Advertisement that Airbnb has flexible cancellation policies is inaccurate. Host was terrible and not flexible at all.

[David9919]

Wife came down with covid three days prior to visit.  I tried to reschedule for a different date and was denied.  Site told me I would be refunded $199 of the $693 I paid for the stay.  I never received the refund, and host refuses even pay for the cleaning services I paid for even though we never stayed.

The hosts name is ** from Myrtle Beach.  My wife and I travel often, and have used Airbnb in the past.  We will never use this service again, and I am considering taking legal action against the host.

**[Name hidden due to privacy concerns - Community Center Guidelines]

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@David9919 Airbnb has many cancellation policies - The one applicable to your listing would have been advertised to you at the point of booking.

Many hosts, even with strict cancellation policies,  will try to refund you if they get a replacement booking. Sadly it appears that this would not be possible as I assume you never cancelled the reservation. Had you done so you would automatically have had the cleaning fee refunded.

[David9919]

I cancelled the reservation online.  It is where I was told I would be refunded $199.  I offered to rebook the date at a higher price, and was denied.

It was a convenient way for the host to take my full deposit and keep it when services were not rendered.  It's borderline theft.

[Bob297]

@David9919 
What was the cancellation policy when you booked?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@David9919 if the automated system said you would be refunded $199 then you will. It does take a few days though.

The host will not get any money until the day after the booking would have started. 

It is not theft it is a contractual arrangement that you don't appear, in retrospect, to be happy to have entered into.

[Kia272]

@David9919 So this is a convenient way for the host (such a crook!) to keep your money? I'm sure the host loved being put in this awkward position of sticking to the cancellation policy that you agreed to when booking, and yet being asked to refund.

Borderline theft? Those are strong words. 

Stuff happens.  That's what travel insurance is for. 

AirBnB should definitely refund you any funds you are owed. Just FYI, the host doesn't get any money until the day after you check in, so at the time you were requesting a refund, he or she had none of your funds to give you. 

AirBnBs are not hotels, and many hosts are relying on the income. You are the ones that couldn't travel, and now you're blaming the host? Go figure. Maybe book a hotel next time. 

[David9919]

On the sight I cancelled the booking for, after being told I could not reschedule, it said I would be refunded $199.  To be honest, I don't need or want the $199.  The issue is I had a legit reason to ask to rebook the date, I am a repeat customer, and I expected a little bit of professional courtesy.  I will never use Airbnb again.  That is your problem now.  Over something very simple, you will lose thousands of dollars from me in the future.  

[Kia272]

@David9919 You don't seem to understand: You did not have a "legit" reason to cancel or rebook. That's the real problem here....

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@David9919 it appears simple to you as you JUST WANT A REFUND. Sadly there is another side to this issue as the host JUST WANTS TO MAKE A LIVING.

I have no idea if your host is rich or if they are struggling putting food on the table or paying their bills. The loss of a booking to them may well be disastrous.

Anyway I suspect I can't convince you so I guess its dreary hotels with no kitchens etc for you from now on. Just make sure you either take travel insurance or you book a fully refundable room and you should be fine.

[Helen3]

The issue is @David9919  what you seem to be struggling to understand is that if you want to cancel a booking, any cancellation will be processed under the cancellation policy you booked under.

If you want to be covered for Covid cancellations, then you need to take out travel insurance that covers Covid, rather an expecting the host to subsidise the cost of you cancelling the booking. @David9919 

This is in effect what you are asking the host to do if you want to have a fuller refund then you are entitled to under the cancellation policy you booked under or asking the host to move your booking at the last minute, when it's likely the host would have lost money as its likely he wouldn't be able to rebook any of the days you cancelled. 

As others have mentioned IF you cancelled the booking on Airbnb, the host won't have your money, this will be held by Airbnb and it is they, not the host who needs to return it to you -  so it seems extremely odd for you to get so angry with the host. 

And you say you are a repeat customer of Airbnb but your profile shows you have never travelled with them.

All rather odd.

[Helen744]

@David9919 airbnb does not take deposits. if you mean part payment the depending on when it was paid it becomes no refundable on a certain date. this would have been in an email sent to you long before your travel.different hosts have different cancellation policies , if you only made part payment then there is a chance you still owe extra monies to the host... H

[David9919]

What are you talking about.  I paid in full months in advance.  Still haven't seen a partial refund.

[Pat271]

@David9919  If the platform said you would be refunded $199, you should be refunded $199. The host will never get that part of the booking, so please don’t blame the host.

You need to call Airbnb armed with the email you received with details of the cancellation, and tell them that you have not received the refund amount. Airbnb is responsible for this.

How long ago was this? It could be that the refund hasn’t yet hit your credit card statement.

As far as moving the booking, I also may not have moved the booking this close to the travel date, especially for Covid, which is now very similar to other coronaviruses (a.k.a. the common cold). Hosts do rely on income from bookings, especially bookings that are close at hand. Unlike hotels, we can’t just rent dozens of other rooms to compensate. Short-term rentals tend to be a much better value, though, so you have to weigh the pros and cons as compared to a hotel accommodation.

Rather than never using Airbnb again, you might want to consider taking the travel insurance offered to you the next time you book.

[David9919]

I have already contacted Airbnb.  They contacted the host.  The host refused to refund anything.  Airbnb said that was all they could do.

[Pat271]

@David9919  You state that the *site* told you that you were due a $199 refund. I’ll repeat what I said: the $199 NEVER went to the host, never will go to the host, and it is not the host’s decision whether to refund it or not refund it. It will AUTOMATICALLY be credited to whatever method of payment you used.

This all assumes, of course, that the *site* really showed a $199 refund due. If this is a refund that you calculated on your own, and Airbnb disagrees about the cancellation policy in force…that’s another story.