Host cancelled less than 24 hours before check in

[Nick88]

I booked a room about 2 weeks ago and the pickings we're already slim then.  I've messaged the host right after booking with the usual "Hi, how ya doin?" stuff, and about a week before the reservation I asked about check in times.  The response was 6pm.  I was a little put off by the late check in time but didn't say anything and I figured we'd just find some way to kill time until then.  

Last night I went to sleep extra early (7:00PM) because I planned to get up early and finish packing so we could hit the road by 9AM.  I woke up this morning to find that I received a AirBnb cancellation message at 7:28PM that my reservation has been cancelled.  No message from the host, no appology or explanation, nothing.  

AirBnb obviously refunded my money and gave me what I think is a 10% credit.  But nearest thing available at this point is about 30-40 miles away from the booking that was already 25 miles away from where we are visting.  Now I'm suppose to accept this, or get a refund and book something else.  Booking even the cheapest hotel at the last minute is now going to cost us 2-3 times more than if we had just booked it weeks ago when we made this AirBnb reservation.

I understand that things happen, but how can I ever book with AirBnb again and have a resonable expectation that I won't waste a bunch of money planning a trip and have my accommodations yanked from under my feet at the last minute?  I'm stuck deciding between either cancelling my plans, or paying twice per night what the entire weekend would have cost me.  

This is beyond infuriating and AirBnb won't even give me the satisfaction of leaving a review because they left a "The host canceled this reservation the day before arrival. This is an automated posting." review on my behalf.

Cancellations like this are devastatingly expensive for the guest.  There should be a heavy penalty for host who do this without explanation.

[Sarah977]

@Lydia435  So sorry this happened to you- really unprofessional behavior from this host. 

When you never heard anything from the host after booking, and two weeks before check-in he took 2 days to get back to you, then didn't answer your questions and didn't follow through with saying he'd respond, those were red flags that you should have contacted Airbnb about, asked the to cancel the booking for you and looked for another place.

I would never have just assumed all would be fine when dealing with a host like that and just gone ahead and started driving there.

I'm not sure what you mean you filed a case with Airbnb. You said you got refunded- that's the most you can expect. They may warn the host about his behavior, but they won't tell you if they have done that or not.

[Lydia435]

@Sarah977, I booked through Airbnb for our annual family trips several times in the past and didn't have any problems. Yes you are right. I just can't imagine being a super host can do something like that. The listing is still active and the days I supposed to be there are booked as well. I messaged airbnb help center, and they tried to find me a place at 9 pm only it will cost $3000 more for three nights, luckily I am only two hours away from the rental and have settled home, with what had happened I am in no mood hitting the road again, plus I have already driven mom home. Airbnb said they have a team thst investigates host cancellation cases. Sean should be removed from superhost rating. 

[Sarah977]

@Lydia435  Well, Superhost doesn't depend on an arbitrary decision by Airbnb. There are simply stats that need to be met- it's all automated. A Superhost needs to meet a certain response  percentage, host a minimum number of nights or stays per year, maintain a 4.8 overall rating. They also lose that status if they cancel more than 1 in 100 bookings in a year. So a host who just runs one listing may lose Superhost for just 1 cancellation in a year, but a host who manages multiple properties and gets hundreds of bookings in a year may be able to cancel once or twice and still meet that 1% criteria.

In general, it's safer to book with hands-on hosts who only have one or two listings than to book places where you see the host has a dozen or more listings.

As the host cancelled on you the day you were to check in, you should have received a notice to leave a review- did you, and did you leave a review? If you leave a low star rating, that could tank the host's overall rating enough that he loses Superhost status.

[Courtney436]

@Sarah977

Sure. It is a lesson learned that the calendar and email updates from Airbnb do not necessarily mean that our reservation is still in good standing.  I don’t call hotels several times to make sure my reservation is still good; I typically assume it is because of my confirmation and that has worked out just fine. I understand now that that is the key difference between hotel bookings and Airbnb. 
In the future, when using Airbnb, I will contact the hosts at regular intervals to make sure that our reservation has not been cancelled. 

