Host trying to add cleaning fee after confirmed reservation

[Wendy1030]

Hi, I am hoping someone can be of assistance. I recently made a confirmed reservation & paid 1/2 of the total cost. However, now 3 days later the co-host has sent me a request to modify the reservation so that he can add a cleaning fee that he states did not load properly. The request states that I can accept or decline. I declined this request because I chose this rental because it fit my family's needs and budget. When I look for accommodations I generally look for rental size, rooms, cancellation policy, and total trip cost. Therefore, I didn't even notice whether a cleaning fee was included or not. The co-host has continued to message me requesting to make this change. I explained my situation to him and expressed that while I understand his predicament, I did everything correctly when I made the reservation in good faith and feel that the reservation should remain the same. He replied that he contacted Airbnb and they advised him to try to come to an agreement or cancel the reservation. I find it hard to believe that Airbnb would make such a recommendation. I feel that would be penalizing the guest for something they had no control over. I am flummoxed by all of this and quite frankly find it bad form on the co-hosts part. Can he really cancel the reservation just like that? This would leave me on the hunt yet again for accommodations. Any advice is greatly appreciated, TIA

[Sarah977]

@Wendy1030  Yes, this is bad form on the host's part, it's not your fault that he didn't have his pricing correct. But yes, of course a host can cancel a reservation just like a guest can. If a guest cancels, they may lose a significant amount of $ due to the cancellation policy in place, and the penalties for hosts cancelling are actually quite heavy- they will have the dates they cancelled blocked on their calendar so they can't be booked by anyone else, they will be fined $50-$100, and "Host cancelled this reservation XX days before arrival" will appear on their review page, which will make prospective guests leery about booking with them.

This sounds like it may be a new host who isn't aware of all this, and may be the reason they failed to have the cleaning fee in place- they just aren't that knowlegable about how everything works yet.

Would you perhaps be willing to meet halfway on the cleaning fee? 

[Cristina234]

As a guest I can understand your frustration.

Airbnb gives the host the possibility to charge the guest with a final cleaning fee but for same reason the cleaning was not included in your case but the co-host is offering you to add it now.

I think as a guest you have the right to refuse to pay for the cleaning but you also have the responsibility of leaving the flat as cleaned as you found it which will probably include washing linen & towels, bed sheets, towels, bathmats and tea towels, cleaning kitchen and putting  away any dishes left out, cleaning  bathroom including toilets and showers, dusting, tidying, sweeping, vacuuming and mopping  just to name the basics.

.

On holidays, I would rather pay for the cleaning 🙂

[Rowena29]

@Wendy1030 

in your position I would be similarly cross and frustrated.  My very first ever experience with airbnb was as a guest. I booked a place in London for my family about 3 months in advance. I spent ages and ages researching an area I was unfamiliar with, finding a place that I could afford, that met my families dynamics, was close to a variety of public transport ( we were visiting a very sick relative)   It was peak season and a lot of money for us. I agonised.  I finally bit the bullet and booked. The relief was huge.  10 hours later the host cancelled. To say I was furious was an understatement

However, without trying to make excuses and always take the hosts side, it's also quite possible there was some technical glitch on the airbnb platform which scrambled/removed/ altered the hosts pricing and fees.

When this sort of thing happens ( and it happens more than you would think) airbnb are not remotely interested in accepting responsibility and pretty much throw the host under the bus.  They still get their cut, they don't care if the host dips out.  Is would be very typical of airbnb to suggest to a host  to try to sort if out themselves with the guest - this makes the host look bad rather than the platform. I don't find that bit hard to believe, in fact to me it makes the host's version of events  sound quite  authentic.  Of course, the host could just be inexperienced and or a bit slack and made some sort of error.  But leaving off a cleaning fee sounds a bit unlikely - i strongly suspect a platform problem.

Of course none of this is your fault nor should it really be your concern.  In the hosts place I almost certainly would have decided to lump it and bear it. But if the host is going to run at a loss without the cleaning fee, which is quite likely, that might be feeling pretty desperate.

From your perspective, there IS a possibility that the host might cancel, putting you through the inconvenience of looking all over again.  so you need to balance the economy of the listing against how other similar ones in the area cost, against the time and angst it will take you to possibly find another listing that suits.   

It boils down @Wendy1030 to how much of a risk you are prepared to take playing a game of wait and see with the host, against the inconvenience of having to look and  book elsewhere.   In your shoes, with the knowledge that airbnb probably is the problem, not the host, I'd consider @Sarah977 's strategy and offer 50% - assuming you really like the booking, it's economical compared to others in the area and the cleaning fee is not extortionate.   And bear in mind your frustration with the situation should more than likely be directed to the platfroms technical problems rather than the integrity of the host. Just my interpretation of events.

Regards

[Brian1617]

There is an apparent glitch (yet again) with the system deleting whatever it likes at random. A couple of hours ago I noticed it had removed the cleaning fee as well as additional guest fee we have. Fortunately I picked this up before a booking came in but it is quite possible that the same think happened to the host here and they were not aware of it at the time of your booking. 

[Susan17]

@Wendy1030 @Rowena29 @Cristina234 @Sarah977 

@Brian1617 is correct - there's a known, recurring, widespread glitch in the system that's routinely causing cleaning fees and extra guest charges to be removed from host accounts. 

"He replied that he contacted Airbnb and they advised him to try to come to an agreement or cancel the reservation"

As unbelievable as it sounds, this is exactly what CX tell hosts who find themselves in this situation. When Airbnb's system has failed to apply the correct charges, hosts are advised that they must approach the guests themselves to request the unpaid amounts. 

Everyone should be scrutinising every detail, of every reservation, every time. There's also another (known, recurring) glitch that's adding beds and amenities to hosts' listings that they don't have at all (I recently had a pool appear on my listing, which I wish I had, but sadly, don't)

[Rowena29]

AAAAgh @Susan17 I must be getting hardened and cynical and wise to the ways of constant airbnb stuff ups.  I had no idea about the known glitch, but based on Wendy's description, I had a very strong suspicion - it just reeked of airbnb smoke and mirrors.  

I had heard of the constantly changing amenities.  I don't charge a cleaning fee, so at least I'm safe there!

@Wendy1030  - now this has been confirmed as a platform error I would lean to paying the cleaning fee. I know it's not what your want to hear and I know it's unfair, but if it's a reasonable amount adn the price of the stay is reasonable, its the ethical  thing to do IMO. ( Of course what SHOULD happen is that the platform should carry the cost, but that will never happen)  The upside of this would be that the host will be very inclined to be super accommodating and go the extra mile I would think.  And if this is a known glitch and you go elsewhere  - the same thing could happen all over again!