5 ms·

This happened to me the first time I used AirBnB in 2016. I was attending a music festival in NYC, booked an AirBnB a month in advance in Brooklyn. 4 days befor

This happened to me the first time I used AirBnB in 2016. I was attending a music festival in NYC, booked an AirBnB a month in advance in Brooklyn. 4 days before my flight the host cancels on me and I got a surge of anxiety. I tried to find other hosts on such short notice. I found someone one day before my flight (he rented out his apartment for 3 days and just stayed with a friend, also his first time using AirBnB). The experience of getting cancelled and having no repercussions to the host was extremely off putting to me. I had no idea on what to do at the time, as the site loves to not handle edge cases that completely sour your experience with the product. Why they simply couldn't have an error screen that said, "your host cancelled? please do the following and checkout these hosts who ARE available and reliable." This was my first and last time using AirBnB. Maybe it changed now, but I tell everyone I know to just rent a hotel instead. Such a shame too because I love AirBnB when it comes to engineering but the product itself I will never use again.

BowBun 4y ago
Did you reach out to AirBnB when that happened? This happened to me in Amsterdam once, the host cancelled a couple of days before we went (this was in 2018 or so). I contacted AirBnB support, and they gave me 150% of the value of the stay to get an alternative accommodation last-minute. Got us a nice little bed and breakfast that was more expensive and everything worked out alright. Sorry your experience was so stressful!
- freeqaz 4y ago
  Maybe this depends on regional policies? I just had an experience last month with a host canceling and they wouldn't give me a coupon for more then 30% of the value of the stay. But the stay that had been cancelled was a month-long and it was cancelled 8 days in. Rebooking with just a 30% coupon was impossible, even after 20+ hours on the phone, and I ended up giving up to book my colleague a hotel for a few nights. (I still haven't been reimbursed by Airbnb either, and I will never expect to.) I'm glad to hear that not every experience is terrible, but it's also annoying that it seems to be random based on region or the rep you get.
  - nyokodo 4y ago
    > it was cancelled 8 days in. That is a different kind of cancellation as now it could be for cause which isn't the case for a cancellation before the stay.
    - freeqaz 4y ago
      The host had a family emergency and had to leave. Totally understandable, but Airbnb had no resolution for my friend.
  - im3w1l 4y ago
    Can it really be legal to do anything less than a prorated refund?
- KennyBlanken 4y ago
  AirBNB was useless when I was unable to get into an apartment around 10-11pm because the door had been physically bolted/latched from inside and the off-site owner wasn't responding. The customer service agent slipped up (apparently) and confirmed there were other AirBNB guests in the unit, but when she escalated to get permission to call them, the story changed to "we cannot discuss whether there are other AirBNB customers in the unit due to privacy reasons." I was not offered any help finding an alternative listing. I was not offered a refund or any sort of compensation whatsoever. I was left standing outside in winter in a cold part of the country, with nowhere to go, at midnight. Fuck AirBNB.
- xeromal 4y ago
  I think AirBNB should do all the leg work on cancellation just like a real hotel or airline would do. They should present me options with no additional cost showing. Just let me pick. The fact that you have to shoulder the stress to find a place absolutely sucks. Imagine if an airline overbooked/cancelled on you and just said fuck off, find a new flight, here's your credit.
  - incone123 4y ago
    The comparison with airlines is timely: "The Competition and Markets Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority have published an open letter to airlines, warning them about their obligations under consumer protection law." https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2022/07/22/airlines-warned-to-comply-with-consumer-law-or-face-enforcement/ https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2022/07/22...
  - leni536 4y ago
    > Imagine if an airline overbooked/cancelled on you and just said fuck off, find a new flight, here's your credit. You don't have to imagine. This happens quite regularly with Wizzair nowadays.
    - xeromal 4y ago
      Never heard of Wizzair, but my experience in the US is that they book you on a new flight. If none of their options suffice, (I believe) they'll help you book on an alternative airline like when a computer outage happens and takes down their entire network. This seems to be the case even for our budget airlines like spirit.
      - 4ad 4y ago
        This is what happens everywhere with any real airline. Wizzair and other low cost airlines are of couse bound by the same consumer protection laws, but they prey on their uneducated clientele who doesn't know their own rights so they don't know they can complain. Of course even if you know, and you complain, they will make your life miserable. With Things like these, plus all the dark patterns and scams regarding luggage, check-in, etc, I don't know why anyone would ever fly low cost.
ricw 4y ago
These last minute cancels have happened to me so many times on airbnb that I've stopped using it. It's just not reliable. I'd rather get a hotel that basically never cancels than having a rug pulled underneath me days before a trip. Will wait a year or two to see if this makes airbnb reliable in any form.
- macNchz 4y ago
  I've never actually had it happen to me, but it's one of the reasons I always book a hotel for the first night or two of a longer international trip, even if we're staying in Airbnbs for the rest of the time. Never want the experience of landing somewhere and having nowhere to stay.
- sircastor 4y ago
  We’ve used AirBnB a number of times and never had a host cancel on us. I assume we’re lucky here. My wife is always really proactive about chatting with the host quite a bit, I wonder if that is an indicator?
  - ineptech 4y ago
    Me neither. I think there's a pretty big gulf between "no-frills 1BR in a major city" type rentals and "cutesy 3BR getaway near hiking trails" type rentals. The former are cheap to set up and have a lot of dodgy hosts, and the latter involve a lot more capital to set up.
  - foepys 4y ago
    "Wife" aka female might play a huge part in this. Whenever I need something from customer service, I let my girlfriend handle it. People are almost always very nice towards her while at best neutral towards me.
  - tedmiston 4y ago
    Who knows what the motives are, but it's happened to me on maybe 5–10% of bookings. I don't recall ever hearing a reason. Definitely frustrating when it happens after a long period of time of being booked. The host of a friend's new year eye reservation in NYC one canceled less than 24 hours before check in as we were in transit to the city. That was an ordeal but Airbnb made it right by covering the difference for the next available comparable place which was significantly more expensive. Since everything was booked for the holiday, that turned out to be a penthouse.
SamBam 4y ago
For what it's worth, AirBnB does try harder now to find you similar places if your host cancels. Possibly they even eat some of the price difference, if necessary. That said, I fully approve of raising the penalty on hosts who cancel. A guest who cancels is an annoying lack of income. A host who cancels could result in cancelling an entire trip, or staying in a terrible or even unsafe alternative.
- katfish17 4y ago
  I was supposed to stay at an Airbnb last weekend. I had booked it 3 months in advance, but then 2 weeks before the booking, the host canceled and relisted the place at a higher price. When I messaged the host about it, they said it was Airbnb's fault and gave a confusing explanation that I didn't really believe. Airbnb refunded the money, but their support only provided me a link to other listings. The prices 2 weeks before my trip were significantly higher than they were 3 months before, but Airbnb wouldn't make any accommodations. I repeatedly called customer support, and every time they would tell me that the case had been escalated and I would receive another call within 24 hours. They never called back, and after spending hours on the phone I eventually got a credit for $170 towards a future listing. The place I ended up booking for the trip cost $1000 more than the original listing.
mcronce 4y ago
I've never had this experience with AirBnB - although I have had some crappy ones, but not nearly this bad. I was just in the process of booking a car on Turo yesterday for the first time in a while, though, and did see a ton of listings where the owner says things like "go read these rules that are linked from my profile page; if you don't follow them to the letter I won't hesitate to cancel your booking last-minute" Pretty offputting, honestly. If I could stomach driving automatics I'd just go to Enterprise.
- Nick87633 4y ago
  I was banned from Turo with no reason given like 10 years ago. No way to contact anybody. Fuck internet companies.
mmcnl 4y ago
In my experience, Airbnb is more risky than booking a hotel, and also not really cheaper. I don't even look at Airbnb anymore these days.
ncrmro 4y ago
When you first sign up as a host they turn on a feature where guest can auto book without you having to approve. My first guest booked at 7:30 pm for a checking at 10

