Tag Archives: airbnb Host cancellation

Coachella Disaster: Airbnb Cancelled after Check-In

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I had a terrible experience with this host.  I’m the type of guy that prepares for everything. After this experience I realize I cannot place any amount of responsibility for the success of my vacation in the hands of strangers with no track record. I will be using reputable hotel chains for the rest of my life. At least they have process and procedure in place and aren’t flaky Airbnb NOOB hosts that can’t get their stuff together! I actually had a hotel booked ready to go… but no…

“Why don’t we try an Airbnb?” they said. “It would be roomier,” they said.

“YES! Great idea!” NOT! We planned to check in to our accommodations that Thursday and got the Airbnb booked and confirmed with the host on Tuesday. Somewhat short notice but as a guest I had expected that this room would have been ready to be used if those dates were listed as available. Everything started off smoothly: after the confirmation and payment I reached out to the host via text and they replied stating they would call me that evening. No call came that evening. The next day was Wednesday, one day prior to check in. I again reached out to the host via text and Airbnb but never got a response. A host going dark within 24 hours of check in is not good. The check in day arrives and I’m getting nervous. I already cancelled my hotel plans so that I wouldn’t get charged so now I have NOTHING to fall back on.

The first thing I do that morning at 8:00 AM is contact Airbnb stating I haven’t heard from this host. They say they will contact them and get back to me asap. They call me back around 9:00 AM saying they spoke with the host and the host was having issues getting a cleaning crew to prepare the condo. I said I didn’t plan to check in until 10:00 PM anyways so that should give them time. The Airbnb rep told me to contact the host directly to complete the booking. I said, “OK, I’ll call them after I get off work.”

So I texted and messaged the host throughout the day stating I would call around 5:00 PM. At 5:00 PM I called (straight to voicemail) and texted the host asking to make arrangements. I finally get a text back at 6:00 PM saying they couldn’t have the condo cleaned in time for my arrival which would have been 7 HOURS AFTER CHECK IN, at 10:00 PM! Are you kidding me? Please get your life together! You have a responsibility when you placed that listing! So two hours after I was supposed to check in I’m screwed and back to square one, trying to find accommodation for the vacation! I was supposed to have left already! Unreal! I couldn’t imagine myself in this situation in a million years.

To top it all off, Airbnb didn’t have this flagged as urgent in their system so I never got a call back from them even though the host notified Airbnb at 12:00 PM that they would have to cancel. Thanks for letting me know Airbnb! And thank you, host, for not letting me know that very important and pertinent information. FLAKE! I didn’t even get a cancellation notice in my inbox until 6:00 PM, three hours after check in! One Airbnb agent was able to restore quite a bit of faith by getting me a FULL refund and getting one night at a nearby hotel. Although I appreciate the gesture, it still required us to check out the next day and check in to another hotel for the remainder of our vacation causing us to lose half a day at the Coachella Music Festival due to the hotel’s 3:00 PM check-in rule. And with the prices having skyrocketed I actually ended up paying MORE for my trip. Not to mention that when I checked into the “Free Night Hotel” booked by Airbnb I had to put down a credit card for incidentals…. Guess whose credit card got charged at checkout for the “free night”? You guessed it! MY AMEX. Not the credit card put down by Airbnb when THEY booked the complimentary night for me. So now I have to fight Hilton’s accounting department on that one. What a joyous experience this has been! As I mentioned at the beginning: experience, process, and procedure will now win out in favor of any cost savings or added benefits that can be brought by using Airbnb.

Don’t Expect Airbnb to Honour your Booking

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We requested the 19th to 23rd of July for 16 people. The booking (and the money) was accepted. After confirmation, the host messaged that they had mistakenly double booked the property. The host offered us instead a choice of three sets of dates. We contacted everyone in our party to find which dates would suit them. We selected one of the dates (24th – 29th July). As there was an extra night and the property was larger, we asked for confirmation that the price already paid would be honoured. The host confirmed that the price would remain the same and confirmed the booking. We made travel arrangements (not cheap). After all the confirmations, the host said that the property would not be available on the first night – the 24th of July. AirBnB let the host cancel the reservation – without any repercussions – despite the host messing around with us twice! The accommodation looks amazing but don’t expect your booking to be honoured. Proceed with extreme caution – no matter how many are in your party!

1 BR Condo in Ideal Location Listing #1023861 User/show/5636158

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Host, James Boykin cancelled the prepaid reservation I had with him for three months just a couple weeks before my travel to a family wedding without notice or my consent. When I went to write to arrange the key for my stay, only then did I find out that he had cancelled my paid reservation. The reason James cancelled the reservation was because he found another guest who wanted to stay longer so he dishonored his commitment. As this is not a home that is lived in, but an exclusive rental property, there was no legitimate reason to cancel other than his personal greed. I warn every Airbnb customer to avoid this listing at all costs as my money was kept for four months and I was left with no place to stay. I cannot be strong enough in expressing the hardship that his cancellation has caused me in increased expense longer distance to travel to my location and the truthful experience that this awful host seriously did me wrong. The Airbnb policy is to allow such people to continue to continue to list on their site. This is a bad policy. When a host is this mercenary he should be dropped immediately. Airbnb could not find another listing in the area to rescue my situation, but they did help me find a hotel. I am thankful to them for this.

Host cancellation – Family out of luck

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So… Here’s the thing. I searched for a holiday property on airbnb and found what we thought to be a great property. One week in August by the sea. Although the host had 0 reviews we were not suspicious as they had only been a member for a few months. So far so good.. Messages start to arrive, we have been pre-approved ( what does that mean ? ) confirm the booking quickly before it expires ?? A few more checks on the small print… everything seems fine , confirm the booking, pay the full amount. All happy, family happy , confirm the dates with work and make the other necessary preparations. ( travel arrangements for all the family )

48 hours go by , I have established direct contact with the host and then…… “ message from host “ Really sorry but I gave the property to a local estate agent and they have just told me that they have a rental for the whole month so.. sorry, but your rental of a week is now cancelled.

Nothing that airbnb can do , host cancelled therefore so is your holiday. Standard aibnb .. we can help you look for another property with a 20% increase. Their offers were not comparable to the original property ( why wouldn’t I have chosen them in the first place ? ) so it’s a refund.

Can I leave feed back , (to warn other potential renters that this host is totally UNRELIABLE ) … No. you can’t leave negative feedback on AirBnB unless you stay at a property, so there is no other way for us to warn people about this on their site.

The only thing that now appears on the hosts page.. ( if you click on reviews ) is The reservation was canceled 28 days before arrival. This is an automated posting

Why do airBnB not make it clear that it was the HOST that cancelled and why. I would probably have stayed clear of this property if I had known.

To airBnB’s credit, they did refund the whole rental amount very quickly and also compensated us for ancillaries that we would have forfeited ( transport to a place that we no longer could go to because our holiday rental had been cancelled ) because they cannot be used if we don’t have the property.

Beware …. You and your family can spend a fortune on tickets and suffer disappointment in your holiday being cancelled.

You have been warned !!