Tag Archives: airbnb cancellation

Cancelled by Airbnb a Few Hours before Guests’ Arrival

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At 11:45 PM on the 5th of August, Airbnb cancelled my first ever reservation, a few hours before my first hosting. The reservation was validated on the 27th of July, so it was more than a week before Airbnb decided to cancel for no reason… or at least none given to me until today. Here I am with four adults and a baby, who showed me the transfer to Airbnb on their bank account and cannot understand what is happening when they drove for five hours to enjoy a few chilled days at the beach.

I sent an email, then another one, then called one operator, and then a second. “We will get back to you before the end of the day,” they all said for four days. Well after four days of vacation for free, I had to ask my guests to leave. I had no answer from Airbnb until today. At least I’ve learned my lesson and not only am I taking off both my listings on Airbnb, I’ll certainly try my best to prevent every person around me from ever using their services.

Reserved Eight Months in Advance, Host Canceled One Month out

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I booked a condo eight months before an event I attend every year. Usually I book a hotel, but I thought it might be nice to have a kitchen and an extra room for my son. I booked early because the event is very popular. Since I wanted to be within walking distance of the venue, and I wanted to have a place to leave my car, I knew that lodging with those qualities would be in high demand.

Just over a month before the event, the host canceled, as his property is not zoned for short-term use. His last message said that “Airbnb says they will help you find a new place to stay.” That “help” has so far consisted of phone support sending me other Airbnb listings that are miles from the venue, that don’t have parking, or that are five times the price of my original listing for the dates I want because, again, it is a popular event.

Here I am, a month out, all the hotels within walking distance of the venue are now booked solid, and the ones farther away are 30% more expensive than they would have been when I booked the condo. Airbnb is offering no “help”: no compensation, nothing. Lesson learned: I will leave lodging to the lodging professionals from now on. No more Airbnb, ever.

Airbnb Service Fees are Disproportionately High

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Wearily I add myself to what I realise is a long list of increasingly unhappy Airbnb customers. Several weeks ago we booked a lovely Airbnb in Dorset (UK) so that we could attend a family wedding. Two months ago my 17-year-old son broke his leg and literally this week has been given the all clear to be back on his feet again. However, because he has had so much time off his part time job with the leg break he will now not be able to get time off to attend the wedding. We are now a party of four, not five, and this now means we have an alternative option for where we stay which could be considerably cheaper.

With three weeks’ notice, we cancelled. I recalled when we booked that we would get a full refund, but I realise that the big print did not make it clear that this would not include the £34 admin fee which Airbnb kept. This is more than 25% of the partial payment we sent; it seemed outrageous until I delved a little further to discover that this is nothing in comparison to others. The host was lovely and agreed to a full refund, so I then went round the houses (and round the houses again several times) to try and work out on the website how to communicate with an actual person to express my dismay at this policy. Eventually I went for the ‘give feedback’ option but have had no response. What a surprise. Here I am on Airbnb Hell. At least I have had some satisfaction in having a small rant.

Host telling me to cancel so he can keep the money

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I booked an apartment in Barcelona for my partner and cousins. We are planing to spend a few days there. I got confirmation back from the host saying they had accepted and taken the money. I emailed them back requesting since I have paid already could I please use the two rooms with the double bed, not the sofa bed. They said they will “try” as the listing is still up for other guests. If I don’t want more guests in the house I need to pay them directly also if I don’t like it then I should cancel my reservation so they can keep the money and I should look somewhere more suitable. All I asked for in the first place was the use of two rooms with double beds. When I reminded them that all emails are recorded they said they know and since both parties aren’t happy I should cancel. They are pushing me to cancel my reservation.

No Compassion or Trust After Death in the Family

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Sadly, due to the father’s death of my niece with whom I was travelling to Paris and staying in an Airbnb apartment, we had to cancel the booking paid for in full in March 2018. The booking was from December 28th, 2018 to December 28th, 2019; therefore five months’ notice was given. Under the resolution information on Airbnb, my niece sent a death certificate and the host was contacted. A refund offer of $24 was given. This was changed to $200 after a few phone calls, but we originally paid $2150.

Now Airbnb is using the excuse the host has refused to give a full refund and then said – to my shock, as her father died in April – that the booking was for December… that’s far away. My interpretation was they were saying that was enough time to get over it. Regardless, the money is needed to cover costs since her father’s death. To be cross examined and passed from staff member to staff member with nobody showing compassion, duty of care, or any sort of kindness and honest business like manners… All I can see is pure greed and Airbnb allowing untrustworthy, unscrupulous, callous, money hungry hosts. I’m dismayed and never will I say a good word about Airbnb.

