I’m owed a refund!

[Justin1039]

Hey guys I need some advice! My wife and I booked a long term stay (21 nights to be exact) with a host in Miami as we relocated from LA just the other day! As we arrived later in the night as we had a late flight(we arrived at 10:30pm to check in), we drove up to the listing to find a crowd of about 8-10 people hanging around passing bottles, all their cars on with the music blasting; to get to the point we felt UNCOMFORTABLE right from the get go with all the stares we were getting. My wife didn’t want to get out of the car so we called our host to explain the situation we drove up on and asked for a refund, he agreed. We booked a hotel for that 1 night and figured we would get everything handled since the host said okay. 
The host the messages us the next morning saying “I’ve reviewed my refund policy and I have no cleaning fee therefore a refund is not a possibility. I am out of town at the moment”. After contacting Airbnb and realizing a refund was not happening we decided to bite the bullet, take extra precautions and stay in the unsafe neighborhood. As we enter the listing for the FIRST TIME and walk around we notice the kitchen door leading to a back alley was COMPLETELY UNSECURED and actually didn’t even lock meaning at any time someone could open that door and walk right in on us! We documented everything and sent it to support and left the listing. 

after fighting and sleeping in our rental car for 3 days we finally were able to obtain a coupon from a case manager to book a new listing for another 21 days. Even after giving us a new listing THE ORIGINAL HOST WILL NOT AGREE TO refund us our $900 when NO ONE IS OCCUPYING his listing because it was COMPLETELY UNSAFE! He sent a “technician” this morning to “fix the door” in the empty apartment that no one wants to stay in! 

HOW DO I GET MY $900 back especially since we just relocated and this corona virus is making it harder to find income at the moment! 

[Sarah977]

@Justin1039  The problem is, you didn't follow the correct protocol for a refund. You started out okay, contacting the host to let him know about the issue, but after that, you should have just contacted Airbnb (which I know is hard right now- their phone lines are swamped) , explained the situation, and cancelled, saying you needed to go to a hotel that night and asking them to locate another comparable listing for you for the following day. That's what you're supposed to do if a place is in some way unacceptable, rather than take the host's word for it that they will refund you.

All I can suggest is that you continue to dialogue with customer service and ask the case to be escalated if you don't get a successful resolution.

[Anonymous]

@Justin1039   In Airbnb terminology, "Long Term" is a stay of 28 days or more - this is only important because that distinction changes the cancellation policy that applies to your booking. For a 21-day stay, the applicable policy depends on whether the host has "Flexible," "Moderate," or "Strict."

The guest refund policy for travel issues that aren't related to COVID-19 travel restrictions is summarized here: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/544/ .  Basically, if you arrive at the property and it's unclean, or an amenity or (in your case) safety feature is missing, your first step is to contact the host and give them an opportunity to remedy it. If that doesn't happen, and as a result you vacate the property, you have grounds for a refund.

It sounds like the bigger problem for you was that you were uncomfortable with the neighborhood in general. This is not officially considered a valid reason to override the host's cancellation policy, as the host has no control over who is hanging out on the street or how you feel about them. I'd personally consider it the guest's responsibility to research the neighborhood when planning the trip, but I realize there are some things you can't know about a place until you get there. Do take a close look at the listing again - if you have evidence that the ad promised features that weren't in place (photos help) that will bolster your case. But I wouldn't expect a successful refund claim based on people hanging out outside the house.

As for the fact that "no one wants to stay in" the apartment, I'm not sure how that would really apply.  Last minute replacement bookings are always rare, but we're in a pandemic that has shut down most tourism across the world, spring breakers notwithstanding - even the nicest apartments are sitting empty now.

I do hope you and your wife find a place where you are more comfortable - especially considering how important it is that you stay inside of it for your safety!