How to Escalate a Complaint?

[Lisa1848]

I have a bizarre situation and have been unable to get any help from Airbnb.  Here's the story:

I enrolled in a ceramic sculpture workshop in Chattanooga, TN, which was scheduled to occur April 29, 2019 through May 3, 2019.  I then booked an Airbnb in Chattanooga for April 28, 2019 through May 4, 2019 and paid in full at the time of booking. 

On April 23, 2019, I was informed by email that the workshop had been cancelled due to a serious illness in the family of one of the two instructors.  I, therefore, no longer needed the Airbnb for that time.  The workshop has been rescheduled for September.  I can provide written proof of the workshop enrollment, the workshop cancellation, and the workshop rescheduling.  I can provide contact information for the art center and the workshop coordinator, so that these facts can be confirmed directly with those responsible.

Upon hearing of the workshop cancellation, I immediately contacted the owner of the Airbnb and asked for a refund.  He told me to contact Airbnb directly, which I did.  I spoke on the phone at length with Carl P., who also consulted with a supervisor during the call.  Carl said that my circumstances qualify for an exception to the no cancellation policy, and he walked me through how to cancel the reservation then request a refund from the Airbnb owner, Edwin.  Note that I cancelled the reservation FIVE days before my planned arrival, which complied with the owner's cancellation policy.  Carl also advised me to give Edwin some time to issue the refund, but if no refund was made, then I should contact you again, as you have the ability to issue the refund without Edwin’s approval.

Edwin has refused to refund my money, even though he admits that he has a five-day cancellation policy.  I have that admission in writing via email.  All correspondence with Edwin was conducted through Airbnb, so they should have a record of all exchanges between us.  All conversations with him occurred on the 23rd of April.

So, here's the truly bizarre part:  Airbnb is claiming that I didn't cancel the reservation until the 24th and, therefore, am not entitled to a refund.  This is simply not true, and I have a confirmation email from Airbnb dated the 23rd to prove it.   They should be able to look at that email.  They should also have a record of my call to their help desk, when Carl walked me through the cancellation and refund request procedure.  That all happened on the 23rd before 1:00 in the afternoon.  The refund for the cleaning fee was made to my credit card on the 24th. 

I can't get anyone to let me send them the email confirmation of the cancellation on the 23rd or look at my correspondence with Edwin or confirm the long telephone call with Carl on the 23rd.  They just keep saying the same thing over and over again like robots, "I'm sorry, Mam, but our system shows that you cancelled on the 24th".  I feel like I'm in an episode of the Twilight Zone.

I'm waiting for a call back from a supervisor, but the person I spoke to assured me repeatedly that her supervisor would tell me the exact same thing.

How do I get this straightened out?  How do I find someone who can, and will, actually look at the correspondence and confirmations and get the dates right?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Sarah977]

@Lisa1848  How have you been communicating with Airbnb? Maybe try another method. If you've been phoning or using chat, try contacting on Twitter. It does seem odd that you have documentation that you cancelled on the 23rd, but they're insisting it was the 24th. Generally when you get an unhelpful CS rep, it's sort of pointless to continue to engage with them. Best to just thank them for their time, as if you're giving up, and contact again in the hopes you'll get a more helpful rep, without mentioning that you've already been given the run-around by someone else.

FYI, the host is not responsible for issuing or approving a refund due to a guest cancellation- guests' refunds are automatically dealt with by Airbnb, according to the cancellation policy of the host. Perhaps what happened is that you put in a cancellation request and the host was sent a notice asking if he'd approve the cancellation. When a host is sent this, they will always choose to not approve, because that goes down as a host cancellation and the host is severely punished for cancelling reservations. But that doesn't mean the guest doesn't get refunded whatever they are due according to the cancellation policy, it just means the guest has to cancel from their end, not send the host a cancellation approval.

But again, the issue here is that you are sure you cancelled within the refund period and Airbnb is denying that. Keep trying, is all I can suggest. But the host really has nothing to do with this- it's an Airbnb issue.

[Lisa1848]

Sarah, thanks for your reply.  I have now spoken to four different Airbnb personnel about this via messaging and phone. Supposedly, a supervisor is looking into it now.  As far as host responsibility and involvement, I was walked through on the phone the process for first cancelling the reservation, then requesting a refund from the owner--all through the Airbnb website.  I am now being told by Airbnb that, per the owner's policy, I am not getting a refund because I did not cancel 5 days in advance.  This is why the date mistake is crucial, because the correct cancellation date would put me within the 5 days.  Interestingly, in my very first conversation with Airbnb regarding cancelling, I was told that my circumstances qualified for an exception to the cancellation policy, since the events leading to the cancellation were completely out of my control and were due to a serious family illness (not my family, but the course instructor's).  Now, no one is offering that resolution to the situation.