Cancelled Less than 24 Hours before my 30th Birthday

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To start, I want to say that I normally love Airbnb. I have rented with them for years and years and never had an issue. Until now. I was so excited to celebrate my 30th birthday in Palm Desert when I learnt that the host cancelled less than 24 hours before we were supposed to arrive. The host initially offered absolutely no explanation but later told us that the city of Palm Desert would not let her rent the place out any more and she had to cancel all future reservations as patrol officers were writing citations for her guests.

I understand she had to cancel all future reservations. However, every other guest had at least a week to find new accommodation whereas we were struggling to find a place for the very next day. As such, I spent the majority of my Sunday in California trying to find a new place that looked like it would be enjoyable for the group, missing out on the activities we had planned for that day.

It was totally unacceptable that Airbnb wasn’t willing to help at all. We booked this reservation in November for my 30th birthday trip. The cancellation was so last minute that hotels in the area were already sold out and many of the other Airbnbs were taken. Making matters worse, the group had already flown from across the country (from New York and Boston) and internationally (four from Canada and another one from Australia) leaving us no option but to take another Airbnb that was less than desirable.

The house we originally booked was well decorated, homey and simply adorable. The house we settled for was gaudy, cold and tasteless. In addition, there were a number of rules when checking in that made it difficult for our group to access the house, including threats that we might get turned away at the gate upon arrival if we mentioned we were renting the house instead of friends of the owner.

When we arrived, the backyard was an absolute mess, as was the pool. I took many pictures of this but Airbnb reps didn’t seem to care. It took many calls to get the owner to send someone to clean the pool (which was un-swimmable for the first full day of our stay) and clear all the debris. When they did, it was a few hours of noise and a terrible smell of gas from the air blower they were using. Lastly, there was constant construction at the house next door to us, making it difficult to have a conversation outside.

To me, it’s crazy that Airbnb isn’t willing to help at all or offer a future credit to try to make it up to me. It was as if I booked at the Four Seasons and ended up at a motel down the street for an additional charge. I was charged an extra $380 for the extra cost of the new house, which was one of the only ones we could find in the area. I was told that would be covered. I am an avid Airbnb user and am always willing to spread the word about the company in a positive way, but really think this is insane.

Airbnb Refund Ripoff from Wrong Calendar Dates

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I booked a duplex through Airbnb and the money was paid up front. As it turned out, there was a mix up with the dates reserved and I had to cancel said reservation. We showed up to the duplex for the dates of our vacation but the duplex was full. It turns out my reservation was made for the following week. This was not right. We were six hours away from home and had been there waiting to check in for nearly 12 hours. Begin panic mode.

The host agreed to put us into another condo for the night but that’s all he had. Not the greatest but… okay. We were charged another small fee for that. Then we were left to find somewhere completely different, costing us double the initial amount of the trip altogether.

Back to Airbnb… I cancelled the wrong reservation immediately which was exactly seven days ahead of the reservation date (standard timing for refunds). Here’s the kicker: I then tried to get back on Airbnb to find another place to stay, thinking I was to blame for the mishap. However, when I was trying to select the dates needed on the calendar, it was plugging in the same days selected, only it was for the following week. That’s what happened – a website error.

I notified my host and Airbnb immediately. Still, I got the runaround. If I hadn’t been so stressed out and upset from the whole ordeal, I’d have thought to record what I was seeing in order to send it and prove to them. When asked to do an audit, ‘they don’t see anything.’ If I had any more money, I’d sue their ass for illegal practices and emotional distress. All they did was reserve a spot on a calendar and take my money. That’s it. Besides making my life hell the last two weeks. I don’t know how they sleep at night.

Host’s Calendar was Full, Didn’t Bother to Tell me

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I found an apartment from a new host. I liked it and booked it. After arriving, I noticed it was an agency’s apartment. I tried to book more nights but the host didn’t let me know that her calendar days were not available (didn’t update the calendar, as many hosts don’t do). She let me know which days were available so I booked and paid; she accepted it.

I was thinking there was an automatic system for calendar updates but now I know many hosts play with calendar days to be full when guests try to make bookings so they get money from 2-3 new guests at the same time and then also half of the cancellation fees. The calendar days were available and then full when I made the reservation and paid. She accepted it; the calendar was available to me and then it was not.

After that she sent a new reservation request with new days, without telling me about another guest’s reservation for the same days. Only after the payment was accepted did she tell me she had other guests arriving also for the day and so I had to shorten my stay. She also changed the check-out time to be earlier without any mention of it before. Because of this, she would get more money for shorter stays and I couldn’t accept it.

