I’m a widow who made a reservation to see family in New Mexico. As the sole caretaker for my brother, who is a disabled Vietnam Vet, I got hung up when he needed an operation at the VA in Georgia. It came up suddenly and I ended up having to contact Douglas, my soon-to-be host. I apologized heartily, told him I didn’t want to cancel, that I’d be back in New Mexico as I am there 3-4 times a year, and asked him what I should do. He told me I should cancel immediately and perhaps get some of my money back. I did as he said and I got nothing back. He refused my request for a refund of my $530, lied by saying he suggested I should have simply changed the date, and gave me a song and dance when I asked him why he asked me to cancel if he would have changed the dates. In reality he just wanted to keep the money I took five months to save to see family. When I asked more about how to work it out and expressed my dissatisfaction, he suggested I simply contact Airbnb. I will never rent from this man again (he has multiple properties) on my many yearly trips to Albuquerque and will do my best to make sure no one else has the same bad experience that I’ve had. What a total disappointment. He is a liar and a thief. I trusted this man. I suppose it was because the other Airbnb hosts I’ve had were so wonderful. I have documentation of my reason to cancel and it’s hard to know someone would take advantage of a widow. I do not recommend Douglas Lopez or his properties to anyone. Avoid him if at all possible.
@ benny They would consider going home to support family surgery an refundable circumstance. It’s really easy to document and the VA actually really fast about supplying paperwork. I agree with Ellen’s comment. Whatever the situation, possibly slandering someone is just bad form.
As you are the sole caretaker for your brother who needs medical attention on a regular basis, you should choose listings with a flexible cancellation policy.
Hi Rosie, I had a quick read of the link you supplied, but it seems the information on AIR BNB would not actually cover her particular circumstances, as she does not actually say it was an emergency , it could well of been some thing he was just waiting to have done that came up at an inopportune time that coincided with her stay in this persons apartment,
as we do not have any copy of messages between them, I feel it would always be unwise to assume one party is at fault,. as like you said he did in fact stir her to AIR BNB, we do not know if further information was given, or if in fact this lady did apply to be considered for a refund due to her particular set of circumstances, but was in fact refused, Like all thing the full facts are most important,
From your link, Unexpected death or serious illness of a host, guest or immediate family member
Serious injury that directly restricts a guest’s ability to travel or a host’s ability to host
http://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320
Heres the policy you horrible person
This is such bulls#*t. If her Brother is sick she can send Airbnb a doctors note and they’ll fully refund her no questions asked. That’s why he sent her to Airbnb. This lady is totally scamming the host. She was probably was refused a refund by Airbnb because she didn’t have any proof. If she was really taking care of her brother, she’d already have that info and her money would be on it’s way already.