[Derrick104]

 

Don’t even bother booking this place on Airbnb in North Myrtle Beach **” The HOST cancel my $2100 weekend reservation 9/17-9/19 for no reason didn’t give no explanation or anything. Told me it was unavailable the weekend I had witch was a lie because I already booked 2 weeks prior and spoke to the host who gave me access code entrance etc on 9/16 .Come to find out they canceled my reservation then re-listed The weekend I had book & went up on the price $1000+ .. witch would have been $2999 for the same weekend instead of $2100 I paid in full..that should be illegal …had a group people coming hours away to stay at this place now we wasted unnecessary $ and they just cancel out the blue. Yes I got a refund that’ I gotta wait 3-5 days to get but it’s the principle..the host never responded back to my messages on why she canceled or anything… as for the co-host or sales person “SABRON” witch I was told from the Host “**”to contact if I had any issues or problems, she didn’t know anything or why they canceled but she claims she just “look over the property” but didn’t have any communication with the host or owners.. Now I had to cancel everything for this weekend. Owners & Hosts are bad business and unprofessional it’s sad that a grown adults can’t own up and communicate with a customer on why their booking was canceled!!! #myrtlebeach #northmyrtlebeach
**

**[Images removed due to privacy concerns - Community Center Guidelines]

[Sarah977]

@Derrick104  Sorry you got cancelled on, it's really unprofessional behavior.

One thing to know is that there are lots of issues reported with these property-managed listings, from cancellations to arriving to find you've been switched to another property they manage, inadequate cleaning, photos taken years ago and look great but property now run down and poorly maintained.

You'll generally have better luck with listings actually run by the owners or their co-host (a person who just looks after one or a few properties, not a management co.) They tend to take a personal interest in treating the guest well, and making sure the place is clean and well-maintained,  that these big companies don't.

Hosts normally receive penalties for cancelling a booking. One of which is that the dates that were cancelled are blocked from being able to be rebooked. But Airbnb seems to turn a blind eye to the things these big companies do, as they generate so much money. 

[Courtney436]

We found out our stay was cancelled by contacting the host the day of check-in and requesting check-in instructions. We had booked over 12 months prior for about $2,000 for a month long stay. The property is now listed for $7,000 a month and we *somehow* no longer have a place to stay. Airbnb customer service has been USELESS. Offering a refund of our deposit when we have a family of 4 stranded in a state 18 hours from our home with nowhere to stay. Nothing comparable in the area for anywhere near our price. We are now paying $4,500 for a much worse stay and Airbnb doesn’t really care. 

[Sarah977]

@Courtney436  I fully sympathize with you being stranded, the host's horrible behavior, and Airbnb's lack of assistance.

But if I were travelling to a place far from home, I certainly wouldn't have waited until the day of check-in to communicate with the host if they hadn't communicated with me first, sending me check-in info and aassuring me that everything was on for my arrival. 

Had I booked a year in advance, I would have messaged the host a month before check-in, then made sure he/she had conveyed all the info I required. Then I would have messaged again a couple days before arrival to give my eta and double check that all was well.

Travelers do have some responsibility to make sure all their ducks are in a row before hitting the road.  Especially with a family in tow.

[Mike2467]

This Just Happened To Us,,,,Canceled 3 Days Before Check In ,,,, We Are 1000 Miles Away From Home On First Leg Of Vacation And We Are Now Without A Place To Stay,,,, Our CC Hasn't Been Reinbursed And We Are Basically Screwed Without Our Money And Have No Place To Go !!!

[Surendra13]

Few days back I also faced same situation. Airbnb offered just 10% as coupon. But to book other home costs 2-3 times. They rejected to cover the difference. It put me in lot of pressure. Let me know if any one know whether I can report it in any consumer forum. Looks like it is a scam.

[Mark116]

@Surendra13  If you got reimbursed for the cancelled reservation, there is no scam, no one is making any money from the reservation.

