Question about Long Term Refund Policy

[Daniel7132]

Hi all,

I have a quick question, I booked this place in Bordeaux France for 3 months because I was going to do an internship there but subsequently had to cancel because got a better offer in Paris.

The total sum was over 2100 euros to pay over 3 installments (707, 751 and 707), one for each month (April, May and June).

I missed the 48 hours full refund policy and have already paid 707 euros to the host (April) at the time of booking.

The refund policy for the room now states:

Until April 5: 'Full refund minus the service fee and the first 30 days' 

I assume that means the 707 I already paid are gone and I will stop being charged on my credit card after I cancel

Why in this case does the screen show me this math? (photo)



The thing that worries  me most is the partial refund line... why does it show only 620 euros when I should get roughly 1300 back (2 months)

Can I be sure I won't be charged a second month going forward?

I am new here so I am a bit confused.

Thanks.

[Vedanth0]

Hey @Daniel7132 

Did you manage to find an answer? I have a similar problem to yours. 

Please do reply asap! 

[Daniel7132]

Hey there mate, 

I got a full refund thanks to the covid19 cancellation policy.

If it wasn't for the policy though I would have ended up losing around 1400 euros that is: the sum I paid at the time of booking (707 euros) plus the second installment (755).

Definitely learned from that experience and I'll be more careful next time around.

[Huma0]

@Daniel7132 

Did you find any resolution to this? Did you get any help from Airbnb?

I also have a similar situation with a long-term guest. She booked for 1.5 months, so was supposed to be charged for the first 30 days (which she would have paid upon booking like you), but instead was told when she cancelled that she would only be refunded the Airbnb service fees. She hit the cancel button anyway, and it then told her she would be charged 600 Euros (the amount she should be refunded) and her fees would be applied as future credit rather than refunded. So, she has gotten nothing back as far as I can see.

At the same time, I got a message saying that I would receive £0 because Airbnb could not collect payment from the guest. This is too weird. Airbnb collect the first month when the guest books (and she booked months ago). If they are unable to do so, the booking does not go ahead. Contrary to their message, I never received any prior notification about problems with the payment and the guest also seems unaware of any.

Have any other hosts experienced this? I assumed it was an error caused by all the general confusion happening right now with COVID-19 cancellations (my guest doesn't fall under the COVID-19 EC policy), but can see from @Daniel7132 's post that this sort of thing was happening earlier.

Can't get any response from Airbnb CS either.

[Daniel7132]

Hi there,

So here's what happened after I cancelled my booking.

Not only I lost the money I paid upon booking (707 euros) but I got charged the sum corresponding to the second installment (755 euros, initially due in May). The third installment got cancelled

I was really confused because what I thought was the first month (which according to my host 'Long Stay' cancellation policy would only be paid to him) was not actually the first month... The 'first' month was actually the second installment...which is very sneaky and caused me great deal of stress.

In the end my reservation fell under the covid19 cancellation policy so I got all my money back, no questions asked...

but..

If it weren't for the policy (or voluntary refund from my host) I would have lost:

- the 707 euros I paid upon booking

- the second installment (755)

and would have only gotten 700 euros back... ouch!

Hope this helps 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Daniel7132  Yes, this is exactly how the long term cancellation policy works, so I'm not sure why you were so surprised and upset- did you not read the terms of the policy before you booked the place? 

And now you're proud of getting a full refund, when as you stated, your cancellation had nothing to do with the COVID policy you sneakily used to get the refund, but only that your own plans happened to be changed.

When you book a place, the cancellation policy is a contract between you and the host. You unfairly took advantage of the COVID policy and screwed your host out of all the money you agreed to pay when you booked. 

[Daniel7132]

Hold on @Sarah977 , you really have no idea what you're talking about here.

Here's the whole story:

- I cancelled the booking and got charged for 1400 euros, was surprised because as a first time user it wasn't clear to me that I was going to be charged for April AND June when the Long Stay policy clearly stated that I would only lose the first month AND I reached out to support twice and TWICE they told me that I would only be charged for April.

- I cancelled my booking more than a month in advance, messaged the host to apologize and told him that it was completely cool that he keeps the first month.

- The host (god bless him) decided to voluntary refund the second installment

- At this point I am still down 707 euros but that' s fair enough I am thinking, the next day I get a message from support saying that I have been fully refunded, no other explanation given

- I initially thought it was the host who decided to refund me 100% so I go onto the platform to send him a thank you message when I see the message about the covid19 policy on the homepage. Turns out the policy applied automatically to my cancellation, never knew I could benefit from it, never asked support about it, never knew it even existed when I cancelled my trip.

Now I think that I am as much a victim as my host, my internship got cancelled because of the virus and I had no choice but to cancel my booking which I did on over a month notice, I and the host had polite exchanges and he was kind enough to refund the second installment.

So when I read your spiteful little comment I can't help but thinking you should either get your anger issues in check or exercise caution when interacting with a stranger on a story you know nothing about, I am not bragging about having been refunded and I don't think at any moment I took advantage from the covid policy simply because I knew nothing about it.

