Apartment not as advertised

[David4499]

So in my search filter I asked for 3 beds and 3 bedrooms. Entire house... list came back as 3 beds and 3 bedrooms, so we booked. After booking the funds were on hold from my account to airbnb. We are 3 mature adults from Australia traveling to Berlin... the host contact me with the address and how to get there, get of a train to collect keys then go back and travel 2 more stops to reach the apartment. I advised one of the travellers is 76 and this would be to much. He decided to have person met and great at the apartment, about an hour later he sent me photos of the beds one being a roll out trundle bed and the other is the couch in he common lounge. Not what I had booked, I paid $3000 for a 6 night stay, $500 a night, I knew there was no aircon, but asked due to the heatwave in Europe do you have any fans, the answer was no. After several polite communications, I advised I was not happy with the sleeping arrangements, he advised “ don’t forget to cancel” I cancelled expecting my $3000 to be returned, however only received $1150 back, now the host will not respond to my messages or my request for a refund, and Airbnb keep email me back saying we are looking into it, and then an email “ this support is closed “ . So where do I stand, I booked 4 days before check in, policy is cancel 5 days before check in for a full refund. Regardless, if the listing is NOT as described then I should be entitled to a full refund ???

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@David4499 

Did you book this accommodation without seeing the beds or bedrooms or reading the description? Why would the host need to send you photos of the beds - surely they were on the listing?

[Anonymous]

@David4499 In Berlin real-estate terms, there is no fixed distinction between a "bedroom" and a "living room," and in Airbnb terms a sofa bed is on the list of sleeping arrangements that can be termed a "bed."  If the listing had pictures and descriptions of features that weren't actually there, you have a case for a full refund. This would also be the case if listed amenities were not provided, or the home was unsanitary. 

If the sleeping arrangements were neither described nor pictured in the listing, it'll be harder to make a case for an exemption to the refund policy. Honestly I don't know where Airbnb stands on incomplete listings; if this is an unreviewed first-time host, Airbnb might take that into account, as there's no verification that the property even exists. 

Should you choose to continue pursuing a full refund, it would be best to focus on the demonstrable inaccuracies in the listing rather than the lack of amenities and services that weren't explicitly offered.

[Sarah977]

@David4499  As I read your post, you just entered the filters you wanted (3 bedrooms, 3 beds, entire home) and booked a listing that came up without actually reading through the entire listing description, checking out all the photos of the bedrooms, etc? If that's the case, then no, you aren't due a full refund unless the host doesn't accurately show or describe the space in his listing.

If the listing information was inaccurate, that's another story- but it's not considered inaccurate just because you only went by the filters, without checking out the details of the listing itself.