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Question.
Goal: Change the check in and check out date.
Guest: Communicated to the host that the transaction that ended up being canceled was an accident and really the goal was only to change the check in date and check out date.
Host: 8 Minutes later. Sends a message to the Guest, "I received your request to cancel and have accepted it."
Guest: ??? Wondering why it was canceled when communication was sent that it was accidentally canceled and the goal was to only change the check in date and time.
Host: Too bad it's already canceled
Guest: I didn't want to cancel the reservation only wanted to change the check in date and check out date? How come I can't do that? OK . I'll send a request for a refund of the trip less the service fee. TRIP is booked for May 14, 2022. Sent a request for trip only.
Host: Declined Request for Refund
Guest: Why did you decline my request for refund. I am willing to pay the service fee.
Host: You already canceled the reservation and your cancellation policy is not eligible for a refund.
Guest: What??? Why. This trip is well over 2 months away, I'm sure you can find someone to stay in the remaining nights that I won't be staying or even the entire stay? I am still willing to stay for 4 nights and you can rent out of the other 4 nights. I don't understand why you won't give me a partial refund for the other 4 nights or allow me the trip refund and rebook a new reservation for 4 nights.
Host: Too bad you already canceled it and I accepted it.
Guest: I sent you a message 8 minutes prior to you accepting my cancellation. You already KNEW I didn't want to cancel my trip in the first place only change the date. You Purposely accepted my cancellation request so you could make the quick buck KNOWING your refund policy did not allow me the funds back because you could have easily declined my cancellation request and send me a message back that this was NOT the way to change the date. Instead you processed the cancellation request KNOWING that I only wanted to change the check in and check out date. You fradulently and deceitfully processed the cancellation for your own financial gain.
Host: No reply.
Guest: I intend to involve Airbnb and my credit card company to assist with a resolution because I believe you had ample time to communicate with me and you knew my goal was NOT to cancel the reservation. We have more than 2 months for you to book your space and in the very busy months of the year. I don't see any justifiable explanation as to why you are declining my refund for 4 nights as I already still would like to keep my reservation for the 4 nights or if your rates will change due to the less days. Issue me a refund for the full trip less the service fee and I can rebook the 4 nights again.
Host: You can involve Anybody. Declined request for compromise on anything.
What would any of you other host do in this situation.
@Andrea5365 As you paid the entire amount upfront then the 50% refund should be automatically applied.
@Andrea5365 “Does Airbnb allow host to do this? This host should be held accountable if it's not allowed and therefore abusing the policy for financial gain because clearly they are utilizing their own cancellation/refund policy to further their agenda by doing this to guest.”
This host may have taken advantage, but to be clear, it was you who opened the door for them to do so. Take the refund you’re entitled to, and move on. The host did nothing fraudulent nor did they break any Airbnb polices or rules.
One more question host friends....
How is a date available when it was already booked in the reservation??? Something just came to my attention. When I selected and tried to chose the check out date of the 18th the only date available for me to change it to was the 20th? If I already had the reservation from the 14th-22nd. Why was the 20th available for me to select if I already had it booked until the 22nd????
After reading her profile she had from December 2021 to February 2022 there was a total of 33 reviews. 13 of the reviews were BAD.
3-BAD reviews for having problems after 7 days.
8-BAD reviews for poor communication and rude
9-BAD reviews for sudden price increase, fraud, a scam, not honest
@Andrea5365 Did the host have a minimum number of days? That might explain it, if the host had a 7 day minimum stay then you would not have been able to change the reservation to less than the minimum, that would be my guess.
Oh I don't know. I am not allowed to look at the listing anymore and it's not printed on my receipt? I asked the Host to send me a copy of the listing but I am guessing the host probably blocked me from viewing any of their listings.
Interesting though. When I go to their website *** the entire website is in Russian and there is not option to select English. I guess that should have been a red flag not to use them.
**[Name hidden due to privacy concerns - Community Center Guidelines]
@Andrea5365 Why did you try to book a place with a ton of bad reviews? That makes no sense. Why would you expect good treatment from a host like that? The entire purpose of reviews is that you can look at them to help make a decision about whether to book a place or not.
And I see back a few posts that you have now changed your story about "accidentally" cancelling. Now you say you tried to change the dates, it wasn't working, and then the cancellation window came up, so you cancelled, thinking you could just rebook for the new dates. Meaning you intentionally cancelled, not by accident.
I get it that you were new to the platform, and didn't understand how anything worked, but your failure to ask for explanation or help before going ahead and cancelling is no one's fault but your own.
Many hosts would have tried to help you out when you said you made an error and just wanted to alter dates. But the combination of an unaccommodating host with bad reviews and a guest who is new to the platform and screwed things up for themselves by not finding out how to alter dates without cancelling has led to this situation.
