Cancellation and refund

[Bonnie464]

I was interested in renting a New Orleans apartment for one month, December 2022.  I emailed the owner and he agreed. When the charges became visible in addition to the rent, I emailed him and told him, the monthly charges would be too much for me.  I thanked him for his time.  He then contacted me and said that perhaps we could work something out outside of Airbnb.  We agreed upon a price of $3500. He sent me a personal contract and I gave him a $500 deposit via Paypal. That was on August 1, 2022.  On October 15, 2022, I contacted him and told him I needed to cancel the reservation as I was going to have hip replacement surgery.  I told him I needed my deposit back.  He said it would take a while to refund my deposit.  Now, he is ignoring me.

He also told me to send the $500 deposit as "friends and family"....seems he didn't want to pay the Paypal commission, as well as paying the Airbnb commission.

Any advice on getting back my $500 deposit would be appreciated.

[Fred13]

I think your $500 is never going to be returned because you are dealing with an unscrupulous person. Airbnb has nothing to do with it since they got cut out of the whole deal. Btw, a statement that 'a refund is going to take some time' means they never will send it back.

[Jenny]

Hi @Bonnie464 

I'm so sorry this happened to you.

Are you aware of Airbnb's Off-Platform Policy?   It might be worth speaking to Airbnb Support to see if they can help you, and reporting that the Host took you off-platform to arrange payment.

Jenny

[Bonnie464]

Thank you for your suggestion

[Ana2038]

@Bonnie464 ,  never, ever conduct Airbnb transaction outside of Airbnb platform. Once you start dealing outside of the Airbnb platform, it no longer becomes an Airbnb transaction and you lose certain protections. I’m afraid you probably have lost your deposit. If you feel are are now being ignored, I would report the host/listing for “off-platform”  transaction as @Jenny  has suggested.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Ana2038 Why would you encourage @Bonnie464 to report the host? She is just as much in the wrong for saving money by dealing off-platform and, for all we know, she may not be entitled to any refund depending on what cancellation policy was agreed when she booked.

If you live by the sword you should be willing to die by the sword.

[Ana2038]

@Mike-And-Jane0 , you are correct that we dont know what the "personal contract, " stated as it pertains to cancellations.  Yes, both guest & host were wrong in conducting this transaction outside of Airbnb.  But your "[i] f you live by the sword you should be willing to die by the sword, " not apply to host as well...??? 🤔 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Bonnie464 what does your contract say with respect to cancellation? If you are allowed a refund of the deposit and the host is refusing then take him to the small claims court.

[Helen3]

Hello @Bonnie464 

As you chose to deal with this host off platform to save money, this is not an Airbnb issue.

In your situation I would claim for the deposit against your travel insurance unless the contract with the person you booked with allows for the return of the deposit.