I made a mistake, realized I couldn't make a trip 29 minutes after I booked, host won't refund me.

[Mike3080]

I booked a one night stay 5 days in advance of the stay.  I realized 29 minutes later that my daughter has a birthday party she was supposed to go to.  I messaged the host immediately so they wouldn't miss any chance at booking they property, long story short, after they asked me to go through the official channels and talking with support the host will not give me a refund.  I had the option of losing like $140, but that just isn't right when I contacted them immediately and they literally lost nothing as a result of my error.  This seems absolutely ludicrous.  I completely and totally understand policies and strict adherence to policies, I run a business as well.  But I have never in my life heard of someone not making an exception for such a small impact error when the customer tried so hard to promptly correct their mistake as to not impact the business.

I no longer want to stay at this person's house at all, I don't trust them or their judgement, they are greedy and have awful judgement.  How can I get my money back and not be forced to stay in their house?  Why would someone even want to have someone come to their house who is this upset with them?  I don't get it at all.

/Rant over, sorry and thank you..

[Mike3080]

@Nur785 I appreciate that.  I wouldn't have even flinched if she denied a refund request after weeks of me holding a reservation.  That would be nonsense of me to expect.

I have canceled the reservation and received back about 2/5 of the money I spent.  The host said she would refund me "more" if she's able to recoup it by renting the listing.  Who gets that money now?  Does it go to the host?  Who refunded me the 2/5 that I did receive back? 

Do chat agreements like this carry water with Airbnb support?  Lets say she does rent the property for that night and she decides to renege on her word (which I assume will happen with how ridiculous she seems) what is my recourse, if any?

Thanks in advance!!

[Nur785]

@Mike3080 

Believe it or not, this is normal. If you get a booking for  the canceled day, you refund the guest. I've done it before and most hosts I know adhere to this rule. 

The host has not yet received any money. We don't get it until the day after the guest arrives. The 2/5ths was probably Airbnb refunding their service charge. That was money the host would not get anyway. 

I don't know what area this was in, but I'm pretty sure if the host receives a booking, she will refund your night. 

I'm not sure what recourse you would have accept to message the host back in a few days and ask the host if she was able to book it. 

I personally refund if it's canceled within a day or two, but I hold onto the 'will refund if I get a booking' rule if they kept the reservation longer. 

[Mike3080]

@Nur785  Much appreciated

[Helen744]

@Mike3080 Yes Mike correct , speaking to customer support is the correct first step.They will communicate with the host for you. The host nevertheless does not have any of your money , it is in escrow with Airbnb . There are three parties involved in the transactions with Airbnb . Not just you and the host as you seem to believe.... H

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Helen744 we have had several instances where a guest has asked to cancel and get a full refund. All it takes (if the host is willing) is for the guest to call Airbnb who then ask the host if they are willing.

We have done this twice now where the hurt to the guest would have exceeded the hurt to us in enforcing our strict policy.

[Helen744]

@Mike-And-Jane0 New rules on cancellation do not come in until October nine , certainly in Australia... H

[Kia272]

@Helen744  You are simply incorrect. 

[Gwen386]

@Mike3080 I just want to say how sorry I am for this outcome that you have experienced. It is no way, as a host, if you had booked my rental and canceled 29 minutes later—with an understandable reason—that I would not have accepted your cancellation for a full refund. I mean mistakes do happen and everyone doesn’t have $140 to throw away. This is the type of host that makes it bad for those of us who have empathy.