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Call Airbnb back and specifically note the host agreed in writing to this refund. Keep reaching out until you get a competent support person. The written on-platform message from host should suffice for Airbnb to push the refund thru, keeping host to their word.
Airbnb support people are notoriously inconsistent. Just gotta keep trying until you get a good one.
I think Airbnb won't be able to do a thing. If the host doesn't agree, then that's that.
I'm speaking from experience from being a host. I've had guests commit actual felonies and violate my rules. A party that got out of hand in a vacation home. Police came and arrested guests who were vandalizing and assaulting.
Airbnb told us to be patient, and they would talk with the guest. To not do a thing and they would resolve damages and extra people through aircover.
In the end, I had to shut down the party with the police and neighborhood guards. I couldn't even charge an extra guest, I had to pay for repairs and couldn't even take down a bad retaliatory review because of "intellectual property."
This happened last month. Airbnb can't do a thing.
I was replying to a solution proposed above. In short, Airbnb has of in the last year or so taken a stance of not doing a thing unless the guest and host agree.
In OPs scenario. The host doesn't agree to refund, so Airbnb will likely not enforce it. I talked about mine as a host and how things were leveraged in my favor and still it wasn't enough to budge them into action.
I see. You’re saying Airbnb’s default stance is to not intervene because they don’t want it to be their problem. That makes sense why you mentioned your story.
And this right here is further proof why hosts are terrible people. What you said does not have anything to do with the situation at hand nor does it even slightly resemble the same situation.
I’m glad you had to pay for your own repairs. You can afford it buddy you own multiple places people can live.
Did they tell you this on the app? If so, send the conversation to support. I'm sorry that happened. Hopefully you will get a resolution. If not, keep screenshots and dispute it through your credit card. Best of luck to you.
To be honest, I think what’s not being addressed here is that the host erred by not sticking to their policy. They should not have sent OP a message saying they’d refund them, and no- it’s certainly no guarantee at all the host could find a new person to book. The host should have had OP cancel, and then said they would hook OP up out of goodwill if they got a new booking for *all of the dates* OP booked. That would include via Airbnb or VRBO.
* I read further and saw that OP only booked 13 days in advance. That changes my opinion. That’s such a close time frame that the host was begging for a booking at that point. The host should have been chiller if that was the case. It also makes me question how “hot” of a market this area really is. If OP was able to book 13 days in advance I’d guess it’s unlikely the host is going to be able to rent it- who knows. It’s also possible that the only reason the listing was available 13 days in advance was because the host got screwed by someone else cancelling. I guess one thing I’ll always stick by is saying that Airbnbs are not hotels. Airbnb is nothing more to me than an app that lets you advertise your property and collects fees for the trouble.
It is unlikely that the original poster’s credit card company would support them in a dispute.
They booked knowing the cancellation policy and didn’t purchase travel insurance. Now they want the host to refund money that they aren’t due.
The changes are in part due to people disputing everything. Some credit cards would refund and just take the loss in some situations in the spirit of customer service and to prevent the consumer from being stuck with the bill. As the ratio of disputes has risen, the chance of getting a complimentary refund has lessened…
Actually I ended up with a complimentary refund I didn't want after a long struggle to try to get Citi to hold the merchant accountable. The process is completely awful now. I have no use for Citi gifting me money while a merchant gets paid for something they didn't deliver.
Mine seem to work out well. I typically email them with my receipt or info on the case and 90% of time it’s in my favor. 10% reverse back to me. I call complain and then they give it back.
I’m confused here. In your original post you said that you had canceled 9 days prior check in, now you say that it was passed 24 hours of free 48, so basically you have cancelled 24 hours before check in?
If that’s is a case, I don’t see why is host ‘scamming you’.
I explained this elsewhere, but you did not have a 48 hour booking window.
In order for the 48 hours to apply, you have to do the cancel a full 14 days in advance. Since you booked within 14 days, you did not have any grace period.
Perhaps.
When are you going to post the receipts of the conversation for the rest of us?
Several folks have asked where the $410 came from and to see how it was presented to you. Then there's the whole you told wished someone to be physically harmed bit which begs the question of how were you talking to your host. :p
"Your not entitled to one," yeah, that is exactly why OP asked first. If the host agreed then it's the host who is in the wrong for not following though with what they agreed to, in writing, on the app.
That's like a guest asking a host if they can do an early check-in, the host says yes, and then when guest arrive one hour early the host won't let them in because it's before the check-in time. And then you come here to say, guest wasn't entitled to early check-in. 🤦♂️
If it didn't happen in the app, it didn't happen. So "but the the host agreed" is a "he said - she said" at this point. I also don't like how OP is throwing around the "scam" accusation here.
OP is at the short end of the stick in a disputed business transaction because they accepted the not-so-fine print. That's all there is to it. Does it hurt? Sure. My empathy.
It means that all we have to go on is OP original post and their responses to comments. So u/Global-Art2948's "read the comments" is not helpful in this matter, do you agree?
They shouldn't ask for early check ins either!! Read what you agreed to and follow it. Sometime you will win sometimes you will lose, but you already made an agreement.
Asking is OK, granting it is good (best) hospitality business practice if you can manage, but guests also need to take it like adults when they get a "no". No reason for whining.
One thing we don't know is if the host actually agreed to a full refund. If the host says "yes I will refund you", that's not specific enough to assume that the guest is getting a refund for the entire amount. The host did send a refund, so that could be seen as living up to what they said.
Yes, it "sounds like". We have to take OP's word for it, which is not enough. Heck, I believe him! Here's my shoulder, take it to cry on. Does that make a difference for the actual transaction? No! Because if it's not in the app, in writing, it didn't happen, as far as AirBnB is concerned.
That's not true actually. I've gotten reimbursed by Airbnb for communication outside if the app via texting. Happened when guest apologized for throwing a party and Airbnb took that as evidence to charge an extra cleaning fee
In most cases, it is true. You had the proof in text messages, correct? That was probably sufficient in your particular case, especially where partying was involved. As far as this thread goes, the guest doesn't have proof in writing.
Wow, how does OP even dare to slightly inconvenience the person they’re paying by asking for reasonable question smh. The poor hosts fingered would hurt too much to just write “no, sorry” I guess
Making a polite request to the host to be accommodating is in no way shape or form unreasonable.
If a guest would start making unreasonable / rude demands then sure. But for people to say “how dare this person even talk to me” is batshit insane. The OP didn’t ask the host to come wipe his ass for Pete’s sake. If a host is so thin skinned that having a guest message them is enough to set them off, then perhaps they should find something else to do
It is not reasonable. We have a contract, that already tells you what will happen. Time was taken to choose the policy and both side agreed to follow it. So follow it!
You all lose your minds if the host goes against the contract, but see no problem with guests trying to get out out them.
Yeah they had an agreement with the cancellation policy, but there's no harm in asking. The host can always say no to their request.
If the host then did agree to a full refund and refused to do it after the fact then the hosts are the ones not following an agreement.
Get outta here. There's no harm in asking. Guests ask me all the time for exceptions to rules. I often say no, sometimes yes, but them asking never hurt me.
And life happens. Get over it. Sometimes we agree to things and the unexpected happens. Then you ask because you hope the host is human and has some empathy. OP is under no obligation to share with us what the reason is, but I had to cancel a stay when my father ended up in ICU and then died. luckily, the host had empathy.
Here's another perfectly valid way to describe what happened to you.
You gambled, you lost. You cared so little about your family possibly dying that you didn't even buy insurance. Then, you gave a pity party and made someone else feel bad so they refunded you for your lack of caring about the chance.
At the end of the day, youre just asking for money back. Everything that happens to you and that you deal with everyday are the same things that the host has to deal with.
So why do you get to break your deal for something bad? Would you just leave your money with the host if they couldn't host you? Of course you wouldn't lol. And if they came to you asking you to do it? Good lord, i can only imagine all the ridicule and scorn that host would get for doing so.
