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

[Katherine1212]

Thank you so much @Frances3408 for reaching out to me! Your advice has been very helpful. I checked with my son and he said that yes, it is a shared accommodation. He did not read the final details and wasn’t aware until he went back and looked over the description of the Airbnb. Thanks again for your help sincerely, Katherine. 

[Emilie]

Thank you for letting us know @Katherine1212, I'm glad you and your son got to the bottom of it! Just so you know, I've tagged Frances and Helen as well so they will get a notification and can come back to read your update. 🙂

Quick tip: To tag someone, tap "@" and select the host's username from the dropdown menu.

[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. 

[Katherine1212]

Thank you, @Helen3 for your input! It has been greatly appreciated. We were able to get the issue resolved and cleared up. Sincerely. Katherine.

[Emilie]

Hi @Katherine1212, 

Welcome to the community! I'm sorry to hear there seems to be some confusion over your son's booking. Some of our experienced hosts have shared insights and suggestions on how to proceed with you, did you get a chance to read their comments? 

It would be fantastic to know what you find out and how things progress, keep us updated please! 🙂

Thanks,

Emilie