To expect MoH to refund hen accommodation after we were refused access?

[Hennightmare]

I attended a hen party at the weekend - Friday to Sunday, staying close to a seaside resort in a private accommodation. I paid my share in advance - nearly £300.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the owner who refused entry on the basis that hen parties (and same sex groups/stags) are not allowed and this is stated in the booking terms and conditions and elsewhere on the website. Despite reasoning, the owner was not backing down, and said there’d been an incident with a same sex group two weekends ago which required costly repairs.

MoH said she was aware of other hens who had stayed and this is how she found the place on instagram. She was told no refund would be given as there wouldn’t be time to let it again for the weekend.

We managed to find budget hotel rooms in the area but this scuppered the plans which were in place for the house - games etc.

I have looked myself and it is prominent on the website about the rules around hen parties etc. It is clear there has been inconsistent approaches in the past though.

Should the MoH cover us for her mistake? I am out of pocket after the hotel booking.

YABU - suck it up, it happened
YANBU - her mistake, she should offer to cover it

•It was booked months ago so prior to the incident mentioned.
•I did see the listing prior to booking, but was looking at the key details such as photo’s and whether bedding/towels are provided as opposed to trawling the T&C’s
•MoH was informed the day before that the owner would greet us as opposed to key safe which was what listing mentioned.
-She said she can’t find the booking email now but would have noticed if it said no hens allowed.

I think that covers the questions !

Speaking as someone who has lived in close proximity to holiday accommodation both in a popular seaside resort and in a rural area, I can say that hen and stag parties make life absolute hell for the neighbours. Even the "well-behaved" ones who don't necessarily play loud music and trash the accommodation but nevertheless are very noisy usually until late night/early morning. To them it is an exciting couple of days in the year. For the residents it is relentless disruption every single night.

That was my question. My friend has an Airbnb she always checks to ensure it's not a hen or stag weekend personally as well as putting it on the website.

If they don’t allow same sex groups and that’s in the terms and conditions how did a same sex group stay there a couple of weeks ago? Assuming hen do was more than 2 weeks ago.

Did no one else look at the website to have a nosey at where they would be staying?

I think they’ve changed the terms and conditions since booking and had you all on.

Surely she could just search for the email? Or look on the air bnb app

Not the kind of thing you'd delete before a trip

I think this is the key. It's very common for Airbnb type accommodation to state no hen/stag parties or large same sex groups. If the MOH booked the accommodation, then she must have confirmation of the booking. Was there a clause within that confirmation stating no hen/stag parties? Was the condition listed on the website at the time of the booking? Or is it a case of the owner having issues after the MOH booked, and then amending the conditions on the website?

Unfortunately, if the MOH can't prove that those conditions weren't on the website at the time she booked, then I can't see there's much redress here. The owner is saying the clause is on the website, which you've confirmed OP.

You don't know if the MOH ignored the clause or if it was never there at the time of the booking. You can't prove anything either way.

You can't expect the MOH to pay everyone back. Where is she supposed to find the money?!

Yeah agreed, I can’t really question her now after the event, as she’s not my friend. But I am seeing my friend (bride to be) tomorrow so will see what she thinks. I know she wasn’t happy with her at the weekend but was putting on a brave face.

I’d suggest small claims court on the basis of what you mentioned and get MOH to trawl through emails to find the confirmation. Take screenshot of pages and I‘m sure someone wiser than me with regards to technology will be able to explain what code or software details a court would need to see to show change of website.

I wouldn’t accept being left out of pocket because the owner changed his mind. Get some photos of insta accounts etc, too.

So two weeks ago there was an incident the owner told you so but. So up to then it was ok. If the owner changed their mind they need to refund you. What did the bride think?

It is crap but surely you can’t really expect her to pay out £3k to compensate you - unless she’s absolutely minted.

It’s because they had a bad experience with a hen group.

Why is it a crap rule? It's quite common and op says it is on the website but moh decided to chance it, presumably because it had a key safe and hoping the owner would never know.

@RumPidgeon Suggesting small claims court would also help confirm whether the MOH was aware of a no hens/stags stipulation when she booked. If it was clearly stated on the website, she won't want to pursue this avenue.

Not sure whether that will help the OP get her money back, but at least she'll know whether it's even worth pursuing a claim.

If it was me, I would offer to pay. However a lot also depends on the financial situation of MoH and whether she is the kind of person (savvy/intelligent) that could reasonably be expected not to make this type of mistake.

oh come on!! If the MoH genuinely didn’t know she’d have pulled up the booking confirmation at the door and said to the owner show me where it says this then in the t&c’s. The fact that she has ‘lost’ the email speaks volumes - she clearly knew and was chancing her arm. She’s an idiot and frankly I would want my money back but would probably let it go, how completely crappy of her. There are places that will take hen do’s (I booked one in bath for my sisters hen and there were 20 of us and it took me AGES to find as most say no and I triple checked because of this with the owner). They are usually not the really lovely houses of course but they do the job for a group!

I don’t know the ins and outs of MoH’s finances but I’m led to believe she’d have no issue reimbursing the cost, fwiw.

OP, did you mean to be so rude?

It is horrible but no, I don't think you can expect the MoH to pay for this, as you had the opportunity to look at the website advertising the property yourself (which you said you did). If the MoH booked it knowing that hen parties were banned, she was in the wrong and a total fool but still, you all had the opportunity to check the booking details, so are all equally responsible. So many properties ban hen dos now that I'm surprised anyone though this was a good idea.

By the sounds of it, the landlord WAS accepting stag/hen dos until two week prior. If MOH booked months ago then this rule wasn't in place or was not consistantly applied.

MOH doesnt owe anyone anything, I would take this up with landlord or the managment company.

Try to get confirmation from the landlord in writing about the previous incident to prove that hen dos were there AFTER the house was booked by MOH. Check all the confirmation emails to see if they say anything about banning hen do's. cover your back, make sure you did everything you could have done reasonably then chase for the money.

You’d need to check Airbnb’s specific Ts and Cs, but possibly you could argue that if booking restrictions change after someone has booked but before they arrive, the onus is on the host to contact anyone who has an upcoming booking and make sure they can/will agree to the new terms.

The MOH was acting on behalf of the group, and actioning a group decision. You or any of the others could have checked the property website but you didn't. it isnt all on the MOH..

Nobody deletes booking emails until after the booking has happened.

@PhaedraTwo I'd missed the update that the MOH had lost the booking email...yes, that's highly suspect!

I think the Mosh could consider small claims court to get the money back- assuming it wasn’t mentioned in the advert or T&C that no hen parties were allowed…
terrible from the host!!
The moh is in a very tight spot.
if she’s not been refunded, I’m not sure she should refund you from her own pocket tbh.
I think she should pursue a refund…

They don’t, but she may just not be able to find it.

i have an upcoming holiday lodge booking that I simply cannot find the confirmation for. It’s in my emails somewhere, but a search isn’t finding it.

I have subsequent emails and always note the booking reference so it won’t be a problem, but it may not be the MOH trying to hide something.