Cancellation or refund?

[Tammie24]

Good morning. I’m in a sticky situation and I need help. I’m not going to mention the host since this may yet get resolved. However, here is the long and short of it.  I had a reservation for this July for a 6 bedroom in Orlando for $285 per night. We have less people going on the trip so I asked to downgrade. The host sent links to several listings and I picked one and I picked a 3 bedroom at $164 per night. I asked what the price difference would be and was told to click the link to view/ accept and I would see the difference. When I did there was no change in price. The host says the “upgrade” was free so no change. When I persisted, they sent me to Airbnb. I sent screenshots to Airbnb and now they are saying it is up to the host to adjust the price. Is this all a scam?  How do I get the price changed or my money back?  Thanks much. 

[Lisa723]

@Tammie24 it's not clear from your post whether the host intended to offer you a lower price for a different listing, or not. If they did, they can easily do so by sending you a special offer for whatever property and price they choose. If they are having difficulty figuring out how to do that Airbnb customer support ought to be able to help them.

However, please note that this host is under no obligation to allow you to "downgrade" from your originally committed reservation. If they choose not to, then you are free to cancel it, and your refund will depend on the host's cancellation policy, which you accepted at booking:

https://www.airbnb.com/home/cancellation_policies

[Tammie24]

Thanks. Yes. I understand that they aren’t obligated, however, I felt they misrepresented when they said I would be able to see the price difference before committing. Hopefully, it will work out. 

[Helen3]

Just give airbnb a call and ask them to clarify @Tammie24  could be a technical error.

[Mark116]

@Tammie24  They may have thought you could see, it could be an airbnb glitch, I'd call airbnb and see if they can help you, and if they can't figure it out you can get them to cancel, presumably with a 100% refund including fees and then you can try and rebook the new place.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Tammie24  @Helen3  @Lisa723 

hm... I didn't know it is possible to change the room after booking. I thought the guest has to cancel his previous booking for listing X and then book again the listing Y.

[Lisa723]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 no, you can change the listing (I just did a trial run).

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

oh, OK, this is great 🙂 tnx @Lisa723