I booked a house in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on Airbnb last week. Shortly after booking, the host wanted to increase the price by nearly 50% and sent a request to alter the agreement. I refused and the host cancelled the booking unilaterally. As soon as the reservation had been confirmed, I informed my family about the extra space available so I had to take this back. It was embarrassing, a lot of time was lost, and I had to look for another place. Despite Airbnb policy to post an ‘automatic’ review that the host had cancelled and block the dates I had booked on the host’s calendar, nothing happened. I received a ‘full’ refund a few days later but I still had foreign transaction fees of 15 USD nobody will cover. My conclusion is that Airbnb policy is completely arbitrary and the whole process is set up to maximize the profit of Airbnb. They talk about the ‘Airbnb community’ , which is utter nonsense. It’s a (poorly regulated) business, and that’s all.
Tag Archives: airbnb host changed price
Airbnb Christmas Present from Father Goes Awry
I booked an Airbnb for my son as his Christmas present. I immediately messaged the host informing him it was for my son and his two friends. Over a week went by with no response except for him to confirm the reservation. He finally contacted me an hour after check in time the day of the reservation to inform me he was editing the booking. I explained I was not going to be there. I asked if that was okay. He said it was, and edited the reservation. He called me back to get me to confirm the change. I did, and was charged an extra $67. I then got a call twenty minutes later from Airbnb telling me I violated their terms of service and the host complained; they cancelled the reservation and were not going to refund my money. No one from Airbnb spoke to me before they cancelled it. I would have driven down that night to stay with my son to keep the reservation. No one held the host accountable for his actions and his verbal agreement. I was out $310 total as well as leaving my son stranded the day of travel with nowhere to stay.
Bait and Switch: Double Price in Spain
My husband and I booked a room for four nights in Cartagena, Spain. It was a good price and decent reviews. Shortly after booking the host contacted me to say he made a mistake on the price and it was actually double. He said I booked too quickly and he didn’t have time to change the price. If we wanted to have an enjoyable time at his place we should pay the higher rate. I checked the price a few days later and it was still the same. I declined the offer of the higher price and said I would find other accommodations as the new price is more than what we wanted to pay. I immediately reported to Airbnb and have yet to hear a reply. I discovered a few days later that we had actually been charged for the room we declined based on the new price. I have yet to hear from Airbnb about a refund. I contacted the hosts to let them know that this was a very dishonest practice but they don’t seem to care. I guess I will have to contact visa and let them know that this was a fraudulent charge.