Refund not received, although promised by airbnb

[Dejan3]

Host cancelled my reservation (it was instant booking), airbnb stepped in, said they'd refund the total amount I paid within 5 biz days. No money refunded so far (more than 7 days passed). It seems impossible to reach them again through the website, contact phone is well hidden somewhere.

How should I proceed?

[Anna1146]

I had very bad experience with Airbnb I cancelled my trip because of an emergency situation more than months before and they sent me a message that I will receive refund in 5 business days I was waiting for 2 weeks and I didn’t get any refund any letter, nothing I texted them on Facebook and they said that they will not refund anything,I’m super upset I do not recommend this company at all

[Doreen36]

Hi Anna! Did you already get your refund? If not, I suggest try to message them on Twitter, search

@AirbnbHelp or Airbnb Help and DM them. That's what I just did 2 days ago and they responded fast, today I checked my bank account and my refund is finally there, that fast. Try it if you have a twitter account and tell them your issue.

[Floriano0]

hi doreen did you got a receipt from airbnb right after the money was returned to your account? im a little bit worried i accidentally used my friend's debit card thats why  i cancelled it right away and rebooked using mine. does airbnb notifies you after the money was trasmitted?

[Tricia68]

In the last week of May my money was taken and then the hostess cancelled. I haven’t got an issue with this but the money has not been forthcoming since then (middle of June now) despite me requesting several times for return of my money. I then got a message pop up on my phone telling me I’ve ovly got a few days left to use the money they credited me. I never wanted the credit! This has seriously put me off Airbnb. Previously when I wanted to use it in Sweden it wouldn’t process me changing dates even though I had contacted host and he had agreed this, I didn’t want any mixup so I didn’t go ahead. I know one of my daughters has used it at least twice without problems but I haven’t had any luck. 

[Lauri23]

Hi there did you ever get this resolved?

 I’m going through the same thing atm. I had to cancel my trip and it was one year in advance. All within host cancelling polices and rules. Airbnb did same with me. Message said

Your refund is on its way

We issued a refund.  While this refund is immediate on our part, you might not see the money reflected in your PayPal account until 5 business days later. Please contact your payment provider for additional information.

I call bull**bleep**. That was 13 days ago and no refund. I have a cased open with them now thank god I paid with PayPal and have all screen shots proof of what they said. 

I will get my refund back because of the protection policy of PayPal but this is totally unacceptable. Basically saying one thing and not actually doing it. So far they haven’t even replied to any of PayPal’s emails. 

I call that stealing someone money. 

[Linda1079]

I got ripped off. A host canceled at the last minute. Lied to Airbnb and I had to find other accommodations at the last minute. I've been trying to contact them since coming back from vacation and now they do not retune calls nor emails. I feel like we should join forces and sue for our money back.

Anyone interested?

[Nikola61]

I am experiencing the same problem right now. I had to cancell my reservations in Athens because of wild fires and floods at the time of the reservation. Airbnb had promissed to investigate the case and refund the money. Then after 2 weeks they have said that 2/3 of the money will be refunded due 6th of august. I have not received anything.

[Alice530]

I'm having a similar issue. I had to cancel a trip to Chicago weeks ahead of the trip. I was entitled to at least most of my refund. I was told that my refund was "on its way" it's been 20 days and I paid using a major credit card.  I contacted Airbnb to see what the issue is, and they told me the host had to give me my refund. So i requested my refund from the host. They told me Airbnb has my refund and only they can send it to me. So I told the customer service agent that the host said it was Airbnb who has to refund me. The agent said it's the host. It's like no one wants to refund me. It's really annoying. This is my first experience with Airbnb and it's likely my last..

[Lydia193]

I canselled my booking 4 months prior my booking...my refund was promised to be pai back in 5 bis days. It is now 2 months later..still no refund...

[Amara10]

I'm having the same issue. Host cancelled out of the blue, and because it was more than 30 days before my booking it was automatically refunded. Booked another one because I thought the refund would come quickly, but I've been waiting for a couple of days and it's still not there. Worst customer service and conflict resolution I've ever dealt with. 

[Daniel1992]

FYI, all.

This is a forum for hosts to communicate with other hosts to bounce ideas off of each other and to discuss how hosting has influenced our lives.  Unfortunately, your requests won't get to AirBNB for your refund.  The link was shared on the first page of this post on how to get the refund.  Hopefully this helps!

[Guga4]

We are having the same experience atm. A group of friends orginized a trip to Tbilisi for the NYE and paid for the house in weeks advance. When i tried to contact the host he wasn’t replying, so I tried to call him on the phone, but he wasn’t answering and then he just turned it off. Meanwhile I started to text the Airbnb support, 3 days prior the check in, but since that they just don’t reply my messages. It was the last night that we still had a hope of their response, but we had to rent another apartment which was a way too bad comparing to the one we’ve booked on Airbnb and the price was twice more (because it was the NY night). So because of the Airbnb support just didn’t care much, we lost more than 300$ and wasted so much energy and time, that we didn’t have any mood for the NYE. So we are very upset and already spoke with a lawyer which says that this appears to be fraudulent behavior. Probably the court for small claims will force them to pay up. 

[Michelle1501]

Glad I'm not the only one with this problem. Was put on  my account that a refund had been issued but still nothing was told that it was what I would have got back for cancelling if I had paid in full. Another argument I am having with them as cancellation policy said full refund if cancelled 14 days before check in which I did it was two months before check in it it doesn't say only if you have paid in full. Misleading information

[Jeff158]

@Michelle1501 

This has been confusing for lots of hosts and guests.

Limited-time refund within 48 hours after booking when the check-in date is at least 14 days away

Guests must cancel within 48 hours after booking and can only cancel if their check-in date is 14+ days away. This means that no matter how far out your guests book, they only have 48 hours from the time they book to cancel for free

The post below has the above explanation

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Community-Center-Updates/New-strict-cancellation-policy-update/m...

[Sai18]

guys, you really got refund from air bnb? How long will it take to get back?