Cancellation

[Conor29]

Hello,

I made a booking request for an AirBnB in Rio for March 2–10 2019, the host messaged me about 30 mins later to tell me that the listed price was wrong for the time of carnival, and that I should cancel the reservation so that she can correct the price. I asked whether she could cancel on her end, and she said that she would let the payment time limit time-out so that it would cancel automatically. Am I able to cancel the booking myself without it affecting me in any way, or should I let it time-out?

[David126]

@Conor29

It is the Host that needs to cancel, if they do not do so immediately contact AirBnB and they will cancel on their behalf and help you find other accomodation.

[Matthew285]

@Conor29 in your message you say you "made a booking request".

Does that mean your booking was never Accepted? (And therefore confirmed?)

If so, there is nothing for you to cancel (except your Request).

If it was just a Request (and not a confirmed reservation) you can just cancel the Request without penalty.

If you did have a Confirmed Reservation, that is different... but there really isn't a time-out limit on those, so I'm not sure what the host is referring to.

It sounds like you just sent a Request, and the host is letting it expire.

Again, if it is just a Request that was never Accepted, you should feel free to cancel it.

[Conor29]

Hi Matthew,

I don't believe it's been approved/confirmed, currently it says:

Your reservation will be held for 67 hours.

We’re holding this reservation until your group pays in full. You can pay for another guest’s spot or send them a payment link as a reminder.

And under the trips tab, it's marked as 'pending'.

Nobody has paid yet, so I'm guessing it's ok to cancel?

Thanks,

Conor.

[Matthew285]

@Conor29, thank you for sending that information!

I think the reservation was confirmed.

Your group is splitting the payment, yes?

(I had forgotten about split payments; that does have a payment timer.)

The payment time-out the host is referrring to is the time groups are given to all make their payments. If not all the payments are made within the 67 hours remaining, then the reservation will expire without penalty to either side (I believe).

If you are okay with letting the booking expire, then you can just wait the 67 hours.

If you would rather move things along, you can possibly call AirBnB customer service, explain the situation and perhaps they can "expire" the reservation early.

As @Gordon0 has mentioned, you are also within your rights to complete the payments and have the reservation confirmed and paid. At that point, either the host would have to cancel your reservation (and potentially lose the ability to rent out those dates to someone via AirBnB) or to host your group at the original price.

It is really up to you how to handle it.

[Conor29]

You're right, and looking at my account this morning it seems that I have been charged. I'm getting in touch with AirBNB and asking them to cancel the reservation, as it would probably be best that we do not deal with this host in the future.

Thanks @Matthew285, @Gordon0 and @David126 for your help.

Conor.

[Gordon0]

You would be well within your rights to pay for the booking at the price quoted. It wasn't your fault that the host *forgot* that the world's biggest carnival was taking part in her city. But - as ever - the view is often better from the moral high ground.

I'd be tempted to call CS just to make sure you aren't biffed for non-payment etc.