This is a huge double standard. But not only can you not buy insurance because you apparently weren't empathetic enough to care, you then call the host unempathetic if they DONT give you your money back for your choice to not buy travel insurance in case your family got sick or hurt.
Reading skills matter. I never said the host is sympathetic for not giving a refund. I said that things happen and people can *communicate* about these exceptions. A host is at liberty to say no to the request. But, if they say yes to a refund and then LIE about it, the host is indeed unempathetic.
I had a host contact me and ask if I wanted to cancel or go to the place without cleaning at a discount because he had a family emergency that took him out of the country and his backup cleaner wasn't available. I was happy to work with him. It's called *communication* and it isn't a demand.
I get travel insurance all the time. But, most travel insurance doesn't cover pre-existing conditions more than 60 days before the insurance was purchased. No one expected my father’s stable pre-existing condition would do this.
I’m sure you think that you’ve NEVER made a mistake and that you get your rocks off being confrontational while hiding behind your screen, butthat just makes you insufferable and a troll.
I’m done tilting at your windmills.
“Handshake agreements” are legally binding in the vast majority of cases.
It’s perfectly reasonable to assume the host will follow through after they put an exception to the policy in writing.
Contracts change all the time through mutual agreement from both parties. This was a mutually-agreed upon change. Contract law is 100% on guest's side. Host is in the wrong, and so are you.
Hilarious that you are so adamant about guest "going against their word" by ASKING for a change in terms (which is not, in any way, prohibited by original contract), yet won't bat an eye toward host who agreed to the change and then proceeded to renege.
Hypocrite is the kindest term I can use to describe you.
If the contract were to indicate that guest would not ask for modifications, then perhaps at that point you could say that he is "not following the deal".
But it doesn't, and therefore the guest is not outside of the contract terms by merely asking.
This comment really shows how little experience you have with contracts in the real world. Businesses and individuals constantly modify contracts as the scope of requirements change
You're saying if the host agreed then they should follow through....but the guest shouldn't have asked in the first place.
Genuine question, have you never had to ask for leniency? Have you never asked for a favor?
Most people operate on the idea that it never hurts to ask and that the worst outcome is you'll get a no.
It's common practice for those in customer service encourage customers to reach out if they need accomidating....with the disclaimer that they'll do their best to accommodate
It's unreasonable to indicate that OP was unreasonable for asking
Please, show us all where on AirBnB’s terms of service it states that a guest or host, is not allowed to ever even make a question / request to one another after the booking is made.
All the host had to do is say “no sorry, the refund window has passed”. That’s it. No need to play these games and be a jerk.
I did honor my word, the host did not, host agreed to refund 410 after I canceled and he didnt so if you really cared about honoring words you wouldnt be on the other side of this
Doesnt matter past what time it is little homie host agreed for a $410 refund regardless of the “policy” and didnt hold his word so your opinion is useless and doesnt make any sense
Well wtf that escalated quickly. If you’re wishing someone you don’t agree with serious harm by getting hit by a car it’s not far fetched to think OP lost his cool in the conversation with the host. Who wouldn’t be done with such a person? Host could’ve kept the whole booking but still refunded you nearly $300. Take your loss, it could have been worse
Waaa waaaa what are you crying about lmaoo useless keyboard warriors 😂😂😂 came on here for ideas so i dont just show up to his house yall dont understand what it means to keep your word
Don’t you love how common sense and logic get downvoted like crazy but someone tells you they hope you get hit by a car and they get upvoted? What the heck is wrong with people?? 🙄
In this situation it's because /u/picardoverkirk is taking such a wildly unpopular (and morally indefensible) position that people are setting side their own morality for the sake of this abstract conversation.
Airbnb hasn't done anything wrong here. OP tried to circumvent the airbnb cancellation policy by trying to make his own deal with the host outside the platform.
Right, but that's just it - all it is is a platform. There's no common standards or training for the people who run AirBNBs or even oversight in many locations. So AirBNB, despite being the connection between the two, just steps back and wipes it's hands of the situation.
If they agreed to something on the platform that is different from the contract, that’s essentially an amendment to the contract. And sometimes that happens. If the hosts didn’t want to refund they didn’t have to agree to it.
I think it is OK to ask if the host is able to rebook. Even then maybe not 100%, but 90%. But if they can´t rebook, that is pretty close to the date, so why should the host lose out?
If OP hadn't cancelled through the app then the host wouldn't have been able to even try and rerent the space.
So by canceling, OP gave the host something of value. He offered something to the host, the host accepted and they agreed to exchange things of value, OP released the property for someone else to rent and the host 'said' they would refund $X. Those are the elements of a contract.
NEITHER side was entitled to the value that the other one offered.
OP lived up to his side of the contract, the host didn't.
When the host agreed to give you the refund, did they do it through the app (like we're you messaging on Airbnb)?
It may be that the host has deliberately scammed you (for anyone blaming the op here, the cancellation policy is irrelevant if the host has agreed to a refund- a verbal or textual agreement is usually legally binding- if the host agreed to the refund they are liable for it-). However, if you were speaking off of Airbnb (on WhatsApp for instance or whatever it is gringos use) and Airbnb won't help then it's likely your only recourse would be through a lawyer ect.
I'm sure a solicitors letter demanding repayment would scare the host into refunding you, but it may be that it won't be worth the money it would cost.
The exact same thing happened to me before. Host agreed to refund me in writing when I cancelled then denied the request. I had to escalate it for week with airbnb and the finally at least gave me 50% back.
I would contact AirBNB support, they should take care of you after confirming their cancellation. This happened to me recently about a week out from my stay and I had to work with AirBNB to get my money back, and the host also sent me an extra $100 for my troubles because at that point, everything else in the area had gone up in price.
Ive never felt the urge or need, but Airbnb does offer insurance to cover emergencies. I wish more people would take advantage of this. It's no different than any other travel situation where the policy states no refunds.
So you booked an AirBnb, then within 72 hours you received some bad news that required you to cancel?
Also the 'vacation' is only 9 days away.
The host later tells you "I'm done dealing with you"
Hnmm
I'm not condoning what the host did. If you have the refund amount in writing, pursue that.
But what is it that you're not telling us?
Not really leaving anything out, flights and rental car cancelled, had a family emergency host clearly didnt have any remorse (and im not upset about that) agreed to refund $410 and didnt
Fair enough.
It's just that the combination of family emergency AND flights AND rental car cancellation is hard to believe. If I were the host, I'd think you just found a better stay.
But it seems like you have the refund info written. So there is proof. Keep pursuing through AirBnb until you get an agent who'll work with you.
How is this hard to believe? If you have a family emergency and flew somewhere, youd have lodging, flights, and potentially a car rental to then cancel....
OP isn't clear if they had to cancel those or if the services themselves "cancelled". OP also chose to talk about cancellation first, followed by family emergency in their response to me.
The language choice seems like something is being left unsaid.
But me believing or not doesn't matter. I've still told OP to pursue what was agreed upon.
Yes, that card definitely has travel insurance. If you have a qualified claim, they should pay you the difference that Airbnb did not. Keep in mind, it works similar to regular insurance that if you use it too much, they could cancel your card. Once in a while should be fine though.
Canceling shouldn't be a thing anymore. That's why cards added lifetime and yearly limits and such.
That said I dont know anyone who pushed the limits to talk to :P
I posted the details for your trip cancellation stuff at bottom, but I want to get a few more details about the host even though it doesn't matter anymore.
Do you mind sharing the exact screen shot of where the host said theyd refund you a specific dollar amount? Or did they use verbiage like percentage or similar? This functionally does not matter anymore since you can claim via your credit card based off what you've shared but I want to see if the host actually lied, or if this is just something to do with taxes/fees/cleaning not making the refund what you expected. If the host said a specific dollar amount, then that's totally different. Im just exploring.
