My stay was canceled the day before I landed

[Chris15609]

 

  

 

Hi all first time poster and generally somone that hardly ever complains

A bit of background:

my friend and I attend a yearly car enthusiast event that lasts 4 days in Canberra, act, Australia that we need to fly interstate for 

i had made the booking on the 19th of October to stay in January 2022 6th-10th for 4 nights for my self and a friend (two males) I had a couple of conversations with the host and they were totally fine, the conversations was about if there was early check in available, the conversation was on the 3rd, No early check in was available and that was that which we were fine with 

on the 4th I received a message saying check in details are available, and once I checked the check in details all it stated was “key safe” so I messaged the host wondering if the key safe details would be sent on the day of arrival, to which we had no further replies

At 12:30pm on the 5th Jan 2022 an automatic generated message was received stating “unfortunately this reservation has been canceled” I was then stressed and panicked and messaged the host hoping there was some sort of mix up but all the host could reply with was

“Hi Chris, we are sorry to inform you that we will have to cancel the reservation” 

mind you this is 12 or hours before scheduled arrival, we had to find last minute accomodation which was 20 minutes further away from the event and was an additional $650 in total from our original price paid for the first Airbnb, I had contacted Airbnb to see what the reason of cancellation was, and was told that I was suspected of throwing a party, I’m a 30 year old male attended with a male friend in a two bedroom apartment for a car enthusiast event, I would have preferred that if the host had an issue she could have contacted me before canceling the day before I arrived

i feel that this is discrimination as she is only basing this thesis on that I am a male and therefore I might throw a party, which I certainly wouldn’t 

Airbnb’s current solution is to pay 10% of price difference for the inconvenience, I find this to be an insult and quite rude 

so my question to everyone is, what would your do? How would you proceed and can anyone help me out?

Kind regards

Chris

[Linda108]

If you use Air BNB for your travel plans, untimely cancellations is a risk...period.  Unlike a hotel, there is often no other option to rebook.  I have had to cancel a reservation recently when I came down with covid and did not want to expose the guest.  I gave a reason, but that is not mandatory as there are many reasons that a host may be unwilling to share.  According to the Air BNB terms with a host, unless the reason for the host cancellation is legitimately an extenuating circumstance, a host is penalized for cancellation, both financial and possible removal from the platform.  In you case, focus on finding an alternative accommodation.  I have been a guest on Air BNB and face the same concern as you have.

[Huma0]

@Chris15609 

Sorry about your experience. It does sound very stressful and upsetting.

However, I don't feel like we are seeing the full story here as you said you made the booking in October, but have only included the correspondence from early January, a few days before your stay. 

It seems extremely odd that this host, who has excellent reviews/ratings, including 5* for communication (with lots of comments in the reviews about great communication) would not send you any check in details or otherwise communicate to you in the two + months running up to your stay. Also, very odd that she would cancel the booking so last minute suspecting you of planning to throw a party if there was no indication you might do so. If you could include the earlier correspondence, then it would be easier to offer some advice about the situation.

Without that, it's hard to tell what was going on here.

A few general words of advice though:

- Change your profile photo and description. The photo especially is off putting. Hosts need to see a photo of a real person, not something that has been distorted. They want to know that the person checking in is the person who booked. Your description also doesn't say anything about you.

- Asking for an early check it at the last minute is pretty annoying. The host most likely has planned their schedule (perhaps their cleaners' too) around your arrival and there may be guests checking out that day. The check in times are there for a reason. However, I doubt that was the reason the host cancelled, especially as other guests have mentioned that she allowed them an earlier check in. Again, I suspect something else is going on here. 

- You only have one review, which is nice. However, the review you left for that host is also off putting. You mentioned that the listing was 'older' than you would normally book. Why??? The listing clearly states, right at the beginning of the description, "A 1870s traditional homestead that captures the essence of a traditional farming lifestyle" and the photos clearly depict this. Those kind of comments in reviews again, are VERY annoying to the host and potentially off putting to future hosts. Don't complain about or suggest something is under par, for a reason that's clearly stated in the listing and that you knew about when you booked.

