Refunding long-term reservation

[Giorgi16]

Hello, my fellow Airbnbers 🙂 I have booked a place for 28 nights, that is non-refundable, according to airbnb, though my host agrees to do so, she is just asking how to do that. She is not willing to cancel, as she is loosing her first free cancelation and later will be charged for each, moreover, she will have automated message on her wall, saying "the host canceled reservatiob ... days before...", that is bad for her reputation.

So, my question is to you, my friends: what can we do, as none of us have any claims to each other and we are ready to cooperate, airbnb is not very helpful, after long conversation on their facebook wall promised that case manager would contact me, but I've not heard from them. So, any suggestions?

[Andrea9 · Accepted solution]

@Giorgi16

If you cannot go through with your stay as booked and wish to leave earlier, then you should be the one to cancel.

A host may generously be okay with a guest recanting on their booking, even if the listing was off the market for a while and thus reducing their chances of getting it re-booked, but they should not be the one to have to cancel. Host penalties are indeed very high, and it wouldn't simply be bad for her reputation, but she would have to pay for it too!

When a guest wants to cancel, the host is sent a message option through Airbnb to refund the guest, and she can then do it. However, you would be losing your booking fees.

Maybe you could try to have the reservation changed (an option on the reservation confirmation) to a shorter period first before cancelling.

[Giorgi16]

Andrea, thank you very much for replying to my post! The thing is that I have exactly 28-days ("long-term") reservation and I do not qualify for a refund of a single penny. The host now has her first free cancelation right and will have to pay for only future ones. Moreover, 80 days are left before the planned visit to that city and it is a low season, when plenty of housings are still vacant.

[Giorgi16]

P.S. Sorry, I forgot to ask you, Andrea: what is better, to leave the reservation as it is now or to cancel it? Both cases, considering that the host promised to refund me.

[Andrea9]

@Giorgi16

I see. So there is no way to change the reservation from 28 days to shorter?

Every non-long-term reservation has that possibility.

Personally I don't rent long-term, so have no experience there. However, each time a guest cancelled their reservation on short notice and would have gotten no or only part refund according to my cancellation policy, I as host still got a notification through Airbnb that guest was refunded X amount, but that I can refund more if I wish.

It's true that your host has a couple of 'free' reservations, but it's not as easy as that. What Airbnb doesn't really specify is that they usually only allow these 'free' cancellations for good reason - for ex. if the future guest's behaviour is making them very uncomfortable and this can be proven through their exchange. And it would be better for your host to save the 'free' cancellations for situations where it's really needed. 

If you want to end the reservation, then you'll have to be the one to cancel. And the earlier, the better and kinder to your host.

Airbnb's contact nos. are below. Why don't you get advice from them. Ask them to confirm that the host can refund you more once you have cancelled. 

I haven't had the situation for quite a while. The last time I remember being able to go to the cancelled guest reservation and still having the option to pay more to the guest until I wouldn't have gotten anything. There is also the Resolution center. You would go to the reservation and click on an option there to ask for or pay money.

But again, best have the helpdesk help you. What you shouldn't do though, is cancel and give as reason that the host wants to cancel while it's your decision to do so.

By the way, in case you have extenuating circumstances with a long-term effect on being able to travel - any tragedy, medical issue etc - that you can prove and in which you would be able to cancel without losing your money, then tell Airbnb that. But they will demand proof of this.

If you don't cancel, you'll lose your money anyway, and your host also won't be able to re-rent the blocked days. And she probably also won't be so willing to refund you 😉

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