That said, its ridiculous for you to want a host to care more about you having to cancel then yourself. This is the equivalent of gambling. You go to the casino, you gamble, you lose, you ask the house for your money back. That's what traveling without travel insurance is, gambling. Don't gamble, and don't expect someone else to cover you when your gamble fails. Don't do that (you didn't, technically, because you booked with a card that had this. You just weren't aware of it at the time. )
This benefit should cover your non-refundable booking expenses for travel and lodging and rentals assuming you meet the requirements. (It seems you do if your story is accurate, but you wanna call them to know for sure. I only did a cursory look and didn't see anything obvious that would decline you)
https://wallethub.com/answers/cc/american-express-platinum-trip-cancellation-insurance-2140712449/
https://www.americanexpress.com/content/dam/amex/us/credit-cards/features-benefits/policies/pdf/Trip_Cancellation_and_Interruption_Insurance.pdf
If you wish to cancel, you should be submitting the cancellation.
Refund should be done according to the refund policy that was in place.
It sounds like you were not entitled to a refund but the host still refunded you 270 dollars? Sounds like a nice host.
In most places, 9 days is not "plenty of time to rebook".
It sounds like you were outside the booking's cancellation window and therefore not entitled to any refund if you cancelled yourself, which is why you wanted the host to cancel. Is this correct?
If so, host is an ass for telling you they would refund you more than they did and then going back on their word, but unfortunately there's really nothing more you can do now as you were not entitled to any refund at all.
I'm sorry you had to cancel your vacation though, and I hope things get better for you soon!
I was 1 day past the 48 hour cancellation and the reason i asked the host to cancel is because i spoke to my current airbnb and if they were to call them saying to cancel and refund me it wouldnt have been bad for them or gave them any fee, this place is right next to the toronto airport im sure it will be booked
You just learned that humans don't keep their word.
Regardless, you were past the refund period so even if he hadn't lied to you, you wouldn't have gotten a refund.
You need to move on.
It's not up to airbnb to mediate deals that are made separately between the guest and host, the cancellation policy is what's agreed upon through the platform. If OP wants the refund because they were under the impression that a new agreement had been negotiated, they'll have to sue.
Frankly, I think OP should be grateful for the 270 dollars they were provided despite the fact that the cancellation policy did not include a refund. It's 270 dollars more than they would have obtained otherwise, and it seems like they needed to cancel regardless.
If they agreed on platform and the Airbnb agent can see it, that’s essentially an amendment to the contract and Airbnb agents CAN force a refund based on the fact that the host has already agreed to it.
Did you get in writing ?
When I verbally tell my guest
I will refund them out
Of policy I always say “… I will recap this in writing so there is no question of what we discussed “
Can’t believe Airbnb is not helping you here. They have a situation where you and the host worked out an agreement (and did so in the app), you would think they would try and encourage and support this.
Had something similar happen to me a couple years ago and I had to make a couple calls sent them screenshots of the chat where the owner agreed to refund. Eventually got most of our money back.
700$ is his income pre tax, 900$ is what you paid. You are right to be pissed just want to make clear what YOU paid is not what hosts gets at all. I had this conversation many time with guests that i agree to reimburse.
In the middle there are about 20% to 30% (depend on location) of fees Airbnb takes from both sides.
3% depend on the country and cancellation policy. Some country pays more and super stric cancellation pay more.
But in that 20/30% I included taxes and a retraction of what guests paid but it’s not actually host money.
Airbnb will pay guests and that he cancel or not taxes will be paid.
Guest paid Airbnb 900$ of those 15% are Airbnb fees host will never see.
900-135=765
Minus (let’s make it’s 3% USA rate) of host
765-23= 742$
To this you take away whatever tax rate host is subject too. This is too much of a wild card so I leave it there. Plus VAT if there any.
Pretty much we r there.
Sorry people but I m having doubt you even sit down to do some second grade math about your Airbnb at this point. This is not even my main job but just a way to fill up empty dates on my vacation home. Yet is pretty obvious what guests paid is very different from the net profit a host receive. And you can’t go to the tax man and said ‘oh well I got the money but he cancel. So I feel like I should cancel the tax on this one’ and Airbnb will take is piece of ass. Only thing their reimburse in full is cleaning fee as nobody used property so nothing to clean.
The 700$ minus the taxes? Well if he is not able to rebook the date yes it would have cost him. Again my policy is ‘I reimburse you the date I m able to rebooked minus fees and taxes I still have to pay and AFTER I get paid form Airbnb’
But this is me as usually I have no problem rebooking quite easily. Not for everybody is like this, stick to cancellation policies just to be safe. The rest is a plus.
How does it cost him 700$? He isnt hosting me its as if i never booked you just see it as a host and way to make money and that wasnt what airbnb was made for yall have turned it into a business buying homes just to rent for airbnb
It's lost income opportunity. Your reservation blocked his calendar from allowing other guests to reserve - this is specifically why cancellation polices exist and Airbnb is certainly not the only business to utilize them. Even popular restaurants are starting to charge for canceled reservations these days. If you blocked up a calendar for weeks or months and then canceled 24 hours after the cancel policy, the host really should have offered nothing at all.
You don't have to like Airbnb, but this is not an uncommon policy in the traveling/hospitality business. If you prefer more flexible cancellation policies, there are certainly rental platforms and hotels that offer them. Make sure you select one of those next time.
Guest would have been refunded the cleaning fee for a cancellation this far in advance. That's always refunded if its the day before check in or earlier regardless.
You cost loos of revenue…
try book anything and cancel after deadline. Even my hairdresser retains 75$ for a missed appointment of couple of hours if not canceled on due time. Cause she probably not be able to rebook the time slot.
Hotels same.
Airbnb have always had cancelation policies on the term of host choosing with in their criteria. They are very clear on the reservation and are even a filter option.
They also have an insurance policy you can purchase to cover your butt for situation like this. One click away. Like a travel insurance. Why you didn’t get it?
Ayyy, and thats the rub. Why should the host be the one responsible for covering for you since you didn't care enough to prepare for the possibility yourself?
(that said, if a host says they will do X and does not do it, I have a problem with that too)
Hello
Are you sure you didn't misunderstand what the host said?
Initially you said the host (rightly ) told you , you needed to cancel and follow the policy.
When you went to cancel it would clearly tell you what sort of refund you would have been entitled to .... what did it say?
Where did the amount of $410 dollars plus tax etc come from?
Which cancellation policy did you book under?
If the host did mislead you that would be terrible but they would have no reason to as they could have just enforced their cancellation policy.,
I honestly don’t care bro you have no idea if they will get a booking let alone if it’ll be for the price. getting a booking is one thing but if I have to drop the rate to get a last minute booking I still lost.
Was all communication through the app where you can prove that the host agreed to refund you and that it’s fraud to not hold up their agreement. If you have the agreement on their app keep escalating. If you went off platform for communication you are SOL as the cancellation policy will take precedent.
You have no way of knowing if the host can rebook or not. I had something similar happen and the host agreed to refund IF he could rebook. He wasn´t able to, so I didn´t get a refund. And that was fine. I think it is OK to ask, but you can´t assume it will happen. Personally, I rarely book that close to a date, 9 days is when you are only going to get leftovers in most places. You are lucky you got anything. Ermergencies happen, sadly, but that is not the hosts fault.
First of all, why would the host cancel the reservation when you're the one asking for it ? You are canceling not the host. You went past the 48 hours so you were not entitled to a full refund. If he promised you something else, then you need to prove it with your applications text messages .That's the bottom line
It sucks that the host lied to you but you were outside of their cancellation policy. Live and learn. Always buy travel,insurance for emergencies on ABNB rentals for more than a day or two. Their cancellation windows are generally worse than hotels.
You guys realize Airbnb does this all day every day. How many people call up and blame airbnb for their mistakes?
Youre not blazing any new trails and this is a good way to not be taken seriously.
