I booked an accommodation height months away from the date of the event we have to attend. 10 people including 4 children, one elderly, 5 women with some of them arriving from America straight to an accommodation, and with limited location due to health special needs located 5 mins drive, 20mins walking distance to our venue. We received 2 weeks away from our date booked a cancellation message from the Estate Agents saying:
- "Hi..., im sorry to inform you I have to cancel your booking as I no longer have this property. The landlord took it back. I am going to try and find another place for you to stay. In case I cannot find anything please also have a look yourself.
Please give me a call if needed.
Kind regards"
The person I was dealing with owns the property. He was not forth coming and letting me know that he was the owner. On the Home page of the Estate Agents we read:
- "Our company offers landlords across the country an opportunity to have a completely stress-free rental experience!"
Should not it be the same services offered to the guest?
In my dealing with Airbnb and the Host I came to the evidence of our short term booking was cancelled in favour of a long term booking while I have been told by the owner that 'it was an admin error'. Upon the extreme anxiety generated due to the short term notice including school holidays starting, there was no accommodation available in the location we needed. I have been offered by the Host to go, to a 30mins drive from our venue which was inconvenient as our budget did not allowed for a transportation cost or two hotels which have low hygiene standard rates; being deprived from communal gathering association if we were in hotels room.
I contacted Airbnb to report the case to report the injustice that had happen to us. The host claimed that he has reported the cancellation prior to contacting me and he did not know that Airbnb has not informed me. I haven not been informed by Airbnb that my booking was cancelled. I was the one who contacted Airbnb to report the problem and following my enquiries. When I spoke to the first Agent on Wednesday and mentioned the message from the Host he expressed his apology and said there is an insurance to cover everything to not worry, he will help with and let me know. However on the platform conversation while on the phone it was said
- "Just to let you know, my shift is about to end for the day. Not to worry though! I'll be back tomorrow and will follow up with you then.
Best,
Airbnb Support"
I spoke to the same Agent on Thursday morning who confirmed then that he can see in the record that the Host has contacted us yesterday which was on the same day I received the withdrawal of the property and said to the Host I will contact Airbnb too following our conversation. The Host has not contacted Airbnb before I did, contrarily to his first phone call conversation on Wednesday.
The first Airbnb Agent I spoked to on Thursday morning reassured me that Airbnb will refund the full cancellation cost and while I expressed my disappointment and worry he confirmed that the insurance can cover the full cost including transportation due to the last minute cancellation of the booking. Since that conversation I had spoken to six other people trying to sort out the mess we have been left to deal with. I have been told to be reimburse the full amount of the previous booking, plus 20% discount on new booking, plus £28 voucher. I spend more that 20 hours to resolve the problem and each time I call I need to explain to a new Agent the full situation from the beginning. They have been 8 in total dealing with that case. I am on my 8th day of dealing with them. I spoke to representative from Airbnb on the phone from around the world with one cutting the phone call off on me today. I requested the record of my two first conversation on Wednesday and Thursday. I had been send back closure of case with the following yesterday Monday
- "We have refunded you for reservation ** This refund has been sent to your AMEX •••••1008 totals £1,114.00
. It should take up to 15 business days to reflect in your account, depending on your bank’s processing time.
And you have also received coupons of £28.00
I hope I have resolved your query to your satisfaction.
I'll go ahead and close out this thread. If you have other questions in the future, feel free to contact us via our Help Center at www.airbnb.com/help, and we'd be glad to help you. I wish you a great day and all the best in our Community. Stay safe.
24/7 Customer Support (+1-415-800-5959)
airbnb.com/help/feedback"
We are a week from our date of booking and the verbal agreement has not been given to me formally yet.
Has anyone had a similar struggle and what was the outcome?
Kind regards,
**[Sensitive information removed in line with - Community Center Guidelines]**
