Over Dynamic Pricing Adjustment – Need Advice & Similar Experiences

[Mykhaylo2]

Hello everyone,

Background:

• The reservation was booked about six months in advance for a 22-day stay.
• The guest left one day early, and we agreed to issue a refund for that single night.
• I received a message from Airbnb support stating, “if you honor the refund for one night, please know that I can process it on my end.”

What Happened:

• The original total payout for the reservation was $7,032.50.
• Instead of refunding just one night, Airbnb’s system recalculated the entire reservation and attempted to remove $3,057.68 from my payout (currently pending)
• This recalculation is far beyond the agreed one-night refund and has resulted in a substantial loss compared to what was expected.

Airbnb Support’s Argumentation:

• They explained that after the alteration, their system recalculates the payout based on the latest data in my calendar.
• According to their response, “as per carefully checking on your calendar, it shows that there's a different pricing per date on it. And since there's an alteration to the reservation, the nightly rate is also changing to the reservation to the latest pricing per night.”
• I even explained to the support team that at the time of booking—six months ago for New Year’s—the rate was HIGH and certainly different compared to the current rate at the end of January, as reflected by dynamic pricing.

Concerns:

• Mismatch in Refund Application: I agreed to a one-night refund, but the system recalculated the entire reservation—this is far more than what was agreed upon.
• Dynamic Pricing Confusion: How can any rate be obtained after 20 days of the guest having already stayed at the house? Once the guest has stayed for 20 days, the rate at booking should be honored, not subject to dynamic pricing updates.
• Financial Impact: The adjustment amounts to over $3,000 – roughly equivalent to a month's income for some people. I can’t just let this go; it raises concerns about what might happen in the future if Airbnb decides to "adjust" similar reservations.

Questions for the Community:

• Has anyone experienced a situation where a one-day refund led to a complete recalculation of the reservation payout?
• How did you handle this with Airbnb support, and were you able to resolve it satisfactorily?

Appreciate any insights or advice you can offer. Thanks in advance for your help!

[Lorina14]

Hi @Mykhaylo2 

I’m sorry to hear about this issue. You should have just refunded the guest via the resolution center for the agreed amount of one night’s stay plus taxes. I think this should have avoided the issue you are experiencing. 

I have in the past asked customer service to refund a portion due to an inconvenience like a smoke detector battery died and was beeping (why do they beep in the middle of the night?) and refunded a guest 30% for one night’s stay for the inconvenience as it woke them up at 5am. 

Honestly you didn’t need to refund the guest as they cut their stay short and they blocked your calendar for that entire time. Airbnb should not penalize you for that and their logic that you explained above makes no sense. It should be based on the original price of the night that they booked not the dynamic pricing after they stayed and the pricing changes daily. I’d call back and speak to a different customer service rep or ask to speak to management. 

@Rebecca @Elisa @Alex  is there a team that can assist @Mykhaylo2 with the issue? For being a kind host he is being penalized for the booking? He didn’t have to refund the one night that the guest paid for but decided to leave early (at no fault of the listing and host).

[Rebecca]

Hello @Mykhaylo2 👋

I'm sorry to read about this. I have sent you a direct message with some more information that might help. 

As always, thanks for the heads up @Lorina14 😊 

[Marie8425]

@Lorina14 

Side Note

Drove me nuts too so I looked up.  The change in temperature nightly to a cooler temperature actually triggers something in the detector and it notices low battery. Haha