I declined her offer because I made bookings for those days. The host also told me I could pay with cash but I never do this with anyone. I had to search information on how to cancel the payment for my five-day reservation. The host accepted the reservation and got half of my money without telling me how to cancel. It was the host who was messing with her calendar and changed the days. In the end, the host got more than half of my payment because Airbnb’s cancellation system works like that; it work well for hosts and badly for guests. You lose money if you have to make a cancellation as I had to. I did nothing wrong but the system is making it the guest’s fault when a host plays with the calendar days to be full.

Before this, I heard only positive brags about Airbnb. It’s an incredible system, but it can’t work if bad hosts can do anything they want. There is usually not enough help for guests. I have to wait 1-2 days to get any answers from the Airbnb customer service team. Nobody has helped me. I’m a guest and when I see rules, I follow rules. I also have to verify my profile every time I log into Airbnb. The system is working much better for hosts when they can do anything that they want. Hosts should be more trustworthy. It’s like they are sending guests back to camping and hostels after these experiences.

Wasted a Week Moving from Airbnb to Airbnb

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I want to follow up regarding our cancelled booking. I want to explain that a 10% credit is completely insufficient for the problems this cancellation caused. We had been traveling all day in a rental car with a four-year-old child and a car full of our life’s belongings – to be precise, over 170 kgs of luggage including a bicycle in a box. I can send a picture of the loaded car if you like?

We had booked into the apartment because it was on the ground floor and near the center. We arrived on time – exactly. After being given so many warnings by the host about being on time exactly and furthermore warning us about providing time for the cleaners (how this could impact us is a complete mystery to me, as guests pay for cleaning). You of course can review all the messages between us.

Anyway we arrived, found it difficult to park, and then called the host as there was no one there at the time agreed upon, 4:30 PM. The host did not answer his phone and a helper answered, telling us the check in time was 5:00 PM not 4:30 PM. They were wrong and then we spent almost an hour waiting in the sun getting conflicting messages from the host via the platform and the helper on the phone number provided. Our daughter was beat and tired and needed to use the bathroom. We did too.

After over an hour we were told the apartment was being cancelled. Finding a new place with a flat mobile battery on the side of the road, in the sun, after driving all day was a nightmare to say the least. We eventually did find a place. It wasn’t ideal, so we booked only for four nights. A two-story place with a four-year-old on a busy street is not what we wanted.

We arrived around 8:00 PM, 3.5 hours after being ready to check in. We could not return our rental car as planned as we were too tired and the rental agency would have been closed by the time we unpacked all the stuff from the car. We didn’t get to have dinner until 9:30 PM, which for all of us was unacceptable, especially for a four year old, and of course we wasted a day as we have to return car today and all of us are too tired to do anything.

In addition, we have to pay Airbnb’s service and cleaning fees twice for organizing one week’s accommodation, as this place is not suitable for the whole week. We also will have to hire another vehicle or moving taxi as we will have to move all the stuff to another accommodation. We will also waste another day moving all our stuff to another location.

This cancellation has ruined our arrival and at least a few days involved in rebooking and moving, which in turn has ruined the week we had planned as now we will not be able to achieve what we had carefully planned to achieve. Not to mention the stress involved for everyone which is a major health concern and one that Airbnb as a provider is responsible for.

For a $30 billion company to offer us a 10% return is pathetic in any sense. The hotel chains that Airbnb competes with would offer a full credit and more. As Airbnb has claimed, it is extremely rare that they could cover all the costs, as it would be such a small expenditure for such a large company for an incident that hardly ever happens. If such incidents of ruining holidays are common then I would think their business model is flawed. Could you let me know ASAP what Airbnb can do to rectify this disaster.

Long Beach Bungalow Host Needs More Money

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In April we booked, were accepted, and paid for a bungalow in Belmont Shores. Three weeks prior to our arrival the host requested an additional $413 because she got a better offer for $325 per night instead of the $200 per night that was her posted price. I declined as you can’t change the price after you accepted our money. She then canceled our reservation through Airbnb two weeks prior to our arrival.

Where can I find another rental on the 4th of July weekend? We made plans for airfare, car rental and other hotels. Airbnb penalized her $100, which she will gladly pay it as she is making $325 per night for five days. This is totally unethical and poor business practices. We will incur financial consequences for her cancellation. I also had rentals on VRBO a few years ago. I would never do that to my pending guest. No protection for the renters. At least when you stay at the Hyatt or Hilton you know the standard to expect… no service or cleaning fees either. I’m sticking to the hotels. Airbnb better wake up soon.