Host cancellations - no help from Airbnb

[Stanley13]

im not sure if this is the correct place to vent   but here goes.. I planned a trip to Times square in New York over four months ago to give me time to line up airfare and lodging. I went with Airbnb beacue i have found in the past if i give myself time there is usually a place to be found   well I was wrong   I had two cancellations by hosts (last one 4 days before trip)  several no responce to requests and several never update their avaliablity calender.   in other works 100% failure in the big apple   i guess my luck ran out. The thing that really got me was Airbnb's lack of concern  Oh i got the usually we are sooooooo sorry this happened to you and you will recive a full refund and  this is a rare occurene and we are going to take actions againt the host blah blah blah    what about me????   i was unable to rebook anything  hotels were now 3 to four times higher, leaving me stranded. Nothing avaliable in from Airbnb.  I was forced to cancel my trip with my wife   Airbnb has no compensation policy or any real effort to help.  my advise is Buyer beware,  there is no safety net on a cancellation. I guess im lucky my cancellation was before I left . can you imagine flying over 5k miles from hawaii (where we live)to new York to have your stay cancelled?  Airbnb needs to address these issues   The host has no problem requiring up front payment with a strict cancel policy but it does go both ways   It should be the same back plus the costs the traveler lost.   Oh I guess i lost my airfare    thanks Airbnb    stan m.  **

[Kirstie]

Hi @Stanley13,

I'm sorry to hear about your experience - this is every traveller's nightmare. Hosts are penalised for cancelling bookings which helps to avoid too many cancellations, but you have obviously been particularly unlucky here. I do hope this hasn't put you off Airbnb, there are so many amazing hosts out there that I am sure wouldn't cancel on you last minute!

I have moved your post here to the Travellers board, as you are giving a guest's experience. I have also given it a title, please let me know if you want to change it!

Kirstie

[David126]

The Host was never paid, AirBnB hold the money you paid.

I thought they do try and help secure another location and give guests a bonus?

There has been a change in regulations in New York which has impacted those hosting, wonder if this was a factor?

Many would consider that AirBnB favoure Guests rather than Hosts when it comes to cancellations.

[Christine352]

We are having a similar issue right now....host in NYC cancelled our stay three days before our trip but is refusing to initiate the cancellation himself so as not to incur penalties.. We will not initiate the cancellation as we won't be reimbursed in full (we'll lose all money paid in fees) if we do. We wound up having to book another place to make the trip, paid more for it, and still haven't gotten the cancellation/reimbursement from the first host. There's such little customer assistance from Airbnb...I'm not inclined to use them again.

[David126]

Contact AirBnB and they will cancel, refund and should give you a bit extra for inconvenience.

[S35]

You are dreaming if you think Airbnb will give one a 'bit for your inconvenience'. Just try to contact them after the refund has been processed! Moreover, they should be responsible for all extra costs incurred due to a cancellation, not just 'a bit'. I am not a dog who needs a bone

A simply refund is not good enough. A last-minute cancellation, especially on a trumped-up reason, is a breach of contract. There are costs involved with finding last-minute accommodation. These costs should be borne by Airbnb and their partner host. If Airbnb are only responsible for a simply refund, they have nothing to lose and can jerk client about with no repercussions

We were cancelled at the last moment. Airbnb refused to tell us the reason but claimed that they accepted the host's explanation. I later found out that the host claimed a death in the family and that they were no longer going to withdraw their property from Airbnb.

I later discovered that there was no death in the family and that the property continued to be let.

I told this to Airbnb but they could not have cared less and closed the conversation thread

The re-booking (Airbnb had nothing comperable) cost me quite a bit of money. I want to claim these costs as the cancellation was a breach of contract.

Trying to find out how to do this-or even a UK mailing address for Airbnb has, thus far, been impossible. I would appreciate any help in knowing how to deal with this. Ideally, a mailing address for legal papers would be great

Thanks

[David126]

100 New Bridge Street, London, United Kingdom, EC4V 6JA

[Marcella172]

I'm going through something similar right now. A host gave us the runaround for nearly two hours because the key wasn't in the lockbox. After opening seven lockboxes, he decided that someone should come and help us out - it'd be ten minutes. It was 50.  They arrived, gave us a key and a fob, and told us the cleaners didn't return the key, their apologies. No problem after a flight delay and not having eaten lunch or dinner. We opened the door to the listing and walked in on a woman in bed! My husband called the host while I called airbnb because I had a feeling it wouldn't end well. The host first asked my husband to knock on the door and put the woman on the phone. When I told him we absolutely wouldn't do that - he can call his guest and sort this out. He told my husband he was calling security which turned out to be the associate who gave us the key and fob. She knocked on the door and got on the phone with the host and eventually told us he double-booked, sorry, we have no place to stay at 8pm after the booking is ALREADY in progress! Airbnb wants me to call the host and have them call, because clearly my word isn't enough that this is occurring. Then they ask ME to ask the host to cancel. fast forward several hours, no return call from airbnb who was supposed to escalate this issue. We wind up booking a hotel because we're tired and hungry. You can imagine what we paid, checking in at 11:30pm at the only hotel in Honolulu willing to take us and our three large bags last minute. Airbnb promptly issued a refund for what we paid and nothing else, then because I didn't respond in a timely manner, they decided they would close my claim. I know this thread is years old, but I'm posting so the  community (host and guests) knows that this still happens. Please redirect if you must, but hosts, I want you to know, if you double book, that is not an extenuating circumstance. Airbnb should apply stiffer penalties for compromising the credibility of the platform and the guest experience. End of rant. 

[Cynthia-and-Chris1]

Definitely call them.  855-424-7262

[Christine352]

Thanks so much to you both for your responses. And thank you for leaving the phone number! We were having so much trouble finding a way to speak to a rep yesterday but that was the ticket. We called and were able to get Airbnb's help with rectifying the situation. We appreciate it!