Cancellation of reservation--no way to leave feedback about broker

[Steve911]

A host, Dyna,  confirmed a reservation for an Apsen townhouse on January 29.  She informed us only in late May that she had to cancel the reservation because she could not reach the owner.  We were surprised and dismayed that she would confirm the reservation without checking with the owner.  A few days later she said she contacted the owner and everything would be OK; a few days after that she wrote to say the owner would be staying in the unit and cancelled the reservation.  By that time--two weeks before our departure--there were very few remaining listings.  She offered another unit that was more expensive and not as nice.

I think this is absolutely unacceptable behavior.  Listings should identify whether the "host" is the owner or otherwise has the ability to make a commitment, or whether the "host" is mearly a broker, like Dyna, who cannot make a firm commitment.  Brokers should not confirm a reservation with a renter unless and until they have confirmed with the owner. 

Even worse, I discovered that there is no way for me to leave feedback about Dyna.  If you look at her reviews, you will see several automatically generated notices about cancellations--some days before the reservation.  But there is no explanation about the reasons for the cancellation.  I can only assume, as in our case, that she falsely confirmed these reservations.  It is inexcusable that Airbnb offers no way to leave feedback about her other irresponsible "hosts."

Fortunately, I was unable to find a place using vrbo.  I encourage everyone to ask the "host" whether they are the owner and, if not, whether they have confirmed  with the owner that the unit is available. 

[Susan151 · Accepted solution]

@Steve911  You can "Report this Listing"if you want to communicate with AirBNB. This will not show on the listing, but the cancelation will. I would never book a place with a cancelation message in the reviews since it indicates that the owner/broker does not manage their calendar professionally.

[Steve911]

Thanks, Susan.  I did not realize until this experience that brokers serve as hosts for multiple properties and that they might confirm a reservations without checking with the owner.  I also didn't realize that the automatically generated messages about cancellations indicated a larger problem. 

In the future, I'll avoid hosts that have multiple listings and/or have cancellations.