Honest Mistake from a Guest - Not sure what to do

[Sarah3749]

Hello everyone,

It has been a tough year, but I am starting a job next week! I am required to go into the office, about 3 hours away for a couple of days, and thought I would bring my family (Party of 4) to visit some cousins.

In short, I made a mistake when booking...I only entered the number of guests for 1 (Despite entering all our party and trip details into the notes). The host messaged us noticing the mistake, and let us know there are additional charges for having four guests. Being that we are on such a tight budget, we can't afford the extra charges, explained the honest mistake to the host, and asked if we could cancel the reservation with a refund (This was less than 12 hours after the reservation was made).

She refused the refund, stating that had a strict cancellation policy. This forced our hand: my family would have to stay behind as we definitely couldn't afford to book another property if we didn't receive a refund.

I messaged the host today asking for instructions to access the property, and she refused stating that there is a four guest minimum and if I didn't pay the extra fees, I would not have access to the property.

So now I am in an impossible situation: I have paid almost $700 for a reservation, that the host will not honor, and will not refund. I have been on the phone with support multiple times, escalated to higher support, done everything I can think, and they have told me they can only request a refund.

Surely this cannot be correct: a host refusing access to a property that has been paid for and will not issue a refund, and Airbnb cannot help? Please tell me I am not crazy as this is putting us in a dire financial situation and I cannot seem to get any sort of help.

Thanks,

Sarah

[Sarah977]

@Sarah3749  I read the listing. I can see why she has a 4 guest minimum-the house sleeps 16. It wouldn't be worth her while to clean and prepare the house for only 1 guest. But she absolutely needs to have the base price set for up to 4 guests, not 1.

And telling you that if you arrived alone you would be denied entry is truly bizarre and unprofessional.

I have to wonder, though, why you would book such a huge place for your small family? Just curious.

[Sarah3749]

I’ve got two small children and will be there all day while my husband gets set up with his new job so I wanted lots of room for kids to play. Also the location was the best/closest we could find. 

[Robbie54]

Very colourful reviews, I must say. And the host doesnt sound too pleasant. Saying that it's not exactly a property that one would book on a budget either. 

[Inna22]

@Sarah3749 I totally agree with you. If they have a 4 person minimum, their pricing base should be for 4 people. Sounds like the host found a way to make extra money

[Sarah977]

@Sarah3749 I have never heard of a host insisting on a minimum number of guests. It seems that she wants to have what she calls an extra guest charge, yet be able to get paid for 4 guests even if there are less, in which case she should be charging a set price for the place. 

This seems like very shady behavior on the part of the host, to have a price on the ad for one guest to lure guests in, yet never accept that price.

Either she is just confused about how to price and advertise, or she is less than straightforward. 

I would certainly be persistent with Airbnb about this, it's not right.

[Kelly149]

@Sarah3749 you're right that if she has minimum expectations, then the booking settings should reflect that...

BUT if you're really on a budget why in the world would you book a "I think I'm oh so special - Free People took photos here!!!" listing? This is a listing I'd run from all day long. If you have the time, I'd be still calling support trying to get out of this place. And if you're stuck paying more and going, then I can totally see how your review will further lower her stats at this house.

[Sarah3749]

Like I said. Hard lesson. I booked bc it appeared to have a child’s room for my 5 year old to play in while my husband went into the office and was closest property we could find and also since it was used that I way I figured/hoped it would also be super clean as I have an infant who is crawling/walking and all over the floor. I’ll never do a listing like this again though.

[Kelly149]

@Sarah3749 super clean does not seem to be what this lady does... sorry

[Kelly149]

@Sarah3749 if you get someone on the phone from ABB CS that seems competent...

This host has 6 listings, at least one in Bham lists in its description that it's perfect for parties, this is a big ABB no-no. "This home is PERFECT for large gatherings and get-togethers." The one you booked says "This home will sleep 12 comfortable and will sleep an army with air mattresses." She thinks every house is "This home is a photographers dream, and can be booked hourly for $50.00 per hour." *Also not allowed on ABB. Host is committed to ECP, but this is a December Review "Overall place could have been a little more clean (i.e. stains on throw pillows, dirt on rug, etc.). Overall was pretty clean though." Here's another review "Very nice home and host but required us to clean with no cleaning supplies." and this one "Do not stay here! The rugs were disgusting, the fans had dust hanging off of them like they had never ever been cleaned, broken window, upstairs shower leaked through the roof into the living room downstairs, all the bedding seemed old and not all washable, drawers were filled with nasty old belongings of someone who lived there, dining room table had dirt all over it. Just terribly dirty!! Besides that- it is a beautiful house and the host was very responsive. But just needs to be better managed and cleaned"

Based on what I know about the Tuscaloosa regs for STR, I think that listing is probably illegal and unregistered.

And this is a host that has benefitted from spreading low ratings throughout a bunch of listings. Six listings with ratings ranging from 3* - 4.76* This is not a good host, IMO. There are problems with rules, with cleaning, and with communication. I think you have a very good case to have your reservation entirely refunded by CS, that certainly doesn't mean that you will have success, but still, I'd try some more. One tack that could be different is that her December reviews show that they seriously aren't adhering to the ECP that they've agreed to. I think you have a case for cancelling on that alone. Oh, and look more carefully at reviews before you book next time. 

[Sarah3749]

So apparently I’m learning many hard lessons with this. Ugh. This has become a nightmare. And this is also the reason I usually let my husband handle this stuff. He travels way more than I do. I feel so foolish. Thank you for your help. I’ll call support one more time with the info you gave above and see what I can do. Thanks again!

[Kelly149]

@Sarah3749 this is the standard that this host has agreed to utilize:

https://www.airbnb.com/d/enhancedclean

And this is the help article about how to cancel if a listing is unclean or not as described

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/544/what-if-i-need-to-cancel-because-of-a-problem-with-the-listi...

[Sarah3749]

@Kelly149  I so appreciate all the info and your help. I think we are going to end up going as Airbnb has stated that they will not go against a host. Hopefully the house is as described and pictured but if not I will definitely be contacting them again Monday after we get to the property. Thanks again. 

[Mark116]

@Sarah3749  I still think that a 4 guest minimum when the host accepted a request for 1 guest is a real problem.  For your reference, any problems with the listing, e.g. cleaning, amenities, are to be addressed within the first 24 hours, eg. you have to contact the host and let them attempt to fix whatever it might be in order to be eligible for a refund. 

[Sarah3749]

Thank you for the information. Hoping that it won’t have any other issues but will definitely report any problems immediately to host and then to Airbnb. I already told my husband that we will be taking video/photos upon check in and check out since this has become such a nightmare. 

[Mark116]

@Sarah3749  That's a good idea.  We do a video walk through before every guest in order to protect ourselves from specious claims about cleanliness and amenities, but it can go both ways.  Also, any issues make sure you keep them on the airbnb message system, it is much easier for airbnb to deal with, but by no means agree to anything w/the host via a telephone conversation because there is no way to prove what was said unless recorded, which is illegal in some states. LOL.  Good luck.