Airbnb Host Keeps Telling me to cancel my stay

[Serena249]

My airbnb host keeps telling me to cancel my stay. I have a long term reservation and have been here for 7 weeks (4 weeks remaining). I keep having hiccups in the stay (such as the internet speed test running at  1.67 Mbps, bed bugs (I assume. After I sprayed the place with bed bug spray, I stopped getting bitten), ran out of toilet paper, she is living on the couch, etc.). Every time I have inquired, she has told me that no other guests have complained about these issues and that I should cancel my stay. She returned from being off the couch and told me I should cancel my stay. I keep telling her that if she wants me out to just cancel my stay and she said no, I need to cancel. What can I do to get her to stop insisting I cancel when I let her know of an issue?

[Emiel1]

@Serena249 

If you cancel your long term stay, with 4 weeks to go, you will not receive any refund. The host will not loose any money, so it it easy to manipulate you like this. If there are serious issues and they can not be resolved, you should contact Airbnb.

Best regards,

Emiel

[Serena249]

I have. They said they would get back to me and I still haven't heard back. When I call for a resolution, they say give them another 24 hours. The host actually told me it was unprofessional of me to be contacting airbnb when I "don't get an answer I like".

[Marie82]

@Serena249

honestly don't understand why u still want to stay in the place where u mentioned already the bed bug and Lower speed internet. I will act as the same as ur host, if someone is showing unhappiness during her stay, I will ask her to cancel and I will give her full refund on remaining nights.

Many host offer Wifi/Internet and are not aware of the speeds, usually, when guests insist to know what speed my Wifi is i decline them for the simple reasons, some provider have speeds who changes and the last think i would want is a guest sending me the screen shot of the Wifi speeds and request a refund.

[Serena249]

She advertises the speeds good to work from home. I even asked prior to booking to confirm. That isnt the case. 

I have to stay since it is, unfortunately, the only close place that has a consistent vacancy for 4 weeks. I have looked which has mad me stay and just voice to her what I am experiencing. 

[Sandra126]

I guess you have to work out what you want:

Do you want to stay and have the issues resolved (no host on the couch, more toilet paper, faster internet) or do you want to be refunded so you can go elsewhere?

If the listing didn't say that the host lived there as well and that the couch was common space, you have very good grounds to get refunded. But if that was clear from the get-go, I can't see how that is a surprise or a problem. The host will not cancel as she will not get money, in fact she will get a fine instead. So that will never happen. Some hsots only provide a couple of rolls for a stay, then guests will need to get their own. This should be discussed prior to starting such a long reservation so the boundaries are clear.

I don't think it was bedbugs, they don't go away that easily. You would be plagued with  it still. Did she promise ''internet'' or ''high speed internet''? There is no limit to the speed, so that is no cause for a refund.

[Serena249]

Are you saying I can get a refund for my stay? I have already attempted to seek other arrangements but places that are nearby dont have a 4 week vacancy. 

It's just annoying to have her say that rather than find solutions. The toilet paper she wrote as a provided otherwise I would have brought my own. The internet she advertises as adequate to work from home. 

I am staying because I have looked for other options. There arent close places with a vacancy for 4 weeks this short of notice which is what i kept repeating. The couch is listed as a common space and host on premise was not stated. 

[Sandra126]

Was it listed as a ''entire place'' without host living there?

[Serena249]

It was listed as a private room in a two bedroom apartment. It was great for the first 6 weeks. Just me and another girl who happened to be interning where I intern. Then one day, she appeared. It threw us both off. The other girl is also unhappy because apparently, the host gets angry if we wake her up (either leaving too early or returning too late).

[Anonymous]

@Serena249 I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but Airbnb penalizes the host when they cancel a guest's booking outright. This is the likeliest reason behind her insistence that you initiate the cancellation yourself. You are both clearly unhappy with the arrangement as it stands, and if you insist on staying 4 more weeks in a home where you're not wanted, this will only get worse for both of you. What I recommend is using the Change Booking feature to move your checkout date to the soonest one possible. If the host approves it, you can get refunded for the unused days (minus fees) and the host gets to re-book. You can still review each other after the booking ends.

I understand that you haven't been able to find another suitable place with a 4-week vacancy, and I can imagine that makes this quite stressful for you. But if the host is unwilling or unable to resolve your problems, there's nothing you can do to force her to. Your options are basically to either leave, or deal with the conditions as-is.  

[Serena249]

She didn't appear on the couch until last week. I didn't have to work from home until recently so I wasn't using the wifi. The toilet paper didn't run low until recently. I thought the bug bites were just allergies. I then showed some people who said they were actually bug bites.

The past two weeks, every time she sees me she tells me to cancel, which is the most annoying part. I come home, she tells me it, as I leave, she tells me it, etc. I would deal with it, but when its a multiday occurrence, it is kinda hard to keep hearing. I have reached out to my internship recruiter to ask if there are any emergency arrangements, but unfortunately, there are not. 

[Lilly28]

@Serena249 

I find it is useless to insist that your host cancel - either it is useless to try to find another free place for 4 weeks in high season. Look at the situation from all angles - if you complain from so many things after you already stayed for 7 weeks - why now? why not the first or at least the second week?  Better calm down and find a way to get good communication with your host, she admitted you for 3 months, something a few hosts are willing to do.  

[Serena249]

She didn't appear on the couch until last week. I didn't have to work from home until recently so I wasn't using the wifi. The toilet paper didn't run low until recently. I thought the bug bites were just allergies. I then showed some people who said they were actually bug bites. The past two weeks, every time she sees me she tells me to cancel, which is the most annoying part. I come home, she tells me it, as I leave, she tells me it, etc. 

[Mark116]

@Serena249  I can't understand why, if you really believe that there are bed bugs in the apartment, are you still staying there?????  Bed bugs will travel with you to where you go next, if in fact, it's bed bugs and not something else.  As far as the toilet paper, it's not expensive, I mean, either ask your host to clarify if it was to be provided for the duration and to go buy some, or you can go buy some.  The host seems to clearly be trying to get you out of the house w/out her cancelling, airbnb will probably take a dim view of this, but I would advise that someone needs a professional in the house to determine if there are bed bugs and go from there, and you need to ask airbnb to help you find a different place.  As far as wifi, the host probably considers it is fine, and it appears, it was fine until recently.  I don't have any idea what our wifi speed is, people have told us it's fast, I wouldn't even know how to find the speed. 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Serena249 

If you have any solid proof that the host's description of the private room listing you are staying at is not as advertised then you can contact Airbnb and get the remainder of your stay cancelled with a full refund for nights not stayed.

But if you are able to cancel penalty-free, finding an alternate place for yourself is a separate issue altogether and completely your own responsibility. And you need to be absolutely clear........ did the host *LIE ABOUT* the listing or did you just *ASSUME* something would be a certain way? 

Personally...... if you really think there are bed bugs I have trouble believing you'd be willing to continue to stay there. My weight in gold wouldn't be enough to get me to live and sleep in a place with bed bugs. And the thought of bringing bed bugs back into my own home after a trip makes my skin crawl. Also internet being *adquate to work from home* is quite subjective depending on the type of work you do. (Henry works in IT and often works from home. What most people find completely adequate would drive Henry crazy.)