Tag Archives: Airbnb refund policy

Not Happy After Leaving Airbnb in an Hour

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It’s been a long time since my little family and I had gotten away. We chose a home in Lantana, FL through Airbnb to rent for the Labor Day Weekend. As soon as we got there, there was a very strong mold and mildew odor and of course my oldest daughter has allergies. That smell triggered her in less than five minutes.

The house has changed since their pictures had been posted: the reading room is something to be said for; the couch cushion was torn and sewed; the dining room chairs were all stained (who was gonna get blamed for that?); the bunk beds in both rooms said use at your own risk; the master bed literally sat on the floor; the back shower now looked like a jail walk-in shower (not that I know about that, seen on TV); the home was hot as hell and we turned the AC down to give it a chance; and the water was coming out yellow.

We felt so uncomfortable that I realized none of us would sit down. In less than an hour, I said we should go find a hotel. We found one finally about 10-15 minutes away and rented there, went back to the Airbnb, and collected all our items. I contacted the host and out of everything I had an issue with his response was it was cheaper to stitch the couch than to replace it and to try turning the AC down. I informed him that we had done that. He also stated that he went by and saw nothing wrong.

I have requested a full refund because we did not cancel. We showed up and his home was not okay to stay in. The mold and mildew smell alone was too much to handle. Of course there was no refund to give per the host or Airbnb (as if they actually go out and check things). His pool table room is a whole different color now (this is not a problem). They should update their pictures to match all the changes they have made and give someone a fair chance to say this is or is not the home for them (people have gotten too comfortable with ripping others off). I’m definitely not done with this.

Charged for Two Airbnb Stays in One Night

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The Airbnb unit we were staying in developed a water leak from the upstairs apartment. We called the host and tried to get in touch with Airbnb, but could reach neither. It was getting late and so we panicked and booked something else nearby.

We drove over to the new booking and it was just a rundown residential suite. It didn’t even have an outside window — not what we wanted for our vacation in the mountains. I promptly cancelled but the host would not return my money. He had done nothing at all and lost nothing in the brief interim between my booking and cancellation.

We ended up staying at the original place once the leak was repaired, but there were drying mats down and two dehumidifiers for the remainder of our trip. Airbnb never did respond to our initial plea for help and sided with the host of the apartment we panic booked. Surely there must be some negligence on their part for not responding.

Promised a Full Refund, Only Received Half

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Anticipating the craziness of a parents’ weekend lodging nightmare, I made a reservation right away on September 19 after we got home while my hubby was still dragging bags from the van. The reservation was for October 1-4. At matriculation day on August 15, I received an email from my son’s school that the weekend was cancelled due to COVID-19.

I went online on the 16th to cancel my reservation. The instructions stated I should call my host to ask for a full refund. If she agrees, I would get my full refund. She did. I got an email back that I would be refunded the full amount of $200.98 but in reality, I only got half: $100.74.

I called the host back. She said that she gave me a full refund of $170 and sent me the receipt with a note stating it was a “penalty free” refund. I told her I did not get the $170. Instead I have $100.74 and I do not need the $170, just $100.74. She said that I should take it to Airbnb now since it is between me and Airbnb. Her partner explained to me that when I booked, the money went to Airbnb; they get paid after the guests stay. I compared her refund receipt number and the Airbnb refund receipt number; they were the same.

What happened to the $170? Where is my money? Their cancellation policy on COVID-19 is quite confusing because it states that they will give a full refund if the cancellation is due to COVID-19 and the hosts agree, which I qualify on both. But, it has also a window of dates that they consider “emergency dates” which my reservation and cancellation did not fit since I booked before COVID-19 and cancelled past their end of emergency date. Thus only a 50% refund.

Why would I be penalized for something that is out of my control? I made the reservation in good faith, paid in full for an accommodation I wouldn’t be using until a year later, and I did not cancel for whatever silly reason. I cancelled because due to COVID-19 our son will be “secured” in the barracks until his December holiday pick-up.

I called the number for help but of course there is no option about my situation because they do not entertain refunds (only current reservations). Instead, they encouraged me to read the link they sent me which is more or less the explanation again of their outrageous and unfair cancellation policy.

