FIA acts as good Samaritan for 3 Indian women evicted by local Airbnb

Neil Khot

India Post news bureau

CHICAGO: The Federation of Indian Associations Chicago came to the rescue of three Indian women thrown out by Airbnb – a mother and her two daughters- with their luggage and belongings on the street in Chicago.

The FIA Team helps them relocate and settle. Last month Mrs. Manjit KHURANA, Ms. Aanchal BATRA and Ms, Arashdeep BATRA had travelled from Chandigarh, India and had checked into the Airbnb home of a Chicago landlord Mrs. Alejandra Gonzales located on 2127 W Gladys Ave Chicago Illinois. Their plan was to stay there for about one month leaving on April 6th, and they paid more than $ 16700 in total for 31 days reservation ending on April 6th.

But they were in shock when they found themselves being evicted on March 31st at around 7pm when their luggage and their personal belongings were thrown out of the house onto the curb/ street while Chicago Police Officer Kennedy Batch # 3206 watched all this happening in front of him and his partner.

The family had still 6 days left of their reservation and their money with Airbnb and the landlord. The family was left out on the street not because they wanted to, but because the host had asked the family to cancel their reservation around March 17 as they were being shifted from Room #2 to Room #1. And the host never updated the reservation which that she was going to but instead on March 31 used this cancellation reason to throw the family of 3 women out of the house while having kept their money all this time.

This story is not about anyone’s party being right or wrong. Instead, that means, as it stands now, anyone has the right to kick you out of their house or apartment if they feel so inclined. That’s essentially what happened with the family using Airbnb to rent a home in Chicago.

Luckily to the rescue of the family 2-members of a Chicago nonprofit Federation of Indian Associations (FIA) Chicago Past President and Founding Member, Neil Khot and the Current President Mr. Gurmeet Singh Dhalwan had come to visit them, at the request of Indian Consulate in Chicago as the family was stranded due to their SwissAir flight LX9 to depart O’Hare on April 6 got cancelled with India closing its international borders for Corona virus.

With the help other Indian community members from Chicago in particularly Sunil Shah FIA Founder, Kalpesh Joshi Midwest Ambassador of AAHOA and Pritesh Gandhi owner of Clarion Hotel and Waterford Banquet of Elmhurst opened their hotel room to stay at no cost to the family. In addition, daily food shall be provided by Sikh Temple of Palatine.