First time using AirBnB and already having a nightmare

[Tejiri0]

My cousin and his family (wife and 3 kids) landed in the UK today and unfortunately the accommodation he arranged to stay in got flooded and is being fixed.

While at the airport we decided to try AirBnB at 11am. I messaged the host (who btw has positive reviews) and asked her specifically if the family can move in like now as they are stuck in the airport and need the accommodation ASAP. 

She asked to get back to me in a few minutes, after some minutes passed she confirmed the booking and said we can come over by 3pm. 

I insisted we needed it now and she responded that she will get in touch with her housekeeping and let me know if it will be ready by 1pm.

It is now past 1pm and my cousin has decided to pass the night in a hotel with his family. 

I tried looking up the address shown on the listing after she confirmed the booking and it doesn't even have the whole address written there, just the street and the first two letters of the post code (I don't know if this is how it is meant to be though).

I have asked her to send the whole postcode and she has gone silent and stopped responding to messages. 

I don't know what else to do, did I do something wrong? I need advice on this.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Tejiri0 what does the booking confirmation email say with respect to the address?

[Tejiri0]

Just a street and a postcode with only 3 characters e.g 3 Albert street, M50 (something like that)

[Colleen253]

@Tejiri0 I wouldn’t classify this as a nightmare experience just because the host couldn’t magically accommodate your extremely last minute booking on the terms you ‘insisted’ on. Most listings have a set check in time of around 3 or 4 pm, and it sounds like this place was in need of housekeeping first, so you insisting to check in early was problematic. The host is no doubt busy organizing the stay for you, and may also be concerned that you and your family will show up early on the doorstep, while the place is being readied for you. Those are some likely reasons for her going ‘silent’ on you. Patience. 

[Tejiri0]

I agree with what you are saying but she said 1pm now it’s 5pm and still no word

[Sarah977]

@Tejiri0 "She asked to get back to me in a few minutes, after some minutes passed she confirmed the booking and said we can come over by 3pm.

I insisted we needed it now and she responded that she will get in touch with her housekeeping and let me know if it will be ready by 1pm."

Hosts do not "confirm" bookings. They can accept or decline them and that is not done verbally but through the platform. Then Airbnb charges the guest. Until you have been charged and receive confirmation of the booking through Airbnb,  you do not have a confirmed booking.

It sounds like all that happened is that you contacted a host to see if they could accommodate you, she said she would try, but you were rude and so she wants nothing more to do with you.

A host is not obligated to respond to someone who doesn't have a confirmed booking. 

And actual addresses are not given out until a guest has paid and has a confirmed booking, so you had no business demanding the address.

[Tejiri0]

If you read my message you’ll see where I said she confirmed the booking. I received a confirmation email with an incomplete address. We conversed through AirBnB chat I didn’t call. She’s not taken anybody’s call even AirBnB has tried to reach her. Fingers crossed.

[Helen3]

Sorry this happened to your family but you can't just contact a host and insist on a check in many hours ahead or their agreed check in time, at the last minute because your family doesn't have anywhere to stay @Tejiri0 

Call the host on the phone number on your booking confirmation if the address isn't on your booking confirmation. If you can't get through to the host on the phone then call Airbnb. 

You aren't having a nightmare you just have massively unrealistic expectations about how quickly a host can turnaround cleaning and preparing a whole house in response to your last minute request.

Hopefully you can find the address on your cousin's booking confirmation.

[Tejiri0]

The full address is not there either, is just a street address and incomplete postcode

[Colleen253]

@Tejiri0 You said “I tried looking up the address shown on the listing after she confirmed the booking and it doesn't even have the whole address written there, just the street and the first two letters of the post code (I don't know if this is how it is meant to be though).”

The complete address is never shown on the listing (unless the host adds it all or in part in their description, which is a rare mistake to make). It’s only shown to confirmed bookings. Have you looked at your itinerary from within your trips dashboard to find the address? If she accepted your booking and told you you could check in at 3, she may be expecting you to do just that, go ahead and check in. It is unfortunate that she is not responding further to communications, though.

[Sarah977]

@Tejiri0  Most check-out times are 11am. That means the place needs several hours after a guest checks out to clean and prepare the place for incoming guests.

Your expectations are unrealistic and demanding, and insisting to the host that you need to check in now is quite rude.

Airbnbs are not hotels full of rooms where you can simply walk up to the front desk and be given an empty, already cleaned room.

And it sounds like you made the booking for your cousin, which is against Airbnb terms of service- 3rd  party bookings are not okay- the person who books has to be among the group that is staying. 

[Tejiri0]

You are correct but I specifically asked for the “unrealistic” target. My issue is she confirmed knowing fully well that she’ll not be able to meet it

[Helen3]

No you misunderstand - again. @Tejiri0 

The host accepted your booking for within their standard 3 p.m. check in slot. You then pressured her into accepting an earlier check in slot of 1 p.m. which meant she had to race around with her cleaning team to get things ready for you.

I'm not sure why you decided to come onto a forum rather than contacting Airbnb  IF ,as you state. the address is not on your cousin's booking confirmation. 

I'm exceedingly glad you didn't book with me.

[Linda108]

As you can see from the host the responses you are getting so far from some very experienced hosts, it could be that Air BNB is not the correct platform to meet your needs.  As already posted, most hosts on this platform are not hotels which are set up to meet last minutes requests.  Depending on how long your cousin and family will be staying, perhaps a few days at a hotel will allow a proper amount of time for them to establish their own profile and select a listing that meets their needs.  

[Mark116]

@Tejiri0  I wonder if you should just cancel the booking.  It sounds like your host wants the reservation but is having to struggle to get the place ready on the same day [exactly why we don't accept these kinds of reservations, too stressful].  Your reservation should include the full address and contact information for the host, if this address is incomplete, you would have to discuss with the host or with Airbnb.