Tag Archives: Airbnb problem

Never a Full Refund for this Cologne Apartment

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We arrived to this apartment on Monday afternoon, from the airport. We got video instructions from the host where we could find the keys and we could go in without any problems. I am presenting the situation with the uploaded photos.

The place looked like had not been inhabited for a long time. There was possibly puke on the wall, and dirt everywhere, not to mention the air inside. Unfortunately it around the time of IDS and we could not find another place, so we limited our stay to only sleeping.

We could not meet in person with the host until Wednesday morning, when we could finally found him at his workplace. We discussed that we did not intending to stay until Friday, instead we were leaving Thursday morning. Since the apartment was posted with a flexible cancellation policy, and we also we made clear that we were leaving the next morning, I modified the departure time on Airbnb, to avoid the fee for the last day (cancellation option was available, but with a 42 USD difference).

The host didn’t react to the modification request since that day. I have contacted Airbnb regarding the issue after we got home, and after a week the response was: “I noticed in relation to this, that you contacted Airbnb after the check out time for your reservation had passed, the Guest Refund Policy therefore would not apply to the reservation. I will need to negotiate with your host, in order to secure any partial refund. I will make you aware, that as the host already received the payout for this booking, any refund issued would be at the host’s discretion. However, I will do my very best to help!”

My conclusions regarding Airbnb: I had a choice to cancel the reservation on Wednesday with a refund of 200 USD, but I went for the date modification which offered 247 USD (apartment price + Airbnb fee + tax) when the host agreed. I know that this choice was my fault, but since I made it clear that we were leaving the apartment (and the request time is visible on the website), I feel it is very shady that the hosts’s behavior was not to react to the request. Furthermore, if the host already received the payment, there is only the option to ‘negotiate’ for whatever happens during our stay? If that is the case, everyone should avoid this filthy service.

Airbnb Host Asked for More Money After Confirmation

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One week ago I found a good place on Airbnb to stay for a four-week holidays in Corsica (France). The price was good and I asked the host to confirm if the price included taxes, cleaning fees, or anything else unexpected. I asked the host to check the price, and he answered the price was the total amount. I booked and was asked by Airbnb to pay the whole amount as it was a “long stay”. Since that was finished, I purchased flight tickets straight away from Sweden to Corsica (the more you wait, the more you pay) – non-refundable tickets to stay on budget. I wrote to the host about my time of arrival.

Two hours later the host sent me a message, asking for more money or he would cancel the reservation. The reason? The price was wrong…

I have contacted Airbnb. There’s just one week now left before I’m supposed to arrive, but I’ve received nothing except an automatically generated reply: “we are working with your case.” There’s been no answer or anything from Airbnb. The host has sent me a request for an update of the booking and for me to pay more money (25% more). I have not confirmed anything nor rejected the reservation… yet. This is my first and last booking with Airbnb. I’ve never seen something so bad before. Has anyone been in a situation like this? What should I do?