Host lied in order to cancel my booking

[Stephen1175]

Hi all,

happy Easter.

just want to share my recent experience and pick some brains.

I made a booking more than 10 months ago for 3 families to stay at the mountains during the Easter long weekend in order to attend a Christian convention and to celebrate a friend’s 40th birthday.

4 days out from checking in I received a call from the host saying due to recent heavy rain in eastern part of Australia the street and the driveway to the house was flooded and would cause accessing the house a problem. She also said a half fallen tree was threatening the power lines. She was extremely concerned about our safety and would refund in full should I choose to cancel the booking.

I also received a video footage of the flooded driveway, but no time stamp.

As it had been well over a week since the rain and most parts had dried up in previously flooded areas I specifically asked if she anticipated the driveway would stay flooded, her reply was yes, because there was blockage with neighbour’s drain.

 As there was virtually no alternative  accommodation available at any price point during the long weekend at such tight notice I suggested that I was willing to take responsibility of the safety and would be willing to move out should the power go out. I suggested that she contact the authority to sort out the tree as a matter of urgency.
We agreed at that point that we would wait for the council’s reply before taking the next step.

24 hours later the host texted and said that the council would not deal with the tree until after the Easter long weekend and given the risk for us Is too great I’d have to either cancel or postpone the booking. She was getting pushy and asked that I cancel immediately could issue a refund and said she had legal responsibility to NOT let us stay in the house knowing it isn’t safe.

Given she is a SUPERHOST I had no reason to doubt the genuineness of the story so I agreed to cancel after stressing to her again that our planned weekend is now in tatters. She apologised repeatedly and also saying it’s out of her control.

I got a little bit annoyed when I asked her to initiate the cancellation process she said it was best if I did it and later she asked me to pursue the service fee from Airbnb myself.

I started to get suspicious when a friend pointed to me how unbelievable the story was as an unstable tree that’s threatening the safety of a house or powerlines is usually dealt with as a matter of urgency by the State Emergency Services rather than the council and anyone in the right state of mind would have had reported to the SES and the problem would not be left for 2 weeks as the host led me to believe.

After the cancellation I offered to drive up to the house check it out for her as she was stuck interstate, reply I received was “please don’t go near the house as it’s very risky”. This further raised my suspicion.

I sure did drive to the house as planned on the day I was supposed to check in even though we had only first nights accommodation booked in a motel. Upon approaching the house, no sign of flood anywhere. Inspected the powerlines, none had trees overhanging. Inspected the trees, none was unstable.

walked up to the house, housekeeper was busy cleaning after a group of guests just departed. I asked if the house was rented out the whole week, answer was yes.

I asked if more guests were expected the same day, answer was yes, and for the entire long weekend.

I asked if the driveway was flooded, answer was yes, but not for about a week.

I asked if she knew anything about a fallen tree, answer was no, accompanied by a puzzled look.

I told the house keeper I actually had reservation for the house for the weekend she suggested that I speak to the host...

the picture is now clear, I was tricked into cancelling the booking and since I was the one who did it the host didn’t need to explain the Airbnb nor she was penalised with losing her Superhost status.

I reported to Airbnb straightaway and sent screenshots of all text messages. A nice lady promised to investigate this further.

so here we go, after being lied to, forced to cancel the booking, and 3 families having to split up and find alternative accommodation on extremely short notice and paying few thousand dollars more on top of all the emotional and physical stresses, what can Airbnb actually do after investigations?

It now reads like the host obtained financial advantage by deception, can I expect any recourse?

sorry about the long rant.

Happy Easter to all

Stephen 

[Emiel1]

@Stephen1175 

If the host can not accommodate the guests, then allways the host has to initiate the cancellation.

Which will result in a full refund (including Airbnb Service fee) to the guests.

For now you need to wait for the investigation from Airbnb.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Stephen1175 I suggest you contact the host and inform her that you will be claiming any excess costs incurred from her. 

[Stephen1175]

She had always been a good communicator until the day I discovered she had been lying about the reason for forcing me to cancel.

I sent her text messages to inform her of my discovery and promised her actions will be taken.

fortuitously most of the communications were done with texts and they would back my claim.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Stephen1175 

I wonder if you are refunded for the entire stay? Bc if the guest cancels too close to the day of check-in may not be eligible for a refund, depends on the cancellation policy. But, if the cancellation is mutual then the guest is fully refunded.

