Cancellation

[Anleena0]

Hello!

I found a nice place to stay in London for a weekend. It seemed to meet my expectations as this time I really wanted to stay at local's house as my brother would be coming with me and that he could see British everyday life with his own eyes and also interact with the host. There was mentioned private bathroom which makes you think that there is some other bathroom the owner uses, also the pictures make you think that all the books and other stuff mean that somebody lives there permanently. When I sent my inquiry there was following (in a reversed order):

So do I understand it correctly that we would be paying just 121.20€ as it was written on Airbnb? There won't be anybody else in the house? As there is mentioned private bathroom it makes me think that we will be sharing the kitchen, sitting room etc. I thought my brother would have a chance to talk to a local in his own home.

Best regards,
Anleena

Today at 12:37 AM

Ok. I’ll need to update that, because it was previously £40 per person

Yesterday at 3:01 PM

I'm afraid there has been some misunderstanding here. Airbnb always provides all payments through the webpage and for this booking two people for 2 nights will be 93€, in addition cleaning fee 12€ and service fee 16€ for Airbnb for making this payment smooth and easy online. By now I have paid 60€ as we split the sum into two so 60€ is about to come, the whole sum will be transacted to you on 10 March.
I also host through Airbnb, partly because no cash is needed and all details are clear and visible.
I hope it makes more sense now.

Best regards,
Anleena

Yesterday at 1:01 AM

It’s a double bed so you can share if you want, but it’s £80 for two people per night. Ok?

Last Saturday at 8:26 PM

Hello Paul!

How big is the bed exactly? If it is more than 120 centimetres wide then it is very fine. We would be very happy if you could provide another blanket.

Best regards,
Anleena

Last Saturday at 6:43 PM

Hi Anleena. You would be welcome but there would be an additional charge of £40 for your brother. He could stay in a separate room, however

Last Friday at 9:50 PM

I had read the whole information provided on his description but then he mentioned he has to change the pricing. After that I saw the section Interaction with guests had appeared, too. There was written that he will be reachable through mail and by phone which is an evidence he doesn't live there. He changed the Guest access, too: Guests have access to the entire home. Extra guests can be accommodated at £40 pp per night.(he tried to get this money from me in cash).  Also there is only one review which might be written by a friend as he is from London himself and describes the host as "a cool guy" which is not probaly something you would call a host you just meet for 10 minutes to get the keys. Maybe it was meant for attracting guests to book. Also the host calls it home so it really makes you think you can expect to share a house with the local.

For this inquiry I used shared payment for the first time. I was not too eager to pay the other half as there was a possibility that we have to pay extra upon arrival so I waited for to make it sure. I was also scared to cancel the booking because I wasn't sure whether I would be charged with Airbnb service fee. Today it was past 72 hours from the booking so I paid the other half in order no to get deducted the service fee (I really couldn't see if it would be the case in that kind of cancellation). I also have an alternative place with seemingly jolly and talkative Londoner which is something I thought to have with this booking.  

I still think this host didn't provide me with the accurate information. There is not even an excuse for that as I have stumbled upon hosts who have problems with English and therefore don't understand how Airbnb works. It is not nice to ask from your guests to pay more if you have not checked properly your own listing. Also, we would be staying in an empty house, not sharing any room which this time is not what I looked for. I would be happy if it would be possible to cancel it without getting deducted with the Airbnb service fee. Would it be possible?

Many thanks in advance,

Anleena

[Lilian20]

Hello @Anleena0 have you tried calling airbnb support team on the phone ?

[Linda108]

I agree that the Air BNB platform is not always intuitive for everyone, @Anleena0.  If you select the criteria that fits your needs, you should not accept a host changing the listing description.  If this has happened to you, contact Air BNB and request assistance with cancellation and assistance with finding what you are looking for.  Here is a guide to contacting Air BNB.

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Contact-Airbnb-A-Community-Help-Guide/m-p/16165#M728