- Did you instant book? If so, you should be aware that hosts can cancel instant bookings penalty free up to three times in one year if they feel uncomfortable about the guest or get a sense that they might break house rules. With request bookings, the host does not have this option once the request is accepted. There are a lot of penalties for cancelling guests and it's not something a host does lightly. Instant booking might seem more convenient, but there's a much higher chance of cancellation than with other forms of booking.

- I understand that the last minute cancellation was probably extremely frustrating and more than inconvenient. However, the way you responded to the host was only likely to make her feel that she had made the right decision in not hosting you. It is better to keep the correspondence unemotional and relevant. Things like telling the host that they should reconsider hosting aren't going to help you at all.

Sorry to not be more sympathetic, but it really sounds like something else happened before the messages that you posted which set of alarm bells for this host.

Or, it's possible she cancelled for some completely different reason and is not telling the truth RE suspecting you of being a partier, but it's really impossible to tell from the info you've provided.

[Chris15609]

 hi @Huma0 and thank younfor an in-depth reply to my concerns, I totally agree my pmdisplay picture should be an actual picture and this has been something that as just skipped my mind from when i had initially setup my account, although I feel that if my display picture was the issue shojldnthe host canceled my accomodation at the time of booking?

I have upload the entire correspondence between my self and the host now

i understand that if I were demanding an early check in that would be rude and frustrating, but I merely asked as my flights had been rescheduled, was not a big deal and was more a question if it’s possible, am able to?

I understand I should have stayed 100% professional and my reply to the host should have been unemotional but at the time I was quite stressed and frustrated with the last minute headaches 

my whole concern with the approach is that, why was it canceled last minute with no proper reasoning? If the host had said a the reason we have canceled is due to…….. I would understand but this has been quite rude way to cancel someone’s holiday plans 

although I cannot help but feel that if my account and display picture was exactly the same and yet a female the accomodation would not have been canceled 

[Chris15609]

Ps: I did not reply to the automatically generated message as at the Tim elf booking I mentioned the book was for two guests 

[Huma0]

@Chris15609 

Thanks for posting the rest of the message thread. If this is all of it then it is a bit puzzling. Seems to me that there was a bit of a communication break down.

1. Looks like you instant booked. Nothing wrong with that but, as I mentioned, it does make it easier for the host to cancel you.

2. Often, with IB, there is a set of questions that you are supposed to answer during the booking process, although that depends on if the host has put this as a requirement of booking. A lot of guests seem to miss this. I wonder if that was an annoyance for the host.

3. You didn't bother to respond to the automated message and I can understand why, but this might have been a mistake. Yes, you had already put two people on the booking, but a lot of guests put the wrong number of guests on the reservation and it's therefore normal for a host to want to double check this. The message also asked you to confirm your time of arrival, so you should have supplied that.

4. Instead of responding to the questions that were sent to you on 19th October, which included your arrival time, you didn't contact the host at all until 2nd January, and then only to ask for early check in. That's not good. On the other hand, I don't understand why the host did not contact you.

Personally, I see it as a potential red flag when guests do not respond to these sort of basic questions or ignore the pre-booking questions. However, I would chase them for the information and I would also let them know that I'll be in touch before the stay with check in details. I think there's a danger in having everything automated on the system. How can a host get a sense of who someone is, e.g. if the guest is likely to throw a party, if they have no communication with the guest? It's also reassuring for the guest to know that the host actually cares and is there.

I certainly wouldn't cancel last minute based on this conversation alone.

It's all very odd, especially considering the message system says the host's usual response time is normally within an hour.

I think mistakes were made on both sides, but a good host should be the one to take control of the conversation, especially when the guest isn't an experienced Airbnb user. 

