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]

That’s awful! I’m so sorry! Maybe I’ll just go back to plain old hotels. But I hate that. I love visiting and staying in a home in a neighborhood. It’s easier on my family and we all get our rest and our play as needed. This is disheartening to read. It also makes me want to do a deep dive into bookings to make sure my host is just an individual and not getting some special treatment and allowed to be shady because they lie to bring in money🙈

[Sarah3749]

Surely that’s not a thing!!! I hope not anyway. However, the way we’ve been treated by host and CS I’d definitely buy into the theory

[Sarah3749]

Thank you. I completely understand that people will try to take advantage. I’m truly just trying to have a fun week with my family of 4 as my husband begins a new job. We’ve stayed at Airbnbs over the years and I’ve never had an experience like this and I hope that hosts have always had good reviews after our stays. We make it a point to treat their homes as we do our own home. I’m just super bummed. If we ever head to Tuscaloosa I’ll look you up and will be booking for 4 people ha!

[Sarah977]

@Sarah3749 When you get a chance, do revisit this thread after your stay and let us know how it went. I'll be curious to know.

[Sarah3749]

@Sarah977 I definitely will. 

[Kelly149]

y'all, I think Sarah's trip starts soon... I'm so nervous.... It's a like a cliffhanger btwn season 1 and season 2... what will happen?

@Sarah3749 

[Robbie54]

@Kelly149 maybe she hired the house to produce the meth! 

[Sarah3749]

Ugh. It keeps failing to upload. We made it. It's okay. Definitely not what I would consider luxury. The kitchen has obviously been renovated as well as places here and there throughout like one of the bathrooms but it definitely needs some TLC. My son was disappointed there was no teepee as shown in pictures (another lesson learned) but was excited to see the pool table. He also thought it had been hit by a tornado when we pulled up and he saw outside. The exterior is definitely in need of repair. Overall it will be fine for our two nights. Thank you all for your help and support. I've learned some good lessons and will be much more diligent when booking in the future. Especially if I'm bringing my babies with me. 

[Sarah977]

@Sarah3749 So not exactly the Architectural Digest gem she advertises it as, huh.

Hope you have a decent stay and the kids sleep through the night.

[Sarah3749]

Definitely not as advertised. Thank you. Fingers crossed on kiddos sleeping haha!

[Kelly149]

@Sarah3749 I'm glad you found it acceptable for your stay. Best wishes for the trip, enjoy those cousins, and remember ABB thinks a descriptive review is your best remedy for this kooky situation.

hey, btw, read a couple of posts about how reviews work and what would make a review eligible for being removed before you post yours:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2673/airbnbs-review-policy

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/13/how-do-reviews-work-for-stays

if you aren't sure, this group is pretty good at workshopping review text

take care!