The only silver lining for you is that you probably would have experienced all sorts of further bad things regarding this host and listing had you actually kept this booking.
And if your reservation says you will get 50% back, you will. That has nothing to do with host approval, it is automatic.
Yes you are right about checking the reviews. I think I was so excited about the good deal that I didn't bother to check on anything else. Like you said. The fact of the matter is that I had such a bad experience already even if the host decided to reinstate my reservation or allow me to stay for the 4 nights only than it would be just a lingering experience that was bad.
I said... I tried to change the date first and when that didn't allow me to select the 18th I logged out and came back in and tried it again in which the cancellation icon popped up and I proceeded to do the cancellation thinking this was the only way to change the reservation. You are right I should have read the details better first on how the process goes and I should have definitely WAITED for the host to reply back however long that would have been but this was also based on a booking for another location in CA.
Still it was an overall bad experience and unfortunately the bad reviews that I am seeing now, clearly shows that this host has done this before. I really think Airbnb should look into this host as it appears to be a routine with the host booking reservations for 7 days and allowing others to book even though the room is clearly not available. This host should be held accountable for doing that as it is evident that it is not coincidental that multiple customers are experiencing the exact same problem since December 2021 and I can vouch for this same thing in March 2022.
Is this host abusing the policy? Maybe or Maybe not but it should not go undetected and ignored.
@Andrea5365 They may be a host who is unwilling to be accommodating, and problematic for guests in other ways, but no, as we have tried to explain to you over and over again, and you still appear unwilling to understand, the host did not abuse policy.
A guest must be willing to abide by the cancellation policy under which they booked, it's a contract.
I can assure you that most guests think they have a valid reason for getting refunded in full when they cancel, whether it's that they made a mistake, like you did, that someone who planned to come with them jammed out and they can't afford the trip on their own, that they lost their job and need the money, etc, etc. If hosts refunded guests in full every time they wanted to cancel, hosting would not be a viable business. Cancellation policies exist for a reason.
When you were asked if you had had prior communication with the host, what was meant by that was if you had asked a ton of questions when you first booked, or asked the host to make some exceptions to their rules for you (like bringing a dog to a no pets listing), or asked for a discount. Because those are things that can make a host annoyed with a guest and therefore not be understanding or accommodating. But this just seems to be a case of a host who wasn't willing to overturn their own cancellation policy, which is fairly normal.
There is a difference between behaving in a way that you or I might consider to be nice, and ethical, and what is actually allowed according to policy. It's like getting stopped for speeding- you might be lucky enough to get a cop who just lets you off with a warning when you explain that your friend just had an accident, you're really upset, and you are on your way to the hospital to see her, or you might get a ticket. The cop has every right to give you a ticket, you were speeding. That he wasn't understanding and accommodating has nothing to do with the law.
You made a mistake that a lot of newbie guests do, which has nothing to do with the mistaken cancellation. When you want to book a place, you should never just look at the photos and the price. It's very important for guests to read thoroughly through all the information given on the listing, including the cancellation policy, the house rules, the list of amenities provided and the reviews.
Guests who fail to do that can book a listing with bad reviews, they can make assumptions that have no basis in reality ("What? There's no washing machine?" Well, if the guest had read through the amenities list, they would be well aware that a washing machine isn't offered).
And it is also important for guests to communicate with hosts when they book. You should always send a message with your request, telling the host a bit about yourself and why you are booking, and indicating that you have have read all the info provided. Depending on the response you get from the host, that can alert you to red flags. Either the host doesn't respond at all, or they respond in a way that makes you uncomfortable, or they respond nicely. If you have a bad feeling, you have 48 hrs to cancel for a full refund.
And if you have any questions or need clarification about what was written in the listing info, send the host an Inquiry message (the Contact Host button) before committing to a booking.
@Andrea5365 For future reference,
https://www.airbnb.ca/help/article/913/changing-a-reservation-for-a-place-to-stay
Anything you could possibly need to know as an Airbnb guest can be found within the help
pages. Being informed will save future headaches and costly mistakes. Don’t blame the host or Airbnb for what happened to you. Best of luck with your future travel plans.
Thank you for the detailed information. I did read this policy that Airbnb had in place and I did follow the steps to change the reservation date. I tried to select the 18th which would have been the check out date but it was not allowed. The only date allowed to change was on the 20th. This did not accommodate my request BUT you are right I should have waited for a reply from the host rather than do something else.
My shared thoughts was not to blame the host just to point out how the host ignored all notifications prior to the cancellation of what I was trying to do in the first place. I understand that each host has a policy and they can do whatever they want when they are within their rights. Just thought that the host would be more understanding considering I was not trying to cancel the entire reservation only modify the reservation. It does bother me that the host could have been more helpful to give me another option when clearly what was done was not intended. I get it that it's my own responsibility to know what I signed up for and what the consequences will be.