[Lisa1848]

I have to add that I think this is really crappy behavior on the part of the host.  He knows exactly what date I cancelled, and he knows it was within the five day period.  He also knows why I cancelled and has all the information he needs to verify the facts.  His real reason for the refusal, as he told me in a message, is that he wouldn't be able to rent it out again.  This experience will keep me from renting an Airbnb ever again.  Much safer to deal with chain hotels. 

[Helen3]

@Lisa1848 sorry again I can't agree.

It's not particularly relevant why you are cancelling, if your reason for doing so falls outside the EC policy.

What you are saying in essence is that you are quite happy for the host to take a hit and lose money as they are unlikely to be able to rebook at such short notice, in order for you not to do so, even though you are the one who is cancelling.

You would have the same situation if you booked a hotel which had a no refund policy.

[Sarah977]

@Lisa1848  No it isn't crappy behavior on the part of the host. There appears to be some glitch regarding whether you cancelled within the cancellation window, but the host didn't create that glitch. And the host should not be expected to take a loss on your reservation above and beyond the cancellation policy, i.e. refund you more than you are due. A cancellation made 4-5 days before the check-in does mean that the host is not likely to be able to rebook those dates. Guest's personal circumstances, in this case a workshop being cancelled, isn't the host's responsibility to accomodate. If it were, hosts would be refunding money all the time for all kinds of personal guest reasons, and not have a viable business. 

Again, your issue is with a discrepancy between documentation you say you have regarding the date of cancellation and when Airbnb is insisting you cancelled. Also, the CS rep you were dealing with apparently walked you through the wrong process- you say he showed you how to request a refund from the host- if you were within the cancellation period, you don't request a refund from the host, you simply cancel and you'll be refunded what you are due, that has nothing to do with the host, and the host is not involved in that process.  Don't blame the host, he isn't responsible for this, Airbnb is. It's possible, if you cancelled quite late in the evening on the 23rd, that it didn't process until after midnight, which would have registered as a cancellation on the 24th.

[Lisa1848]

The email confirmation of the cancellation received from Airbnb is time-stamped April 23, 11:23AM, so it wasn't even noon the day before Airbnb has me as cancelled.  All my correspondence with the host--and there were many--were all dated the 23rd.  I received notice of the cancellation of the workshop on April 23 at 8:23, and, as soon as I read it that morning,  I got in touch with my host, then Airbnb directly.  It all happened on the 23rd.  Nothing happened on the 24th, other than that's the day Airbnb issued the refund to my credit card for the cleaning fee. 

The person who walked me through the refund request process claimed that the host had the right to grant or deny the refund, but, if he denied it, I should get back in touch with Airbnb so that they could override that decision and issue the refund anyway.  He claimed--and stated that his supervisor, with whom he had been consulting during the call, also agreed--that I was entitled to a refund, but I had to start with the host.

I blame Airbnb for this problem, but I blame the host, and I will continue to do so.  He knows the day on which I cancelled, and he knows I complied with his policy.  He is being a total jerk.  I have learned my lesson.

Moreover, what kind of a system is it where a host gets penalized when a renter cancels due to circumstances beyong their control?  That makes no sense and it gives hosts incentive to be jerks to their customers.

I am so done with Airbnb.

[Sarah977]

@Lisa1848 "The person who walked me through the refund request process claimed that the host had the right to grant or deny the refund, but, if he denied it, I should get back in touch with Airbnb so that they could override that decision and issue the refund anyway.  He claimed--and stated that his supervisor, with whom he had been consulting during the call, also agreed--that I was entitled to a refund, but I had to start with the host."

Again, this would only apply if the guest cancellation was outside the cancellation window or the guest was asking for a full refund when the cancellation policy in place doesn't accommodate that. So they were obviously either seeing a 24th cancellation date or instructing you incorrectly. If the record shows that you cancelled within the cancellation period, it's all automatic, the host doesn't have to approve anything for the guest to get back what they are due.

I am assuming that the host had a Moderate cancellation policy? That's the one where you could cancel 5 days before and get a refund. You haven't mentioned the cancellation policy for this listing.

[Helen3]

I can't see how you not being able to attend a course would make you eligible to cancel under their exceptional circumstances - this is designed for people who can't travel for example because of the death of a close family member or their own ill health which couldn't have been foreseen @Lisa1848  (do have a look at the exceptional circumstances policy for cancellations).

I am not sure that sort of circumstance would even be covered by your travel insurance.