Dishonest host modifies listing and change offered amenities after I booked

[Vincent805]

We have booked yesterday a guest room in a house with swimming pool and included breakfast.

Messaging the host, she says that the swimming pool is not available and that there won't be any breakfast either.

By the time we get the chance to look at the listing again, she went and replaced the photo of the pool with a photo of an empty pool, remove every mention of breakfast and add a covid-19 line.

Her kitchen is out of bound, the breakfast vanished, are we supposed to drive miles in pj's to get ourselves a fresh breakfast?

This is not the experience we paid for. Going to the Airbnb system to cancel, we wouldn't receive our £200 something back at all if we cancelled.

I asked the host to cancel on their side as that is not what I paid for but still waiting for a reply.

Help please.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Vincent805 Was it Instant Book? If so the host should be able to cancel penalty free. If not then they won't want to cancel as they will be fined and the dates blocked.

I would advise the host that Airbnb keep a record of the listing at the point of booking which is designed to catch this sort of behaviour. If you explain that unless they play ball your only solution will be to take it up with Airbnb - Hopefully this will budge them.

[Vincent805]

Thank you Mike-And-Jane0. I will do that.

[Kelly149]

@Vincent805 abb used to be able to look at a listing and see exactly what it was when you booked and when/how any changes were entered.

*used to be.... who knows what they can/can't do now... but it's worth a try. Call CS and have a go and getting this cancelled so that you can stay someplace that has the amenities that you want. But, yes, there is a bit of a worldwide pandemic going on, probably worth it to inquire if anything has changed. And think twice about if you want a host anywhere serving you food.

[T85]

These types of things are starting to happen more and more. At first I was thinking well maybe it's the hosts that's trying to make money anyway possible, but it also seems that airbnb is refusing to help guests at all. It's almost impossible to even speak with someone regarding matters.

[Anonymous]

@Vincent805 The host might not be able to grant your refund without being penalized and blocked from re-booking the dates. You might get better results here by calling Airbnb, though their customer support is rather lacking at the moment.

For what it's worth, the overwhelming majority of Airbnbs do not offer a fresh breakfast, so if you can't conceive of changing out of your pajamas before you've had your pancakes, I'd strongly suggest booking a hotel with room service rather than an Airbnb.