Host refuses to issue a full refund for a cancellation after having confirmed they would do so

[Ali11366]

Dear Airbnb Community,

Before I proceeded with a cancellation due to extenuating circumstances, I wrote to the host on airbnb and asked them if they would be willing to issue a full refund if I cancel. They were understanding and confirmed that they will issue a refund for the full amount. I thanked them for their understanding and I then proceeded with the cancellation.

To my dismay, they reneged on that confirmation and refused the refund.

I provided the Airbnb Customer Support representative with a screenshot and referred them to the entire exchange proving that the host confirmed they would issue a full refund. Yet the representative says that they can't do anything and cannot force the host to keep their word.

Does that sound reasonable to you?

I feel misled and cheated.  The amount in question is substantial (several thousands of us dollars).

I'd appreciate your advice on how to get my money back.

Sincerely,

Ali

[Ali11366]

Here is the latest update: refund issued!

The customer support representative involved their supervisor who called the host and referred him to the message exchange where he explicitly confirmed that a full refund will be issued.

Minutes later the supervisor messaged me to confirm the refund and I received the emails confirming that.

It was a huge relief!

Thanks Airbnb Support for resolving that matter and thanks to the host for keeping his word!

[Karen2540]

I am getting same run around most of my family are under orders shelter and stay and i'm a heart patient been trying toget refund almost 2 weeks and get run around almost all family members are essential workers  Airbnb are just stealing money from people that can't travel during Coronavirus  and then they are going toget funds from government this is fraud and theft

[Juan63]

@Karen2540  No one is stealing any money, you need to be patient and go through the process like everyone else.

[Ali11366]

In my case, it took about two weeks for support to finally find the time and address my issue. Once they did and once they escalated, they were very effective.

[Kathryn446]

Ali, I am going through the EXACT same scenario as we speak. I am told I cannot even review the host (I am also a host on Air Bnb fyi) because the two week time period has expired. The host confirmed cancellation and then took full payment after the fact. The correspondence was all done on the website. Its $4,000.00 which is a lot of money for us. 

Does anyone have any ideas on how to report these ppl? This is fraud. They agreed to the cancellation and took the money, I dont understand how Air BnB can stand behind this and let this host go forward. I want to warn other prospective guests of what can happen and that the host is a thief. 

I am once again on hold for a "manual escalation" of my case which will just be closed without giving me an opportunity to challenge the case at all. 

Any guidance is welcome. 

[Inna22]

@Kathryn446 and @Ali11366 would have you gone and ahead and travelled if the host did not agree?

[Ali11366]

Hi @Inna22 ,

In my particular case, traveling was no longer a possibility.

I was flying in from Europe to the USA and the 30 days travel ban that the President announced hit just a few days before my flight. Also the country I was in at the time had just closed its borders (no incoming or outgoing flights).
Thank you!

[Inna22]

@Ali11366 so you would’ve canceled regardless of the host giving you a refund or not. The host offered to give you something extra, something you would’ve normally not gotten. You are now back to where you would’ve been per the terms of the contract you agreed to when you booked this property. While I personally think it is wrong to make a promise and not keep it, this didn’t really change anything for you financially from where you should’ve been. Basically, you had an informal written contract with this host and the host did not keep their end of the bargain. At the same time you had a formal written contract with the host and you did not keep your end of the bargain by getting a refund against its terms. Why do you think it is OK for you to break the contract and it is not OK for your host to do the same?

[Ali11366]

I don't want to argue with you @Inna22 . You are not a party in that "contract" you are referring to 

I just shared an update to give people a positive example. Airbnb support and hosts are doing their best to deal with this extraordinary situation. In my case, it started with a disappointment and it ended with a huge relief.

Again, thanks to Airbnb and the support team for giving me a refund.

[Ali11366]

@Kathryn446 , I empathize with your situation. That amount of money is far from negligible. I had a similar amount on the line too.

Did you exchange with the host through Airbnb messaging? If yes, and I hope it was the case, please share a screenshot of the exchange with the customer support representative. 

In the heat of the pandemic cancellations, support asked me if I could wait 5-7 business days to give them a chance to deal with the most pressing cases, which I did. Once they could find time they started looking into my case, and within another 3-5 days the matter was resolved.

I had reservations with two hosts. One host confirmed the refund to the customer rep within minutes, the other host needed some reminding and convincing from the customer rep supervisor.

One note on the host that needed some reminding: I had stayed with them in the past and they were excellent and super hospitable. The wave of pandemic cancellations hit people differently. Hosts lost a lot of business and I understood the reticence in issuing refunds due to not fault of their own. Hence, my appreciation that they ultimately did the right thing. I would stay with them in the future when the opportunity presents itself to make up for the their lost income. 

Good luck!

[Kate896]

Im gong though something similar.  I am a host of two homes and have recently  gave full-refunds for several guests, HOWEVER, I just booked a little cottage on what I thought was a private beach in Florida, and the host (after several emails), neglected to tell me that it was a public beach and CLOSED.    She is refusing a refund.    I feel scammed....I am going to fight this, who can I call, where do I start?

thanks

[Sarah977]

@Kate896  How has the host scammed you? Does she advertise it as a private beach, or was that just your presumption? As far as I'm aware, there's really no such thing as a private beach- beaches are federal property. "Private" beaches usually just means that they may not have easy access from anywhere except the house that fronts it, unless someone boats in.

I don't think you can put this all on the host, unless she advertised it as a private beach. It was also your responsibility, given the current circumstances of coronavirus, to ask right off the bat what the beach situation was.

That said, if you want to pursue this, you have to contact Airbnb customer service- there is a large pinned post on the first page of this Help forum that gives phone numbers and other ways to reach them.

[Kate896]

yes, there are private beaches in Florida, and ones that are public....I was under the impression that hers was her own private beach by the way her add was worded.   We chatted back and forth several times.....I cancelled 5 minutes after I booked, and she promised me a refund, now she refuses it.      I am also a host and just refunded 5 cancellations for Masters Week that was cancelled.   It was the right thing to do, it is also the right thing for this host to do.    She just made a ton of money for a 5 minute booking.       thanks for the info.   

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Kate896 

Even if the host had a strict cancellation policy, if your booking was made more than 14 days in advance and you cancelled within 5 minutes of making the booking you should get a full refund, since it would be within the grace period. This is NOT up to the host to refuse. 

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