawarny said in the Civil Resolution Tribunal decision.

It's not the first time Kalawarny has been ordered by the small claims court to refund money to guests who had to cancel because of COVID-19.

READ MORE: Kelowna luxury vacation rental forced to return deposit after owners separated, blamed each other

In December 2020, the small claims court ordered either Kalawarny or her husband to refund $3,500 after a stay at their Boyce-Gyro Beach Lodge in Kelowna was cancelled.

The couple, who had separated, blamed each other, saying the other party had to pay.

In the current dispute, the out-of-province guests booked through the Owner Direct website, which stated no refund would be given within 30 days of cancellation.

The decision says just before making the booking, Blain contacted Kalawarny and asked about the cancellation policy "in case something happens with the unpredictability of Covid?"

Kalawarny messaged back saying if the Mountain "shuts down" there would be a "full refund of your deposit."

When a COVID cluster broke out at Big White in December 2020, a Public Health Order was issued that said all non-essential travel should be avoided and the ski resort started limiting bookings to guests from the Central Okanagan area only.

As Borsanyi, Blain, and Diemert were all from out-of-province, they contacted Kalawarny to cancel saying the ski resort was "shut down for them" so therefore they were owed a refund.

However, Kalawarny refused, saying her potential guests could use the mountain anyway, claiming Big White didn't check where people came from.

According to the decision, Kalawarny said other guests from out-of-province had stayed in the vacation home while the Public Health Order was in effect.

"Even accepting that to be true, that does not mean that Big White was open to non-locals," the Tribunal ruled. "Accepting Ms. Kalawarny’s interpretation of the contract would mean expecting the applicants to contravene a (Public Health) order and Big White’s rules and hope not to be caught doing so. I see no reason to endorse such an interpretation."

While the guests admit they cancelled within the 30-day cut-off date, and the mountain wasn't completely shut down, the Tribunal still ruled in their favour.

Kalawarny argued her vacation home was not technically part of Big White and the mountain was not "shut down."

However, the Tribunal found the mountain was "shut down" to out-of-province guests so therefore Kalawarny – as she had promised to do so when they booked – owed them a refund.

The Tribunal also ruled that although Kalawarny had promised a "full refund of your deposit", she was on the hook for the total amount of $4,902 because the guest paid in full.

However, how easily the out-of-province guests will get their money remains to be seen.

In an affidavit filed at the Kelowna Law Courts Dec. 2, an agent from the plaintiffs states that Kalawarny is "evading service" and not giving out her address so legal documents can't be served.

In the meantime, it appears Kalawarny's Big White vacation rental, advertised under the name Laurinda Summers on the Vrbo website, is largely booked for the entire ski season at $900 per night.

In an email to iNFOnews.ca, Kalawarny denied she "evaded anyone" and said she's hired a money manager to start paying her debt repayment and the first payment had been made Dec. 14. She also threatened legal action against iNFOnews.ca for publishing this story.

Borsanyi told iNFOnews.ca Kalawarny had sent her $100 on Dec. 14, several hours after Kalawarny had been contacted for comment on this story.

READ MORE: Kelowna vacation rental forced to return deposit to partying guests who broke the rules

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