Host wants me to cancel my trip

[Marin5]

Hello, 

I booked trip to France 2 days ago. 
Apartment had an instant book option so I picked my dates and my credit card was charged. 
Host started conversation with me and everything was fine. 

But, today he sent me message and said that he can't host because his family comes on weekend I booked. 

He asked me to cancel my reservation and said that he can refund service fee. 

I haven't been in this situation yet, but I think he has to cancel that reservation?!
I'm not the one who wants to cancel trip. 

What is the best (safest, easiest) way for me to get my money back? 

Thank you! 
Best regards, 
Marin 

[Marie82]

Hi i think u are little unfair 

do u know why host cancelled i had to cancel a guest last week becasue the valve of my boiler broke down so no hot water and was a long easter bank holiday

We get severaly punished already for cancellation for me he should not be an issue as so many listing are available online for guests to choose from after a cancellation 

Host suffer all the time with guests cancelling last min and requesting to wave the penalties 

and sometime u have calander error guests booked dates that host blocked and find themselve in difficult situation 

[Andrea9]

@Marie82

That is still not the guest's fault.

With the kind of problems you describe you as host will need to contact Airbnb and TOGETHER with them look at the situation and have it overturned.

[Marie82]

Tx you 

yes i contacted ABB immediately when the problem rise and i ha a guest staying

the building management sent a plumber to fix the main building boiler who had a problem and only after all unit hot water was working i found out mine was still not working 

the next day management send someone else to check and they found out it is my valve but they cannot touch the valve part as it is part of my apartment and that is where all trouble start as it was a sunday bank holiday and monday easter so all was fixed 1st thing on tuesday but i had a guest booked from sunday for a week i had to call ABB and the guest was informed each time and  ABB found alternative location and the staying guest who had 1 day with no hot water i gave hm some refund.

But i think it is wrong for any guest if they get cancelled to have nasty though and want host to be punish more because i had guest cancelling on me as well and begging for full refund which i  always did as i think thing happend out of control 

[Joshua71]

@Marie82 How does the host suffer for last minute cancellations by guest? Guests still typically get hit with 50% if we cancel...but if a host cancels they get hit with a $100.00 fee? If I book a house for a week at $2000.00 and I cancel last minute, I still pay $1,000 but if host cancels, he/she pays $100 penalty? That's a 5% fee compared to my 50% fee. 

Now for my particular experience, I had rented a room, which the host then canceled because someone wanted to rent the whole house. Clearly, the penalty is not steep enough to prevent the host from canceling on me anyway. The extra money from the whole house rental clearly trumps the miniscule penalty fee for canceling on me...

Even if something intentional happens like a boiler breaks, you, as a host, act as an independent hotel. I would certainly expect a hotel to take responsibility for their cancellations instead of expecting the guest to.

[Clare0]

@Joshua71 I'm very sorry for your experience with the cancellation and I'm sure you have suffered greiviously.  

Actually, Airbnb imposes more sanctions on hosts who cancel than just a fine.  The dates are blocked so that the host cannot re-rent them out at any price.  Also, Airbnb posts a review on the listing saying that your reservation was cancelled by the host.  That's a fate almost worse than death since many guests will shy away from a host who cancelled. If a host shows a propensity for cancelling confirmed reservations, they are banned from Airbnb forever. 

I know this probably won't make you feel better, but here's a complete description of the penalties Airbnb imposes on hosts who cancel: 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/990/i-m-a-host--what-penalties-apply-if-i-need-to-cancel-a-reser...

Again, I'm sorry you have gone through this!

[Joshua71]

@Clare0 Thanks for your response. If a host has individual listings for each room in their home plus an individual listing for the whole house and I book a room, which the host cancels because he/she suddenly has someone interested in booking the whole house, it doesn't seem like the "dates block" accmplishes anything here. Sure, the dates are blocked on the host's individual listing for the room I booked but not on her listing for the whole house. I also wonder how long it takes for "superhost" status to be impacted. This host is still a "superhost" despite this incident. 

Thanks.

[Clare0]

@Joshua71,  yes, in this case the dates for the private room would be blocked but not for the entire house listing.  I can't say when the Super Host badge will disappear.  How long ago did the host cancel your reservation?

Still, host cancellations are a black mark against the host which is very serious.  

[Marie82]

I think Joshua ur thinking is wrong we are not as hotel we dont have the financial capability as hotel and we dont offer same price as hotel otherise i am sure u will be the 1st to book a hotel so we should not be compare to a hotel

If my boiler break in bank holiday he cost me 500 300 to get a plumber just to wake in my door and not even sure if he could fit it as many buy replacment part in the shop who was closed anyway

Many listings are available to book anytime and ABB help a lot any guests who find themselve in such a situation so not sure what the point being so negative about host when ABB will be there to assist you what even happen

[Maira26]

Host should pay the fines just like guest pay when they cancel.

Asking for a guest to cancel their booking when the host actually wants to cancel is DISHONEST 

[Clare0]

@Marin5  No, do not cancel as the host has to do this if they cannot or will not honor your reservation.  Follow these steps on a laptop using an internet browser to formally request that the host cancel so you will receive a full refund: 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1250/what-should-i-do-if-my-host-needs-to-cancel

[Robert449]

It seems Airbnb and cancellations policies nightmares have contined through the years.   I"m a frequent user of Airbnb and have never come across a host cancellation up until today.   Well, not a "host cancellation" but actually just received a message through Airbnb from the host of his intentions to cancel.    Host simply messaged  but never hasn't officially cancelled. 

Mind you as a travel nurse, I reseved a 30 day stay and up until now have recevied no replies from host via Airbnb email, text or phone calls.   I contacted Airbnb and spoke to a representative who informed my case would be assigned to a case manager. 

I was informed that out of the $1200 i paid in full for a reservation, Airbnb would only be liable for $99 dollars if the host continue to ignore communication.

I understand the cancellation policy but I don't see where my money is protected when requesting an extended stay.   Airbnb fails to protect both host and renter.    

[Marit-Anne0]

@Joshua71

When renting on the private market, there is always a chance that your reservation might get cancelled.  Life happens to airbnb hosts and even to Superhosts.  Severe illness, death in the family, repair issues making the unit inhabitable are, among others, valid reasons for cancelling without penalty.  

Secondly, there have been issues with the airbnb booking calendar and guests have been able to book dates already blocked.  Happend to me earlier this year and I have only one apartment, so I cannot take two bookings for the same dates.  Needless to say the guest was displeased with the cancellation, but I could cancel without penalties because the fault was with airbnb.  

With Instant Book we are also allowed to cancel penalty free if we are unconfortable with the guest.  

[Maira26]

So don’t ask for the guest to cancel, if host wants to cancel it’s fine but they should cancel the reservation themselves, asking the guest to do it it’s dishonest.

[Stefan132]

The same happened with me. The host couldn't accommodate my time of arrival and I asked him 6 times to cancel the reservation and he just refused. Now I'm only getting a 50% refund.

What can I do?

[Marit-Anne0]

@Stefan132

If your arrival/departure time is outside the times listed, you are out of luck. It is your responsibility to assure there is a match with your requirements.  When renting on the private market,  check-in/check-out times are often rigid to facilitate same day turnarounds. The more reasonable rates come at a price. If you would like very early check-in or late check-out, the solution could be to book an extra night at the end needed. 

It is also important to understand that many (most ?) airbnb options are home stays where the host has full time work commitment and cannot be around at any time to check you in, so check-in and check-out times are there for a reason and need to be respected/followed.  It is not like a hotel or a guest house with 24/7 reception service.

To me it looks like you are better suited to a hotel.