BowBun 4y ago

Did you reach out to AirBnB when that happened? This happened to me in Amsterdam once, the host cancelled a couple of days before we went (this was in 2018 or so). I contacted AirBnB support, and they gave me 150% of the value of the stay to get an alternative accommodation last-minute. Got us a nice little bed and breakfast that was more expensive and everything worked out alright. Sorry your experience was so stressful!

freeqaz 4y ago
Maybe this depends on regional policies? I just had an experience last month with a host canceling and they wouldn't give me a coupon for more then 30% of the value of the stay. But the stay that had been cancelled was a month-long and it was cancelled 8 days in. Rebooking with just a 30% coupon was impossible, even after 20+ hours on the phone, and I ended up giving up to book my colleague a hotel for a few nights. (I still haven't been reimbursed by Airbnb either, and I will never expect to.) I'm glad to hear that not every experience is terrible, but it's also annoying that it seems to be random based on region or the rep you get.
- nyokodo 4y ago
  > it was cancelled 8 days in. That is a different kind of cancellation as now it could be for cause which isn't the case for a cancellation before the stay.
  - freeqaz 4y ago
    The host had a family emergency and had to leave. Totally understandable, but Airbnb had no resolution for my friend.
- im3w1l 4y ago
  Can it really be legal to do anything less than a prorated refund?
KennyBlanken 4y ago
AirBNB was useless when I was unable to get into an apartment around 10-11pm because the door had been physically bolted/latched from inside and the off-site owner wasn't responding. The customer service agent slipped up (apparently) and confirmed there were other AirBNB guests in the unit, but when she escalated to get permission to call them, the story changed to "we cannot discuss whether there are other AirBNB customers in the unit due to privacy reasons." I was not offered any help finding an alternative listing. I was not offered a refund or any sort of compensation whatsoever. I was left standing outside in winter in a cold part of the country, with nowhere to go, at midnight. Fuck AirBNB.
xeromal 4y ago
I think AirBNB should do all the leg work on cancellation just like a real hotel or airline would do. They should present me options with no additional cost showing. Just let me pick. The fact that you have to shoulder the stress to find a place absolutely sucks. Imagine if an airline overbooked/cancelled on you and just said fuck off, find a new flight, here's your credit.
- incone123 4y ago
  The comparison with airlines is timely: "The Competition and Markets Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority have published an open letter to airlines, warning them about their obligations under consumer protection law." https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2022/07/22/airlines-warned-to-comply-with-consumer-law-or-face-enforcement/ https://www.businesstraveller.com/business-travel/2022/07/22...
- leni536 4y ago
  > Imagine if an airline overbooked/cancelled on you and just said fuck off, find a new flight, here's your credit. You don't have to imagine. This happens quite regularly with Wizzair nowadays.
  - xeromal 4y ago
    Never heard of Wizzair, but my experience in the US is that they book you on a new flight. If none of their options suffice, (I believe) they'll help you book on an alternative airline like when a computer outage happens and takes down their entire network. This seems to be the case even for our budget airlines like spirit.
    - 4ad 4y ago
      This is what happens everywhere with any real airline. Wizzair and other low cost airlines are of couse bound by the same consumer protection laws, but they prey on their uneducated clientele who doesn't know their own rights so they don't know they can complain. Of course even if you know, and you complain, they will make your life miserable. With Things like these, plus all the dark patterns and scams regarding luggage, check-in, etc, I don't know why anyone would ever fly low cost.

