Hi everyone, trying to get some clarification here as Airbnb itself isn't the best of help right now.
TLDR: Booked long term stay, added a few days before beginning of stay. Ended up cancelling the whole stay 15 days in due to bad apartment. Host offered to cover "all the money paid to host by airbnb minus the 15 nights we actually stayed".
-> When will host be paid by Airbnb?
-> Will host receive the cancellation fee as well by Airbnb, if yes, when?
Long version:
Me/Wifey/6month old baby book a 50+ night stay at a property which looks great on the pictures.
- Initially the booking is for 5th of January - 1st of March.
- We decide to arrive earlier and then also book 27th of December-5th of January on the same booking (Requested change which was accepted).
- Usual long term cancellation terms.
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After arrival we notice that the property is really just made for a few days. Definitely not a place to stay long term in. Windows not properly sealing, no bowls, very basic kitchen utensils, no insulation, etc.
I communicate my displeasure to the host. He tells me to cancel and says that he'll refund me the nights I did not use. Airbnb community manager is also looking into the whole matter and says it's an reasonable way to do it and OK with them. Also, host and me agree on not rating each other.
It's now the 11th of January and I cancel.
I had already been charged for the 27th December-5th January edit & for 5th January - 5th February.
When requesting a cancellation in the interface, I'm seeing that I will be charged another 30 days cancellation fee on top. I talk to the host, he says I won't. I talk to Airbnb, they tell me I will not be charged again besides for the first month payment which has already been paid on the 5th of January.
I go ahead, thinking it'll be fine and proceed with the cancellation. Today I checked my credt card statement and it turns out they charged me a cancellation fee nonetheless. Both Airbnb community manager and the host were wrong on that one.
Still this should not be a big deal since host promised to refund me "all the money he received on his Airbnb account from my booking", minus the 15 nights we actually stayed (27th Dec - 11th of January).
However, I have a few questions:
- Will the host receive the 30 days cancellation fee that Airbnb charged me? IMO it wouldn't make sense for Airbnb to just pocket that cash.
- Will the host be refunded the taxes and booking fees for the days that were not used by me?
- Has the host already been paid for my first full month (5th Jan - 5th Feb) and the cancellation fee? Meaning: Can I ask him to send me the money back now, without him having the valid excuse of "Airbnb hasn't paid me yet"?
I appreciate the answers as I want to deal with the refund ASAP and move on. It was already a huge hassle to find a proper place to stay in where our little boy doesn't have to be packed into 3 layers of clothes, and now dealing with a refund of a sizeable amount isn't either something I was looking forward to doing 🙂 Also, obviously I want the refund to be processed while I can still go ahead and leave him a bad review, should he refuse to keep his word.
