Is Air B&B host being unreasonable?

[Inapickle72]

I was looking for a cheap AirB&B as budget is pretty tight but I do need somewhere to stay whilst travelling and house hunting. I found a double room that said £40 a night. However, when I changed it to two guests (going with partner) it said £80. I decided to double check with the host as usually when I've booked a double it's for the room, not per person.

I asked if it would be double £80 for two of us and he said it's a little extra, not double, as the only thing he needs to provide extra is a towel. He then came back and said no extra charge. I said OK great, so can I confirm it's £40 a night for two of us sharing. He said yes. I went ahead and booked just under 1 guest as otherwise the price was coming out as £80. He accepted straight away, but today he's come back today saying I need to add and pay for the other guest.

I went back and reiterated the messages he'd sent me confirming it was no extra cost. He says he'll do it half price for the second person. I questioner a bit further and then received a full caplock/shouting sentence from him.

In the end I've had to agree as we need somewhere to stay and I could only get a partial refund from him anyway.

But having sought as much clarity as possible and been told there's no extra cost for two, I feel like this has been done on purpose. The extra cost wasn't within budget and there's other places we would have stayed for a lower cost.

I also don't feel the shouting sentence was remotely professional. I was polite throughout. Is this something I can take to AirB&B or will they not care?

You lied on the booking, OP! Maybe he doesn't trust you any more either. Why didn't you book for two people?

Premier Inns are often much more than that these days. I've stated in loads recently and £60 to £80 per night was standard.

Have you booked two people into one room or two people into two rooms. Sometimes it is a bit difficult the way airbnb words things.

Cancel and stay elsewhere.

You are both in the wrong here.

He shouldn’t have lost his rag and shouted.
You shouldn’t have tried to get the room cheaper by haggling the price. For the sake of £40, he really doesn’t need people quibbling how he sets his prices.

It’s very much location specific and depends and what’s going on locally. I stayed in one on the outskirts of Nottingham recently for £30.

I think that sounds very reasonable, I can’t see why people are comparing P Inns, owned by Whitbread to an independently owned AirBnB? P inns can be cheap but only if you book well in advance. It’s is quite normal for AirBnB to charge PP in my experience.

What do Premier Inns have to do with the thread?

@YumYummy - people were saying for the price of staying in someone else’s house she could just book a Premier Inn, that’s why it was brought up.

Finding a place to stay on airbnb isn't just about staying in someone's spare room any more. Aren't most owners running businesses in solely rented properties nowadays and are often hotel standard.

Yes, I had the misfortune of living next to one, but the OP sounds like it’s a room in a house rather than renting the entire place.

Yeah, it's a room in a guy's house. I would have expected the £80 per night for a professionally run thing.

In the end, I've been granted a refund. I appreciate I probably made a mistake, but his continued falsehoods and aggression were making me uneasy. I noted that in his reviews, he'd done the aggressive shouty thing to a customer who gave a perfectly polite (albeit slightly lower) review.

Next time book a room with the correct amount of people and it will save everybody time.

Next time read the reviews before you book, too.

For what it's worth, I think you did the right thing. It's up to him if he wants to charge double for two people versus one in the room, but it's not OK for him to change what he agreed to after you've booked. Even with the refund, you're now booking an other place closer to your dates, which may mean it's more expensive or there's less choice.

I'd be worried also that in addition to being in the house with someone unprofessional/possibly aggro, you'd also find extra fees demanded when you arrived/after you stayed.