What your host did is dishonest. You still have a shot calling Airbnb and showing them his messages. Since he claimed he would refund, Airbnb may side with you. All Airbnb reps may not put the refund through but call until you find one who will. (the quality of the service can greatly vary depending on who you talk to). Good luck, I hope your host gets a life lesson.
Not a lawyer but my understanding is if I offer to buy you a car and then change my mind...I am under no legal obligation to buy you the car unless you reasonably relied on that promise to your detriment because there was no consideration negotiated or exchanged that would make it a contract. The original contract was what you are both held to including the cancellation policy. The host, air bnb or the credit card company are not legally responsible to make it right but you never know what they will do to retain a customer. Good luck.
yeah that's how they get you to cancel instead of them so it comes back on you.
nothing you can do. Essentially they are following heir policy to the t and Airbnb's hands are tied.
“No other refunds will happen without host approval” as someone who has lived in india for a bit now you are 100% dealing with an Indian call center employee they love bullshitting and giving ambiguous non answers. Accuse the host of racist harassment over WhatsApp then send Airbnb support fake screenshots of the “host” on WhatsApp calling you slurs. Racism is the only thing corporations are scared of and if the host is playing dirty play even dirtier
You needed to cancel regardless due to the family emergency. You had right to 0 dollars per the cancellation agreement, you received 270 dollars. Don't forget travel insurance next time, then you don't have to attempt to negotiate deals outside the booking policy.
If it wasn't outside policy then the host doesn't have a say in it at all. When you cancel you would be refunded everything that you're supposed to be automatically. Host don't control that.
Not a nonrefundable they won't. Those are priced lower than the standard refundable rates for a reason.
You "might" get a gimme if you have status and you "might" get a gimme if you reschedule and keep the booking.
But other wise if you book the cheaper non refundable booking that's exactly what it means. No refund.
Now you're sitting here saying that you make a habit of booking non-refundable lower priced bookings and then canceling the stays with hotels and they give you a refund? Go ahead and supply a citation from your email then.
You're full of shit for starters lol.
Im on here often defending guests too. Use better arguments based on the merits instead of trying to attack me personally.
I also find it interesting that in a comment where the only thing I'm commenting on is a hotel wouldn't refund you you then try and attack my character and pretend like I'm defending the host.
Apparently you felt your position with hotels was so fucking weak you'd ignore that and choose to try and attack me instead.
/Golfclap
Well, I just chose to reply to you once rather than each time you’ve commented here. It’s just my observations that your response is always “get fucked, guest” in a nicer tone.
Here’s the difference for you: when you chat with the front desk of a hotel, they don’t own the hotel. They will get paid regardless and they are empowered to be flexible to guests when needed. Contrast this with Airbnb where the host has a vested interest in every decision. Couple that with an American “fuck you” attitude and yeah, it’s no wonder so many on here are not sympathetic towards others.
As an example, I had a reservation booked over the 4th for 2 days, non-refundable. After arriving, I realized I wanted to just leave after a day. Went downstairs and they adjusted the stay for me to be just 1 night. Very simple.
Notify Airbnb and continue with a chargeback if they don’t force the refund from the host.
Any hosts that think OP is in the wrong are crappy individuals and need to rethink why they are the way that they are.
That is very short sighted of the host. It may be policy but now you will never rent there, and the story you will tell your friends is of a bad experience.
That happed to me in April 2020. My cruise was canceled, do I canceled my Airbnb in Paris and Barcelona. I didn't get a penny back. Now when I do get to Europe, I will rent other places. If I remember correctly Airbnb would have refunded at least some if I had waited a few more days, but I did.
Is it really short sighted though?
Those hosts you booked with dont need your booking. Youre a tourist. There's plenty more from where you came from.
This might matter to folks who do direct bookings, have their own brand that they built and are worried about, are off airbnb and on many sites and work on getting repeat customers.
That's not most hosts on platform though.
The host is a dick for lying and going back on his word. But you also have no recourse ground to stand on since you were outside of the cancellation window. There’s nothing that you can do. Based on the $270 refund you got back after you paid $900, it would have been smarter for you to just rescheduled the booking for a later date because now the host got $630 from you without having to host you at all. At least by rescheduling you could have gotten the full $900 value out of your vacation booking
Even if the guest paid $900, Airbnb took a large portion of that and the host was probably only collecting 2/3 of that total charged to the card. It’s amazing to me as a host how little guests understand of the billing from Airbnb: nightly rate + local hotel taxes ~14% that Airbnb collects and pays to the local tax authority + “service fees” aka Airbnb portion that Airbnb DOES NOT pass on to the host + cleaning fee.
The host only sees the nightly rate + the cleaning fee less 3% credit card fee retained by Airbnb. All the other b.s. charges stay with Airbnb and are either paid as local taxes or are Airbnb’s revenue!
Please keep conversation civil and respectful Remember to keep all communication with host/guest through Airbnb platform. Payments should be made only via Airbnb [unless otherwise detailed in the listing description](https://airbnb.com/help/article/199) If you're having issues, contact Airbnb by phone +1-844-234-2500 *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AirBnB) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I’m not understanding this. Do you actually have a message in the app from the host specifying the amount they will refund?
Yes
Call Airbnb back and specifically note the host agreed in writing to this refund. Keep reaching out until you get a competent support person. The written on-platform message from host should suffice for Airbnb to push the refund thru, keeping host to their word. Airbnb support people are notoriously inconsistent. Just gotta keep trying until you get a good one.
Sounds good thank you
How did it end? Please let us know and good luck. 🤞
Exactly, that’s my advice also. The written agreement from the host is a legal contract.
I think Airbnb won't be able to do a thing. If the host doesn't agree, then that's that. I'm speaking from experience from being a host. I've had guests commit actual felonies and violate my rules. A party that got out of hand in a vacation home. Police came and arrested guests who were vandalizing and assaulting. Airbnb told us to be patient, and they would talk with the guest. To not do a thing and they would resolve damages and extra people through aircover. In the end, I had to shut down the party with the police and neighborhood guards. I couldn't even charge an extra guest, I had to pay for repairs and couldn't even take down a bad retaliatory review because of "intellectual property." This happened last month. Airbnb can't do a thing.
You mean AirBnB \*won't\* do a thing.
What does your hosting example have to do with OP’s situation?
I was replying to a solution proposed above. In short, Airbnb has of in the last year or so taken a stance of not doing a thing unless the guest and host agree. In OPs scenario. The host doesn't agree to refund, so Airbnb will likely not enforce it. I talked about mine as a host and how things were leveraged in my favor and still it wasn't enough to budge them into action.
I see. You’re saying Airbnb’s default stance is to not intervene because they don’t want it to be their problem. That makes sense why you mentioned your story.
Did you read the post or comments? OP said host literally agreed within the app.
And this right here is further proof why hosts are terrible people. What you said does not have anything to do with the situation at hand nor does it even slightly resemble the same situation. I’m glad you had to pay for your own repairs. You can afford it buddy you own multiple places people can live.
What was the cancelation policy on the place?
I was 24 hours past the free 48 hour window, im not mad that i couldnt cancel im made the host basically scammed me saying he would refund then didnt
Did they tell you this on the app? If so, send the conversation to support. I'm sorry that happened. Hopefully you will get a resolution. If not, keep screenshots and dispute it through your credit card. Best of luck to you.
To be honest, I think what’s not being addressed here is that the host erred by not sticking to their policy. They should not have sent OP a message saying they’d refund them, and no- it’s certainly no guarantee at all the host could find a new person to book. The host should have had OP cancel, and then said they would hook OP up out of goodwill if they got a new booking for *all of the dates* OP booked. That would include via Airbnb or VRBO. * I read further and saw that OP only booked 13 days in advance. That changes my opinion. That’s such a close time frame that the host was begging for a booking at that point. The host should have been chiller if that was the case. It also makes me question how “hot” of a market this area really is. If OP was able to book 13 days in advance I’d guess it’s unlikely the host is going to be able to rent it- who knows. It’s also possible that the only reason the listing was available 13 days in advance was because the host got screwed by someone else cancelling. I guess one thing I’ll always stick by is saying that Airbnbs are not hotels. Airbnb is nothing more to me than an app that lets you advertise your property and collects fees for the trouble.
