Cancellation policy on receipt not matching what was shown on computer screen

[Jennifer2550]

Hi Airbnb Community,

Last night I changed another reservation that I had from 19 days to 30 days, but what showed up on the page before you press submit didn't match the receipt, I received from the host today after the change was approved.  Specifically, the cancellation policy.  I wrote the host today, and the host was great about replying before booking but didn't reply to my email once I wrote about the variance/cancellation policy.  I will give the host the benefit of the doubt that they will reply, however I am concerned because the 30-day reservation is a lot of money.  I do want the reservation but preferred the other cancellation policy because of all that is happening with COVID (who knows what will happen in the next 6 months - the reservation is for next year).  If the cancellation policy had shown last night what came on the receipt today, I probably would not of changed the reservation.  I liked the flexibility to cancel it to mid next year because of COVID if needed.  

Does anybody have any advice? Has anybody experienced what is show on the computer/screen doesn't match the receipt you receive after the host approves the change? 

Any advice would be appreciated.  I know where to find the 800 #, so that is not what I am looking.  More about why what I saw on the screen didn't match the receipt, and what I should do about that.    

Thanks so much!

[Anonymous]

@Jennifer2550 All bookings of 28 days or longer automatically default to the Long Term cancellation policy. This is set by Airbnb, not by the host. If you preferred the terms of your original booking, you can submit another date change request to shorten your stay to 27 days or less.

[Christopher1048]

Jennifer2550 similar situation here when we just cancelled a trip and all of a sudden the cancellation policy doesn't match our original policy at the time of booking. We even have the email confirmation with the original policy stating "Full Refund" but AirBnB is now keeping our $241.98 service fee. Still waiting for a response.

[Helen3]

A full refund means you are refunded money due to the host. Airbnb still keep their fee @Christopher1048 

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/home/cancellation_policies

[Christopher1048]

I don't know but seems pretty straight forward from the wording in my confirmation email:

Cancellation policy:

"Cancel before 4:00 PM on Dec 13 and get a full refund. After that, cancel before 4:00 PM on Dec 22 and get a full refund, minus the service fee.

Cutoff times are based on the listing’s local time"

We cancelled before the cut off, so shouldn't we get the "FULL REFUND" including service fee?

[Jennifer2550]

Yes, I agree, if that was what was stated, and you canceled before Dec 13, you should get a full refund.  After, you would have to pay service fee.  I am sure Airbnb will refund you the service fee.  I would assume there system is all date/time stamped, so they can look at the record and confirm if the timing was before the deadline.  I hope this get worked out for you.  Just life these days, always something to follow up upon.  Cheers! 

[Jennifer2550]

Thanks for your replies - @Anonymous  and @Christopher1048  I agree with Andrew about changing it, so I went back in to do so, but now if I change it the price does not go down to a per night rate that I had before.  So, I would pay the same rate as what I paid for the 30-days even if I change it to less days.  Also, now no cancellation policy shows up on the screen before submitting the change (about what the new cancellation policy would be). This is very simple - the cancellation policy on the screen should match to what is submitted and approved on the host end.  There should be NO variance.  It is fine if that is the policy for 30-day reservations, however it should show that on the screen, so the customer is informed about that before they purchase it.  Don't you think? 

[Anonymous]

@Jennifer2550  If reducing the length of the stay didn't reduce the price, that might be because the host applied a monthly discount in the pricing settings. 

I agree that it should be made clearer in the booking alteration process when changing the length of stay changes the cancellation policy. Here's a form you can use to send feedback:  https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/feedback

[Jennifer2550]

Thanks again @Anonymous  I will submit feedback, so they can fix this bug.  I emailed the host and she replied that she would honor the previous cancellation policy, so I an going to leave the reservation as is.  Which is great, but I just like things to be as stated, so that I don't have to reply on something out of the regular process/policy.  Cheers! 

