I think that has to be determined based on each individual's framework. But, thinking about it, this is what I would probably do (and this is entirely hypothetical, because I am not actually in this situation):
First, none of the parties are at fault. All three got caught in an unfortunate and painful situation. So, the moral principle I would try to follow is to "share the pain" as equitably as possible. Second, I assume an owner is never going to see that 30%, and a renter is never going to see either a reservation through or a refund from the broker. That's because I assume the broker goes out of business sooner rather than later. Third, based on the broker's actions, the broker has demonstrated no willingness to share the pain of either owners or renters--the broker putting themselves first and only. Given that, I no longer believe I am morally obligated to the broker. Fourth, I do not want to personally attend the theme parks before herd immunity is established or a vaccine is available.
Given those assumptions:
As a hypothetical owner, I would contact the renter and recommend that they pursue a chargeback. If they were unwilling or unsuccessful, I'd do what I could to work with the renter to rebook given the limitations on my points and the timeline of resorts opening. I'd also ask the renter to consider splitting the loss of the 30% with me, but I wouldn't insist on it--that would be a decision they have to make in their own framework. If the renter was unsuccessful in their chargeback and decided they did not want to go, I would be inclined to at least split the 70% with them--and would give them more if I had significant use of the points left--based on the "shared pain" principle.
If the renter were able to obtain a chargeback, I would wish them well, and ask that they consider splitting the 30% with me. Again, that would be their decision and one I cannot make for them. As we say around the tables in recovery, we don't take others' inventory.
As a hypothetical renter, I would pursue a chargeback the instant my check-in date passed, independently of whether the owner reaches out. If the chargeback is successful,
and the owner reaches out, I would offer to split the owner's 30% loss and have us both call it a day. If the chargeback is unsuccessful, and the owner reached out, I would decline an offer to rebook. Instead, I'd ask the owner whether they'd be willing to share any of the 70% with me, and to consider how much use of the points they have remaining in making that decision.
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The most interesting question is what would I do if I were the hypothetical broker? I've not been putting myself in that perspective, but have instead been thinking from that of owners and renters. So, what would I do?
First, I would assume that, no matter what I do, a non-trivial number of renters are going to win chargebacks, and a non-trival number of owners will walk with both their points and the 70%. That means bankruptcy is inevitable. If that's true, then I am going to go through the pain of bankruptcy eventually. That puts me in a position to minimize shared pain by declaring bankruptcy earlier rather than later. If I declare, renters with
travel insurance can collect on the supplier-default clause, including those with reservations in the future. The rest may or may not be made whole via chargebacks, but I can probably sleep at night, because they were advised to have insurance but declined.
In unwinding the company, I'd try to take whatever proceeds I still had and create as generous a severance package for my employees as I could, because they are probably facing the most pain out of the set of owners/renters/employees. Luckily, I am in Canada, so that doesn't have to include paying COBRA premiums. But, I would want to give them each several months of severance if I could, so that they have some chance of landing on their feet. Then, with the proceeds I had left, I would try to pay off the owners with check-in dates in the past to whom I still owe the 30%. I'm not sure how to best do that, because I probably don't have cash on hand to pay them all. Do I do it in order of expiration? Do I give each of them a percentage? Not sure. Maybe it all goes to employees depending on how much we are talking about. I may also have some obligations to past renters, who can't collect on their insurance--I was in business then, and their policies probably don't cover public health emergencies--and I don't know what to do there.
No matter how I made these decisions, I'd try to be transparent about them with all parties. For example, I would explain *why* I was declaring bankruptcy--to maximize the chance that they can be made whole through insurance. I would explain to everyone *why* I was paying my employees first. That way, even though this business is failing, there is a chance that I have enough good will left that I can start over with better thought-out policies to deal with these sorts of situations.