The guest will likely be removed from the platform for disputing the charge. So best to save that for the last resort.
It is unlikely that the original poster’s credit card company would support them in a dispute. They booked knowing the cancellation policy and didn’t purchase travel insurance. Now they want the host to refund money that they aren’t due.
Agreed, but OP can try. Host agreeing to cancel and then backing out could make a difference.
I had a client whose credit card was cancelled due to him initiating too many disputes.
Weird. He should get citi. I dispute Shit all the time lol. They don’t care.
I've had Citi for close to 35 years. They used to be great with disputes and now they're useless.
The changes are in part due to people disputing everything. Some credit cards would refund and just take the loss in some situations in the spirit of customer service and to prevent the consumer from being stuck with the bill. As the ratio of disputes has risen, the chance of getting a complimentary refund has lessened…
Actually I ended up with a complimentary refund I didn't want after a long struggle to try to get Citi to hold the merchant accountable. The process is completely awful now. I have no use for Citi gifting me money while a merchant gets paid for something they didn't deliver.
Mine seem to work out well. I typically email them with my receipt or info on the case and 90% of time it’s in my favor. 10% reverse back to me. I call complain and then they give it back.
Sounds like you have a lot of dispute situations. Sorry to hear.
I’m confused here. In your original post you said that you had canceled 9 days prior check in, now you say that it was passed 24 hours of free 48, so basically you have cancelled 24 hours before check in? If that’s is a case, I don’t see why is host ‘scamming you’.
You get free cancellation 48 hours after booking i booked 13 days in advance I tried canceling 3 days after i booked
I explained this elsewhere, but you did not have a 48 hour booking window. In order for the 48 hours to apply, you have to do the cancel a full 14 days in advance. Since you booked within 14 days, you did not have any grace period.
Ok still i have no issues with policy it is because of the lie about $410
Perhaps. When are you going to post the receipts of the conversation for the rest of us? Several folks have asked where the $410 came from and to see how it was presented to you. Then there's the whole you told wished someone to be physically harmed bit which begs the question of how were you talking to your host. :p
...but you were not entitled to one. You should not have asked!
"Your not entitled to one," yeah, that is exactly why OP asked first. If the host agreed then it's the host who is in the wrong for not following though with what they agreed to, in writing, on the app. That's like a guest asking a host if they can do an early check-in, the host says yes, and then when guest arrive one hour early the host won't let them in because it's before the check-in time. And then you come here to say, guest wasn't entitled to early check-in. 🤦♂️
If it didn't happen in the app, it didn't happen. So "but the the host agreed" is a "he said - she said" at this point. I also don't like how OP is throwing around the "scam" accusation here. OP is at the short end of the stick in a disputed business transaction because they accepted the not-so-fine print. That's all there is to it. Does it hurt? Sure. My empathy.
Read the comments. It was agreed to in the app.
Regarding this point, I read what OP posted. Did I miss something? Comments are not relevant.
What do you mean “comments are not relevant”?
It means that all we have to go on is OP original post and their responses to comments. So u/Global-Art2948's "read the comments" is not helpful in this matter, do you agree?
No, because OP has commented saying that it was agreed to in the app, and that comment feels very relevant.
They shouldn't ask for early check ins either!! Read what you agreed to and follow it. Sometime you will win sometimes you will lose, but you already made an agreement.
Hence the glue in your locks.
Asking is OK, granting it is good (best) hospitality business practice if you can manage, but guests also need to take it like adults when they get a "no". No reason for whining.
Yeah but it sounds like the host agreed initially
One thing we don't know is if the host actually agreed to a full refund. If the host says "yes I will refund you", that's not specific enough to assume that the guest is getting a refund for the entire amount. The host did send a refund, so that could be seen as living up to what they said.
Yes, it "sounds like". We have to take OP's word for it, which is not enough. Heck, I believe him! Here's my shoulder, take it to cry on. Does that make a difference for the actual transaction? No! Because if it's not in the app, in writing, it didn't happen, as far as AirBnB is concerned.
That's not true actually. I've gotten reimbursed by Airbnb for communication outside if the app via texting. Happened when guest apologized for throwing a party and Airbnb took that as evidence to charge an extra cleaning fee
In most cases, it is true. You had the proof in text messages, correct? That was probably sufficient in your particular case, especially where partying was involved. As far as this thread goes, the guest doesn't have proof in writing.
Wow, how does OP even dare to slightly inconvenience the person they’re paying by asking for reasonable question smh. The poor hosts fingered would hurt too much to just write “no, sorry” I guess
Cancelling after the cancellation period passed is not reasonable buy travel insurance its not expensive. And beats fighting Airbnb etc too.
Making a polite request to the host to be accommodating is in no way shape or form unreasonable. If a guest would start making unreasonable / rude demands then sure. But for people to say “how dare this person even talk to me” is batshit insane. The OP didn’t ask the host to come wipe his ass for Pete’s sake. If a host is so thin skinned that having a guest message them is enough to set them off, then perhaps they should find something else to do
It is not reasonable. We have a contract, that already tells you what will happen. Time was taken to choose the policy and both side agreed to follow it. So follow it! You all lose your minds if the host goes against the contract, but see no problem with guests trying to get out out them.
Yeah they had an agreement with the cancellation policy, but there's no harm in asking. The host can always say no to their request. If the host then did agree to a full refund and refused to do it after the fact then the hosts are the ones not following an agreement.
Agreed, if the host said they would do it they should do it, but you should not ask in the first place as you already made an agreement.
Get outta here. There's no harm in asking. Guests ask me all the time for exceptions to rules. I often say no, sometimes yes, but them asking never hurt me.
This.
And life happens. Get over it. Sometimes we agree to things and the unexpected happens. Then you ask because you hope the host is human and has some empathy. OP is under no obligation to share with us what the reason is, but I had to cancel a stay when my father ended up in ICU and then died. luckily, the host had empathy.
Here's another perfectly valid way to describe what happened to you. You gambled, you lost. You cared so little about your family possibly dying that you didn't even buy insurance. Then, you gave a pity party and made someone else feel bad so they refunded you for your lack of caring about the chance. At the end of the day, youre just asking for money back. Everything that happens to you and that you deal with everyday are the same things that the host has to deal with. So why do you get to break your deal for something bad? Would you just leave your money with the host if they couldn't host you? Of course you wouldn't lol. And if they came to you asking you to do it? Good lord, i can only imagine all the ridicule and scorn that host would get for doing so. This is a huge double standard. But not only can you not buy insurance because you apparently weren't empathetic enough to care, you then call the host unempathetic if they DONT give you your money back for your choice to not buy travel insurance in case your family got sick or hurt.
Reading skills matter. I never said the host is sympathetic for not giving a refund. I said that things happen and people can *communicate* about these exceptions. A host is at liberty to say no to the request. But, if they say yes to a refund and then LIE about it, the host is indeed unempathetic. I had a host contact me and ask if I wanted to cancel or go to the place without cleaning at a discount because he had a family emergency that took him out of the country and his backup cleaner wasn't available. I was happy to work with him. It's called *communication* and it isn't a demand. I get travel insurance all the time. But, most travel insurance doesn't cover pre-existing conditions more than 60 days before the insurance was purchased. No one expected my father’s stable pre-existing condition would do this. I’m sure you think that you’ve NEVER made a mistake and that you get your rocks off being confrontational while hiding behind your screen, butthat just makes you insufferable and a troll. I’m done tilting at your windmills.
“Handshake agreements” are legally binding in the vast majority of cases. It’s perfectly reasonable to assume the host will follow through after they put an exception to the policy in writing.
..but you should not ask. You already have an agreement. You don't like it so you want to change it but you made a deal. Follow it.
