@Dale1098
Here’s something else for your yelling pleasure. 🙂
The cancellation fee is exactly what it says - it’s a “fee”. The fact that the fee amount ends up corresponding to a certain percentage of the booking is incidental and is just done that way to make it easier for guests to calculate and understand the cost to them should they cancel.
In MOST EVERY (there, I screamed too) business, there is no type of fee that is a “refundable fee”. A fee is a fee.
The fee under discussion here is a “Cancellation Fee”, not a “Refundable cancellation deposit under certain conditions”.
Ever heard of a retail store that claimed “We have a Restocking Fee, but if we resell the item you returned, we will refund the fee”? How about a non-refundable Priceline fare that claimed “If we resell the trip you just cancelled, we will refund your non-refundable booking?” That would be ludicrous, no? The Airbnb cancellation fee is no different.
You may have your opinions about this fee, but there is something you can do to avoid paying it:
1) Read your Airbnb listing carefully. This fee and the conditions under which it is collected is spelled out very clearly in the listing, and under no conditions does the explanation obligate the host to refund the fee. Airbnb has done a great job explaining this during the booking process.
2) Get trip insurance. The best type is the “Cancel for Any Reason” insurance. Your credit card as well may offer some sort of trip insurance. I got refunded in full once for a BnB that was unable to be open for business due to a hurricane. The owner kept the revenue, and the credit card refunded me as well.
3) Book elsewhere if this fee and the strictness of it makes you uncomfortable.
And, seriously, Dale, the “squeaky wheel gets the grease” in some situations in life, but it will not result in a positive outcome for you here.
