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Hive mind advice would be great. Booked a trip on Airbnb in April this year. Had the choice of two apartments in the same building. It suited the wife and I along with our daughter (pull out sofa bed in livingroom). It was a bit dated, but reviews were decent.
Fast forward to this week and we were due to be staying there in a couple of days. I hadn’t heard from the host since booking which is pretty normal as entry instructions are often sent the day before. I noticed that the host i had originally booked with had change and also since the change both the apartment i was staying in and the other apartment reviews were terrible. Reviews of loud parties, police attending the building, guests feeling unsafe and also dirt in the beds and sofa bed. The property listing I had booked had also been removed from public search listings on Airbnb. Not sure if Airbnb pulled it due to reviews.
Contacted the host with my concerns over the changes and that it would not be a safe place to bring my 4 year old daughter. Host was evasive, advised booking stands and non refundable.
Contacted Airbnb who advised it was not their issue and it was between me and the host. They refused to refund or give a credit. I cancelled the booking anyway and had to book another, more expensive, property at the last minute, losing £190 on just the first booking.
Airbnb t&c’s look pretty wooly. Has anyone been in a similar situation? Is it worth pursuing another means? P*ssed off more about lack of ownership from Airbnb than the money tbh.
As an AirB&B host we have to choose between various cancellation/refund policies which are then binding on both parties.
Here is a copy of the options, check what was in place for the booking you made. (For what it is worth I go with the "moderate option". 5 days should stop people taking the mickey and cancelling last minute if the forecast is a bit iffy, but gives enough time for most people to change their mind if something comes up. I have only had one group not turn up due to a breakdown so I offered them a free weekend later in the year. They agreed but broke down again the second time!)
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Standard cancellation policy
Choose the policy that will apply to stays under 28 nights.
Flexible
Full refund 1 day prior to arrival
Flexible or Non-refundable
In addition to Flexible, offer a non-refundable option – guests pay 10% less, but you keep your payout no matter when they cancel. Learn more
Moderate
Full refund 5 days prior to arrival
Moderate or Non-refundable
In addition to Moderate, offer a non-refundable option – guests pay 10% less, but you keep your payout no matter when they cancel. Learn more
Firm NEW
Full refund for cancellations up to 30 days before check-in. If booked fewer than 30 days before check-in, full refund for cancellations made within 48 hours of booking and at least 14 days before check-in. After that, 50% refund up to 7 days before check-in. No refund after that.
Firm or Non-refundable NEW
In addition to Firm, offer a non-refundable option – guests pay 10% less, but you keep your payout no matter when they cancel. Learn more
Strict
Full refund for cancellations made within 48 hours of booking, if the check-in date is at least 14 days away. 50% refund for cancellations made at least 7 days before check-in. No refunds for cancellations made within 7 days of check-in.
Strict or Non-refundable
In addition to Strict, offer a non-refundable option – guests pay 10% less, but you keep your payout no matter when they cancel. Learn more
Thank you! Looks like they have the strict option. Annoying thing is even if i had noticed the drop in rating and poor reviews, most were left in the fortnight before my stay.
Also, i wouldn’t mind so much if I had just changed my plans. It’s the mix of safety of stay based on the reviews, Airbnb pulling the listing and change of host that meant I would be a pretty crap dad to put my family in that place. I wouldn’t have booked based on the current situation.
How can a booking still be valid with a change of host? Airbnb customer service is super upbeat American BS, I would try and push them. Did you use a credit card?
I did use a credit card. When i cancelled the booking I got £55 back for the cleaning fee and the rest (host fee, airbnb service fee) was lost. I assume even if credit card chargeback was an option I would only be able to do the full amount?