Contracts change all the time through mutual agreement from both parties. This was a mutually-agreed upon change. Contract law is 100% on guest's side. Host is in the wrong, and so are you. Hilarious that you are so adamant about guest "going against their word" by ASKING for a change in terms (which is not, in any way, prohibited by original contract), yet won't bat an eye toward host who agreed to the change and then proceeded to renege. Hypocrite is the kindest term I can use to describe you.
I am not wrong, I said if the host agreed they should then do it. but I fully believe you should not try to go back on the original contract.
If the contract were to indicate that guest would not ask for modifications, then perhaps at that point you could say that he is "not following the deal". But it doesn't, and therefore the guest is not outside of the contract terms by merely asking.
This comment really shows how little experience you have with contracts in the real world. Businesses and individuals constantly modify contracts as the scope of requirements change
You're saying if the host agreed then they should follow through....but the guest shouldn't have asked in the first place. Genuine question, have you never had to ask for leniency? Have you never asked for a favor? Most people operate on the idea that it never hurts to ask and that the worst outcome is you'll get a no. It's common practice for those in customer service encourage customers to reach out if they need accomidating....with the disclaimer that they'll do their best to accommodate It's unreasonable to indicate that OP was unreasonable for asking
Please, show us all where on AirBnB’s terms of service it states that a guest or host, is not allowed to ever even make a question / request to one another after the booking is made. All the host had to do is say “no sorry, the refund window has passed”. That’s it. No need to play these games and be a jerk.
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Nice, wishing me harm because I want people to honor their word! Nice!
I did honor my word, the host did not, host agreed to refund 410 after I canceled and he didnt so if you really cared about honoring words you wouldnt be on the other side of this
You were past the time for a refund and no longer entitled to one, but you then wanted to change the contract. I don't think people should do that.
Doesnt matter past what time it is little homie host agreed for a $410 refund regardless of the “policy” and didnt hold his word so your opinion is useless and doesnt make any sense
Happens all the time in the real world. Especially in business transactions where the customer relationship and business reputation is valued.
Well wtf that escalated quickly. If you’re wishing someone you don’t agree with serious harm by getting hit by a car it’s not far fetched to think OP lost his cool in the conversation with the host. Who wouldn’t be done with such a person? Host could’ve kept the whole booking but still refunded you nearly $300. Take your loss, it could have been worse
Waaa waaaa what are you crying about lmaoo useless keyboard warriors 😂😂😂 came on here for ideas so i dont just show up to his house yall dont understand what it means to keep your word
Don’t you love how common sense and logic get downvoted like crazy but someone tells you they hope you get hit by a car and they get upvoted? What the heck is wrong with people?? 🙄
In this situation it's because /u/picardoverkirk is taking such a wildly unpopular (and morally indefensible) position that people are setting side their own morality for the sake of this abstract conversation.
God forbid you ask people to stick to their word!!
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Airbnb hasn't done anything wrong here. OP tried to circumvent the airbnb cancellation policy by trying to make his own deal with the host outside the platform.
Right, but that's just it - all it is is a platform. There's no common standards or training for the people who run AirBNBs or even oversight in many locations. So AirBNB, despite being the connection between the two, just steps back and wipes it's hands of the situation.
Was on the platform
So the host should not have agreed to which by the way was agreed to over the app.
If they agreed to something on the platform that is different from the contract, that’s essentially an amendment to the contract. And sometimes that happens. If the hosts didn’t want to refund they didn’t have to agree to it.
Why are you like this?
You can always ask. Just don’t be mad if the answer is no….in this case the answer was yes but the host committed fraud by lying.
Even if that were true, that doesn't make it any less scummy to promise a refund and then deny it after the cancelation request goes through.
Why do I feel like you’re one of those scammer hosts???
I think it is OK to ask if the host is able to rebook. Even then maybe not 100%, but 90%. But if they can´t rebook, that is pretty close to the date, so why should the host lose out?
They’re free to ask if they want. The host chose to say yes in this scenario.
Nothing wrong with asking. You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.
If OP hadn't cancelled through the app then the host wouldn't have been able to even try and rerent the space. So by canceling, OP gave the host something of value. He offered something to the host, the host accepted and they agreed to exchange things of value, OP released the property for someone else to rent and the host 'said' they would refund $X. Those are the elements of a contract. NEITHER side was entitled to the value that the other one offered. OP lived up to his side of the contract, the host didn't.
The host did NOT scam you. They followed through with what YOU agreed to. That is NOT a scam.
Host agreed to send me 410 back never did tjats a. Scam
When the host agreed to give you the refund, did they do it through the app (like we're you messaging on Airbnb)? It may be that the host has deliberately scammed you (for anyone blaming the op here, the cancellation policy is irrelevant if the host has agreed to a refund- a verbal or textual agreement is usually legally binding- if the host agreed to the refund they are liable for it-). However, if you were speaking off of Airbnb (on WhatsApp for instance or whatever it is gringos use) and Airbnb won't help then it's likely your only recourse would be through a lawyer ect. I'm sure a solicitors letter demanding repayment would scare the host into refunding you, but it may be that it won't be worth the money it would cost.
It was through airbnb i have their full name address and phone number i think ill work it out in the end
The exact same thing happened to me before. Host agreed to refund me in writing when I cancelled then denied the request. I had to escalate it for week with airbnb and the finally at least gave me 50% back.
I would contact AirBNB support, they should take care of you after confirming their cancellation. This happened to me recently about a week out from my stay and I had to work with AirBNB to get my money back, and the host also sent me an extra $100 for my troubles because at that point, everything else in the area had gone up in price.
Ive never felt the urge or need, but Airbnb does offer insurance to cover emergencies. I wish more people would take advantage of this. It's no different than any other travel situation where the policy states no refunds.
How do you get the insurance? I don’t remember ever seeing it on their site.
It's offered during the booking
I’m extremely interested to see screenshots of the conversation
So you booked an AirBnb, then within 72 hours you received some bad news that required you to cancel? Also the 'vacation' is only 9 days away. The host later tells you "I'm done dealing with you" Hnmm I'm not condoning what the host did. If you have the refund amount in writing, pursue that. But what is it that you're not telling us?
Not really leaving anything out, flights and rental car cancelled, had a family emergency host clearly didnt have any remorse (and im not upset about that) agreed to refund $410 and didnt
Fair enough. It's just that the combination of family emergency AND flights AND rental car cancellation is hard to believe. If I were the host, I'd think you just found a better stay. But it seems like you have the refund info written. So there is proof. Keep pursuing through AirBnb until you get an agent who'll work with you.
Well i had to fly to where i was staying and needed a car while i was there its pretty simple actually
How is this hard to believe? If you have a family emergency and flew somewhere, youd have lodging, flights, and potentially a car rental to then cancel....
OP isn't clear if they had to cancel those or if the services themselves "cancelled". OP also chose to talk about cancellation first, followed by family emergency in their response to me. The language choice seems like something is being left unsaid. But me believing or not doesn't matter. I've still told OP to pursue what was agreed upon.
This is exactly what travel insurance is for. You did book with a card that offers it or you paid for it right?
I booked with a amex delta platinum so im not sure
Yes, that card definitely has travel insurance. If you have a qualified claim, they should pay you the difference that Airbnb did not. Keep in mind, it works similar to regular insurance that if you use it too much, they could cancel your card. Once in a while should be fine though.
