Getting a full refund for a reservation I was forced to cancel

[Krista178]

I booked a stay with a host and they told me I would not be able to stay because the age requirement is 25 & older. I'm not 25, but AirBnb has a non-discrimination policy for age. My host told me I had to cancel my reservation within 48 hours of else I wold not receive a full refund. I canceled out of fear of not receiving any sort of refund. I want to get a full refund, as imposing an age restriction is against the company's policy. The host refuses to talk to me or issue a full refund. I have tried contacting AirBnb via phone several times but I haven't gotten any answers because they say they will call me back later and haven't done so. What do I do?

[Yadira22]

Hello @Krista178 

hope you are well. 
i am so sorry you needed to cancel- honestly as it’s the host who has the issue, they should be cancelling and not you. 
i am only able to host anyone over the age of 18 at time of booking due to restrictions placed by our insurance, so Can imagine that this may have potentially be the case or maybe not. However, I make this very obvious in our listings. 

i heard that social media outlets is a great means of getting in touch with Airbnb, otherwise call them. @Laura_C could you possibly help? 
Good luck to you! 
Yadira 🙂

[Rowena29]

@Krista178 

Did you cancel within 48 hours of making the booking? and was the booking more than a week away?

If so, even if the host had a strict policy, you should get a full refund.

Did all the messaging occur back and forth on the airbnb platform?  Again, if so, Airbnb Cusotmer Service will be able to see this and it should help your case if you were outside the time parameters.

I agree with @Yadira22, some hosts have specific limitations imposed on them by their councils,  or their insurance -which over rides airbnb policy. so it's possible this host does have a 25 year age restriction, but if she does it should be clearly stated in her house rules ( which you are meant to check carefully before booking.  If there is something like this in her house rules and you have booked anyway, you are on less firm ground)

The other thing you need to be aware of, is that the host does not have any of your money so is not able to refund you anything. Airbnb collects your money and distributes it to the host after the guest checks in. That is probalby why your host is no longer talking to you - cancellation can really only be managed now by airbnb, there is nothing at all the host can do.   

I don't know for sure of course, but I think it is very likely you will get a full refund, especially if you cancelled within the time parameters.   I know it's frustrating but it might be worthwhile ringing CS again ( dont' message). Keep you language calm, direct, simple.   CS is very much biased towards guests, so keep telling them how disappointed you are with the service, and how it is putting you off airbnb.   

For the future, if you dont' already, it's imperative that as a guest you carefully read all the house rules prior to booking.  it will be in the section "things to consider" on the left hand side, just before you book - eg  no parties, no smoking, then a drop down triangle "read more".   In the read more section, there may or may not be a whole lot more of rules you need to consider.   It's disgraceful how difficult airbnb make this to find and read. It negatively impacts on both hosts and guests. 

If the over 25 rule in NOT in this section, I can't see any barrier at all to you receiving a full refund, regardless of when you cancelled, especially if the host and you kept the communication re this on the airbnb platform.  However I"m no expert, just another host.

Good luck!

[Huma0]

@Rowena29I thought the cancellation needed to be within 48 hours and the booking more than 14 nights away, or has that changed?

[Rowena29]

You're quite right @Huma0.   I'm guessing this host must have had a strict policy for her to have mentioned the 48 hours. ( then again it MIGHT have been a fib to get @Krista178 to cancel).

thanks so much for picking me up on that. No one else did!

My apologies @Krista178, if the host had a strict cancellation policy and your cancellation was more than 14 days away there should have been no problem.  Also as I said previously if this messaging between you and the host occurred on the platfrom, then CS will see all that and it will almost certainly have an influence

How are you going with this?

[Lisa723]

@Krista178 the host is not in violation of Airbnb policy unless the locality has a law prohibiting a minimum renter age:

Airbnb hosts may not:

• Impose any different terms or conditions or decline a reservation based on the guest’s age or familial status, where prohibited by law.

[Ute42]

.

@Lisa723 

Wow, I didn't know that. Where did You find it?

[Lisa723]

@Ute42  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1405/airbnbs-nondiscrimination-policy-our-commitment-to-inclusio...

[Ute42]

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@Lisa723 

Thank You. You are correct. We have the exact same stipulation in the german guidelines:

"sofern dies per Gesetz untersagt ist"  =  where prohibited by law

[Kelly149]

@Krista178 only abb can help you with this, as others have mentioned, the host doesn't have your money and doesn't get to decide anything about cancellation. I'm sorry you've found abb cs difficult, if it makes you feel any better this isn't a problem unique to you. Good luck