Of course, there could be something else going on here altogether, e.g. the host needed the listing for something else, was using other platforms and double booked it, couldn't host for a reason that was not an extenuating circumstance, so it was easier to cancel you on the pretence of a possible party, so she wouldn't be penalised. It's impossible to know really.

[Chris15609]

Hmmm fair enough I suppose the only out come of this now has tarnished the name of Airbnb for me and anyone that knows me, as I will not be using the platform again

thabks for your help 

[Emilia42]

@Chris15609 I agree with you. It's hosts like this who give Airbnb a bad name. This host should not have been able to cancel so easily based on your message thread and I think it's very unprofessional that they did so.

For what it's worth, this host does not have very good reviews across her 13 listings, so maybe you dodged a bullet. If you ever do use Airbnb again, you now know how important it is to further a conversation with the host. You'll want to get a feel for if they are a real, communicative person or an uncompassionate robot. 

[Sarah977]

@Chris15609  Just because you mentioned something before isn't an excuse to not reply to a host's questions. You also ignored the host's request for arrival time. And did you "mention" 2 guests, or did you actually enter 2 guests on the booking form? Hosts often double check that the guest count is correct, as many guests do not enter the correct number.

Sometimes guests assume that if a place has a maximum guest count of 4, they can just show up with 4, regardless of how many they listed on the booking. It's not a question to dismiss or ignore answering.  Hosts develop certain questions they ask of guests based on past experiences- they aren't something to take offense at or take personally. 

A guest who doesn't bother to respond to a host's questions, and then 3 months later sends a message asking for the host to bend their check-in time for them, is not considered to be a good communicator. 

Nothing wrong with asking if an earlier check-in can be accommodated, but "Hi Emily- I just realized I never answered your message back in Oct. re number of guests and arrival time- so sorry I overlooked that. Guest count has not changed since I booked- 2 guests, me and my friend, XX.

My flight time has recently changed though, and will be getting in late morning. Are you at all flexible on your check-in window which I am aware starts at 2 pm?" would likely have been better received.

Between never responding to her previous message, and asking her when the normal check-in time is, which will be stated both on your booking and in the listing itself, and which you were apparently too lazy to look at for yourself, the host may have felt you hadn't bothered to read much else, either, and decided you weren't worth the risk.

You may be a perfectly nice, respectful guest, but all a host has to go on is your communication or lack thereof. 

And I would have to agree with the responder who said the review you left for your past host is rather strange. Why would you say that the place was older than what you are used to? That is not a review- it has nothing to do with the accommodation you were provided or the host. It in no way informs future guests of anything pertinent. It's like writing that you are used to bedrooms that are painted blue. So what?

I'm not at all condoning this host cancelling on you last minute- that's a very rude thing to do to a guest, but it's also important for you to understand the factors that could possibly have made a host uncomfortable with your booking.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Chris15609 I agree with a lot of what @Huma0 has said apart from the early check in request. I have no issue with these and actually encourage early check ins if the place is available and if it means the guest can settle in in daylight.

[Huma0]

@Mike-And-Jane0 

The early check in thing depends on the situation. I do let some guests check in early if the room is available. However, I've also had a lot of issues with early check ins and even bag drop offs, which is why I am wary of them. See: https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/How-can-I-stop-guests-ignoring-the-check-in-time/m-p/304...

A possible cause of annoyance is a guest who books in October, doesn't respond to the request for an arrival time and then only messages a few days short of the stay to ask for an early check in. In @Chris15609 's case, he asked nicely and accepted no for an answer (not the case with all guests). He did not keep pressing over and over when told no. He did not show up outside the listing unannounced and several hours early. A host who has had a lot of bad experiences with this could still get annoyed though at both the question and the timing of it.

However, I do think the host is largely to blame here. Rather than respond to @Chris15609 's initial message, they sent him an auto response (probably why the response rate is showing as within an hour) and then failed to communicate with him further. If check in time was important, why not chase the guest for an answer?