Host lives in the home?

[Katherine1212]

My son rented a Airbnb home for a month while he is on a job site and needs to be in the area for a limited amount of time so he rented a Airbnb home. After paying for the entire month, he was informed that he would be sharing the home With the homeowner of the Airbnb. As far as we can tell, this was not included in the description of his total accommodations. Is this legitimate and is there a way to cancel his reservation for the entire month? Is there anything we can do about this situation at this point?

[Jennifer1897]

HI @Katherine1212 it's difficult to provide accurate feedback without seeing the listing you are speaking about. Typically, an ad for a shared space will read as "room in XYZ locations" whereas an ad for an entire space will read as "apartment, guest suite or home in XYZ area."  It can be confusing at times to discern what is what.

That being said, if in fact the listing was accurately described, the host has a right to uphold their cancellation policy which your son agreed to when booking. You can go back to the listing to review that policy. If the listing was inaccurate (i.e advertised as an entire home vs a shared space) then you have grounds to argue for a penalty free cancellation and full refund. 

I would review the listing carefully and contact airbnb for further support 

[Frances3408]

@Katherine1212. In addition to the excellent advice from @Jennifer1897 if your son was able to cancel with minimal penalty due to misleading descriptions then use the filters to search for Entire home only. He may find the prices are a lot more. Airbnb is the main booking platform that permits room only accommodation to be listed, most others dont. Shared spaces must also be clearly set out.

If you can copy and paste the listing link here perhaps we can assist further. Good luck

[Helen3]

If he booked a whole listing then the host is absolutely not allowed to share that space with the guest @Katherine1212 

Did he book a whole ie self contained listing ? If so he can insist Airbnb cancel penalty free.