Full refund on 48 hour cancellation policy with 2 months notice?

[Rohan110]

I made a booking in June for a stay in December. This reservation had a 48 hour cancellation policy for a full refund. This holiday is my first time using Airbnb.

The listing states that the host would accommodate an early check in so I requested if I could alter my check in date for an early check in the next day. While the listing states that the host will do his best and will hold the guests' bags if it isn't possible to have an early check in, he flat out refused. Which would have been okay, but then he said that if I were to alter the check in date, the Airbnb cancellation policy would take effect. I believed him at first but then spoke to support. They ensured me that this was not true and I couldn't see any charges when I tried to alter dates on the app.

I was disappointed by his behaviour. I have older parents visiting and did not want to them to have to wait for the better part of a day to check in so I made alternate arrangements. I then politely requested the host that as my plans had changed, I would like to cancel my booking. Considering that the booking was still two months away and during the holiday period (I could see that he has booked the entire month of December save a few days), I asked him if he would consider offering me a full refund. I was honest and told him that I could use the money at the moment as it was not an insignificant amount for me. The 48 hour cancellation period for a full refund is way too strict especially when someone books so far in advance.

I looked up other hosts online who are happy to offer a full refund when given enough notice, but he refused to even consider it. When I politely asked him to reconsider, he ignored me. Judging by this behaviour, I obviously don't want to proceed with the booking anymore.

I reached out to support and they have assured me someone will look into this. I don't know if someone reached out to him because he replied after over 24 hours at 4:47 this morning saying things like "all cancellations have to go through the portal". I have not suggested otherwise in any of my communication. I am not even sure how else I would cancel the booking.

I had a look at his reviews after all of this (I admit that I should have done this earlier but the apartment has great views and I thought I would miss out). There are consistent reviews of his apartment not being well maintained, but he dismisses them. This is disappointing as he charges an exorbitant amount so I assumed that the rooms being clean and tidy was a given. His responses to any reviews critical of his hosting are also disappointing.

Apologies for the long post, but I am genuinely disappointed and stressed about the money I may lose. My question is: is there anything I can do in this situation?

[Sandra856]

Hi @Rohan110 If I were you I would just skip thinking about the 48 hour grace period - because it is JUST a grace period and look at the listings cancellation policy instead. It is the listings cancellation policy that counts. I don’t even think I understand why a 48 hour grace period is important when you booked 6 month ahead? If you book a flight, a concert ticket etc. they all come with some terms / cancellation policies. If you didn’t like risking any money you could have booked a listing with a moderate or flexible policy. 

[Rohan110]

It's like you are skipping the relevant parts on purpose.

Again, it was my first time using Airbnb. God forbid a person makes a mistake. If I knew I could filter out strict cancellation policies from available listings, I definitely would have.

I would have even gone ahead with the booking if the host behaved nicely. All of you seem perfectly fine with this host lying and scamming people. This is very surprising to me.

Would you live at a place run by someone shady or would you skip it?

I'm sure flights and concerts are different from Airbnb listings, but correct me if I'm wrong.

Yes I'm worried about losing what is not an insignificant amount for me and the lack of help all around is stressing me out. I don't understand this lack of empathy. **

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[Helen3]

No you chose to cancel a booking that had been booked months before because you wanted to move your check in day back a day to save money but still wanted to have an early check in @Rohan110 

your cancellation obviously didn't fall within the policy of being able to cancel penalty free within the first 48 hours of booking. You cancelled months after you booked. 

[Sandra856]

@Helen3 As I read it he thinks that a guest only got the 48 hour period to cancel. He doesn’t seem to understand that after the 48 hour period the listings normal cancellation policy kicks in? At least that’s how I read it.

[Helen3]

Yes it's been explained to him on his own thread a few times @Sandra856 

He booked a listing for his parents for Christmas some months ago. Then recently decided he wanted to change his booked so the booking started a day later, to save money. However he also wanted to have a very early check in, which would have prevented the host booking the night before.

The host refused as they said they couldn't accommodate an early check in and @Rohan110  then decided to cancel the whole booking and stay elsewhere.

He is now complaining because the host is upholding their strict cancellation policy so he will only get a partial refund.

He said other hosts refund in this situation. He has been advised that's because different hosts have different cancellation policies. 

[Sandra856]

Hi @Helen3 ☺️🌿 Yes, I just read his thread. He seems to expect Airbnb CS to somehow overrule the legally binding agreement he himself agreed to. I was trying to reply to @Rohan110  question about what benefit a guest got from the 48 hour grace period. And I tried to explain to him that before the 48 hour grace period was introduced - guests didn’t have 48 hours to cancel penalty free. Back then they agreed to accept the listings normal cancellation policy from the second they booked. Now a guest got 48 hours to cancel penalty free before the normal cancellation policy kicks in (unless it is a last minute booking of course - terms will tell if the guest got the 48 hours free cancellation policy). 

