Owed a refund and not getting one !

[Priya171]

Hello everyone. We visited Dubai recently for a 6 night stay and the AC was broken throughout the stay with temperatures inside the flat hitting close to 29 degrees everyday and night. We messaged the host within 2 hours of check in and then everyday twice a day to confirm that we were struggling. We asked for fans to compensate and were told we couldn't have any. The host then suggested a 50% refund in the air BnB chat transcript for every night that there was no AC.

Cut to the end, the host now says they will only give us 15% off. We asked air BnB to step in and on chasing repeatedly we get a link as a response, this links says we should have made a formal complaint to air bnb within 24 hours of check in to qualify for dispute resolution. 

Given we used the air BnB chat to liaise with the host everyday and said we are complaining, Air BnB has access to everything including the host suggesting 50%. The host has back tracked now and air BnB says it's out of their hands. Can someone help tell us if we have any recourse? As frequent users of Air BNB the whole experience has been frustrating and unfair and we are angry and frustrated. (the flat was full of other issues as well and not one bit as described)

Edited to add: this was not booked under my air BnB account, but my husband's. So if you look back at my recent history, you won't find the review for the stay in question.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Priya171 Your glowing review of the accommodation didn't mention any issues. I fear you are too late to be recompensed although you could try the small claims court.

[Priya171]

Thank you for response. Edited my post. This was not under my Air BNB account, but my husband's and he has left a suitable review. 

[Sarah977]

@Priya171  If DHH is where you stayed, your post here makes no sense, as you left a review saying the place was great and the hosts were very responsive, which is totally the opposite of what you portray here.

You can't stay somewhere for the duration of your booking and then expect to be refunded after the fact. If,  as you claim, the place had many issues, and was not accurately described, you had the choice to cancel and leave. 

And what a host "suggests" as a discount in messages is not a binding contract. I agree it's unethical for a host to say they will refund and then renege on that, but there's no recourse. You are not "owed" a refund just because a host told you they would give one. 

[Priya171]

Sorry I should have mentioned this was a booking made through my husband's air BnB account, not DHH (which btw was excellent as my reviews says). 

[Sarah977]

@Priya171  Thanks for clarifying that. 

What were the reviews for this bad place like? If it wasn't as described and had a lot of issues, it seems like prior guests would have left reviews that said that. Or was it a new listing?

[Priya171]

Hi Sarah977, the past reviews were good and it's on the back of those reviews that we booked. The listing included air conditioning and a host of other things which were not provided. While we made our peace with not having some of these other things (towels, cutlery etc) or bought some of our own, the AC was not something we could do anything about. It was far too hot. We asked for fans to keep the kids cool and were told "it's not what we provide". 

Just incredibly frustrated. We did not pay a small amount for this either as this was peak tourist season. It's also hosted by a Super host which was even more disappointing. 

[Priya171]

Appreciate the response on them suggesting a refund is not binding. 

We could not cancel and leave as it would be unaffordable and impossible to find anything else with 2 young kids in tow. If it was just adults, I would have done so straight away. The host made no attempt to fix the situation either. It was a big company as well (Frank Porter) so we asked if we could be moved to a different apartment they host and were told it was all full. 

[Sarah977]

@Priya171  An unfortunate situation. I can fully understand not just being able to pick up and move with 2 kids in tow. Sometimes you just have to try to make the best of it.

It's sort of a chance one takes when booking a short term rental. It works the other way, too- hosts can end up with terrible guests who have misrepresented themselves and their intentions. 

But for the most part, as you've found out, the majority of bookings go just fine from both sides. Sometimes it just doesn't.

One thing I can tell you is that posts on this forum seem to make it clear that guests often have bad experiences when renting places that are managed by these big companies. Many reports of poor cleaning and/or maintenance, poor responses from the "hosts", refusal to refund for legitimate issues,  and bait and switch, which is what it sounds like you encountered- the place was not as pictured.

Listings run by the homeowners themselves, or a private co-host, that have good reviews, where they take personal pride in presenting a nice place and being responsive to issues and take reviews and ratings quite personally, are a better bet than these places run by companies with scores or hundreds of listings.

And while Airbnb can be quite punitive towards small time hosts when there are reports from guests, and issue refunds in many cases, they seem to ignore transgressions by these big companies, as they bring in so much revenue. They somehow get away with things the rest of us hosts can't. 

If you want to be persistant and try to get some refund, I would do that on the basis that the amenities listed did not work, that it was misrepresented, and whatever else was wrong, rather than the fact that the host promised a refund he reneged on.

[Priya171]

Thank you for taking the time to respond. I think your message says it all, sage advice that we will stick to in

 the future. Thanks again