Partial refund

[Ashley1592]

I booked an Airbnb for a 3 day vacation (booked at 11:30am), arrive Monday, check out Wednesday. When I booked, I messaged the host expressing my excitement to be able to get to the beach this year. (background: it is our "baby moon", and we haven't been able to get to the beach since we got married 3 years ago, so it is probably one of the last times we will get to the beach before we have a baby and wont be able to go for a few years, so we booked the Airbnb as it was the cheapest option) So I asked the host, as I always do, if there is early check in and if we needed to bring anything that isn't supplied such as extra towels, linens, etc. They wrote back just a simple "extra towels" as their response. Ignoring my question if there was early check in, and a response I felt was a little short and stand offish- but okay. So I asked again if they offer early check in. 3 hours later, I had received no response, (which I understand, people work, they have lives, its fine.) However, in the meantime, the hotel that we stay at every time we visit, coincidently, sent me an email for a "guest appreciation deal" (probably because this is the time we are usually booking for a vacation, I imagine I am just such a creature of habit I didn't even realize I book my vacations like clock work) anyway, to stay at the hotel it would be only 40$ more than the cost of the Airbnb. This is the hotel we stay at every time we visit, and the location is better than the Airbnb we booked, honestly, we were compromising for price, because as I said, we are planning for a family and are really trying to have a vacation while also having money for the future little one. So, at 3:20pm, my husband and I decided that the better option for us was the hotel and cancelled the Airbnb. I explained all this to the host, and received no response. It wasn't until I cancelled the booking that the host responded to my original question (and then contradicted their original message and said they DO have extra towels). If I had not already cancelled the reservation I may have cancelled anyway due to the contradiction (especially because there were a few reviews about the host be unresponsive with issues they had after arriving at the location, but I always like to give people the benefit of the doubt and don't just automatically take peoples word in reviews)

I, then, received an automatically generated email from Airbnb that I was only receiving a partial refund on the booking. 

I have been trying to reach out to the host to ask for a full refund because I booked and cancelled within 5 hours, for a trip that is 14 days away but they have been completely ignoring me. I contacted Airbnb for their assistance, and the host has also been ignoring them. 

I understand that if you cancel your booking there could be some costs, and if I had held up the booking for days, I would expect a fee to incur, or if the trip was within a week or less, but I cancelled the booking LESS THAN 5 HOURS after booking it and the trip is 2 weeks away, so I do not feel that the host lost out of any time or money seeing as it was the same day. I do not feel that a partial refund is appropriate. I (and Airbnb) believe I deserve a full refund, but now the host has seemingly fallen off the planet. (thing to note: the host appears to be a company and not a single individual).

Anyone had a similar experience?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Ashley1592 Lots of people have similar experiences. There are several issues here I am afraid

1) Did holding the reservation for 5 hours really make the host lose out on other bookings? Who knows but there is a small chance it did

2) You agreed to a binding contract when you booked and finding a better offer isn't a valid reason for cancellation

What would be fair?

In my view many hosts would just refund in full. Others would refund IF they managed to rebook but you might still lose the Airbnb service fee. 

Generally companies will be less flexible than individual hosts - Sometimes because they are money driven, other times fairly as they have a fiduciary duty to the owner of the property/the company they work for.

Very difficult I am afraid but good luck for when the baby arrives.

[Ashley1592]

Thank you for your response and well wishes!

and I agree and I would not be opposed to paying a service fee, I understand that cancelling a booking (whether it be a hotel or airbnb or anywhere else) could come with a service charge, and if I had held up the booking for a few days or if the date was approaching rapidly, I would not even be questioning a partial refund as it would be well deserved. In this instance, I feel as though this host is making money off the booking for no reason. While I do doubt my 5 hour booking held up reservations, there would be no way of knowing. The partial refund is 145$, I feel like this is steep for a booking which was made and cancelled on the same day. Airbnb agreed that a booking cancelled within 24 hours should receive a full refund, but ultimately it is up to the host. I agree I entered into a contract, and It was my mistake for misreading it, (I thought it said a partial refund would be provided if I cancelled AFTER May 29, not before) However, a booking that wasn't held for 24 hours should be an exception. I was trying to be honest in telling the host why I cancelled in saying i received a better deal at a hotel. I did not want to lie and/or give them the impression I cancelled for an emergency or something in an attempt to get my refund under false pretenses.

I just feel as though a cancelation in such a short time frame should be entitled to a full refund, it just makes the feel as though in this instance, the host is getting something for nothing. I am not opposed to paying a service fee, but a partial refund does not seem fair to me at all.  I am not out to try to scam anyone by any means, I just feel like im being a little scammed in this instance.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Ashley1592 You are certainly not being scammed. The question is more whether the host is treating you fairly and that, I am afraid, is a value judgement. Lets see what others feel.

The thing that actually annoys me is when 'Airbnb agrees that a reservation cancelled with 24 hrs should be refunded' This is actually WRONG as if Airbnb believed this it would say this in their Ts and Cs. What it actually means is the customer support individual took the easy way out when dealing with you and just lied.