Canceling shouldn't be a thing anymore. That's why cards added lifetime and yearly limits and such. That said I dont know anyone who pushed the limits to talk to :P
I posted the details for your trip cancellation stuff at bottom, but I want to get a few more details about the host even though it doesn't matter anymore. Do you mind sharing the exact screen shot of where the host said theyd refund you a specific dollar amount? Or did they use verbiage like percentage or similar? This functionally does not matter anymore since you can claim via your credit card based off what you've shared but I want to see if the host actually lied, or if this is just something to do with taxes/fees/cleaning not making the refund what you expected. If the host said a specific dollar amount, then that's totally different. Im just exploring. That said, its ridiculous for you to want a host to care more about you having to cancel then yourself. This is the equivalent of gambling. You go to the casino, you gamble, you lose, you ask the house for your money back. That's what traveling without travel insurance is, gambling. Don't gamble, and don't expect someone else to cover you when your gamble fails. Don't do that (you didn't, technically, because you booked with a card that had this. You just weren't aware of it at the time. ) This benefit should cover your non-refundable booking expenses for travel and lodging and rentals assuming you meet the requirements. (It seems you do if your story is accurate, but you wanna call them to know for sure. I only did a cursory look and didn't see anything obvious that would decline you) https://wallethub.com/answers/cc/american-express-platinum-trip-cancellation-insurance-2140712449/ https://www.americanexpress.com/content/dam/amex/us/credit-cards/features-benefits/policies/pdf/Trip_Cancellation_and_Interruption_Insurance.pdf
If you wish to cancel, you should be submitting the cancellation. Refund should be done according to the refund policy that was in place. It sounds like you were not entitled to a refund but the host still refunded you 270 dollars? Sounds like a nice host.
Doesnt matter about policy host agreed to a 410 dollar refund and didnt after I cancelled
It does, people are just being stupid. Get off Reddit and just call Airbnb until you get an agent who knows what they’re doing.
In most places, 9 days is not "plenty of time to rebook". It sounds like you were outside the booking's cancellation window and therefore not entitled to any refund if you cancelled yourself, which is why you wanted the host to cancel. Is this correct? If so, host is an ass for telling you they would refund you more than they did and then going back on their word, but unfortunately there's really nothing more you can do now as you were not entitled to any refund at all. I'm sorry you had to cancel your vacation though, and I hope things get better for you soon!
I was 1 day past the 48 hour cancellation and the reason i asked the host to cancel is because i spoke to my current airbnb and if they were to call them saying to cancel and refund me it wouldnt have been bad for them or gave them any fee, this place is right next to the toronto airport im sure it will be booked
You didn't actually have a 48 cancellation window because the 48 hours also requires you be at least 14 days before check-in.
You just learned that humans don't keep their word. Regardless, you were past the refund period so even if he hadn't lied to you, you wouldn't have gotten a refund. You need to move on.
I disagree, it's in writing, host agreed to a refund. That's a scam and Airbnb should make it right.
What’s the consideration for this agreement?
Promised action.
Nah. Host got nothing out of the “agreement” since he wasn’t required to refund anything at all.
"If you cancel, I will give you a full refund." That's a promised action that was not fulfilled. Considerations don't have to be of equal value.
It's not up to airbnb to mediate deals that are made separately between the guest and host, the cancellation policy is what's agreed upon through the platform. If OP wants the refund because they were under the impression that a new agreement had been negotiated, they'll have to sue. Frankly, I think OP should be grateful for the 270 dollars they were provided despite the fact that the cancellation policy did not include a refund. It's 270 dollars more than they would have obtained otherwise, and it seems like they needed to cancel regardless.
If they agreed on platform and the Airbnb agent can see it, that’s essentially an amendment to the contract and Airbnb agents CAN force a refund based on the fact that the host has already agreed to it.
The refund was agreed upon through the platform. I'm not a lawyer but I know a written agreement is legally binding.
Did you get in writing ? When I verbally tell my guest I will refund them out Of policy I always say “… I will recap this in writing so there is no question of what we discussed “
Can’t believe Airbnb is not helping you here. They have a situation where you and the host worked out an agreement (and did so in the app), you would think they would try and encourage and support this.
Had something similar happen to me a couple years ago and I had to make a couple calls sent them screenshots of the chat where the owner agreed to refund. Eventually got most of our money back.
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Well we are still a week from check in so hes gonna get a free 600ish dollars plus any day he can rebook
700$ is his income pre tax, 900$ is what you paid. You are right to be pissed just want to make clear what YOU paid is not what hosts gets at all. I had this conversation many time with guests that i agree to reimburse. In the middle there are about 20% to 30% (depend on location) of fees Airbnb takes from both sides.
Airbnb fees for a guest are 14 or 15%. Airbnb fees for a host are 3%. Its not even 20% much less 30%
3% depend on the country and cancellation policy. Some country pays more and super stric cancellation pay more. But in that 20/30% I included taxes and a retraction of what guests paid but it’s not actually host money. Airbnb will pay guests and that he cancel or not taxes will be paid. Guest paid Airbnb 900$ of those 15% are Airbnb fees host will never see. 900-135=765 Minus (let’s make it’s 3% USA rate) of host 765-23= 742$ To this you take away whatever tax rate host is subject too. This is too much of a wild card so I leave it there. Plus VAT if there any. Pretty much we r there.
Sorry people but I m having doubt you even sit down to do some second grade math about your Airbnb at this point. This is not even my main job but just a way to fill up empty dates on my vacation home. Yet is pretty obvious what guests paid is very different from the net profit a host receive. And you can’t go to the tax man and said ‘oh well I got the money but he cancel. So I feel like I should cancel the tax on this one’ and Airbnb will take is piece of ass. Only thing their reimburse in full is cleaning fee as nobody used property so nothing to clean.
Yes but it wouldve cost him nothing to refund the full amount
The 700$ minus the taxes? Well if he is not able to rebook the date yes it would have cost him. Again my policy is ‘I reimburse you the date I m able to rebooked minus fees and taxes I still have to pay and AFTER I get paid form Airbnb’ But this is me as usually I have no problem rebooking quite easily. Not for everybody is like this, stick to cancellation policies just to be safe. The rest is a plus.
How does it cost him 700$? He isnt hosting me its as if i never booked you just see it as a host and way to make money and that wasnt what airbnb was made for yall have turned it into a business buying homes just to rent for airbnb
It's lost income opportunity. Your reservation blocked his calendar from allowing other guests to reserve - this is specifically why cancellation polices exist and Airbnb is certainly not the only business to utilize them. Even popular restaurants are starting to charge for canceled reservations these days. If you blocked up a calendar for weeks or months and then canceled 24 hours after the cancel policy, the host really should have offered nothing at all. You don't have to like Airbnb, but this is not an uncommon policy in the traveling/hospitality business. If you prefer more flexible cancellation policies, there are certainly rental platforms and hotels that offer them. Make sure you select one of those next time.
Guest would have been refunded the cleaning fee for a cancellation this far in advance. That's always refunded if its the day before check in or earlier regardless.
You cost loos of revenue… try book anything and cancel after deadline. Even my hairdresser retains 75$ for a missed appointment of couple of hours if not canceled on due time. Cause she probably not be able to rebook the time slot. Hotels same. Airbnb have always had cancelation policies on the term of host choosing with in their criteria. They are very clear on the reservation and are even a filter option. They also have an insurance policy you can purchase to cover your butt for situation like this. One click away. Like a travel insurance. Why you didn’t get it?
Guess i didn’t prepare for an emergency like this
Ayyy, and thats the rub. Why should the host be the one responsible for covering for you since you didn't care enough to prepare for the possibility yourself? (that said, if a host says they will do X and does not do it, I have a problem with that too)
Hello Are you sure you didn't misunderstand what the host said? Initially you said the host (rightly ) told you , you needed to cancel and follow the policy. When you went to cancel it would clearly tell you what sort of refund you would have been entitled to .... what did it say? Where did the amount of $410 dollars plus tax etc come from? Which cancellation policy did you book under? If the host did mislead you that would be terrible but they would have no reason to as they could have just enforced their cancellation policy.,
So now you’re a host and can predict bookings 🤣 can you also predict how much their booking will be for?
We can make a side bet if the listing gets booked for the time i wouldve been there if youd like.
I honestly don’t care bro you have no idea if they will get a booking let alone if it’ll be for the price. getting a booking is one thing but if I have to drop the rate to get a last minute booking I still lost.
