Host Canceled Two Days Prior to Trip

[Sofia443]

My mom and her 6 friends had booked a trip for their birthdays.  They are leaving today (May 2019) and they booked this Airbnb in Dec 2018. The Airbnb contacted my mom (who had booked this place) two days ago and said that they had technical issues and overbooked the apartment and that they could no longer host them. 

They did not cancel the booking. I was helping my mom and looking through what Airbnb said we should do. They said we need to ask the host to cancel, so we did. They responded that my mom should cancel the booking and that they would refund her. This is not Airbnb policy and we directly contacted Airbnb asking what to do. 

They said they had contacted the host and would get back to us. My poor mom is stressing because, through all of this trouble with Airbnb, she still had to find a place for 7 people to stay within 2 days of the trip. (Thankfully we found a hotel) 

It's the morning they are leaving, and I am still waiting to hear back from Airbnb with what to do. We have both been using Airbnb for years and this has never happened.  I think it's best to wait to hear back but my mom nearly just canceled but I told her she would incur a penalty for canceling and it was probably best to wait until Airbnb told us what to do. 

Has anyone else experienced this issue?

A very stressed daughter, 

Sofia

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Sofia443 

Airbnb CS told you the trouth, Airbnb or your host has to cancel and face the penalties, not your mum. She should be refunded in full.

Contact Airbnb again and don't wait until they contact you . You can do it through this link: https://www.airbnb.com/help/contact_us

or through Twitter / Airbnbhelp

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Sofia443 

Did the host admit on the Airbnb messenger that they are the ones who cannot host your mother? You need some sort of proof that Airbnb can accept showing that the host is the one responsible for cancellation. They won't initiate a host cancellation without any proof just because the guest said so. 

Unless the host cancels themselves, this is the only way you will get Airbnb to do a host cancellation and provide a full refund including fees to your mother. Or get Airbnb to get in contact with the host to confirm they are the ones with technical issues and therefore it should be a host cancellation. Good luck~

[Sofia443]

Thank you for all the tips, thankfully it has been sorted and the refund is on its way. Airbnb was the one who canceled it.