[Emiel1]

@Jennifer2550 

Changing reservations from short term to long term (28 nights and more) and visa versa allways gives trouble. There to many factors involved. One of them is the cancellation policy. Another one is the  monthly discount. As a host i allways perform such changes myself, as i can manual correct a faulty (re)-calculated price (which the guest can not). Ask the host to make the change and to reset to original price. You still need to accept the change (offcourse), before it is final.

BTW I think "long term stay cancellation policy" is well communicated to guests on initial bookings, but could improve when changes are made.

Please read also all information regarding changing a reservation:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/913/

Best regards,

Emiel

[Jennifer2550]

Thanks @Emiel1 for your reply! Good to know 28 nights or more reservations are buggy on the Airbnb website and system.  Going forward, I will be very aware of this since it happened to me, but I am sure I am not the only guest with this complaint (experience).  I will fill out the link Andrew sent, so that it gets fixed for other guests’ reservations.  Guest site experience needs to improve as policies should be crystal clear (not buggy).  What is shown on website should match receipt and any other actions the guest/host make to that reservation.  Overall it should be seamless experience for both sides of the fence -- guests and hosts.  Cheers! 

[Huma0]

@Jennifer2550 

I believe the advice you have been given is right.

Firstly, yes, the long-term cancellation policy is applied to any stays over 28 days automatically, regardless of the host's selected policy for shorter stays.

As hosts often apply long-term discounts (mine is 15% for stays of 28 days or over), it can work out cheaper to stay for 28 days, for example, than for 27.

There is a glitch in the Airbnb system when you make changes to a long-term stay, e.g. dates or number of people. The price is often miscalculated because the long term discount seems to disappear from the equation. I have experienced this many times and have reported to Airbnb many times over the past couple of years. I am not sure why they don't fix it!

It's nice that your host has agreed to apply the previous cancellation penalty. However, bear in mind that this is not 100% within the host's control as Airbnb are the only ones who can decide whether or not to refund their service fees. They will apply those to the amount you should be charged under the long-term policy, regardless of how many nights the host decides to refund from accommodation fees.

[Jennifer2550]

Thanks @Huma0 for your reply.  I am going to hope for the best as I really don't plan on canceling it (unless there is another SIP/travel ban, or I/family get COVID).  I wouldn't be worried about the Service fees.  If I just lose out on that so be it as I have been provided a service.  I have in writing from the host they will honor the previous cancellation policy, they have posted in their ad (even today) that they are allowing cancellations.  I have screen shots and documentation of all of it - from what the screen showed before I submitted the changes, their listing that shows cancellations are refunded right now because of COVID, and her email stating she will honor it.  At some point I need to trust that people will do the right thing, and a company would ensure a guest would get the appropriate refund based on all this documentation. 

However, one of the key points is that they should fix their system, therefore all this confusion would be avoided.  Seems crazy that there is a long term bug as it does create confusion and impact my guest experience (made me worry and question if I should keep using their service). 

[Huma0]

@Jennifer2550 

Yes, it's good to stay positive about it, especially as you think you would only cancel if you had absolutely no choice about it and if you don't care about getting your service fees back, then it doesn't matter.

I'm just saying that the reason the cancellation policy changed was because the length of your stay changed to long-term. Regardless of what the host decides to refund you from the accommodation fees that, and the documentation you mention, makes no difference. By booking a stay that falls under the long-term policy, you have contractually agreed to it and Airbnb has no obligation to refund you just because the host decides to, unless you fall under the Extenuating Circumstances clauses.

It's just a word of warning to other guests in the same situation. If you book a stay, you are tied to the policy that applies to it. Airbnb doesn't change their policies just because a host decides to be nice. It's therefore really important that guests verse themselves in the cancellation policies beforehand. The information is all there but sure, Airbnb could highlight it a bit more.

RE the bug I was referring to, I don't think that necessarily applies to your particular situation as your original booking was not for a long-term stay, so there was no long-term discount vanishing, but yes, overall it's a problem that should be fixed.