We arrived later than expected and the host refused us entry, now she will not refund us.

[Evan749]

Hello,

I booked a 1 night stay for a work trip, it was just going to be myself but at the last minute my wife decided to come with me. We had a few delays on our trip to the location and ended up arriving at 9:45pm. We had no firm check in time but I had said it would be late afternoon or evening. The address in the booking that was automatically added to my calendar by Airbnb was for 220 xxxx street when the stay was actually meant to be 220b xxxx street, that along with it being a dark rural driveway with many houses on it added about 10 mins of us trying to figure out which house it was actually meant to be. 

When we finally figured out which house it was we found the driveway chained with locks on it, I emailed, called and texted the host with no response. I called again 10 mins later and she picked up, rude straight away she asked what time we called this and when I explained pleasantly my wife and I had some delays on our trip she got annoyed that my wife was with me and told me she was not comfortable letting us stay. This left us 3 hours from home in a dark rural area at 10pm with nowhere to sleep for the night.

I emailed Airbnb without response, a few days later I got on their messaging service and raised the issue. They replied that the host had already told them that she was not comfortable letting us stay and they would ask her if she would approve a refund to us. She has declined the refund which now means the host has refused to let us stay and has refused a refund, all because we were a few hours late and my wife was with me. 

I have never had an issue with a host when I arrive late, and have a few times had my wife join me on trips that were booked for 1 person. Nobody else has ever had an issue with either, The instructions I normally receive for entry include the combination lock number or where to find the key to let myself in etc.

This booking was for a seperate unit, not a room in her house.

What do I do from here?  Will my bank do a chargeback for me?

[Sudsrung0]

@Evan749 

Some of these host are mad, These people shouldn't be in this business,

As host we have to be flexible thats the way I see it,

I make sure guest add me to Whats app or whatever app they are using I think we have them all,

That way we can share location, 

Most of our guest fly here I like it when the guest accept my offer of a luxury minivan service from the airport and we are 50km away, I know exactly where they are as the driver keeps me informed.

[Sudsrung0]

@Evan749 

You can give her a nice review based on the facts

[Gwen386]

@Evan749 I am only responding as if I was your host. I am a single, semi-retired woman who rents a studio bsmt apt. I would not want to show my unit to basically a stranger at 10pm. I have a life too. Airbnb is not my sole source of income. And, I have another job too. So I need to be in bed at a certain time. 

You had the host’s phone number. Why not call and give an ETA when you realized you were running really late. Late afternoon or evening does not mean 9:45. It means somewhere between 3-6. Also, the minute you knew your wife was joining you, why not change your reservation to add her?

TBH, I would not have allowed you access either. However, I would have refunded your money. 

Let this be a lesson learned.