[Ashley1592]

@Mike-And-Jane0, Yes you may be right by saying the person took the easy way out when dealing with me and likely were trying to tell me what they thought I wanted to hear. I guess I used to word 'scammed' when I should said maybe "being taken advantage of", I am all for paying a service fee - I am not pleading 100% innocence in this matter, I should have read the fine print better- I just feel as though a service fee should not be as steep as it is. If I was a host, in this situation - I would be refunding more than I am being refunded. 

I am in no way claiming I did nothing 'wrong', I am just feeling as though the "punishment doesn't fit the crime" - so to speak.

[Helen3]

Sorry I can't agree you have been scammed @Ashley1592 

You made a confirmed booking with a host and agreed to his cancellation policy when you booked.

You then decided to cancel because you got a better deal and because you wanted the host to agree to an early check in time that was not the check in time displayed on the listing when you booked.

The host has then upheld the cancellation policy you booked under.

How is that scamming you?

[Ashley1592]

Hi @Helen3 , thank you for your comment. The early check-in actually had nothing to do with the cancelation, that was just something else that happened while the cancellation was going on I wanted to note - Whether there was early check in or not was not the issue. And as I said in a previous comment, I am not opposed to a service fee being charged - I believe people should be entitled to compensation for inconveniences caused by others, I just feel that $145 is a steep fee for less than 5 hour "inconvenience" if there was one at all.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Ashley1592 I have had a thought

The price you paid is made up of

1) The price per night times number of nights

2) The cleaning fee

3) Airbnb's service fee 

4) accommodation taxes

Now when you cancel I think you get back 50% of the total minus the cleaning fee (and taxes??)

With Airbnb saying you deserve a full refund you should get

half of 1 plus all of 2 plus all of 3 and 4 maybe all if it is an accommodation tax, maybe none if it is just a tax.

What did you get of each element?

[Ashley1592]

@Mike-And-Jane0  that is a very good thought actually, upon checking, it appears I am being charged for the cleaning fee of 75.00, the service fee of 39.00 and the taxes of 30.00.

I am willing to let go of the 39.00 service fee and the 30.00 taxes for a total of 69.00- but the cleaning fee? I didn’t stay not a single second- I should not be responsible for that.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Ashley1592 the service fee goes to Airbnb. Why are you willing to pay that when THEY said you should get a full refund?

[Ashley1592]

I will admit, (not being a host myself) I was not aware that the service fees going to Airbnb and not the host. With that said, as I had stated, I am willing to pay a fee for services rendered, which would be the fee for booking. But I should not be charged for a cleaning fee - the service of  "cleaning" the Airbnb was not rendered as I did not stay there. 

Honestly, at this point, I dont know what a 'good' solution would be, but I still do not think I should be on the hook for paying a cleaning fee. - I believe it is likely I will only receive the partial refund - this very well be a tough lesson to learn and some things just are not fair.

I appreciate all the advice and thoughts you have offered!

[Ashley1592]

I also did not realize it was a company who listed the booking, personally, I feel like Airbnb should be reserved for individuals who are hosting and not for companies. There are other sites for companies listing. I am a person who would rather see money going to people who could use it, and not companies who are doing just fine- especially in todays economy. (in the US at least 😉 )

@Mike-And-Jane0 

[Helen744]

@Ashley1592 the problem here probably stems from you being used to staying in  hotels Ashley . Airbnbs are different . Genuine hosts generally have only one house and are not able to offer another room as a hotel does , nor do they have the flexibility that hotels do as they have one source of income. So it is not wise to book at all with an Airbnb believing that if you see something better then you can just cancel . There are sometimes punitive cancellation fees. There are three types of cancellation policies and in future especially when the family grows you may feel more akin to Airbnbs. Flexible policies are the ones where you may cancel up to 24 hours before arrival and may have suited you better.All the best with your future family... H

[Ashley1592]

@Helen744  Hi Helen, thank you for your comment. I have stayed in many many Airbnb's and have never had an issue. In this instance, it was just a coincidence that the hotel emailed us, typically when I book Airbnb's, I book them because that is the choice I am making. I know that there are different cancellation policies and as I had said previously, if I had waited days to cancel the reservation, a refund would not even be on my radar, but for a reservation that only was booked for 5 hours - I should not be expected to pay the expense of a cleaning fee where those services were not rendered to me. It would be equivalent to buying a T-shirt, leaving the store, and turning around to return it only to find out you are only getting the price of the shirt but not the price of the hanger - even though you dont even get to keep the hanger. It is a payment for nothing. 5 hours did not cost them a booking, it did not cost them time or money - 5 hours is a short amount of time, and the booking was for 2 weeks out. My problem is not that there is a fee incurred for the cancellation - the problem is that the fee is 1) steep and 2) for services that were not rendered.

Thank you for your well wishes for my future family, it is very much appreciated 🙂

[Helen744]

@Ashley1592 It is better to take this up with Airbnb as hosts do not receive any monies until after your stay has commenced ,and any refund is not automatic, but can take up to ten days. We are hosts and can only offer advice on the rules. Some hosts, will always allow  full refunds, but we do not know ,the  policy , you booked under,or your host, so it does not matter what our opinion is. It is at this stage only between yourself , the host and Airbnb... H