My son has two years left to complete his degree; I guess we will have to stay at Howard Johnson then. At least it gives me a clear option to book securely for an extra $10 and get a full refund in case of cancellation. I will continue to fight this to the end and will inform my son’s school’s alumni office which helps parents with accommodation information. We certainly do not need this degree of aggravation due to unfair policies. Thank you for providing this space where we can express our angst of injustice.

Cancelled in July, Still no Refund in August

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I made two Airbnb reservations for this summer in December 2019. I cancelled them both on July 6. There was no question at that time of whether I was allowed a refund or not — both hosts agreed to give me a full refund. I got the full refund for one of the cancellations on July 10. I got billed a “cancelation fee” for the other reservation on July 10, but I haven’t gotten any money.

I called July 6 to ensure that this would work out since I had changed my credit card, and the customer service person assured me there was no problem. And indeed, I got the other refund without a problem. They said to wait 7-10 days.

I called again on August 17 and talked to a customer service person who said it looked like there was a problem and “an expert would contact me.” But here it is August 24 and no expert. Today I tried calling, and got a phone tree that explained: if the reservation was made before March 15, no refund is allowed. If the reservation was made after March 15, no refund is allowed.

If this is not about a cancellation 72 hours from now or less, nobody can talk to a person, just leave a message and an expert will contact you. Based what I am seeing from other people, I think my mistake was not insisting that I talk to a manager last week when I had a live person on the phone. This is pretty terrible.

Avoid Airbnb in Bath That Refuses Refunds

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In January we booked an Airbnb in Bath for two nights. The venue was booked so our family and friends could celebrate an uncle’s 70th birthday. We paid £1,960.85 including an exorbitant service fee of £262.85 (for what we have no idea).

Due to circumstances beyond our control — i.e. COVID-19 — we had to cancel the booking and did so in May. The guest of honour who lives in Ireland was not able to fly to England for the party due to flight restrictions caused by the virus. Consequently, we cancelled when we did in order not to lose the full amount. Had the coronavirus not happened, our party would have carried on with the booking as planned.

We received a refund of only £849.00 from Airbnb (50% minus the service charge). Our party of ten had hoped under these unusual circumstances, the host would have given us a full refund. The owners did say that if their B&B was rented during the weekend we booked, then a refund would be issued. No surprise that this did not happen so we didn’t receive the other 50%.

Losing this amount of money through no fault of our own was devastating for our financial situation which, because of the lockdown, is precarious at best. We appealed twice to the owner’s sense of fairness and compassion by asking them to send the other 50% refund (£849) realising that the hefty service fee Airbnb charges is likely beyond their control. This did not happen nor did we ever hear from them. Consequently, they have £849 of our money for doing absolutely nothing at a time they couldn’t have rented their place anyway.

We also appealed to Airbnb but they were useless in resolving this issue. This Airbnb in Bath did not act in good faith and if you are looking to book this venue in the future, buyer beware – the owners have no scruples and will take your money and run if given the opportunity. Our advice is not to book this place now or ever.

Host and Airbnb Contradicting Each Other

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I booked a five-month reservation with a Superhost through Airbnb. After 24 days, I cancelled the reservation for multiple reasons: the dirty TP in the bathroom; my food being eaten; and when the host said one of his employees had been exposed to someone with the virus.

The host said there was a 30-day cancellation penalty, which would be about $1100. Airbnb says that the amount of the remainder of four months’ time cut in half is how their system calculated the cancellation, for roughly a $3200 cancelation penalty.

I messaged the host who said, and I quote, “Again: you are not responsible for any cancellation fee. If they try to pay it, we will refuse it.”

After two months of trying to get Airbnb to respond to my calls the host is now saying they are charging a cancellation fee. This comes down to the host directly lying to me and to Airbnb. Airbnb refuses to even read what the host says or respond to me.

Thankfully I have had legal advice that said to save all messages and if Airbnb tries to do anything, I am completely covered. Airbnb says the original case manager is no longer with the company, and a new one is assigned but still not responding.

I have reached out over a dozen times over the past two months and still am being ignored. A representative the other day said that when a case is opened it could not be closed without a resolution. The helpbot closed my case the other day, after two months of being open and no resolution.

