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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

Original poster

Air BnB

16 replies

funmamamoo · 30/05/2024 15:11

Posting here for traffic. Have tried googling but not much come back...

Have just booked my first ever air b n b for next year. Host has messaged to say those dates should not have been released and asked me to cancel. Why won't they just cancel it? I have asked the question - no reply.

OP posts:

Iwrotethelyricstoaxlf · 30/05/2024 15:13

is it booked for an event in the area. They’ve likely just cottoned on and want to increase the price.

Message air b n b and ask them what to do as if you cancel they can relief at a changed price but if they cancel on you they can’t relist those dates.

Houseplantmad · 30/05/2024 15:17

They’ll be penalised by dropping down the rankings if they cancel you, that’s why they want you to do it. Depending on their payment terms, you could lose your deposit and be liable for fees.

Dotjones · 30/05/2024 15:17

It's a con basically - if you cancel it's not their fault and they can relist it for more money. If they cancel, they can't.

DracoDormiensNumquamTittilandum · 30/05/2024 15:18

They will be penalised if they cancel. If you believe them, be nice and cancel. Mistakes do happen. If you think they are chancing it then make them cancel. Just check that you'll get a full refund if you cancel.

Original poster

funmamamoo · 30/05/2024 15:20

Houseplantmad · 30/05/2024 15:17

They’ll be penalised by dropping down the rankings if they cancel you, that’s why they want you to do it. Depending on their payment terms, you could lose your deposit and be liable for fees.

I have 11 months to cancel for a full refund.... that's what made me suspicious - one message suggested they didn't want me to 'lose' my money. But I have months for the full refund (no service fees)

OP posts:

BatshitIsTheOnlyExplanation · 30/05/2024 15:22

I would cancel and find something else in the area.

Sue152 · 30/05/2024 15:22

I think sometimes people book much further ahead than hosts anticipate. Only cancel if it is clear you will get a full refund. It's happened to me a few times. If hosts ask me to cancel straight away then I will, if it happens a while after I've booked then I make them do it.

DracoDormiensNumquamTittilandum · 30/05/2024 15:23

funmamamoo · 30/05/2024 15:20

I have 11 months to cancel for a full refund.... that's what made me suspicious - one message suggested they didn't want me to 'lose' my money. But I have months for the full refund (no service fees)

Show quote history

How quickly after booking did they message you? It's really possible that they didn't realise those dates were open already and made a mistake.

Jc2001 · 30/05/2024 15:25

Airbnb advice is to get them to cancel.

Dinoswearunderpants · 30/05/2024 15:27

Don't cancel. They need to cancel and you should be entitled to compensation.

DracoDormiensNumquamTittilandum · 30/05/2024 15:30

Dinoswearunderpants · 30/05/2024 15:27

Don't cancel. They need to cancel and you should be entitled to compensation.

Compensation? Why?

gertrudeteacake · 30/05/2024 15:34

The nice thing to do would be to cancel. If you don't want to be nice let them cancel.

UneTasse · 30/05/2024 15:34

This happened to me once, as the host. We travel a lot for work and airbnb our own home as we live somewhere quite touristy, and I always have our non-travel dates blocked, but Airbnb automatically released the following year (my fault for not keeping an eye on it) and somebody instant booked the place for 3 months!

I nearly died - anyway I cancelled it within about a minute, and emailed the person to explain and had a long friendly exchange with her helping her with ideas to find somewhere else for that long period.

Next thing I got a notification from Airbnb telling me that they were penalising me something like 10% of the total booking to compensate the guest!!! Because the booking was a long term one this was HUNDREDS of pounds, and of course not a penny of it was going to the guest as compensation at all - it was going to Airbnb to penalise me for cancelling. I got them to reduce it in the end because it was for such a long booking that it was an outlandish amount of money.

So this is a REALLY good reason for your would-be host to ask you to cancel instead of cancelling themselves. I wish I had known.

Goldengirl123 · 30/05/2024 16:03

This is because if the host cancels, they have to pay a big fee (ours £120). If you cancel, you get all of your money back

Goldengirl123 · 30/05/2024 16:05

Why?

Original poster

funmamamoo · 01/06/2024 12:07

An update:

At the hosts request - I tried to cancel - air BnB stipulate that if the host requests to cancel then they must do it. I told host this - they then called them directly - air BnB then called me to confirm I had requested the cancellation - she lied basically.

As it was - and unknown to me - as host pushes for cancellation - then consumer gets 10% of booking total as a voucher in return. This was what they had been trying to avoid by consistently fibbing.

I only share this now because I did not know this and wished they had been upfront from the start and I would have cancelled my end. I do know mistakes happen.

OP posts:

Flip