I will say that I almost cancelled a reservation less than 24 hours before arrival because neither I or Airbnb could reach the guest, she had not responded to messages, text or voice mail messages.  Airbnb finally was able to reach her, but another 20 minutes and she would have been looking for a place to stay on Christmas weekend due to her own failure to communicate.  Not saying that is what happened here, but there are sometimes reasons a host cancels.

[Sherel6]

The problem with the "extenuating circumstances" is the fact that hosts know this, and abuse this loophole. Our most recent host claimed we couldn't check in early because the old guests wouldn't be out until right before we got there. And then cancelled on us yesterday because "The maid was cleaning the night before and the water had not been working". How when there were guests already in the home according to her. Last year same thing happened when we flew to Florida. The host cancelled as we were leaving the airport saying that there were bedbugs, but claimed the house was cleaned the night before. So yes certain circumstances would make sense but at what point do hosts become accountable for listing homes and not being able to fulfill their end of the bargain? Superhost or not, that's extremely poor dependability of this service. How can I invite my entire family out for an event from various areas of the United states just to  literally leaving guests stranded within 24 hours, in the Florida case: 2 hours? In both of these cases, we asked the hosts to assist in helping us rebook, and the conversation died right there. It's not fair to those spending their money who would then have to in many cases double up on what they've paid just to try and rebook because processing time is always 3-5 business days.

[Sarah977]

@Sherel6  While I understand it's a huge inconvenience to guests to get cancelled on last minute, there are circumstances that make it impossible for a host to accommodate a reservation. 

Of course previous guests may have just left and the place not be inhabitable. There are guests who flush things they shouldn't, like sanitary pads and make-up wipes, and the host finds the plumbing stopped up, the toilet overflowing, and it can't be remedied in a couple of hours. Firstly you can't just get a plumber out immediately, and secondly, it may take a day or two to repair. 

I'm sure you wouldn't want to stay somewhere the plumbing was non-functional. 

I know there are some bad hosts out there who make up reasons to cancel, but that would be the exception, not the norm. Hosts are in the rental business, not the cancelling business.

As far as a host helping you rebook, I'm not sure what you mean by that. Unless the host has other properties they can switch you to, or has a relationship with other hosts nearby with similar properties they can call to see if they have vacancy, there isn't any way a host can help a guest rebook.

[Kay1416]

This just happened to me too, the host lied about the listing price that I would be charged, then blocked me and stopped communicating as soon as the payment went through. This was for a 28 day stay in a very expressive city. It was A LOT of money. I was supposed to check in that evening and couldn’t hear back from the hosts. I was stranded with no place to stay…I was homeless in the place I was travelling to. Could not get a hotel that last minute. Airbnb said they could only cover $150 of any hotel charges if I could even get one. Last minute hotels are around $800+ where I am.

They then told me they would take care of my new listing and book it. I just had to send them a picture of the listing. They said I just had to get a hold of the host. It was 1:30am at this point in time, no one was responding. I stayed up all night trying to get someone to respond to me. Finally around 9am I found someone with an available option. I sent the information to Airbnb and they said they would cover 20% of the cost of a one week stay. Just to put it into perspective it was not even enough to cover one night of my 28-day trip I had planned. I could not even rebook anything in my price range at that point in time. My funds were still in limbo and not in my bank account so I was left broke and homeless by Airbnb. One of the absolute most traumatizing experience of my life. My safety was put at risk and zero regard for my well-being was found. 

[Debra300]

@Kay1416,

This sounds like a harrowing experience, and I am saddened to hear that it happened.  I recommend for all future travel, regardless of distance, destination and duration,  that you purchase travel insurance or use a credit card that provides that type of coverage.  It's the best way to protect your travel investment, and provide you reimbursement and services in the event of inaccessibility to a rental.  Plus, as you stated helps with maintaining personal safety.  The typical cost is 2% to 7% of the total travel cost, which is significantly less than the Airbnb customer service fee which doesn't guarantee any assistance with rehousing.

There is a Forbes article that compares 46 travel insurance plans.