Date change and cancellation issue

Answered!
Stephanie2236
Level 2
Perth, Australia

Date change and cancellation issue

Hoping someone can provide clarification on where I stand. I had a reservation for the upcoming weekend, however due to unforeseen medical reasons preventing travel, I sent the host a request to change my reservation dates to a time later this year. This request was sent 5 days out from my planned stay. The host contacted me and said they didn't receive the request to change dates (even though I received confirmation that my request went through and sent the host screenshots of this) and asked me to cancel my booking completely due to the short notice so that they could find new guests to fill the booking. Being none the wiser, I proceeded to cancel my booking and received a partial refund as per their cancellation policy. Of course now if I try to re-book to new dates, I have to pay the full amount.

 

I have contacted Airbnb numerous times to understand if there is a way that I can re-book without having to pay again, particularly because I never requested cancellation to begin and was simply following the host's request, however they have advised that because the booking has been cancelled, there is nothing they can do. This does seem unfair as whether it was due to technical difficulties or simply the host choosing to ignore the date change request, I have lost my money and don't have a booking either. Has anyone had this experience before?

1 Best Answer
Ann72
Level 10
New York, NY

@Stephanie2236  I'm sorry the host appears to have misled you!  The only thing you can do now is to ask the host directly to consider crediting what you've already paid to a new booking.  She or he might do this if they were able to re-book the days you canceled.  As a host, I would do this, but that's no guarantee everyone would.  Worth a try, though!

View Best Answer in original post

2 Replies 2
Ann72
Level 10
New York, NY

@Stephanie2236  I'm sorry the host appears to have misled you!  The only thing you can do now is to ask the host directly to consider crediting what you've already paid to a new booking.  She or he might do this if they were able to re-book the days you canceled.  As a host, I would do this, but that's no guarantee everyone would.  Worth a try, though!

Sandra856
Level 10
Copenhagen, Denmark

Hi @Stephanie2236 🙂
Normally if a guest needs to cancel just 5 days prior to check in - guests will need to cancel the stay and the guest will get refunded according to the cancellation policy as agreed to when the booking was made. I don’t think it is fair to send the host a request to alter the days with such short notice and the host do not have to accept it. As a host I would accept the alteration if it was 1 month or more prior to check in but not 5 days before scheduled check in. It gives the host a very short time to rebook. A listing is blocked for a specific guest so no one else can book it. As a host I always offer a refund should someone else rebook - but it is only fair to respect the cancellation policy and cancel the stay when it is with such short notice.