Wearily I add myself to what I realise is a long list of increasingly unhappy Airbnb customers. Several weeks ago we booked a lovely Airbnb in Dorset (UK) so that we could attend a family wedding. Two months ago my 17-year-old son broke his leg and literally this week has been given the all clear to be back on his feet again. However, because he has had so much time off his part time job with the leg break he will now not be able to get time off to attend the wedding. We are now a party of four, not five, and this now means we have an alternative option for where we stay which could be considerably cheaper.
With three weeks’ notice, we cancelled. I recalled when we booked that we would get a full refund, but I realise that the big print did not make it clear that this would not include the £34 admin fee which Airbnb kept. This is more than 25% of the partial payment we sent; it seemed outrageous until I delved a little further to discover that this is nothing in comparison to others. The host was lovely and agreed to a full refund, so I then went round the houses (and round the houses again several times) to try and work out on the website how to communicate with an actual person to express my dismay at this policy. Eventually I went for the ‘give feedback’ option but have had no response. What a surprise. Here I am on Airbnb Hell. At least I have had some satisfaction in having a small rant.
Another downside to Airbnb
In most other platforms the host pays the fees, and if you book directly on a property’s web site, whether short term rental, hotel or bed and breakfast, there will be no fee, and sometimes you’ll even get a discount
Ever tried reading the Terms of Agreement BEFORE you click? Get a life and get over 34 quid.