Help with non-responding host

[Trevor-Jess0]

Hello!

I have a place booked for three nights in Granada in August. I can't go due to travel bans. I initially submitted a cancellation request for a full refund due to COVID, but she declined it. 

I have rescheduled my trip and since I already have money in this place, I submitted a change of dates request. The host is ignoring it.

At this point, she has been ignoring the requests and messages for three weeks. No response at all.

I've tried reaching out to Airbnb customer support and they haven't gotten back to me yet. (Besides a community help person telling me to try the "host needs to cancel" option. That option doesn't work because she declined the Covid one).

Does anyone know if Airbnb can cancel this reservation and just give me a refund? Travel credit is fine. Even she responds, at this point I don't think I would be comfortable staying with her. This is very frustrating. I'm not sure what the issue is. The calendar was open for the new dates, so I'm not sure why she is ignoring the request. I've sent multiple messages at this point with no response. 

[Alexandra316]

@Trevor-Jess0I would just press on with trying to contact Airbnb. Yes, they can cancel for you and issue you with a refund if you qualify for extenuating circumstances - which I'm assuming you would, since there is a travel ban. 

It's difficult to reach Airbnb right now due to all of the layoffs: I would either call and wait on hold until you get through or try them on Twitter @airbnbhelp. 

[Anonymous]

@Trevor-Jess0   Are you sure you qualify for a refund under Extenuating Circumstances? Check the policy here:  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2701/extenuating-circumstances-policy-and-the-coronavirus-covid1...

If you placed the booking before March 14, you should be eligible, but otherwise this will generally default to the host's cancellation policy. Government-mandated travel restrictions aren't officially considered justifications for a refund if you booked the trip in the context of a recognized global pandemic.

[Sarah977]

@Trevor-Jess0 A host who doesn't respond to messages is never a good sign, for sure, but the Airbnb rep gave you inaccurate info by saying you should send "host needs to cancel". The party who wants to cancel is the party who needs to cancel, in this case it's the guest, not the host. Nor does a host have to agree to a cancellation or refund.  And hosts aren't paid until 24 hours after a guest checks in- the host doesn't have your payment, Airbnb does.

 This is a matter of you cancelling yourself and receiving whatever refund Airbnb decides you are entitled to, if any. So, unfortunately, you may have to keep trying to get a response from customer service, which isn't at all easy at the present time.