Catastrophic Event Related to Mother Nature, War and/or Anthing beyond our control

[Michelle1197]

As a host, how would you handle a situation where a family books your listing during a catastrophic event.? An event which is life threatening & they have been forced to flee their home.     

The family books your listing quickly and 2 hours later after they have arrived at your listing realize they made a mistake and need to cancel.   Would you allow a full refund due to the unusual circumstances?

[Michelle1197]

The stairs aren’t shown in the photos.  My story is clear and straight.

[Ana1136]

@Michelle1197 you can clearly tell that there are stairs from the photos. I agree, your story is clear, you misenterpreted a place, maybe in a rush due to the evacuation and it is undestandable but you are wrong about the host having to give you a full refund. Nor him or Airbnb are responsible for your decisions.

[Michelle1197]

I walked through the place.  I had my mother and kids with me. My mother did not enter the Place.   This is not so cut and dry.  O will have my attorney sort it out and let you all know the outcome.

[Susan17]

@Michelle0 

In your post further up, you said,  "I didn’t even go in the house. I opened the door saw the stairs and left"

Now you're saying,  "I walked through the place". 

And still you somehow managed to ascertain that "the bedding was unclean and the pillows were old and dingy"

Fascinating. 

[Letti0]

@Susan17  The host can actually have her review pulled as she has a case open with AirBnB it seems and she mentioned it in the review. That's a no no.  

[Michelle1197]

I don’t know about all these “no-no’s”.  They all seem very controlling and unfair to the Guests.

[Letti0]

@Michelle1197

The following content is never allowed on Airbnb:

• Content that provides specific details or outcomes of an Airbnb investigation

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/546/what-is-airbnb-s-content-policy

[Michelle1197]

I’m just new customer, not a Level 10 (whatever that means?) that fights for Airbnb so they have the ability to continue these unscrupulous tactics against the consumer!

[Susan17]

@Letti0 

Yes, that's correct but perhaps the host is unaware of Airbnb's content policy on review removal (most hosts are). He did leave a response to Michelle's review though, in which he claimed that Michelle and her friends were racist and disrespectful towards him and his family, and sent them threatening and abusive messages and calls. 

Oddly enough, since you posted the details above regarding any mention of Airbnb dispute in a review being grounds for removal, the host's response to Michelle's damning review of him suddenly appears to have been pulled, and is no longer visible on the host's account.... 

[Letti0]

@Susan17  Yes I just saw that also. 

[Michelle1197]

You might want to note there have also been changes to the listing in regards to “handicap” and the “moderate policy” because I was able to speak out which hopefully will protect the next GUEST and Host.   Please refrain from the attacks.  I’m just calling it as I see it.

[Michelle1197]

So now my review was pulled? So that future guests cannot be warned?  Totally unethical!  There were no specific details in my review about an investigation.   There was also a negative review besides mine about this host that is now gone!   It seems the consensus here is to attack your bread and butter which are your Guests!   Good Luck!   Bye

[Kelly149]

@Michelle1197 my advice would be to calmly state your case to ABB CS, a cursory glance thru this host's listing shows that clearly there are some issues there.

It also appears that you went on to have a good ABB experience elsewhere, so perhaps under less stressful circumstances you will be ready to be a more careful ABB guest.

For example: a host with 4 host cancellations is a terrible idea, if homey-ness is important to you then there were several reviews telling you that this wasn't a good place for you, the stairs themselves aren't shown, but I see evidence of handrails and the beginning of stairs in about half of the listing's photos, so when mobility is an issue that would merit more careful inquiry.

In all cases (especially when you're traveling with an animal and an elderly person) it is better to talk with a host first to see if their expectations and yours line up. ABB instant booking feature is not always helpful to a happy stay.

Should you have the unfortunate case to have an abb problem again, then what you should have done was gotten ABB CS on the phone from directly in the listing's driveway and asked them to help you. By cancelling, booking elsewhere & then blasting the first host you turned it into a "bad guest" and "bad host" situation which doesn't help you.

Of course in this case you were stressed by the weather, so the best way to get a refund now, is to try to start again, remain calm, explain what happened and what you'd like to have happen now and drop the whole "I'm calling my lawyer and everyone is awful".

Good luck

[Michelle1197]

Thank you for your reasonable response. I understand that all NOW, after the fact.  I’m just shocked that they would take all my $$ when the house was off the market for a couple hours.   I realize NOW that if you are interested in booking an Airbnb - proceed with EXTREME CAUTION.

As a side note: I also booked an Airbnb in GA which I cancelled with NO PROBLEM and a REFUND due to the fluid path of the Hurricane and not knowing WHERE it would be safe to go.

Again, unless you’ve been in such a situation, it’s difficult to relate!     99% of EVERYONE, Businesses, Volunteers etc have been unbelievably supportive and have gone above and beyond to help us!

[Sarah977]

@Michelle1197  The place may have been dirty and unkempt, but there are other things, like the stairs,  the cancellation policy, and the past reviews, that were your responsibility to check out BEFORE booking. I assume you Instant Booked the place? When guests have special requirements (like your elderly mother not being able to navigate the stairs), it behooves them to message the host first, rather than IBing, to state those needs to determine whether this listing will work for you. In other words, you didn't do your due diligence. I'm sure this was a stressful time for you, being displaced by the hurricane, but you are using that as an excuse for things that were your responsibility to check out before booking, whether there was a crisis situation or not.

As for the host being able to rebook the place for the same dates- are you serious? Airbnb's are not hotels, where if someone reneges on their reservation, someone else will walk in the door within 5 minutes, or a few hours and take the room. Why would you think the host could rebook the place on such short notice?

That you said you just opened the door and left in one post, and then the story changed to you went in and looked around, is just one indication that you are unwilling to take any responsibility for a bad situation, and just want to blame others and hold them responsible.