Help!!! Strict cancellation policy wording!!

[Audel0]

I am in a situation where I booked a place two months before checkin. 16 days before checkin due to circumstances I couldn’t make the trip. When I selected cancel it said I’m charged 50%! Airbnb cancellation with grace policy is misleading on their app vs their website. When I contacted customer support they said that it’s up to the host to agree for a full refund. I contacted the host , they contacted the host . The host hasn’t replied . I told Airbnb it’s their wording on their policy causing this issue and I should be given my refund. I found a news report ABC news dated Feb 2019 which someone had that same issue and Airbnb fully refunded her with no reply. This is misleading when it comes to wording and a contractual agreement ? What should I do ? Reach out to the media too? Please find the news report below 

https://abc7news.com/business/airbnb-refund-policy-called-unfair/5151985/

[Emiel1]

@Audel0 

The article shows a case before Airbnb changed the wording to make it even MORE clear then it was before.

I think it is very clear now in the wording (and i am not a native english speaker) : A guest only gets full refund if cancelled within 48 hours of booking AND the cancellation time is at least 14 days before check-in  (the 48 hours is the "grace period"). So it is correct you got a 50% refund, as you cancelled at least 7 days before check-in (otherwise no refund at all), which is what the policy is stating:

https://www.airbnb.com/home/cancellation_policies#strict-with-grace-period

Best regards,

Emiel

[Audel0]

!!!!!!UPDATE!!!!The policy never changed for me . After contacting customer support they refuse to refund me in full but 12 hours later the policy change magically on my end?!???!? Isnt that a fraudulent act!!???

[Sarah977]

@Audel0  I think the wording of the cancellation policies is quite clear, myself.

You booked the place 2 months ago. The host's calendar was blocked for anyone else's booking those dates. Now, just over 2 weeks before your check-in date, you want to just be able to cancel your booking and get a full refund. How is that fair to the host? This is why hosts have cancellation policies. Airbnbs aren't hotels, where if a guest just doesn't show up or cancels, someone else will likely walk in the door within a few hours and take the room.

How would you like it if you had still wanted the booking and the host just decided to cancel your reservation "due to circumstances" 16 days before your arrival, leaving you to scramble around trying to find another place?

I understand your beef is not with the host, but with the wording of the cancellation policy, but it also seems you have zero thought for what tying up a host's calendar for a month and a half can do to the host's business. If hosts just refunded guests against their cancellation policies, guests would be booking and cancelling with abandon and it wouldn't be viable for anyone to host. 

Some hosts are willing to refund some of the $ if they can manage to get the dates rebooked. You could ask the host if they might be willing to do this. A message showing some understanding that you tied up the calendar for a month and a half, and caused inconvenience to the host, might lead the host to be willing to offer this.

[Audel0]

Update!!!!!! As I understand what you are saying I’m not taking my case up with the host it’s a flaw in Airbnb system. Airbnb reached out and apologized and refunded me full amount though I doubt the host amount was taken aware . They acknowledged it’s their issue 

[Sarah977]

@Audel0  So the host didn't get anything at all for this reservation and may not be able to rebook the dates on such short notice. You may have just succeeded in causing a big financial issue for the host. Some of whom rely on the income to pay their mortgage or feed their kids.

Airbnb admitting that it was their issue doesn't mean they still paid the host what the host was due. They didn't. They simply overrode the host's cancellation policy. So no, you don't understand what I was saying at all.

When guests demand a full refund which contravenes the host's cancellation policy, unless the accomodation was dirty or otherwise unacceptable or misrepresented, you are screwing the host.

Please try to be more responsible with your bookings in the future.

[Audel0]

Like I said , Airbnb acknowledged it’s their fault in the way they worded this return policy as I’m not the only one with this issue. They stated before that this policy is difficult to understand by individuals. If a company is investing millions and their contractual agreement isn’t clear enough then who is at fault and take the blame. It’s the company. If the company took responsibility for this then the host would be compensated and the company will take this lost . That’s why companies have a risk management department. My argument was towards their contractual duties. Now when I checked they changed it to more specific . I’m sure I’m not the only one as I did my research and many people faced this problem before and the company clearly acknowledged it . Hence if the host saw it got cancelled it’s the company’s duty to bear the loss and compensate the host as well. 

So assuming the host didn’t get compensated is just your opinion but clearly that’s not the case. If you provide a service linking buyers and sellers you need to make sure contractual agreements are clear between both parties. I concern wasn’t with the host it was with Airbnb contractual agreement when it came to cancellation . I even spoke to a lawyer friend when he said this doesn’t make much sense because it’s not clear and it could be interpreted different and be misleading. Hence , the host show get compensated also if it wasn’t any of the party’s fault .

Dont I have a consumer right to question the agreements or the way it is put by platforms ? Airbnb should pay more attention because appartsntly in the news report it was stated that they made it more clear but on my Airbnb account it didn’t show so it’s a matter of rolling this correction out globally. 

Like I said it has nothing to do with the host , hence Airbnb should/did compensate the host because on their error . 

Would airbnb refunded me if they didn’t see I have a point and this got media coverage before and it still stated the same ? So why I am being critized to sympathize with a host instead of exercising my consumer right for a flaw in Airbnb’s system?

[Sarah977]

@Audel0  Yes, of course Airbnb should take responsibility for bad policy, confusing wording, etc. And I understand that that was your issue. 

But what you don't understand- just because the company tells you that they acknowledge that their wording was unclear and refunded you on that basis, that doesn't mean the host got paid anything. Airbnb is constantly refunding guests for things that are ridiculous- often the guest is even lying about the accomodation being dirty or says there weren't any towels, or says there were cockroaches, when there weren't. Anything to get a free stay (I know this isn't where you're coming from, I'm just trying to explain to you how this company operates, which is like a third world dictatorship- they violate all kinds of consumer laws, as hosts can attest to,- we are constantly battling them on many issues).

I can pretty much guarantee you Airbnb didn't cover this cancellation themselves- the host didn't get the 50%, the host lost it all. If you don't believe me, message the host and ask. And if you really believe in fair treatment and the host confirms that Airbnb didn't eat that 50%, they did, then maybe you could contact Airbnb again to tell them that you're disgusted that they made the host take the loss for their incompetence.

[Audel0]

Ok but what does that have to do with my situation? That’s a totally different thing . The host have rights just as the customer because Airbnb is the third party facilitating the agreement on their platform. If the host is within the parameters of their contractual duties with no problems shouldn’t they talk to Airbnb or take legal action? If someone cancel  because they said the place is dirty shouldn’t the customer provide evidence and shouldn’t Airbnb confirm this ? So it’s Airbnb fault and the host should take legal action. Complaining about what Airbnb does and not standing firm for your right as a party to a contract doesn’t solve the problem . And as you mentioned above this is a totally different situation from mine so I can’t relate to what’s you are saying and all the can say exercise your right as a host. Many people join these platforms and just accepts what the company does and they aren’t aware they have legal obligation and rights to take action for shady operations and illegal acts by Airbnb . But I guess these days all people like to do is complain on forums instead of taking action like I did and did my research and demanded I get refunded or I take legal action