Host canceled a confirmed booking

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Amie1091
Level 2
St. George, UT

Host canceled a confirmed booking

Please help! I booked an 8 bedroom home in Orlando for 11 nights for my entire family. The booming was accepted and confirmed, so my family booked airline tickets, and because the price of my airbnb was much lower then others, my parents were able to buy my sister, her husband  and 3 kids ( who weren't planning on coming because it was too expensive) airfare. I got a message from the host stating that the price was incorrect for those days and that airbnb had made a mistake and sent me a request to pay 2x the amount of money it originally was. I declined the offer, and told her that she needed to honor the booking, because we already booked flights and paid for her airbnb. She then told me I needed to cancel the booking, which I refused to do because I didn't want to be charged the service fee.  She then canceled our booking because I refused to pay more money. Can she do this with no penalty? My understanding was that if she canceled a booking that the dates  we had booked would be blocked out and she would no longer be able to be a super host. I have tried to co tact customer service and have no gotten any kind of response from them yet.

1 Best Answer

You're probably right. The price was amazing, which is why I booked it after looking for days for the perfect one that fit my family and was reasonably priced. 

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23 Replies 23
Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Amie1091 

 

The host is responsible for correct pricing and a booking,once made, is final.

It is unlikely Airbnb made a mistake

 

Yes, the host will face the penalties you mentioned, when cancelling a reservation.

 

I fear there is not much Airbnb can do, unless it is really their mistake they maybe find/compensate you on another accomodation.

 

Unfortumatelly contacting CS is not an easy task nowadays....

 

You can at least report the host to Airbnb (zie link on profile) for misleading.

 

Best regards,

Emiel

Thanks so much for your reply! I don't know why the host would rather make $0 then honor the price that it was when I booked. 

@Amie1091  Some hosts are really unfamiliar with the inner workings of Airbnb, the host may not have realized that the dates would be blocked, or, they may have decided that the wear/tear/cleaning expense wasn't worth the price they mistakenly let you book for.  The best Airbnb can do for you though is possibly provide some additional assistance+a voucher/coupon for a few dollars to help you find another place. 

 

I guess that makes sense. However we were still paying over $2000 and also paying a cleaning fee. I would way rather make $2000 then $0. I think she probably didn't realize she had the same price for the week of thanksgiving and wanted to charge more once she saw it was booked for less $ then what she was planning. It looks like its still booked out for the 11 days I had booked it for. 

Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Amie1091 

The host makes $0 on Airbnb platform, but can take bookings from another platform....

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Amie1091 " It looks like its still booked out for the 11 days I had booked it for. "

 

You have no way of knowing if those dates are now blocked or rebooked somehow. There's no difference in the way it would appear on the calendar- the dates are just unavailable.

I just assumed they were blocked because they were the same 11 days I booked and it was today that she canceled.. before and after our trip dates are still available. 

@Amie1091 The dates are blocked because she cancelled out on you and she won't be able to rebook those dates. It is one of the penalties for cancelling out on a guest. 

Thats what I thought. Not that I want her to lose out on money, but I definitely wanted her to be held accountable for messing up our trip plans. 

Kelly149
Level 10
Austin, TX

@Amie1091  Sometimes if something looks too good to be true. It is. 
good luck with your trip. 

You're probably right. The price was amazing, which is why I booked it after looking for days for the perfect one that fit my family and was reasonably priced. 

Debra300
Level 10
Gros Islet, Saint Lucia

@Amie1091,

I am sorry that this happened to you and your family.  I am sure that it's very disappointing and frustrating. If you've not done so already, purchase travel insurance when you book your next reservation.  It doesn't cover for COVID-19 related events, but would cover things like the cancellation of your accommodations reservation.

Thats a great idea, thank you!! 

Amie1091
Level 2
St. George, UT

I just checked and the days that were blocked off on that airbnd are now available and nowhere on her profile does it say she has a host cancelation. So, she can cancel on my family and leave us high and dry and have no punishments?