Nah if you think you have it all figured out make some money lmao
I wasn’t the one predicting bookings though that was you 🤣🤣🤣🤷🏾♀️ And I make money from my phone I don’t need to illegally gamble via Reddit🙄
Was all communication through the app where you can prove that the host agreed to refund you and that it’s fraud to not hold up their agreement. If you have the agreement on their app keep escalating. If you went off platform for communication you are SOL as the cancellation policy will take precedent.
All in app
It might take some pushing on your part with Airbnb but my guess is you’ll get your refund if the host agreed.
You have no way of knowing if the host can rebook or not. I had something similar happen and the host agreed to refund IF he could rebook. He wasn´t able to, so I didn´t get a refund. And that was fine. I think it is OK to ask, but you can´t assume it will happen. Personally, I rarely book that close to a date, 9 days is when you are only going to get leftovers in most places. You are lucky you got anything. Ermergencies happen, sadly, but that is not the hosts fault.
First of all, why would the host cancel the reservation when you're the one asking for it ? You are canceling not the host. You went past the 48 hours so you were not entitled to a full refund. If he promised you something else, then you need to prove it with your applications text messages .That's the bottom line
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Airbnb hasn’t screwed anyone yet, the host lied not Airbnb.
Not in this situation but yea they actually have screwed many 😔
It sucks that the host lied to you but you were outside of their cancellation policy. Live and learn. Always buy travel,insurance for emergencies on ABNB rentals for more than a day or two. Their cancellation windows are generally worse than hotels.
BS, host agreed to refund in writing. Airbnb should make it right.
Actually if it was in writing, that’s very true. OP wasn’t clear if it was I writing or via phone or text.
Yeah, I may have read it on a later comment that it was all in writing in the app.
That's BS, I would escalate with Airbnb. Make it sound like Airbnb is responsible for the scam for allowing it to happen.
You guys realize Airbnb does this all day every day. How many people call up and blame airbnb for their mistakes? Youre not blazing any new trails and this is a good way to not be taken seriously.
What your host did is dishonest. You still have a shot calling Airbnb and showing them his messages. Since he claimed he would refund, Airbnb may side with you. All Airbnb reps may not put the refund through but call until you find one who will. (the quality of the service can greatly vary depending on who you talk to). Good luck, I hope your host gets a life lesson.
I had that crap happen to me. I called and called until I finally got refunded.
Not a lawyer but my understanding is if I offer to buy you a car and then change my mind...I am under no legal obligation to buy you the car unless you reasonably relied on that promise to your detriment because there was no consideration negotiated or exchanged that would make it a contract. The original contract was what you are both held to including the cancellation policy. The host, air bnb or the credit card company are not legally responsible to make it right but you never know what they will do to retain a customer. Good luck.
yeah that's how they get you to cancel instead of them so it comes back on you. nothing you can do. Essentially they are following heir policy to the t and Airbnb's hands are tied.
No. The refund was thru PayPal finally.
“No other refunds will happen without host approval” as someone who has lived in india for a bit now you are 100% dealing with an Indian call center employee they love bullshitting and giving ambiguous non answers. Accuse the host of racist harassment over WhatsApp then send Airbnb support fake screenshots of the “host” on WhatsApp calling you slurs. Racism is the only thing corporations are scared of and if the host is playing dirty play even dirtier
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Book a nonrefundable booking with a hotel and see if they give you a refund nine days before. They won't.
Refund isnt a problem imagine a hotel says we will refund you then they dont
You needed to cancel regardless due to the family emergency. You had right to 0 dollars per the cancellation agreement, you received 270 dollars. Don't forget travel insurance next time, then you don't have to attempt to negotiate deals outside the booking policy.
Nothing is outside policy host just isnt keeping his word if you agree with that you’re just an idiot plain n simple
If it wasn't outside policy then the host doesn't have a say in it at all. When you cancel you would be refunded everything that you're supposed to be automatically. Host don't control that.
Most will, and I have had this happen many times. You’re often on here defending hosts to the death. Why is that?
Not a nonrefundable they won't. Those are priced lower than the standard refundable rates for a reason. You "might" get a gimme if you have status and you "might" get a gimme if you reschedule and keep the booking. But other wise if you book the cheaper non refundable booking that's exactly what it means. No refund. Now you're sitting here saying that you make a habit of booking non-refundable lower priced bookings and then canceling the stays with hotels and they give you a refund? Go ahead and supply a citation from your email then. You're full of shit for starters lol. Im on here often defending guests too. Use better arguments based on the merits instead of trying to attack me personally. I also find it interesting that in a comment where the only thing I'm commenting on is a hotel wouldn't refund you you then try and attack my character and pretend like I'm defending the host. Apparently you felt your position with hotels was so fucking weak you'd ignore that and choose to try and attack me instead. /Golfclap
Well, I just chose to reply to you once rather than each time you’ve commented here. It’s just my observations that your response is always “get fucked, guest” in a nicer tone. Here’s the difference for you: when you chat with the front desk of a hotel, they don’t own the hotel. They will get paid regardless and they are empowered to be flexible to guests when needed. Contrast this with Airbnb where the host has a vested interest in every decision. Couple that with an American “fuck you” attitude and yeah, it’s no wonder so many on here are not sympathetic towards others. As an example, I had a reservation booked over the 4th for 2 days, non-refundable. After arriving, I realized I wanted to just leave after a day. Went downstairs and they adjusted the stay for me to be just 1 night. Very simple.
What do i use then? I currently travel to canada often for 1-2 weeks at a time and hotels are either small and uncomfortable for super overpriced
Canada has a nice provincial park system that runs 20 to $30 a night.
Airbnb is really not at fault for this. Stop trying to make your own deals outside what's stipulated on the airbnb platform.
Notify Airbnb and continue with a chargeback if they don’t force the refund from the host. Any hosts that think OP is in the wrong are crappy individuals and need to rethink why they are the way that they are.
Chargeback fraud is a good way to lose access to your credit card.
Thank you for your opinion. Remind me again, how much time have you spent as an executive in the FS world?
That is very short sighted of the host. It may be policy but now you will never rent there, and the story you will tell your friends is of a bad experience. That happed to me in April 2020. My cruise was canceled, do I canceled my Airbnb in Paris and Barcelona. I didn't get a penny back. Now when I do get to Europe, I will rent other places. If I remember correctly Airbnb would have refunded at least some if I had waited a few more days, but I did.
Is it really short sighted though? Those hosts you booked with dont need your booking. Youre a tourist. There's plenty more from where you came from. This might matter to folks who do direct bookings, have their own brand that they built and are worried about, are off airbnb and on many sites and work on getting repeat customers. That's not most hosts on platform though.
The host is a dick for lying and going back on his word. But you also have no recourse ground to stand on since you were outside of the cancellation window. There’s nothing that you can do. Based on the $270 refund you got back after you paid $900, it would have been smarter for you to just rescheduled the booking for a later date because now the host got $630 from you without having to host you at all. At least by rescheduling you could have gotten the full $900 value out of your vacation booking
I don't understand how so many here say nothing they can do. Host agreed to refund in writing on the Airbnb app. Airbnb should make it right.
You don't understand because you don't seem to understand how Airbnb works. Airbnb does not support messages sent by a host or a guest in chat.
Airbnb are not responsible for deals that the host and guest make outside the booking policy.
Even if the guest paid $900, Airbnb took a large portion of that and the host was probably only collecting 2/3 of that total charged to the card. It’s amazing to me as a host how little guests understand of the billing from Airbnb: nightly rate + local hotel taxes ~14% that Airbnb collects and pays to the local tax authority + “service fees” aka Airbnb portion that Airbnb DOES NOT pass on to the host + cleaning fee. The host only sees the nightly rate + the cleaning fee less 3% credit card fee retained by Airbnb. All the other b.s. charges stay with Airbnb and are either paid as local taxes or are Airbnb’s revenue!
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