ricw 4y ago

These last minute cancels have happened to me so many times on airbnb that I've stopped using it. It's just not reliable. I'd rather get a hotel that basically never cancels than having a rug pulled underneath me days before a trip. Will wait a year or two to see if this makes airbnb reliable in any form.

macNchz 4y ago
I've never actually had it happen to me, but it's one of the reasons I always book a hotel for the first night or two of a longer international trip, even if we're staying in Airbnbs for the rest of the time. Never want the experience of landing somewhere and having nowhere to stay.
sircastor 4y ago
We’ve used AirBnB a number of times and never had a host cancel on us. I assume we’re lucky here. My wife is always really proactive about chatting with the host quite a bit, I wonder if that is an indicator?
- ineptech 4y ago
  Me neither. I think there's a pretty big gulf between "no-frills 1BR in a major city" type rentals and "cutesy 3BR getaway near hiking trails" type rentals. The former are cheap to set up and have a lot of dodgy hosts, and the latter involve a lot more capital to set up.
- foepys 4y ago
  "Wife" aka female might play a huge part in this. Whenever I need something from customer service, I let my girlfriend handle it. People are almost always very nice towards her while at best neutral towards me.
- tedmiston 4y ago
  Who knows what the motives are, but it's happened to me on maybe 5–10% of bookings. I don't recall ever hearing a reason. Definitely frustrating when it happens after a long period of time of being booked. The host of a friend's new year eye reservation in NYC one canceled less than 24 hours before check in as we were in transit to the city. That was an ordeal but Airbnb made it right by covering the difference for the next available comparable place which was significantly more expensive. Since everything was booked for the holiday, that turned out to be a penthouse.

SamBam 4y ago

For what it's worth, AirBnB does try harder now to find you similar places if your host cancels. Possibly they even eat some of the price difference, if necessary. That said, I fully approve of raising the penalty on hosts who cancel. A guest who cancels is an annoying lack of income. A host who cancels could result in cancelling an entire trip, or staying in a terrible or even unsafe alternative.

katfish17 4y ago
I was supposed to stay at an Airbnb last weekend. I had booked it 3 months in advance, but then 2 weeks before the booking, the host canceled and relisted the place at a higher price. When I messaged the host about it, they said it was Airbnb's fault and gave a confusing explanation that I didn't really believe. Airbnb refunded the money, but their support only provided me a link to other listings. The prices 2 weeks before my trip were significantly higher than they were 3 months before, but Airbnb wouldn't make any accommodations. I repeatedly called customer support, and every time they would tell me that the case had been escalated and I would receive another call within 24 hours. They never called back, and after spending hours on the phone I eventually got a credit for $170 towards a future listing. The place I ended up booking for the trip cost $1000 more than the original listing.

mcronce 4y ago

I've never had this experience with AirBnB - although I have had some crappy ones, but not nearly this bad. I was just in the process of booking a car on Turo yesterday for the first time in a while, though, and did see a ton of listings where the owner says things like "go read these rules that are linked from my profile page; if you don't follow them to the letter I won't hesitate to cancel your booking last-minute" Pretty offputting, honestly. If I could stomach driving automatics I'd just go to Enterprise.

Nick87633 4y ago
I was banned from Turo with no reason given like 10 years ago. No way to contact anybody. Fuck internet companies.

mmcnl 4y ago

In my experience, Airbnb is more risky than booking a hotel, and also not really cheaper. I don't even look at Airbnb anymore these days.

ncrmro 4y ago

When you first sign up as a host they turn on a feature where guest can auto book without you having to approve. My first guest booked at 7:30 pm for a checking at 10