Cancellation 11 days after check in and Airbnb refunded without telling us

[Mike-And-Erin0]

I had a guest cancel their stay 11 days after their check in date. In August I had a guest reserved for 6 nights for approx. $1300. I had been in communication with the guest, sent them check in directions and all. When their stay was over my maid service went to the house to clean and reported the house was clean. The maid service still charged me a trip charge because I had not cancelled the cleaning. I looked in my Airbnb account after their stay and there was no communication from the guest or Airbnb so I assumed they had cleaned up after themselves because some guests clean up pretty well or decided not to go. A few days went by and I checked again and I had received payment and there was no cancellation. Eleven days after their check in date I noticed it said an Airbnb agent has authorized a cancellation and authorized a full refund but nobody contacted me so I called Airbnb and was directed to an online messaging system where I left a message. About 3 days later an Airbnb agent replied to my message and told me they had cancelled because there were wildfires in Colorado. The closest fire was 45 to 60 minutes away and there were no evacuations nor road closures and nothing that prevented anyone from staying at the house. I asked that agent to call me so they set up a time for a phone call where I explained that Airbnb had authorized a cancellation 11 days after their check in date and authorized a full refund. He explained it was for extenuating circumstances because of a wildfire in Colorado. I explained there were wildfires in Colorado yet the closest wildfire was not close and did not affect the property at all nor were any roads closed that would prohibit anyone from the area or the property and the fact that the guest nor Airbnb contacted me and the guest cancelled 11 days after their stay was absurd. I asked the agent to escalate my case to a supervisor I could talk to about it. He did and another couple days went by before I received another message in Airbnb that had a link to the extenuating circumstances policy and said this is why they cancelled and the case was closed. I asked them to call me because that policy says, If a reservation has already begun (the check-in has passed) this extenuating circumstance does not apply. The agent replied they were too busy to call me and the case is considered closed. I again asked for the case to be escalated and to speak to someone in a phone call to which they closed the case without responding. Airbnb does not consider homeowners to be partners at all. They did not follow their own policy and refused to call or even respond to multiple messages I sent explaining the situation. The fact that no one from Airbnb or the guest told me they cancelled was absurd, we are really at their mercy, they can do whatever they want.

Has anyone else had a similar experience with Airbnb?

[Manika0]

 That is so upsetting, I would be livid!! Airbnb is really letting hosts down and I wish I could say this was new but it isn’t. I had a guest book my home for 6 nights (all of this is pre-Covid) and on the day of arrival I provided  additional info as usual, never heard back from the guest which is normal sometimes so I didn’t think anything of it, I took it as they read, understood, and were fine (they seemed like respectful independent guests). 4 days into the reservation I get a support message saying the guests complained of my property smelling like smoke and I should remedy the situation. I reached out to the guest extremely confused as my property is smoke free and thankfully hadn’t had any issues with that at the time. Still no response from the guest, so I physically go to my property to  find they hadn't stayed from how it appeared. I contacted Airbnb and they said  ‘oh we actually refunded them on the 1st day, and they left‘ ..and they tried to penalize me by saying they would not unblock my listing for the remainder 2 days. I asked what proof was furnished for these measures and they said they didn’t see anything submitted. I was able to have my calendar reopened and fought for weeks to have the reservation amount credited back but I never was able to get clarification from Airbnb why I wasn’t informed day 1, why my side was never considered,  and how a guest could just make an open statement and be fully refunded without documentation like we have to do for everything. It’s so frustrating how Airbnb handles matters. 

[Mike-And-Erin0]

I agree. It's total disrespect from Airbnb. They do not see homeowners as partners and use us and hold the rent payments and have us completely at their mercy.