Refunds After Guest Cancels - Guest Now Suing me!

[Adele29]

Well this might be a new one, so hold on to your hats!

I had a guest cancel on me after she had paid upfront and had 48 hrs to cancel and get her money back in full. Unfortunately, she did go over their 48 hr policy. I have  a Strict cancellation policy ( and this was a Christmas booking over 3 nights).

She had had some dialogue with me before hand  by Air Bnb message but then I received the 'confirmed booking' from Air Bnb ( are you still with me lol sorry its a long one). She obviously did lose 50% of her money through my strict cancellation policy but since December has been hounding me to refund her, citing all sorts of reasons (she didn't see the 48 hr cancellation policy message, she didn't go over 48 hrs , etc.)

This should have ended once Id involved Customer Support ( Community Support) but no, shes now found my personal email address and has been in touch threaten g to sue me.

This week I received a solicitors letter claiming all her money back, interest, costs, compensation etc.

I have of course spoken  to Community Support who initially started off telling me ' not to worry' theyd sort it.

In the last half hour  though I received a message telling me I might want to seek a lawyer who was 'familiar with the law in my area' . Im totally in shock here.

Anyone got any experience of this mess??

HELP

Adele 

[Tere32]

Sue airbnb as well as they obviously dropped the ball by telling you one thing and thrn flip script on you. Countersue the guest as well. Seriously sue everybody back and in court show the agreement that guest agreed to by clicking. Airbnb will bring great lawyer which willl be gelpful to you. Sue them to indemnify you. 

[Mark116]

@Adele29   I would send a letter that reminds the guest that it is a guest responsibility to understand the terms and conditions that they agreed to, lays out the facts, that it is extremely unlikely that they would prevail in court, and that if you are forced to engage a lawyer you will of course counter sue for all legal costs you incur and ask for additional damages to deter people from such frivolous and extortion-like cases.  If you happen to have any lawyer friends get them to write the letter for you.

[Rhonda45]

Your cancellation policy is on your listing so she will lose.  By booking with you, she agreed to your terms and it is essentially a contract and she broke the contract.  Airbnb should at least interceded on your behalf.  They have offered to for me.  They should be offering you better advice, so keep it up until they do help you and step in.   She will have to sue you in your local court and I seriously doubt she will go to the trouble.  

Insist that Airbnb intercede on your behalf.  Much luck.  We are all. With you.  

[Elyse66]

Hi Rhonda, it seems your message was long ago so I don't know if you are seeing this. I am being sued by a very nasty guest who I went above and beyond for and then upon his arrival, checked out without a word or any regard for me because he wanted somewhere bigger. There was a strict cancel policy and he is suing me and Air b b for 20,000. I was unaware that in NYC you can't air b b because of new laws, if you don't reside at the place where the guest is staying. They are threatening all kind of things and saying the contract was null and void since it's illegal to air b b in first place. This just can't be true. He agreed to a contract and is now making up all kinds of things to bully me into giving money back. Do you have contact info at air b b because I am being given a real run around and I need support from them!!!

[Bhumika]

Hello @Elyse66 ,

This is surely a delicate situation, especially when you feel that you went above and beyond to accommodate the guests. I hope you stay safe and things work out for you.

You can connect with the Airbnb Support team through the contact page. If you need more assistance connecting with Airbnb for your issue, you can also look at this resource Guide: How to contact Airbnb. I hope this helps you to reach out for necessary help.

Can’t find what you’re searching for? start a conversation

[Helen3]

I am a little confused by your comment regarding the STR legislation in New York has been in place for quite a few years  @Adele29 

Airbnb cannot help you with this situation.

Normally the guest would not be successful in suing you for enforcing your cancellation policy. Whether the fact that you appear to have been operating an illegal STR would have an impact on this I don't know. I would suggest you have an initial consultation with a lawyer and find out.

Interestingly there is no listing attached to your profile.

Good luck.

[Brian686]

I have had a guest try this on with me on a different platform. Unfortunately got them I am qualified in law and no our legal rights in cases such as this. I am not sure what jurisdiction you are in but regardless, the guest entered a contract And subsequently cancelled the contract. The reality is that there are penalties for cancelling the contract and these penalties were agreed to at the time of booking and the booking being accepted. The guest has no grounds and you are well within your rights to seek compensation if the guest takes this to court. I very much doubt a lawyer would advise the guest to pursue this - is the solicitors letter genuine. I have seen people create their own and try passing the letter off as real. 

In our case the guest threatened us with court and stated that the other platform would be monitoring our account because we refused the demands for refund.  I simply replied in writing that they accepted the terms and conditions and as they were outside the refund period that was their loss. They huffed and puffed and eventually disappeared when they realised it was more hassle for them to pursue us when they were in the wrong.

Brian

[Adele29]

Brian do you have an address for Air BNB so I can send my counter claim to them ? I can’t seem to find one !

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Adele29 

You should use the Irish address as indicated on the bottom of the Terms and Conditions since you are out of the jurisdiction of American and Chinese law. 

I believe the address is:

The Warehouse, 8 Hanover Quay, Grand Canal Dock, Dublin, D02 DP23, Ireland.

Good Luck, you shouldn't be placed in this position whilst acquiring the terms and conditions and contract set down by Airbnb. They should be far more responsive to your needs.

https://www.google.com/search?safe=off&rlz=1C5CHFA_enGB861GB861&ei=8KKQXrjjO42_gQb_oJqgAw&q=airbnb+o...

[Adele29]

Thank you all for your advice - it’s been helpful.

I doubt I’ll get much help from Air BNB sadly  as they’ve already told me to ... ‘seek my own legal advice..’!

I have and it appears to be ongoing in that she hasn’t backed down.

Does anyone know who or where I should send formal notifications of legal action to in terms of Air BNB.

I will try ( again) to get an advisor to offer assistance but they seem reluctant to get involved and say they don’t offer ‘legal advice’.

I’ll keep you posted - wish me luck - I could do without the stress of it all but I won’t take this ‘lying down’!

Adele 

[Adele29]

UPDATE - she has continued to pursue me  through a solicitor.

I have been sent several letters from her solicitor the first of which I asked Air BNB for help ( which they refused ) and had to seek legal advice myself .

She demanded a full refund of the monies paid me in January .

Both her lawyer and mine have suggested that this 48 hr cancellation term is deemed an ‘unfair contract ‘ and my lawyer suggested settling out of court .

I have been forced to settle for £1,000.00 ( plus legal costs ) and I now require either legal representation from Air BNB company or  I must take legal action against Air BNB to recover these funds as I no longer have the money to pay her back after all this time.

Does anyone have Air BNBs address / office postal address to claim back these funds from my legal firm. Thanks 

[Helen3]

Sorry to hear of your ongoing issues with this guest.

I would suggest you get another lawyer if that is what they are advising you and deny the claim. Why are you being forced to settle?

The 48 hour cancellation penalty free policy is not relevant in the circumstances you describe, if as you say she cancelled outside it (how many days after booking did she cancel).

You don't ask Airbnb to cover your legal costs, this is what you would claim against the litigant. They don't offer free legal advice to hosts in these situations.

Does your home insurance for STRs cover legal costs in this sort of situation?

[Mark116]

@Adele29  It sounds like you got a poor lawyer,  A 24 hour or 48 hour window of free cancellation is standard for many types of purchases, which indicates that such clauses are legally sound.   I don't believe you should have settled, but that is water under the bridge.  I doubt you will get any money back from airbnb either.  I can't really even imagine why any lawyer would have told you to settle.

[Daragh4]

What a nightmare! I think I would go to court as a matter of principle.