Hey everyone, I’m hoping to get some insight about a situation that doesn’t make sense to me, and I feel like Airbnb didn’t follow their own policies.
A guest Instant Booked my listing, which has a No-Pets policy. They agreed to all my house rules when booking. After the reservation was confirmed and after I had already sent check-in instructions, they messaged me saying they were bringing an Emotional Support Animal (ESA). I politely reminded them of my No-Pets rule, which Airbnb explicitly allows me to have. They responded saying they wanted to cancel but never actually did. Instead, they just didn’t show up.
Normally, I’d expect this to be treated as a no-show, but instead, Airbnb canceled the reservation on their behalf after check-in time had passed and issued them a full refund. I was only paid 50% of one night, even though I followed all of Airbnb’s rules.
When I asked why, Airbnb Support told me this was because I discriminated against a disability. But here’s where I’m confused:
This was not a service animal—it was an ESA. Airbnb’s own policy says I do not have to accept ESAs. Florida law does not require short-term rentals to accept ESAs.
Airbnb states in its policy that hosts are required to accommodate service animals, but they are not required to accommodate emotional support animals.So I don’t understand what I did wrong. I didn’t deny the guest’s stay—I just reminded them of my house rules, the same way I would if they had told me they planned to smoke or bring extra guests.
Airbnb also said I was wrong because I didn’t ask the guest the two required questions about their animal. But I didn’t have to—the guest voluntarily told me it was an ESA before I even had a chance to ask. These questions exist to clarify when there’s uncertainty, but the guest already made it clear that this was an ESA, not a service animal.
To make things worse, when I tried to escalate this, Airbnb Support initially told me they could offer 50% of one night. But when I asked if I could appeal, I was told that if I did, Airbnb would take back that 50% refund. I pushed back, and they later corrected themselves, but the fact that they even said this is really concerning. Hosts shouldn’t feel pressured to accept unfair rulings just because they’re afraid of losing what little Airbnb is willing to offer.
At this point, I feel like I’m the one being treated unfairly. I followed Airbnb’s rules, enforced a No-Pets policy that I’m allowed to have, and yet, the guest—who knowingly booked a No-Pets listing—was fully refunded after being a no-show.
If enforcing a No-Pets policy is now considered discrimination, Airbnb needs to make that clear in writing because their current policies say the exact opposite. Has anyone else experienced something similar? How can I escalate this further? I just want a fair resolution.
Would really appreciate any advice! Thanks in advance.
