Bad experience

Celina136
Level 2
New York, NY

Bad experience

I made a reservation from Jan 1 to Jan 7th with a host in Roatán , Bay island Honduras. I  contacted  her checking about security and told her in that very first chat that the reservation was for my 60yr old mother who was going for vacation alone and I just wanted to make sure the place has full time security. She confirmed and ask me if the reservation was for my mother only and if she was the only person staying in the apartment and how she will enjoy her stay.  I confirmed that and told her I will proceed to book. Next day ,(31st)  she had contact me and told me that Airbnb will not let her accept my reservation because I was not the primary guest and to send my mother id / passport. I was working and when I arrive home , around 11pm, she already had cancelled the reservation. Claimed that I canceled and refused to refund my reservation ($751). I could have easily send the info once I was home since my mother was not arriving until the next day. 
airbnb supposedly contact her and ask her to refund me because of the misunderstanding ( even after she clearly acknowledged that I told her it was my mother staying only). But she refused.  Quite frustrating and I wish I can just post here the place and host to avoid this happening to someone else. 
it felt she did this on purpose, I should have known to be careful with listings that are new and don’t have any reviews… felt basically like a scam. “ A little bit of Roatán paradise” her title/ words not mine, felt more like a nightmare. Unfortunately Airbnb refused to do anything as well and told me that “both parties have to agree” 

 

anyone experienced something like this? 

6 Replies 6
Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

"Next day ,(31st) she had contact me and told me that Airbnb will not let her accept my reservation because I was not the primary guest and to send my mother id / passport. I was working and when I arrive home , around 11pm, she already had cancelled the reservation."

 

The reservation was to begin on the 1st of January, the host doesn't get paid normally till January 2nd (one day after arrival), yet by the 31st of December she already got paid by Airbnb on a host-cancelled reservation?  Why send your mother's id/passport if it was all impossible? Very strange  steps happened with this reservation.

 

 

Indeed , I don’t even understand why she cancelled. I made the reservation on the 29th after our conversation. Next day, Dec 30 ( Friday) She writes about the doc and went on talking about if my mother could walk 12 steps and a bunch of random nonsense. Then she cancels by 11:30pm.  This all happened on the 30th and she claims I was non responsive. She on too lies and said that I canceled the reservation. I try to resolve this with Airbnb customer service and they tell me they can’t do anything about it. The reservation is for the 1st and they can’t do anything about it? Hard to think that this host is not a scammer who never had intention to rent but scam people.  It’s all very weird and frustrating , I been trying to get a resolution since then. 

Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Celina136 some hosts dislike 3rd party bookings but ignoring this IF the host canceled then you will/should get your money back. 

On your reservation does it say cancelled by host or guest?

She put in that it was canceled by me, not sure how she was able to do that. I did not cancelled, she did on her end and all to keep my money. I understand having issues with 3rd parties but I was not being deceitful, I actually told her from the moment I contacted her to check is the price had security that it was for my mom. She even wrote back of it was my mom alone , to which I told her yes, that she was 60yrs and going for vacation and will be out and about. So I  confirmed to her 2x and she confirmed back 2x understanding. I would have no issues sending my mother docs if that was required or help her do a  profile to rebook if needed. All makes me think that she is a scammer and/ or that something is off with that listing. 

I guess I just have to be super aware going forward when going to Roatán and encountering places like rhis woman’s. I really wish I could actually write a review to warn people to simply be careful and buy insurance if necessary to protect themselves. 

sorry for the long reply, just wanted to give context to better explain. 

Thank your for your feedback too! 

Huma0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Celina136 

 

Okay, this is an unfortunate situation, but there are a few things that might explain it...

 

Firstly, third party bookings are not technically allowed on Airbnb (and there are many good reasons for this). The guest booking must be one of the guests staying at the listing and, if you reserved the listing via Instant Booking, the host has every right to have it cancelled without penalty because it's against the rules. I have had to do this a number of times.

 

Now, if the instant booking falls outside of the period in which a guest is entitled to a refund, it gets more complicated. If the guest cancels in these circumstances, they will lose money. However, if the host cancels without the penalty free clause, the guest will be refunded and the host will be penalised.

 

So, it seems most likely to me that the host initiated a penalty free cancellation for themselves because your booking was against Airbnb ToS. Personally, I would not have done this. I would have contacted Airbnb and asked them to issue a penalty free cancellation with a refund to the guest, but I guess not all hosts are happy to do that at the last minute. Your host might have felt that your booking, even though it was not active for long, tied up their calendar during a particularly busy period and therefore lost them income. That is a bit doubtful though, as the dates should have been booked already. However, it's possible the dates were only freed up last minute due to another cancellation and would have gotten booked quickly if you had not made the booking.

 

Sorry if that sounds overly complicated, but what I am trying to say is there are several possible scenarios here and, although one of them could be that it's a scam, there are others where it might not have been a scam.

Thank you so much, I def understand your explanation and gives lord of clarity. She def had an open calendar so very doubtful 24 hrs or so of my reservation affected anything. Sadly feels more like a scam that this person (Josee) is running. I would have been ok with either canceling and having my mother create a profile and book herself or submitted her documents or whatever. But she went on about steps to the house and a bunch of nonsense. Asking if my mother could walk the stairs etc. never did k mentioned my mother is physically challenged or having any type of mobility. To the contrary, I told her she is 60yrs and would be out and about the island. Just seems really really off. 
I know it doesn’t happen so often , that there are great honest hosts in this community ( I am a host myself) but something is really off with that listing.  

thank you so much for your honest feedback!