A booking where the host has told me he is going to cancel

[Ben6454]

I have a place booked for this coming Sunday (7th July) for 7 nights in Antalya/ Turkey (booked 6 months ago), I will be travelling from  the UK and will get to the destination around 10pm in the evening. The Host has messaged me today 5 days before travel to tell me he can no longer host due to a issue with the building. He has said I will get a refund however has not let Airbnb know. I have called and spoken several times to Airbnb and they say they can't do anything until he cancels. They advise me that I will have to wait, which may even mean I travel to the accommodation to find that I cant access the premises. This seems crazy - Airbnb can see the messages the host has sent me confirming he is going to cancel, yet they are not prepared to do anything about it. If I book somewhere else, and he then makes the property available say on the day of the booking, I'm left liable. They literally want me to travel knowing I have no where to stay. No complaints process or route to escalate this matter. 

Does anyone have any advice how I could raise this up?

[Shelley159]

Hi @Ben6454 

This may have something to do with new laws in Turkey. Here is a post by a Turkish host who also had to cancel reservations:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Ask-about-your-listing/Airbnb-locked-my-dates-in-an-illegal-mann...

Perhaps you can approach such a host for advice (there are also others if you search for Turkey regulations in the Community Center).

[Ben6454]

Thanks Shelley, I don’t think my issue is as a result of changes in Turkey. The main issue is fundamental to Airbnb’s policy. The host has to tell Airbnb directly that they want to cancel the booking, until they do I’m locked in. If I book somewhere else I risk having2 places booked, if I wait I run the risk of being stranded. I host myself and do everything I can to keep my guest super happy but there really isn’t much to push the host to cancel the booking. He will already incur a penalty and I can’t leave feedback so he can sit on the booking until the last minute….seems crazy that Airbnb advise me to travel and call them on the day of the booking at which point I’ll be completely stranded….