Not a good place to stay and Airbnb is hiding reviews on them so they can remain a Superhost.

Airbnb Refused to Give Full Cash Refund

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Airbnb’s COVID-19 cancellation policy says I will be offered a full cash refund, as my situation fits the criteria. I am eligible for a full cash refund. Was I offered a full cash refund? No.

I was offered less than half my money as a cash refund, or I could accept a credit of the full amount. As I was confident Airbnb would fix this error, I took the credit. I was living in a dream world. They have all been rude, dismissive, disdainful, from the juniors to the ‘senior’ consultants. One was decent enough to tell me the truth, but did nothing.

They have completely ignored the topic that the system made a mistake to not to offer a full cash refund. They say they will never give me the full cash refund. They have the gall to quote the policy to me saying that I took the credit, so I should shut up and crawl back under a rock.

The next indignity is that someone fraudulently used my credit. Who or how they used my credit, I don’t know. There were no apologies, just a new credit reinstated, but not the full value. They decide to ‘round down’ the credit amount.

Isn’t that theft, to take money off someone without their permission? Yes, they let someone steal my money, then they stole some of my money. Unbelievable. How do they feel about it all?

I asked the ‘senior’ consultant to ring me. He completely ignored me, and sent me one of the endless generic emails saying the same thing as the last fifty emails. Thankfully it didn’t contain the ‘slap-in-the-face line,’ that they will now close the case as they feel it has been dealt with sufficiently. They sent that one to me one too many times.

I have asked the NSW Fair Trading department to help. They are kind and supportive. As yet we have had no success in getting Airbnb to abide by their own policy. They have shown themselves to be incompetent, but worse than that, dishonest and completely dismissive and disrespectful of their customers’ feelings and rights.

The true test of customer service is how the company responds when things go wrong. When things go well it all looks good, but my situation has tested these people and they fail in so, so many ways.

I am sorry to all the lovely hosts who have made our Airbnb stays so memorable. You make Airbnb look good, but it is rotten to the core. There are plenty of other accommodation websites that offer the same style of accommodation and service. I hope you will all join me there, and we can again enjoy our carefree holiday travels.

Not Happy About Airbnb’s Cancellation Policy

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My son was due to be married in NY in August. I had paid $3800 to secure an Airbnb accommodation. I am in Australia. The wedding has been postponed for one year and travel is not allowed.

The host has been lovely. However, as I cancelled, Airbnb is holding $901 in fees. They say this is fair, as my cancellation is not covered by extenuating circumstances. The host is also angry, but it doesn’t seem to matter. I regret not asking her to cancel the booking as I feel perhaps I would have been better situated? Message after message, case manager, phone call but no refund from Airbnb. I am devastated.

Any suggestions?

COVID Refund Nightmare Over France Airbnb Cancellation

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My family of four was supposed to travel to France at the end of June. Clearly with the state of things we can’t go. I cancelled the reservation.

On my host’s page, it clearly says that I am entitled to a 50% refund minus the Airbnb service charges. When I talked to Airbnb, they told me that the host had refused the refund due to her “strict policies”. The host told me (albeit with a language barrier) that it was Airbnb. I also received a message after cancellation stating the amount I was to receive back. I have verified this with a lawyer in my family.

Now Airbnb won’t answer my messages and I am totally stuck. There’s no way that anyone will be travelling to France anytime soon, but I am so angry that I want my money back on principle. We even offered to take a full credit to use another time but they refused that as well. The blame game going on is astounding. This is the worst customer service I have ever received, and we are both in the hospitality industry so know a thing or two about this.

Any suggestions?

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Unable to Get a Full Refund Due to Airbnb Policy

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Airbnb customer service was unable to approve or give out a 100% refund due to me cancelling the reservation before their policy updates on April 1, 2020. I made the cancellation at the beginning of March due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now my country Malaysia has to prolong the country lockdown until June 9. Airbnb said my criteria met their policy, but because I cancelled the reservation and got a 50% refund before April 1, I’m not eligible for the 100% refund.

It’s not right; it’s not logical. This policy should be amended, and not be biased.