Flights were cancelled, any recourse for guests for lost nights?

[Christopher64]

I have a situation I'm not sure how to proceed. Also, with the Airbnb Support I only see an option to decisively request refunds.. But not inquire about initial due process... So I turn here.

My son and I had four nights booked with a host in New York City. Our flight to New York however was cancelled at the last second by the airline. We got tickets for the next day on another airline, but that flight was also cancelled, due to weather and airplane crowding at La Guardia.

So we missed two of the four nights of our stay, though these circumstances were totally out of our control. And the amount for those two nights adds up to hundreds of dollars.

Do we have any recourse for a refund for those lost nights? I'm not sure where this stands in terms of policies or etiquette. Thank you-

[David126]

My Brother got a nice refund due to a delayed flight, should be more for cancelled, what have the Airline said?

[Christopher64]

We got refunds from the airlines about the flights, but I'm talking strictly about the Airbnb side.

[David126]

I am talking about compensation in addition to the returned fare, your Host is not your Insurer.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

You and the host both need to get in touch with Airbnb right away to resolve this.   Use the emergency numbers.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

From the Help Centre: 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320/extenuating-circumstances-policy

[Christopher64]

I did see the extenuating circumstances policy but I didn't find any contact points to Airbnb. Will continue to look. Thx.

[Lisa187]

Here is the number to contact Airbnb 24/7.  1 415-800-5959

You will need to work with the host on this.  What does the host say?

[Christopher64]

I mentioned to the host that I would be inquiring, and she was fine about it, she encouraged me to. I don't know if a refund would come from her or from Airbnb, or how this would work at all, I just want to ask if there can be any compensation. Airbnb has an "extenuating circumstances" policy, so I want to see if cancelled flights out of our control fits into that. Thx.

[Christopher64]

Yes I would like to contact Airbnb, but at the moment on our travels I am using primarily the Airbnb iPad app, and I can't find any direct contact points to them. I found the Resolution Center which had two strangely binary options: Requent Money or Send Money, something like that. Nothing about resolving issues... 

[David-and-Fiona0]

My 2c worth. Anyone who travels nowadays without travel insurance are crazy.  

[Helen56]

You should be able to resolve it by contacting airbnb, or with your host.  And!!! I completely agree with @David & Fiona - you really need to get travel insurance every time.  I'm visting my daughter in NYC next week and have insurance through AAA for my flights, so worth it every time.  I never used to bother, but have a friend who, luckily, had bought travel  insurance that paid for several extra months stay due to his wife's foot injury and later flights home.  Although he did not get much sympathy for being stuck in Malta for a few months...... 🙂

[Andrea9]

@Christopher64

I agree with what has been said. However see it this way - your host doesn't have multiple rooms like a hotel and kept those dates reserved for you, meaning they had no chance of otherwise booking those rom(s).

They also kept up their part of the contract in getting them ready on time and adapting their own schedule to you (waiting for you, check in, cleaning and preparing on time).

So simply expecting them to refund you is quite bold.

That is what travel insurance is for, and that is where you should be looking for refund.

If your host decides to refund you part of what you lost, then that is already out of the goodness of their heart, really.

[Christopher64]

You seem to be commenting on all kinds of unrelated things that I did not bring up in my original question. I'm not faulting the host, or asking her personally for a refund.

And for keeping the rooms open for our booking and not being able to rent them out to others, that's simply bull**bleep**. Our flights were cancelled at the last minute, she would have had no time to reserve it for others, and look at this way, she had two nights *without* any guests, for which she was handsomely paid. 

So if you feel like like digressing into all these other areas, save your finger strength. I did not challenge or ask for anything unreasonable. I simply solicited opinion on how to proceed with Airbnb. 

[Nyomi2]

Same issue I’m going through now and I agree with, it’s not fair. How did everything work out?