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

[Sarah3749]

All excellent advice. I definitely want all correspondence with host in writing so we are all protected and there’s not an issue with a he said/she said that can’t be confirmed:)

[Sarah977]

@Sarah3749  If I were you, considering the past reviews re cleanliness, I'd come equipped with some Lysol wipes and wipe down every surface, every light switch, doorknob, faucet handles, etc. And rewash any floor your baby is going to be crawling on. This listing sounds like a COVID danger.

It's always a mistake to book something that has bad reviews, unless it's just one outlier review ( likely due to some guest being vengeful about being called out for ignoring house rules or being charged for damages) among tons of great ones.

[Sarah3749]

Yes. I see all the bad reviews now. I should not book according to the pictures listed. That is another hard lesson learned through this experience. I’ll be bringing Clorox wipes and my own towels and possibly bed linens. 

[Sarah977]

@Sarah3749 ALWAYS read reviews. Not only do I read guest reviews before accepting a booking, if a review is questionable, I'll cross-reference to see how that host reviews her other guests to see if there's a pattern. Such as the host has complaints about all her guests, in which case I would think the host has unreasonable expectations, or leaves "Nice guests" for every guest, in which case I discount those reviews, because I don't trust them and they give no useful information.

Of course the photos on a listing are going to be the host's best presentation, especially for a place that advertises as luxury. But you have no idea if those photos were taken 6 years ago and place hasn't been kept up unless you look at the reviews.

[Sarah3749]

Good point on pictures and reading of reviews. Again. Learning some big lessons here when traveling and not using hotel chains lol

[Mark116]

@Sarah977 its really unusual for a luxury type listing to have such low rating don't you think ?

[Sarah977]

@Mark116 Very odd, indeed. The host thinks so highly of her listings, you'd think she'd be on top of cleaning complaints to make sure it didn't happen more than once.

I don't like the sound of this host at all. 

[Sarah3749]

She hasn’t been friendly to say the least. Hence me deciding to video upon check in and check out. Im so sad. It’s put such a damper on what was supposed to be an exciting new start for my family and a fun getaway for the kiddos 

[Sarah3749]

It showed over 4 star reviews on this listing. I didn’t dig into reviews or other properties from this host. Obviously I don’t need to book trips anymore. I feel foolish and I’ve got a masters degree so I’m certain I’m not..or at least I was before this nightmare started LOL. I’ll also always dig further if my husband ever trusts me to book a trip again 

[Colleen253]

@Sarah3749 Don't beat yourself up over this. Airbnb can be a bit of a learning curve for everyone, hosts and guest alike, but this host and listing are shady.  I would say, after this experience (which is not really the norm) you should  be the one in your family to book in future. You will now also have a masters in Airbnb 😉

[Sarah977]

@Sarah3749 "I feel foolish and I’ve got a masters degree so I’m certain I’m not.."

Haha, that's cute. There is all sorts of intelligence. I know some really brilliant people who are hopeless when it comes to common sense and everyday things. One of my friends who's a great writer and super smart intellectually couldn't figure out how to unlock my front door for the month she stayed with me. No one else has any issue with it after I show them once.

You have an excuse that you're distracted  and sleep-deprived with 2 little kids 🙂

[Sarah3749]

Thank you so much for those kind words. I’ve felt like an idiot and I’ve been crying all morning. I can’t believe I messed up our trip so badly. Hopefully all will be okay once we arrive. I’ll definitely be packing Clorox wipes and towels and paper products haha

[Mark116]

@Sarah3749  You can see here that not one single host who replied has ever heard of a 4 guest minimum where you're charging an 'extra guest' fee for every guest after the 1st guest, who if there is only 1-3 guests, access is refused.....so your understanding of how the payment would work is the common sense one.  Your only mistake was not to put 4 guests into the reservation request initially, and then you would have seen the $$ increase, but I have a sneaking suspicion that there may be other bizarre surprises in this person's listings.  So, I wouldn't feel too dumb if I were  you. 

[Sarah3749]

Thank you so much. It makes me feel a bit better hearing from all of you even if it doesn’t fix the mistakes ha. As I’ve said, definitely big lessons learned and I’ll be much more careful when booking anything in the future. Hopefully her review of me and my family don’t hurt future trips. 

[Colleen253]

@Sarah3749 It appears that guests who stay there don't get reviewed, so you're likely off the hook on that count.