Getting a refund from Airbnb?

[Miro11]

Hi,

I couldn't find proper answers from Airbnb's help section, so I'll try this place instead 🙂

I booked an apartment for next summer for a one month, but I totally missed some crucial information regarding the place and I'm now wondering if I should cancel the booking. The thing is I'm not 100% clear on all the Airbnb's refund policies. The host has the strict set of canceling rules, so it would seem that I would only get 50% of the money back, minus Airbnb's service fees. The host was saying that she would be completely fine with giving me the full refund, but how does Airbnb think of this? Also is there any way for me as the guest to get back also Airbnb's service fee money? The host doesn't want to cancel the booking, because she would lose the perfect track record, so I would have to do the canceling.

Thanks in advance, hopefully someone can help me out with this one!

[Linda108]

@Miro11  Since you were mistaken about the listing and want to cancel, you not the host will cancel.  Air BNB will follow the host cancellation policy.  If the host wishes to refund more, she will direct Air BNB to send it to you.  You might lose the Air BNB fee if too many days have past.  If you want to speak with a representative here is a guide for contacting Air BNB.

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

[Marty75]

thank you for the link, I will reach out to them.

[Marty75]

I want a full refund from AirBnb, not the host. He ignored me. The place I stayed in was so unacceptable and dirty that I feel AirBnb should refund me. Don't they have standards that hosts are required to adhere to? Such as basic cleanliness? I wan to file a formal complaint with the company, not the host, since he will most certainly not be refunding me anything. Especially not after my review.

[Mike1034]

@Marty75Did you tell the host after you saw place not clean? Did the host rectify the issues after you told the host? Did you end up staying there?

Answers to these questions can justify if a full refund is fair to both you and the host. I have not heard that Airbnb did the refund to a guest without deducting the host's payment.

[Marty75]

I did tell him, yes. I never saw him, until the very end when I was leaving, but I messaged him. The thing is, this is not a single item issue, like the bathroom sink is dirty and can be easily cleaned, for example. I hate to say it, I don't want to disrespect anyone, they can live how they like, but the entire house is the issue. What could I ask? Clean your whole house? Live differently? The thing is, there is no bounday there between the airbnb aspect of the house and the owners' lives. I did stay there two nights, locking myself in my room and staying away from the common space, which is where the main problem lies, although the room was terrible as well. The last morning, his kid was screaming right outside my door, and it was then that I messaged him I was leaving. I packed my stuff and left immediately.

One other thing, there is someone who apparently lives there who sleeps on the couch, but is not a guest. This was very odd, but in his intructions to me he said there might be someone there when I check in, and I can just say hi, no big deal. Of course this is not in the description on his profile.

In my opinion, this is not a proper AirBnb. They have a large, run down house, with a bunch of bedrooms, and they are using AirBnb as a means of finding renters. There has to be a way for AirBnb to filter this. I booked the room through AirBnb, not directly through the host, so I feel I have to hold AirBnb responsible. 

Fundamentally I do not believe this person should be on AirBnb. I've stayed in lots of AirBnb rooms and I don't expect perfection fro $50 a night, but I DO expect the place to be clean, and not have to deal with an entire family and children waking me up at 6am. It's just crazy, and this is why I want the AirBnb company itself to step up. I can't go to the host, I know that accomplish nothing.  How do I take this to the next level with the company? 

[Marty75]

Again, I feel I must reiterate this, it's not that the host was failing to live up to specifics in the description, such as there is supposed to be wifi and it turns out there isn't. I cannot point to any one thing, it's the whole place and the whole experiene, that I have to believe would not measure up to whatever AirBnb has in terms of standards.

[Mark116]

@Marty75  Some things are out of airbnb's control, so, if you booked a bedroom in a home share enviroment and found the family and children were a problem, that's kind of on you for making a bad decision.  If the house was unacceptably dirty, or somehow otherwise the listing was inaccurate, then that is something that airbnb might take action on.  However, unless you brought the cleanliness issue up to the host and gave him a chance to fix things, airbnb should not give you a refund, but they may give you a refund anyway as they often don't abide by their own policies.

[Mike1034]

@Marty75If you feel that the host's place should not be listed, you can report the listing. There is a link of Reporting listing on the listing page under the booking section.

In the help section, you can contact Airbnb to get help about refund. If you don't want to contact Airbnb, the only option for you to get the refund is to use the Request money button, which is in your booking confirmation page. Or you can find it in the Resolution Center. If the host does not respond to your request, you can click involve Airbnb button in the Resolution Center. And a case manager will be assigned to you. Airbnb will need you to provide evidence such as photos showing the issues you mentioned.

By posting here, you will not be able to get Airbnb's help. This forum is only for hosts and guests to discuss and share experience.