Airbnb service fee refund - difference between a guest and a host cancelling?

[Tricia24]

I'm a new host, just had my first cancellation last week due to a miscommunication. Guest had thought i was charging $50rmb as opposed to aud (i'm hosting in australia and my listing has also specified aud). I've thus refunded her in full.

My question is... is the airbnb service fee refundable to the guests if the host cancels the reservation? The repercussions are that the hosts will be liable to cop a penalty? My guest is now arguing that I should have cancelled the reservation as a host to save her the airbnb service fee that she isn't able to get back.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

Airbnb service fees are not refundable unless the guest or host meets the Extenuating Circumstances. policy.  You can refund the guest these fees if you got them to cancel through the Resolution Center.  

[James2352]

Shouldn’t Covid-19 qualify as an extenuating circumstance?  AirBnB is refusing to refund a$150 service fee because we had to cancel a reservation 6 months in advance.  Very poor customer service.  Or should I say former customer, as I will never book with them again.  It’s time to take this viral.

[Derrick---Yan--0]

I've had the same thing happen to me as well for Comic con 2020 that was just cancelled due to Covid-19. They are not refunding my service fee of $107. 

[Brodie7]

Same issue here... the policy is not reflective of destinations. We cancelled our trip for July on 6th May to Queenstown, New Zealand. The policy was updated on 1st May, and is only valid until 1st June. 3/4 Airlines flying in and out of Queenstown have cancellations allowable up to 30th June and the 4th allowed up to 30th September.  Airbnb's website says: We may be apart, but we'll get through this together. - their policy goes against this.

Customers need to make big decisions and adjust plans due to unknown circumstances of COVID-19 and their policy not only restricts, but penalises the customer for this. We've had over $300 withheld for the service fee.

[Radia7]

I am running to this exact situation as we speak. I made a reservation on June 12 for July 12 twice within the same host because she advertised it for cheaper price. I contacted the host but no response. Shouldn't her home be blocked for the dates I reserved? I feel this is not ethically correct as if she want to give it to somebody else and cancel my reservation later.

All this to say, I no longer feel comfortable with this host and more importantly, I don't even know if I can travel from US to Spain given the COVID19 situation.

I spoke with Airbnb  explaining the whole thing to waive the service fees based on this unethical experience. The agent said that they can't waive the fees because I have overlapping reservation. I explained again the reason for the overlapping (cheaper price offered as the home is still advertised). Unfortunately, she said that I will be charged for service fees for both reservation if I cancel. I found this unacceptable! 

Any thoughts?

[Tara683]

I'm trying to figure out how AirBnb can charge customers for services unrendered. I thought that was against the law. The same thing happened to my daughter. She checked out a place that said the dates weren't available but was somehow booked for the the dates she requested. She doesn't even know how it happened & AirBnb is not trying to cancel with full refund in less than 24 hours. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Tara683 if the trip is within 14 days the 24 hour cancellation doesn't apply I am afraid.

[Sarah977]

@Tara683  "I'm trying to figure out how AirBnb can charge customers for services unrendered. I thought that was against the law."

When a person books something (regardless of whether your daughter "doesn't even know how it happened"), whether it's an airline ticket, a hotel room, or an Airbnb, they are subject to the conditions of the cancellation policy in place. Nothing illegal about that.

And your daughter would not have been able to enter dates on a request that weren't available on the calendar. So something about this is not as you seem to think.

If it was a case of the dates being open to book, and your daughter accidentally Instant Booked them, only to be told by the host that the dates weren't available, meaning the host didn't have their calendar up to date, it was up to the host to cancel, not your daughter.

If your daughter sent a Request, then the host would have had to accept it for the booking to be confirmed, and it doesn't make sense that the host would do that if the dates were unavailable. Unless the host lists on another platform and saw that the dates were already booked, but it hadn't synced to block those dates on the Airbnb calendar.

In any case, if there are open, bookable dates, and the host then says they aren't available, it is up to the host to cancel, not the guest. So this is the basis upon which your daughter should persue a refund- this should have beena host cancellation, not a guest cancellation.

