civil-law small-claims-court
Can a fan be considered an &quot;air conditioning unit&quot;?
<p>Saw this apparently ridiculous statement from Airbnb <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/digitalnomad/comments/d1i53n/its_100_degrees_in_mexico_and_airbnb_wont_offer_a/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">on social media today</a>,</p>

<blockquote>
  <p>A fan legally constitutes an air conditioner</p>
</blockquote>

<p>It's unclear by what law that might be the case - the situation took place in Mexico, and Airbnb is a US company. What I managed to find is <a href="https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/10/431.92" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Definitions concerning commercial air conditioners and heat pumps</a>, which doesn't concern fans, and that "The [air conditioning] term <a href="https://definitions.uslegal.com/h/heating-and-air-conditioning/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">excludes window units</a>" (which suggests that a fan is in no way an A/C unit).</p>

<p>However, my experience at large companies suggests that support agents are trained to not make risky statements involving legal matters, so is there some legal ground for a fan to be considered an air conditioning unit?</p>

<h2>Probably not</h2>
<p>“Air conditioning” is the process of changing the temperature and/or humidity of air. A “fan” is a device for moving air around. It’s almost certain the arbitrator would agree.</p>
<p><strong>However,</strong> the customer is unlikely to be entitled to a refund because there hasn’t been a “complete failure of consideration” - they contracted for an apartment with air conditioning, they got an apartment ergo Airbnb has provided some part of the consideration. They would be entitled to damages - perhaps the cost of hiring an air conditioner or if that’s not possible, a hotel room (which I realise may be more than the value of the letting but that’s how damages can work).</p>
