Airbnb Host is refusing to refund me

[Cheryl806]

Wondering if anyone can help me here.  I recently booked an airbnb in Newport, RI.  The listing stated that pets were welcome.  I booked and paid for the place and confirmation was provided.  I was told AFTER I received confirmation and money was taken from my CC they would not allow a cat.  I cancelled this reservation and the host is not refunding me.  The host is stating that the policy for him to refund me is wrong and money will be taken from his next listing.  Airbnb has asked him to refund.  I am now stuck in the middle and missing $8K!  I've filed a complaint, reached out on social media and don't know what else to do.  Does anyone else have any suggestions here?  Thanks so much!

[Emiel1]

@Cheryl806 

You cancelled yourself. Then the attached cancellation policy will automatically calculate and provide you the refund (if any). No intervention of the host is needed. So was there not any refund ?

But in this case you found out the listing is misleading and you could then have informed Airbnb and ask them to perform  the cancellation with full refund.

"The host is stating that the policy for him to refund me is wrong and money will be taken from his next listing. ". Not clear to me what this is all about.

[Mark116]

@Cheryl806  What you should have done is contact Airbnb and inform them that a  key advertised amenity..pet friendly listing...would not allow your pet. You  would probably have gotten a refund and neutral cancellation.

Assuming you are correct that the listing was pet friendly when you booked, and the host indicated  he would refuse your pet, you should eventually get a refund from Airbnb, but it will likely take a lot of effort on your part, multiple customer service people, etc.

[Anonymous]

@Cheryl806 Airbnb doesn't transfer any part of your payment to the host until after the scheduled check-in date. I'm guessing some confusion has come out of the fact that the host literally doesn't have your money yet, and therefore isn't in any position to transfer funds to you.

It's hard to say whether the listing was genuinely misleading, since "pets welcome" never applies broadly to all species of animal. Hosts should be more specific in their House Rules about which type and quantity of pets they accommodate and what restrictions apply (e.g. " up to two dogs only" or "no pets left unattended,") but it really is wise for pet owners to discuss their specific situation with the host before booking. 

[Huma0]

@Cheryl806 

I believe what @Mark116 and @Emiel1 have said is correct.

However, I just wanted to double check, did you read the full listing and house rules (I mean click on all the tabs and likes to see all the information)?

The reason I ask is, it seems very odd for a host to say they accept pets and then turn you away because you are bringing your cat. Of course, it's more common for people to travel with dogs than cats, but still...

When a host chooses their rules, Airbnb gives a few options that you can select yes/no from, including whether you allow pets or not. There is no option here to be specific, e.g. to specify that you allow dogs but not cats, rabbits, iguanas whatever. 

The host does have the option to go into more detail about their rules in a written section, but the guest needs to click on the link under the displayed rules to see this. The host could also add this information elsewhere on the listing, e.g. under 'other things to note' or 'you must also acknowledge', but again, these sections are kind of hidden if you don't click the links. Unfortunately, hosts have no control over the layout of the listing and Airbnb choses to keep these important sections away from the landing page.

So, if the host had specified WHICH pets were allowed on the listing, you might not be entitled to a refund. If the host hadn't then, for sure, push for one.

In future, don't initiate a cancellation if the host refuses to host you. Instead, request that the host cancels and, if they won't, contact Airbnb.

[Cheryl806]

I read the rules and it said "pets welcome".  There were no other details in the listing.  However I did specify I would be bringing one cat in the "request to book" area and they confirmed my reservation (and took 8K from me).  I think in all honestly, they accepted the booking and then went back to read my note after the fact.  They have made it a point to say they are changing the verbiage in the listing. 

[Cheryl806]

Thanks all, I've been in touch with airbnb and they are trying to work this out.  They also stated I should have just had the host cancel me, but it's too late now anyway. Unfortunately, the host may get penalized because they did accept my booking (and charged me) before reading my note that was included in my request to book, stating I have a cat.  I feel bad as they seem like nice people but I never would have booked this place if the listing was clearer.  Unfortunately lesson learned for them I think in this case.

[Mark116]

@Cheryl806  Don't feel bad.  If you mentioned the cat in your request and they didn't read that and accepted you, when, it sounds like, for whatever reason, they would have declined you....that is their mistake.  You were right to mention your pet up front, giving the host the option to ask questions, say yes or say no.  And for these reasons, you should get a full refund.

[Sarah977]

@Cheryl806  In your first post here you said you booked and paid, but now you say you sent a booking request. Did you Instant Book this place, or did you send a booking request that the host accepted? Because if it was a request, it woukld be very unusual for a host to accept it without reading your message, as the accept or decline buttons are in the same box with the message.

If you Instant Booked, hosts can't read your message until after a booking is made and confirmed.

If you ever have questions about a listing, or want to double check anything that isn't clear, you should send an Inquiry message first, which doesn't commit you to anything, and which the host can simply answer, without having to either accept or decline.

It sounds like these may be new hosts who don't understand how things work. It would have been better for both them and you, given they didn't want cats, but listed pet friendly, to simply get you to cancel and authorize a full refund. Then they would have  not received any penalties and there would have been no need to waste time dealing with customer service.

[Cheryl806]

Interesting point and I don't know if it was an "instant book" or not.  But that is good to know and if it was an "instant book", I guess all the more reason for them to be really clear in their description of what they allow (and don't allow) so this won't happen again.  Good advice though ...thankfully I don't travel with my cat often!

[Sarah977]

@Cheryl806  It is pretty clear whether you send a booking request or Instant Book. A host has to accept a request before it is confirmed, and you would get a message saying the host accepted. When you Instant Book, you are charged immediately and the booking is confirmed. 

For sure, hosts should be quite clear about everything, even if they don't use IB. But not everyone is good at knowing how to do that. Hosts are usually updating and amending their listing wording as it becomes  clear that guests aren't understanding, or that the host has missed including crucial information or stating things in a way that is open to interpretation.

[Anonymous]

@Cheryl806 As a guest, I once booked a listing that featured "pets allowed" in its stats, on a competing platform that included a pet count drop-down and added a fee. I explicitly mentioned my dog in the initial message to the host. But when I arrived, the host was alarmed to see a dog in my group, and insisted that he'd never intentionally selected the "pets allowed" option in his listing and wasn't even aware it existed. Luckily, he allowed us to stay anyway, but he was rightfully concerned about future guests' possible allergies, and almost certainly would have turned away a cat. 

Later, I noticed that the host's written listing description made no mention of pets; he apparently ticked the wrong box when setting up his new-ish listing, and the error was magnified by the platform's interface. It's no excuse for taking a listing live without carefully previewing it, or for failing to read messages, but it happens all the time.