Is it a private host or an agency with many listings? (some agencies use the personal name and an agent's profile photo so it is not immediately obvious it's an agency)

I am sorry for your bad experience and the hassle you all had. Your host obviously had an overbooking, unfortunately, it happens sometimes whether it's a glitch in the system or the host's mistake. Especially when the host has a few units listed on a few platforms. When it happens it's a nightmare to both the host and his guests. Since she couldn’t host all of you at once she had to cancel either the other two groups or yours. She chose yours.

[Stephen1175]

The host claimed she was the owner of 5 holiday rental properties including this one.

her LinkedIn profile supports her claim.

Yes, this property was listed on all popular booking platforms.

I made the booking at the height of COVID pandemics and the price was 40% less than it’s currently listed.

if money was an issue I would have been happy to discuss it with the host, instead she lied and tricked me into canceling which is not forgivable.

[Sarah977]

@Stephen1175  While this host's behavior is certainly unethical, she couldn't really trick you into cancelling- it's clear if you read the information for guests on the Airbnb site that if a host can't fulfill the booking for some reason, it's the host's responsibilty to cancel, not the guest's.

[Stephen1175]

Yes, it is a lesson well learned.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Stephen1175 

5-holiday rental properties.... on all popular hosting platforms ... 

uh, this can get out of control

...and the price was 40% less than it’s currently listed... 

this could be a reason why she asked you and not the other group to cancel

[Dale711]

Hi Dr. Stephen, 

I’m truly sorry for your negative experience with the host and I totally understand how frustrated you feels.

The host behaved untrustworthy, lack of the host commitment, cause trouble for you and friends to find a new location in a shorts time.Obviously, the host has violated Airbnb Host Reliability Standards Policy.

Is it clear that’s, ,if the host can’t host the guest, the correct ways is to acknowledge to Airbnb that is a extenuating circumstances and the host obligated to present the documents. 

Or else, in any reason of the cancellation closer to the guest traveling date, the host is necessary to makes a full refund payment to the guest, a penalty fee and  the host calendar remains block plus the lost of Superhost status.

As you’ve being a true kindness to the host, mistrust of the ‘Superhost’ badge. 

While the guest receive a host cancellation request, the guest should report to Airbnb, get Airbnb to involved, never makes the cancellation by their self. 
Airbnb will definitely find a new location to the guest immediately and pay the extra fee ( from the  host penalty fee  ) in to the guest account.

As a matter of fact, you has done it’s well!
When you’ve discovered the true and reported the incident  to Airbnb.

Meanwhile, do contact the team again to reminded them to update you the results of the investigation.

I hope Airbnb seriously look in to your case and assist you.

                                                                    Airbnb is a Trust and Safety platform 

As the links  below for your reference, 

Host Reliably Standards 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2895/host-reliability-standards

What should I do when host ask to cancel? 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1250/what-should-i-do-if-my-host-needs-to-cancel

Happy Easter to you, family and friend. Enjoy the holidays!

[Susan4051]

Hi Stephen

It certainly sounds like she did a swifty on you. Very bad behaviour on her part. Untrustworthy. She allowed the mighty dollar to get in the way of ethics.

[Stephen1175]

A little update.

Airbnb finished their investigation and deemed the host responsible for triggering the cancellation therefore I was refunded the service fee and the host got caution.

To me this is just a slap on the wrist to the host.

she didn’t lose her Superhost badge which she should have and I was not compensated for thousands more dollars I had to spend to find alternative accommodation.

Does anyone know of anyone successfully pursued compensation from either Airbnb or the host?

Cheers

Stephen 

[Marit-Anne0]

@Stephen1175 according to airbnb t&c, the only obligation they have is to make sure you are refunded, so there is nothing to gain going down that road. Renting on the private market, there is always the risk of last minute cancellations like the incidences your host were outlining, if they had been honest of course. They certainly could have been real. In such cases it is the host's responsibility to contact airbnb, prove the case and have the booking cancelled under the extenuating circumstances clause.

Loss of Superhost status is not immediate, it will (hopefully) take place at the next assessment.

The contract is between you and the host, so small claims court could be an option if you can prove your case.

A travel insurance might also be a possibility, but I would not count on it.

I had a similar thing happening to me once, the only thing I could do was find somewhwere else at double the price and keep on smiling. It was Paris after all🗼

[Dale711]

@Stephen1175 

Small local claims court for justifications of your cases.

[Stephen1175]

So the saga continues...

I don't know the content of the conversation between Airbnb and the host, but she seems to be under the impression she wasn't in the wrong based on Airbnb verdict(no actions taken) when clearly she deceived me.
She just threatened to report me to police for trespassing and I find it amusing as she was in the wrong. So I am a little puzzled by what message Airbnb sent to her.