Dear friends,
A few days ago, my sister, husband and son made a reservation in Portugal throught Airbnb Spain. Their daughter just died three days before of a cancer (still not two weeks) and they decided to escape from the house for a few days and find a place so they could find some peace in a quiet place. Since they already lived in Portugal, they knew the streets well. One of the price tags apperared in the street they were looking for. They asked the owner if it was available and the answer was yes so they made a reservation. To their surprise, once the reservation was made, the apartment showed in a nearby street. Unfortunately the street is not a nice one. It has nothing to do with the other. It is not even that safe.
Anyway, immediately, they tried to cancel the reservation. It was after 3:00 PM but they still tried. They were still within five days at least. The person on the phone was a little tired from her shift so at one point she said she was "tired of talking" (not angry, but tired)... The owner of the apartment waited till the next morning and said no. We opened a complain file so that someone from Airbnb could mediate. Airbnb returned half of the money to them, but stil the owner she kept 400 euros.
I know it might not be her fault the address was in a totally different street that what they were looking for. A working class street that is not attractive to tourism. Sometimes this happens in some parts of the world. One street is fine but the next one is 'fishy' However I just feel so sorry that knowing what they are going through with the death of my niece (their daughter) they just feel dissapointed.
Is there something that can be done?
Thanks so much for reading this