I am sorry if you're angry because you lost money because of covid but I find your message completely inappropriate, uninformed and unprofessional.

Best,

Dan

[Sarah977]

@Daniel7132 I'm not angry that I lost money because of COVID. I fully refunded all my guests and feel it was the right thing to do.

What I don't understand is that you say you paid 707 for the first month and didn't originally get refunded anything. That is exactly the correct math when you cancel a long term booking- the first 30 days is non-refundable. Then you say you got charged 1400. At what point did you get charged 1400? That isn't evident on the sceenshot you posted, or anywhere else.

[Daniel7132]

Hey @Sarah977 , sure I am happy to explain as long as the discussion remains civil.

When I did the booking AirBNB charged me 707 euros upfront. The other roughly 1400 euros were scheduled in two installment due in May and June. Keep in mind that check in was April 1rst so at that point I assumed that the 707 euros I'd paid corresponded to the 'rent' for April so to speak.

Later I got the news that my internship was scraped so I looked at the booking policy that said: 'Full refund except first month and service fee'.

At this point I am thinking, okay this means I've lost the 707 euros ('rent' for April) but I am might get back the rest (1400-ish).

I am a first time user so I call support to get confirmation that I won't be charged more that 707 euros. Twice they told me that indeed I wouldn't so I go ahead and cancel, ready to bite the bullet and lose my 707 euros.

As soon as I cancel I get an automatic message that says I got charged 755 (the 'rent' for May) and now I am really starting to feel stupid and angry at myself for ever using AirBNB. The third installment ('rent' for June) was de-scheduled and effectively cancelled.

Later I contact the host to apologize about the cancellation, he graciously refunds me the 'rent' for May (755) and later I automatically get the 'rent' for April back to because my booking was in the window for the covid policy to apply. At that point I got all my money back.

So yeah, what really confused me was the way  the cancellation policy was phrased which led me to believe that I would only lose my booking amount (707), my impression was reinforced when support (two different people) also assured me that I would only lose 707 euros... so yeah... that's the story, I hope that's clearer.

[Huma0]

@Daniel7132  Thanks for clarifying. Oh dear. I think there is a glitch in the system regarding guest refunds, or at least for long-term bookings.

If you forget about the COVID-19 EC policy, you should have been charged the first month + fees and refunded the rest. I do hope that your host is going to be reimbursed for the second month he refunded you, now that you have been refunded the whole amount. Was his refund deducted from the overall refund you received?

My guest does not fall under the COVID-19 policy. She also was supposed to be charged for the first 30 days + fees, which she had already paid back in January. However, she is being told she will be charged for the remainder of her stay. Meanwhile, I am being told I will be paid none of it!

I have contacted customer services and they said they are looking into it. Let's see what the outcome is.

[Daniel7132]

Hi @Huma0 , I believe the COVID policy is automatically applied to any cancelled booking that fall into the time window like mine. In my experience it's not something you opt into, it just happens automatically.

Regarding my host, I am not sure what's his situation now, I assume he got nothing in the end and I hope he found another guest to fill in but as far as I am concerned my issue has been resolved.

As for your situation, it really feels like the system is malfunctioning and creating a situation that's neither fair for your guest nor for you, hope you find a satisfactory resolution to your problem.

[Huma0 · Accepted solution]

@Daniel7132 

Thank you. Yes, I believe it's a technical issue but my worry is that Airbnb CS will somehow mess up the refund. They have already made a lot of mistakes with other bookings that did not fall under COVID-19. I think they are often panicking rather than checking policy and doing things correctly.

What I meant RE your host is, you mentioned that he had voluntarily refunded you for the second month (the month you were being overcharged). Seeing that Airbnb has since refunded you the entire amount, will your host get back the extra money he refunded you? If that amount was deducted from your final refund, it doesn't matter, but if it wasn't, he may have been left seriously out of pocket by trying to do the right thing.

You say that as far as you are concerned, your issue has been resolved, but it would be kind of you to check with him if you are unsure of the above, seeing as he tried to help.

[Daniel7132]

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You say that as far as you are concerned, your issue has been resolved, but it would be kind of you to check with him if you are unsure of the above, seeing as he tried to help.

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Sure, that's a good idea. Since my bank account was debited twice (707 + 755) before he refunded me, I assume he didn't suffer any loses but I'll check with him about that.

[Shizuko1]

Hi @Huma0, I’m a guest and I’m in the exact same situation as your guest (does not fall under COVID policy, cancelled long term months before, got charged extra on top of first instalment). Were you able to get any updates from CS? I’ve been contacting them as well but nothing is getting addressed. Thanks in advance.

[Huma0]

Another thing for both hosts and guests to watch out for when cancelling long-term reservations. If the host has a long-term discount, this automatically disappears from the calculation when you cancel or change the dates on the booking. I realised this some time ago and have reported it many times to Airbnb, but it hasn't been fixed.

Now, every time I have a cancellation or change to a long-term booking, I have to call Airbnb to make sure the guest gets charged the correct amount with the discount applied.