The correct way to cancel a reservation so all charges are refunded

[Michael1297]

Hi,

I 've just run into a very annoying booking sequence with Airbnb. I booked somewhere for 4 days up to the New Year and including the 1st of January, then saw on the screen that those days were not available. That can be a very sought-after time at the city I wanted to visit, so I immediately found another booking in the same city for the desired period. I did not check my email first. I realise now I should have done that before making another booking. Anyway, I cancelled the booking apparently not possible because the days were not available, only to find that the booking I cancelled had been 'confirmed'. So by cancelling immediately, Airbnb says I have to pay the service fee. 

I don't accept that. Procedures in the Airbnb booking process can take time (I'm still waiting on a code I was told would be sent to my email address; that was over an hour ago).

For the record, what is the recommended sequence for cancelling a booking? Anybody else found this topic frustrating?

[Marzena4]

If you need to cancel one booking to make another, @Michael1297, the best is to choose the option to let airbnb transfer the funds over to that other one. But I'm afraid they will keep their fee. Their policy on that is uncertain and changeable.

[Emiel1]

Hi,

I wondered: How can you achieve a confirmed booking, if the dates are not available ?