Host refusing to refund my money

Mario2438
Level 2
Miami, FL

Host refusing to refund my money

I booked an Airbnb in Charlotte, NC after my original accommodation plans fell through.

 

I made the booking the same day I checked in. Unfortunately, due to the rush in finding a place to stay I didn't research the neighborhood. When I drove to the house I noticed that it was in a run down area full of dilapidated houses and boarded up businesses. I looked up the address on the Internet and the house happened to be in the worst area of Charlotte in terms of violent crime (9 times higher than the national average and rated F for violent crime). The neighborhood has been rated as the most dangerous area in Charlotte by several reputable newspapers.

 

Long story short, I canceled the reservation because I didn't feel safe, and notified the host in very polite terms that there was nothing wrong with the house, but that the neighborhood was not what I was expecting. She answered back refusing to refund the $2,200 dollars that I had paid for a 13 day stay that turned into a less than 1 hour stay.

 

If I had made the reservation weeks in advance I would have understood the host's position, because I would have prevented her from renting the place to somebody else, but the total time span between booking and canceling was less than 3 hours. I would have expected any other host to do the right thing and refund the money instead of sticking to the fine print given the particularities of this situation.

 

I'm writing here to see if any of you have had a similar experience, and if you can suggest a way to get my money back. I have also notified  Airbnb, who has been very sympathetic but hasn't been able to convince the host to refund my money.

 

I appreciate any insights you can give me.

10 Replies 10
Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Sorry but there is no reason for the host to refund you. She honoured your contract by providing accommodation in line with her listing. @Mario2438 

 

You chose not to stay there because you didn't like the location and therefore cancelled the booking on the day of your stay.

 

Before you book you are shown the location on a map and the cancellation policy you were booking under.  You had the opportunity to read the reviews of the property. It's not the hosts fault that you chose not to.

 

All you can do is ask that if the host receives any bookings to cover the days you cancelled if they would be willing to consider a proportional refund.

Colleen253
Level 10
Alberta, Canada

“I would have expected any other host to do the right thing.”

 

This host didn’t do anything wrong though, @Mario2438 . They are simply holding you to the contract you entered into. They held up their end of it. I agree with Helen and she had a good suggestion for you. Give it a try. Best of luck.

@Mario2438  When you book an Airbnb property, the location is displayed on a map. Hosts can choose to protect their privacy by a few meters, but it's absolutely impossible for their listing to show up in a totally different neighborhood than the one where their address is registered. So if the area you book isn't to your taste, the real problem is that you didn't do your trip research properly. 

 

Wouldn't it be kind of horrible to expect someone to take a loss of income because you didn't do the absolute basic research that you were supposed to?

Hi Andrew, I should have done the research but I had to find a place fast  because it was getting dark and I had nowhere else to go, so I acted quickly. Sometimes things are not black or white and under normal circumstances I would have done the research.

 

This was not a planned stay. I booked, one hour later I was at the place and one hour later I was out. The host didn't suffer any loss of income as it was not rented and I only tied the house up for three hours.

 

Sometimes not doing anything wrong and doing the right thing are two different things. If I had been the host I would have refunded the money. Points of view, I guess...

@Mario2438  OK, sure, you had to act quickly, for your own reasons. Not the host's problems - they had nothing to do with that. Hopefully next time you'll get better at planning your trips.

 

I don't know how you've arrived at the calculation that the host would have had no loss of income - it's not like another party magically arrives to take the place of whoever runs away from their booking. Actually, in most situations like the one you're whining about, the host takes a painful loss of income. So sorry, you're unlikely to get much sympathy here.

I'm not whining. I'm factually explaining what happened to me and asking for advice and ideas to get my money back. Do you have any ideas?

@Mario2438  Ideas to get your money back? I don't know man, maybe buy better travel insurance next time. This one is totally your own failure, you're just gonna have to own up to that.

@Mario2438  I would say that it was incumbent on you as the guest to "do the right thing" and research the  location before booking it. Your reasons for not doing this are your business, not an excuse for thinking you deserve a refund. 

Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

Hello Mario,  According to your profile you are an experienced and valued guest on the Air BNB platform.  While it has been a couple of years since you used this platform, it appears you understand how this platform works.  I am assuming the cancellation policy was strict not flexible so there are no days refunded.  I wonder if rather than coming from a stance of the host should "do the right thing" you could approach from a more business perspective and ask if the host would consider refunded any nights that could be booked.  That way you are accepting responsibility for your part of the process and recognizing the host's perspective.  Have you tried that approach?

Hi @Linda108 . That was Helen's suggestion earlier in the thread and I just messaged the host with that proposal. The place is now booked for some of the days I had paid for so hopefully it will work out.