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.

[Sharon511]

Just got my text that my reservation was cancelled. No explanation! But I believe that since we only booked for 3 nights, the B&B found someone that wanted the room for a week and cancelled us! FYI, it was the Beauclaire in Cape May, NJ

[Marvilla0]

Hi. My "superhost" cancelled on me two days before my trip (on a super busy weekend in Chicago, a marathon weekend!).  How can I post a public review for this host so I can warn other travelers?

[David126]

When a Host cancels without good reason the sytem auto generates a review that they did that.

[Erin310]

We were cancelled on the same day as our arrival. We were also stranded the same day with three kids looking for a place in Philadelphia during the height of tourist season. Airbnb couldn't find a place that wasn't three times as expensive, so we had to find a hotel, which was actually cheaper but over twice the price. We were promised an amount to make our expense only $100 more plus the expense of parking and the loss of a travel day dealing with it. We didn't get that amount from Airbnb but ended up spending $200 more. I see they can charge the host $100, and that should have immediately come to us to help. Airbnb has to help people stranded last minute better. I have used them for years and so have my friends. We live abroad and know many expats who do. However, I am now very concerned about using them in the future or recommending them. It seems that by not helping guests in this situation, they will only lose business. This is foolish on their part, because even losing my business for one trip will cost them more than it would have cost them to pay for a replacement place and we wouldn't have had to go through so much stress or lost our day of sightseeing. 

[Erin310]

An update on the above. Airbnb has agreed to pay the difference. It was a very difficult stay, but I'm happy that they have done their best to right the situation. Erin

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@Erin310 wrote:

We were cancelled on the same day as our arrival. We were also stranded the same day with three kids looking for a place in Philadelphia during the height of tourist season. Airbnb couldn't find a place that wasn't three times as expensive, so we had to find a hotel, which was actually cheaper but over twice the price. We were promised an amount to make our expense only $100 more plus the expense of parking and the loss of a travel day dealing with it. We didn't get that amount from Airbnb but ended up spending $200 more. I see they can charge the host $100, and that should have immediately come to us to help. Airbnb has to help people stranded last minute better. I have used them for years and so have my friends. We live abroad and know many expats who do. However, I am now very concerned about using them in the future or recommending them. It seems that by not helping guests in this situation, they will only lose business. This is foolish on their part, because even losing my business for one trip will cost them more than it would have cost them to pay for a replacement place and we wouldn't have had to go through so much stress or lost our day of sightseeing. 

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[Dave342]

I am currently in Paris at one AirBnb which I have to vacate at noon.   I had another booked and confirmed on the phone yesterday a 1pm checkin.  It is 10am and I just received notice from my host that the apartment I booked and was supposed to check in will not be availabile for two more days.  Less than four hours before I’m supposed to arrive and only two hours before I have no place to stay.  AirBnb really needs to get a handle on this type of behavior.

[Letti0]

@Dave342  Call AirBnB to help get you relocated with a 10% travel voucher. Did he give a reason and did he actually cancel it? AirBnB will cancel to get your refund if he did not cancel it. 

AirBnB number:

United States and Canada

+1-415-800-5959 +1-855-424-7262 (toll-free)

[Dave342]

Hi Letti,

The host has found me another place to stay until Friday and has very kindly waived the two days of charges for the two days in a smaller place.  So it turned out fine.  Thanks for your response.

[Maria3194]

Letti, are these numbers still good?  Every Airbnb guest should have them in case this happens to them!

[Larry145]

So theres a penalty when guest dont cancel within 48hours of booking even if trip is months away but No penalty at all for host who cancel last minute? Thats absolutely not fair for customers 

[Linda108]

@Larry145  I am not sure if you read this whole thread since it is quite long, but you would find that your assertion is inaccurate.  Host cancellation is heavily penalized unless there are extenuating circumstances (read the description in the Help Center) or if the guest is planning to violate the host rules, i.e., bring pets or smoke or bring additional guests.

The type of guest penalty depends on the cancellation policy and time until check in.  In general, Air BNB is much more lenient with guests than with hosts, which I have no argument.

Have you personally experienced a host cancelling your reservation?  I am also a guest on Air BNB and know how disruptive that can be.

[Larry145]

How will a host know a guest is going to violate b4 they get there? I had 1 so far that canceled because host family was going use the house the same week but im glad it was  a month in advance and was able to find another great property. I just like everything in order especially when you spending thousands of dollars @Linda108 but if a host cancel last minute I feel they could of canceled weeks in advance I see alot of automated cancellation post or most homes. (in PR)

[Owen46]

I can relate to a lot of these complaints having experienced a similar issue last weekend. Host cancelled on me an hour before I left for the airport. Airbnb were pretty responsive, refunded my booking and gave me a decent chunk of compensation towards alternative accommodation.

Unfortunately it was a very busy weekend in Berlin, with no suitable airbnb alternatives and hotels were charging 2-3 times their usual rates. So even with the compensation I was down about £180 and had to bounce between 2* hotels.

I don't blame airbnb. I actually think they did a pretty good job supporting me and getting the refund processed so quickly. I just wonder how these claims should be dealt with when things go badly wrong with the host.

Maybe there should be some kind of insurance option, as it looks like my travel insurance won't/wouldn't have covered this either.

[Letti0]

@Owen46  Your travel insurance should cover the extra charges you incurred. I would call them on it. 

[Owen46]

Ok I'll call them. I've looked through the policy and it suggests I wouldn't be covered as I still went on the trip and had my booking refunded but I'll find out for sure.