Cancellation Policy

[Simon2698]

Hello all,

I recently am in a dispute with an Airbnb host and looking for advice/help.

A recent Host has denied my cancellation entirely.

About 4 weeks ago, I booked an airbnb for a solo work trip I was going on. Things have since changed and I am unable to commute to the Airbnb. I sent in a request for a cancellation on Aug 13th. (The Airbnb was booked from the 23rd to the 26th)

When I logged into Airbnb to cancel (Aug 13) It brought me to a page asking if I did infact wish to cancel, and also gave an alternative route to rebook different dates. I chose to stick with the cancellation.

It then brought me to a page stating I would be forfeiting 50% as part of their cancellation policy. I chose to accept. $505.00 total bill and a $237.50 refund due to the cleaning fee not being applicable.

A week goes by, and I log into Airbnb again to book a different place, in a different area for a different time and notice a message from the host. asking me again if I am "sure" that I want to cancel, and if there are other dates I would like to choose instead of the cancellation.

Firstly, through the cancellation filters on the app, I had to already confirm all of these details. Why is it that my reservation wasn't cancelled, and can only be cancelled after a private message platform to confirm to the host that I cancelled. I thought I had already cancelled, it even gave me a breakdown of the amounts I would receiving back. I went through all the proper channels, and the host denied my cancellation even with me only getting a 50% refund (which i was fine with)

I called Airbnb, and apparently a host is not allowed to deny a cancellation under any circumstance. as long as I agree upon the cancellation policy provided by the host (which i did) Looking for some advice for what to do here!! I have contacted Airbnb and all they said they can offer me was $100 (for my troubles) when I have every right to my $237.50 refund.

[Lisa723]

@Simon2698 it sounds like instead of canceling you may have requested the host to cancel. Guests can certainly cancel at will; no agreement from the host is required.

[Emiel1]

@Simon2698 

It is my impression you used the wrong cancellation method, which asked the host to initiate cancellation.

I (as a host) had several cancellations recently and they were processed as usual, without any intervention from my side. I only receive a confirmation message the guest has cancelled and how the refund was calculated.

Best regards,

Emiel

[Sarah977]

@Simon2698  Here's what happens if you choose the option to request agreement from the host to cancel- it is registered by Airbnb as a host, not a guest cancellation, if the host agrees. The the host is hit with penalties- those dates remain blocked so they can't rebook them, they get a $50 fine, they lose Superhost status if they have that, and they get "host cancelled this reservation XX days before check-in o their review page, which of course makes future guests wary of booking with them. So of course, hosts will always decline the "ask your host ".

Now maybe this isn't clear on the guest end, that there's the option to ask the host or to just go ahead and cancel yourself. When you cancel yourself, you'll right away see confirmation that the reservation has been cancelled.

If you did just cancel yourself, then I don't know why this would have happened, but it's AirBnb you'll need to keep dealing with, in any case, not the host. 

Hosts don't even get paid until 24 hours hours after a guest checks in- at this point, Airbnb has your money, not the host.