Booking -- Cancellation

[Marcus205]

I've been trying to book a place to stay in NYC from May 3rd to May 7th. Twice I booked something and twice the host cancelled on me. Now I am pissed off because we are getting really close to the travel date and there are no more good options within the price range I was originally at. I called airbnb and they said they were assigning a case manager that would contact me about my options and help "work the situation out". The problem is things are filling up quickly and they said the case manager would call me in 24-48 hours. What do I do? Will this person really make things work out and is it worth waiting for them to call before I book something else? 

[Ana1136]

@Marcus205 try booking with a Superhost, they are much less likely to cancel. 

[Linda108]

@Marcus205  Trying to line up accommodations is not easy to do especially for high demand areas during high demand season.  Not sure why the other hosts cancelled, but it can't hurt for you to continue to look and even book while the case manager works on this well.  As @Ana1136 posts, Super Host status means the host has not cancelled within the last year at least or they would not have the SH status. 

If you are using the Instant Booking option, send a nice message introducing yourself and why you are coming to the area.  Good luck!

[Sarah977]

@Marcus205   I don't know if it will help, but you might want to fill in your profile info a bit. That might make hosts more open to having you stay. You do have one review and it is positive, but very brief. So hosts might be leery, as you look young (nothing wrong with that- I've had lots of great young guests, but some hosts are afraid or have had bad experiences with younger guests being partiers)

And, as Linda said, it always helps to send a nice, introductory message to the host. Airbnb's aren't hotels, people are welcoming you into their homes, which they've usually put a lot of effort into making nice for guests. So a personable message, stating why you're coming to the area, or whatever, can go a long way towards making a host feel comfortable with your booking.

It's also posible that it has nothing to do with this- you may have just been unlucky enough to hit on hosts who didn't have their act together as far as their booking calendar goes. But the following the above advise can't hurt, no matter what.