[Tricia24]

@Alice-and-Jeff0 Thanks so much for your reply! I am however still really confused on the following policies listed on airbnb site:

Trip cancellations and reservation changes

See the effect on service fees for the following situations:

If a reservation request is retracted, expires or is declined, we don’t charge the guest a service fee
If a guest cancels a reservation, the service fee charged to the guest is non-refundable
If a guest chooses to be refunded after a host cancellation, the service fee charged to the guest is refunded
If a reservation is changed, the service fee charged to the guest adjusts with to the new subtotal

I suppose then it's really up to the circumstance that a host or a guest should cancel? And I also want to check if the service fee is really refundable to the guest  if the host cancels on their end? I've read some community forums and got more confused than ever 😛

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/363/what-does-each-reservation-status-mean

Since the two of you had a disagreement about what the actual amount of the reservation was, who should cancel is based on who was at "fault".  Who didn't understand the amount? 

[Ange2]

@Tricia24   Never cancel - you will be penalized, dates blocked, fined,  have a host cancelled on your review page, drop in search rank and after 3 times possibly have your listing deactivated. Do not even cancel if Airbnb sends you an email asking you if you want to, you will still be penalized.    See new rules here, which are far harsher for the host than they were. It appears that even Instant Book hosts can no longer cancel without penalty if they feel uncomfortable,  it was an option two weeks ago!

[Jacquie2]

As a host, if the guest cancels it is up to them to press the button, otherwise the cancel goes against YOU, which is not good as you can lose your superhost status and/or makes it harder to keep it.  I never cancel the reservation if the guest wants to.  It is up to them as far as I'm concerned.

[Clare0 · Accepted solution]

@Tricia24 You've raised a very important question!

When a guest cancels, Airbnb does not refund the service fee unless the cancellation was due to an Extenuating Circumstance. 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320/what-is-airbnb-s-extenuating-circumstances-policy

This prevents a guest from cancelling for frivolous reasons and in the meantime the host's calendar is blocked all the while for that reservation. 

When a host cancels, Airbnb refunds the entire cost including the service fee.  Airbnb also offers a credit (usually 10% but can be more depending on the egregiousness of the cancellation, like the day before) if the refund is to be applied towards a new booking.  Airbnb loses money on the transaction and that's why host penalties are so harsh.  

There are certainly situations where hosts and guests mutually agree that a reservation should be cancelled and, in my opinion, neither should be charged if the cancellation is done relatively soon after the booking was made.  There is an experiment going on in Italy where a guest can get a 100% refund up to 24 hours before the start of a stay on IB reservations.  Not sure how it is going except I'm sure guests love it, probably hosts not so much. 

The problem with host cancellations is that many are done without any regard to the impact it has on guests who make plans and incur costs such as airfare, concert tickets, and other travel plans.  Not keeping updated calendars, pricing updated (Oh, I forgot that it was New Year's Eve!),  getting better offers from guests on other websites (VRBO, HomeAway, etc).  These types of host cancellations really hurt the Airbnb brand and  by extension, hosts like us.  Many guests complain bitterly about how their vacations were ruined because of a host cancellation. Oftentimes short notice cancellations result in a guest not able to rebook another stay at a reasonable price.  Many just go to a hotel fearing the next host will cancel too. 

So there you have it. I'm sure Airbnb is trying to figure out an equitable solution for  both hosts and guests.  In the meantime, if you or one of your guests need to cancel and it is an unusual situation, contact Airbnb for assistance.  They are really great at sorting these things out on a case by case basis. 

Sorry for the long post....it's been on my mind lately. 🙂

[Karen408]

I had a recent cancellation from my host  on the last 10 days of my trip to Japan with only 3 weeks notice. They would refund the daily rate of the 10 days but would not refund the sevice fee.

The reason they they are not "refunding" the service fee is because of the difference of  the "conversion rate" .

I made a transaction with Airbnb in my own currency (no exchange rate applied to my credit card) so I don't think that international exchange conversion rates should apply and even if they did, they are not being consistent about it or transparent about it. I get a full cost of the daily rate unaffected by the "conversion rate". They would not explain any further than stating " due to difference of conversian rate" when asked. They said they adjusted the fee but they are not refunding it. They said the most they can offer was a $200 credit compensation.

I have to cancel a day of my vacation, rent out a locker for 4 large luggages, 2 carry on luggages and backpacks move all our stuff at 3PM Check in at the next airbnb place, and all the prices of nearby? airbnb prices would cost an extra $150+. If i cancel the whole reservation I would be paying an extra $300+ and hard to find a place for the full duration of my trip.