Host never booked me and kept my money, Airbnb did nothing

[Lee-Andre0]

If you are ever in Boston first and foremost do not stay at 235 Chelsea Street.

I went to his place three times and waited for an hour each for him to book me. He kept saying he would do it electronically and it never worked and then told me to come back and he would let me in.

by that point it was too late to cancel and I ended up never getting booked but still getting charged. I asked him for a refund and his excuse was “sorry I’m being a stickler for COVID”.

I called Airbnb and they refused to give me a refund because it’s at the hosts discretion.

Any advice? Should I try to call Airbnb again or am I just **bleep**ed?

[Emilia42]

@Lee-Andre0 So you had a confirmed reservation obviously if you were charged? Are you saying that the host would not allow you to check in or give you check-in instructions? Airbnb will refund guests for not having access to the property so there is something we are missing here . . .  

[Lee-Andre0]

Hello, thank you for your response. Yes, my reservation was confi And charged on my card. Yes he would not allow me to check in. I came at 11 and he told me to download an app that didn’t resister with his door. I came back three times and the third time he said he would meet me and let me in, he never showed. I asked him for a refund and he refused it because “it’s covid and he has to be a stickler”. 

I called Airbnb and the rep told me they would talk to him. They called me back to say they can only give refunds at hosts discretion and the host chose not to give me a refund.

[Pearl85]

The same thing is happening to me. I booked, I got the address, and the host contacted me 3 hours after stating keyless entry was not working, and she would remotely let me in. However, that was unsuitable I booked self check in for a reason, we are going through a family crisis travelled all the way across Canada, airbnb is asking the host to refund, host is not responding, it is $2600 canadian, I am a retired veteran, makes me think why did I serve when people get away with this. and the host rebooked it out to another guest, she took double the money, this is criminal.

[Sarah977]

@Lee-Andre0   Hosts don't book guests. Guests make a booking themselves and are charged by Airbnb, not the host. 

How did you get the address of the place if you didn't have a booking? And how could you be charged for a booking that hadn't been made?

What you are saying makes no sense.

[Lee-Andre0]

Maybe English isn’t your strong suit.

I booked the reservation, got charged, went to check in abs the host never let me in.

[Sarah977]

@Lee-Andre0  My English comprehension is just fine. You said,

"I went to his place three times and waited for an hour each for him to book me."

And your post title says the "Host never booked me".

Denying you access has nothing to do with "booking" you.

I'm not sure what you meant by it was too late to cancel. Did you contact Airbnb at the time the host wouldn't let you in?

[Ute42]

.

@Sarah977 

I wonder how this story would read if told by the host.

[Lee-Andre0]

Not contributing to my situation. This is a group to ask for help in situations like this. Why post on this chat just to create drama and take away from the conversation for people actually trying to find resolutions to their situations.

shame on you.

[Lee-Andre0]

I’ve found more helpful commenters in the chat. Thank you for your replies, but I’ve found people with more productive contributions.

[Dale711]

HI @Lee-Andre0,

I am so sorry to hear about your experience with the host and understand you’re feeling frustrated.

The host has violated the Airbnb Reliability Policy, as the guest went to the listing three times and unavailable to check-in.

Even though the host refuses the guest access to the listing in any circumstances, they should consider making reimbursement to the guest. Other hosts stated in your profile that you’ve committed their house rules and being a great guest.

Please contact Airbnb to acknowledge the incident again, further investigate your case and update you on the refund. 

I hope you can resolve the issues.  

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

As I understood, @Lee-Andre0 has booked this accommodation through Airbnb and he was charged but he couldn't check-in. He never gets access.

He contacted Airbnb but it seems Airbnb customer service didn't understand what the problem is so his refund request was denied although it shouldn't be. Maybe it was a language barrier bc the guest couldn't explain the problem clearly.

@Nick @Lizzie ... can you help this guy?

[Lee-Andre0]

Thank you. I might have messed up in explaining it when writing this post. I spoke to customer service on the phone and the lady understood completely what happened and I showed her my texts from the host and that he never let me in. She said she would call the host and ask for my refund, but he chose to decline and that’s it.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Lee-Andre0 There must be more to it than this. The host, if they denied you entry, has no choice but to refund you. I suggest you call Airbnb again and ask them why this has not happened.

[Lee-Andre0]

Thank you for your reply. Yeah I think I will try to call them again. Maybe I got a bad customer service rep because this is ridiculous.