Cancellation Fees

[Joe15]

Hi,

I recently accepted a booking but completely forget that my apartment was unavailable due to a booking on a different site - I thought that my calandar was linked but it appears that this has not happened.  I immediately informed the guest (within 24hrs) and no money was ever paid on their behalf.

As the booking was at short notice (<7days) AirB&B have automatically charged my $100 which was nearly as much as the booking would have been ($105).  My apartement is not very profitable due to it's location and this seems a very harsh penalty for a small mistake which in the end didn't inconvenience anyone involved.

I have automatic booking turned off but these charges seem exceptionally high and unjust.  Is there a way around such a thing?

Kind regards,

Joe

[Danny9]

@Joe15

Hi Joe, 

I cannot speak on behalf of Airbnb. But I believe that they won't be too keen on even opening this issue with you, unless you had some very serious and properly documented extenuating circumstances. 

The things being as they are, it was a simple snafu of the clerical nature for which you bear responsibility though, you certainly did not want this to happen in any way. 

Many people are likely to forget that Airbnb is a US 20 Billion+ business. They have little choice but to uphold their rules and maintain their system automatically. Much as we would like to rightly think that each and every human being deserves a special consideration, vast organizations fear that such considerations would turn their respective systems  of rules into a farce. 

Sometimes you win and sometime you learn... They say this for a reason. 

Danny

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[Maggie63]

Hi a guest cancelled with me and I  just realised Ihave been charged 79 pounds!!! for what was a mutual cancellation. Also a man booked when the listing clealy said females only and charged 39!!! for this cancellation.  On top of it it gives two bad reviews that I cancelled and tried to block me twice.  It appears they also get their paying clients to work by answering questions for them unpaid. Wow just wow I am new to this and think I will go back to advertising on Spare Room with 0 fees.  

Margarete

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

As a new host, it is your responsibility to learn how Airbnb works and the rules and regulations of the site.  You've learned the hard way about the penalties imposed on hosts who cancel reservations.  These penalties are meant to be harsh to deter hosts from canceling on guests, disrupting their travel arrangements.