[Bhumika]

Hi @Helen3 @Sandra856 @Rohan110, I noticed the above discussion thread in another Host's post and have merged it to this thread, which consists of Rohan's existing discussion (so that we can have all the suggestions and guidance in one place.)

Thank you for sharing your insights and feedback on this matter with Rohan!

[Rohan110]

No @Helen3 , I was talking specifically about hosts with strict 48 hour cancellation policies who are happy to refund the guests when they make cancellations well ahead. Judging by your comments, I know it may come as a surprise to you, but there are reasonable and empathetic hosts out there.

Happy to share links to posts where hosts have been reasonable, it that helps.

[Rohan110]

@Helen3 it looks like you may have conveniently skipped a few things again.

Did you miss the part where the host lied to me and it raised a red flag? If he would have been nice enough to say hey I tried but this is why I can't accommodate an early check in the next day, do you think I would have tried to cancel my booking?

No he dismissed what I had to say and then proceeded to lie about me being charged cancellation rates if I were to alter the dates.

It's interesting you never have anything to say about that, Helen.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Rohan110 I think when you say  'What if they find a better property for better value?' your true colours are coming out. How is it fair that a guest can block dates in a hosts calendar for months on end while they shop around for a better deal? 

[Rohan110]

I know you spend a lot of time on this forum but it would help if you read the posts before saying something ridiculous again.

The community moderator took my comment to a different post and merged it here for some reason. Most likely because people were commenting about this thread instead of the actual post I was replying to.

In the original comment, a guest said that they saw a place but it had the ridiculous 48 hour cancellation policy and they wanted dates 12 months away. That made them look at other places. A commenter then suggested that the 48 hour cancellation policy is beneficial to the guests and they didn't understand why they didn't make the reservation. Looks like it was another host who lacked empathy and couldn't see why a guest would choose to not book something 12 months away.

Showing your true colours"? What are you talking about? If a booking is made 12 months away and there's a better deal, which person wouldn't take it? Why would anyone pay for something overpriced in this climate? Why do you keep saying ridiculous things like this?

The fact that you don't see anything wrong with a host who's lying to guests and basically scamming them to make money but seem to have something in for me tells me a lot about you.

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[Sandra856]

@Rohan110 Seriously 😅. I lack empathy because I try to explain that the 48 hour grace period was introduced some years ago to give the guest 48 hours EXTRA free time before the normal cancellation policy kicks in. Really 😅. You still don’t understand that the guest you are referring to didn’t understand that it is an extra grace period and not the actual cancellation policy. 

[Rohan110]

@Sandra856 

Sorry I'm on my mobile so not sure if it's the formatting, but you seem to be replying to my reply to someone else's comment.

To add to your point, I still can't wrap my head around why you would think that losing 50% if you change your mind about a booking 12 months out makes 48 hours an attractive cancellation policy.

Nobody likes losing money for a service not rendered.

I've tried explaining it in the simplest way possible now. Hope you finally get it.

I don't know why hosts have this warped sense of reality. It's been eye opening and I wish I would have browsed this community forum before ever considering booking on Airbnb.

[Sandra856]

@Rohan110 The thing here is that no one forced you to book. And people who doesn’t feel comfortable booking places with a strict cancellation policy should just not book. There are plenty of listings that offer flexible and moderate cancellation policies. Airbnb got completely normal cancellation policies - like any other similar platform like VBRO etc. 

They don’t differ in that direction. 

[Rohan110]

@Sandra856 

Thank you, once again, for your valuable input.

Oh I wasn't forced to make the booking? You don't say! I don't seem to recall implying I had made the booking under duress. Is this your empathy you were trying to display here?

If you would have taken a moment to read and retain what I've written previously, it would help me to stop repeating myself.

This is my first time using Airbnb. I didn't even know until recently that I can filter out listings with these ridiculous cancellation policies. I've not even heard of these other services you're listing let alone tried them.

Yes I know hosts keep waving the "should have read the policy" in the guests face because it favours them but my point still stands that this is a ridiculous policy for anyone making bookings months in advance. The posts on the community where hosts make a mistake like cancelling a reservation on their end and then other hosts tell them to feign ignorance always gets me when I read from unempathetic hosts like you.

I don't know why nobody has offered what actions can be taken against the host for lying about being charged cancellation fees when trying to alter my check in date. Everyone has been conveniently skipping that part. I would have been shocked but not after these conversations I've had.