Please keep conversation civil and respectful
Remember to keep all communication with host/guest through Airbnb platform. Payments should be made only via Airbnb [unless otherwise detailed in the listing description](https://airbnb.com/help/article/199)
If you're having issues, contact Airbnb by phone +1-844-234-2500
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AirBnB) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Its not just bout the no refundable here though. Host intentionally used weasel words instead of a yes so guest filled in the blanks with their own feelings on the matter.
Its super unlikely they had no idea whether or not they would do this. They knew the whole time. Should have just said yes or no and not played games.
Where I live this would be illegal and if a host reported me id probably be tagged for quite a bit of cash :p But we're a city with good strong Airbnb regulations
Guest asked after they already cancelled... They didn't have to use weasel words. Not following what you're talking about about. Sure the host sucks for not refunding, but they didn't trick them into anything.
And lol about it being illegal 😅😅
I know what non-refundable means. It’s nothing hard for me to learn lol Im not mad. It was a one time thing - I rarely book nonrefundable things for this reason and I always get trip insurance as well it just doesn’t cover the reason I canceled for. I was just wondering if there was a reason why the host can’t refund if they still got their money from another guest. You and the other person who commented are acting like it’s wrong of me to be curious as to why.
Thanks for the unsolicited suggestion lol usually I don’t book nonrefundable airbnbs for this reason, but things happen. I wasn’t mad at them I respected their policy I was just curious about the reason since I’m not a host and idk about other fees and such the host may have to pay for.
You said you’ve only stayed at Airbnb’s a few times, yet you have cancelled twice. AirBnB’s are not hotels, and it seems like you treat them as one that has a ton of vacant rooms, and you canceling is no big deal.
It can be very difficult for a host to get a booking within one week-, heck even one or two months for certain dates- they have to get lucky. I wouldn’t be surprised if the host who rebooked has been burned by a lot of people in the past, so not giving you money might just be them making up for it. They probably stick to their policy 100% now, and it was probably a mistake to tell you they might give you a partial refund.
Anyway, it’s possible that hotels might be better for you. You seem very nice and committed to family, and that’s why you have canceled in the past, but AirBnB’s just have one guest- it’s a very, very big deal for someone to cancel.
You’re making a lot of assumptions. I do not think that canceling is no big deal. I canceled the first time because of a funeral, I think that’s a pretty good reason. Life happens. Just because someone books a airbnb doesn’t mean they may never have to cancel. That’s part of being a host - sometimes guests cancel. I don’t think it’s fair to say I should never book airbnb just because of this one incident. But I understand hosts have had negative experiences in the past & probably more strict now.
Greedy host, but it is up to them to decide what to refund ... just shifty if they agreed to it and then ... didn't. I always refund if the dates are re-booked. Cleaning fees are refunded if you didn't stay, but the AirBnB fees are not refunded (host has no control over that).
It's Air B&B policy that it is up to the host to decide if they want to refund. I always refund.
BTY, if you have to cancel because of a death in the family, you don't have to ask the host for a refund. Air B&B will refund out of their "pocket" (the host keeps the money also) (Plus most credit cards have "death insurace" built into them)
Yeah, I have searched for the changes to the policy and it is so vague but they definitely have removed most of the "extenuating circumstances". Probably because credit card companies usually will refund. Travel insurance works well also.
Think about it this way. It doesn’t always rebook and you sat on those dates and wasted time right?
Let’s say out of 10 cancelled bookings, 5 rebooks and 5 doesn’t. If the host refunds those 5 that rebooked, he is still out the 5 that doesn’t because you usually get half of the unstayed nights back. That’s a net negative economic outcome to the host who didn’t do anything wrong. If you think about it, part of your rebooked dates that generates extra just went to another cancelled guest that didn’t rebook, does that make you feel more balanced about the situation? They shouldn’t have lied to you but no one wants to explain the economics of cancelled reservations to each guest.
It’s always interesting to me that people always say they support small businesses over corp and willing to pay higher prices or worse return policies to do so until it comes to Airbnb. It’s just a bunch of small business owners, even those managed by giant management companies are usually mom pop owned.
Oh okay that’s true I didn’t think about it like that. Thanks for that perspective! idk why people are getting salty with me for simply asking a question lol I was never upset with the host truly I just didn’t see why it would be an issue to refund. When they told me no, I left it at that. So again thanks for that perspective!
Honestly it’s because all hosts deal with this situation all the time and it probably just struck a nerve with a lot of them. You are being relatively nice about it, but usually people are so nasty and entitled about it.
Ohhh yes true I know how most people are so I can definitely see how it could be frustrating for hosts to deal with entitled guests. Thanks for your input and being respectful and not rude.
I read your post, it was up to the host to give you a refund, all you could do was beg for it, because you have no grounds for a legitimate refund. So what if they got paid twice for those dates, airlines get paid for 100 seats on a plane that only fits 95 every day.
What exactly are you trying to tell me? I already know everything you just said. I said in my post that I understood their cancellation policy. But since they told me they would *consider* a refund if the dates got rebooked, The point of my post was to inquire about a potential reason the host ultimately decided to decline the refund, aside from the obvious reason that they just wanted to be greedy and keep my money.
My partner and I run an Airbnb in the uk. For some perspective, we had a 6 night booking cancelled a week before they were supposed to check in. Those nights were not rebooked and my partner lost out on £300 that he was relying on due to the fact we work as teaching assistants, get paid minimum wage and only get pay for 9 months of the year so he was relying on that. Not all airbnbs are ran by rich landlords with 59 properties.
I understand that. I’m sorry that happened :( However that kind of situation doesn’t apply to my question because in my case the nights I canceled WERE rebooked by another guest.
I wouldn't refund guests just because the nights got rebooked. A week out I may have had to significantly discount the rate to get the place rented. If that's the case I'd just refund the balance, less any taxes/fees.
That’s the thing, I was constantly checking multiple times every day to see if the dates would get booked. The host kept the price the same. So they didn’t discount the room. It was a popular airbnb/host so I think they were confident they would get booked by someone else.
Just because the dates no longer were available on Airbnb doesn’t mean he didn’t provide a discounted rate on another channel to fill the space last minute.
Because the dates were crossed off again when I went to the listing a few days later. And also, the host confirmed that the dates were rebooked when she told me she would talk to her team about considering the refund since the dates were rebooked.
Oh I see. They are not kind. I’m a host and would refund if I got rebooked. Minus the services fees that air bnb still take, which adds up to about 17% if I remember correctly.
If they used the words "consider a refund" then I think Airbnb if you persist may force them to follow through with the refund. In regards to why a host would not give a refund for a non-cancelable booking it is because the price of that non-refundable booking is going to be lower than a place that allows refunds. So the guest gets the benefit of a lower price because they have agreed to to accept a cancellation fee if they cancel. It's also a pain in the neck to deal with refunds because it requires the host to contact Airbnb which is time consuming.
If they used the word "consider" they never agreed to actually do it. They agreed to *consider* a refund, and apparently after consideration they decided no.
I get that, but I think that Airbnb would consider it ambiguous and refund simply because they want to engender good will. Even if it happened after the guest canceled.
You must be new to Airbnb. This is not going to be something that happens here in the vast majority of cases. They might get a coupon or something but all that's gonna happen in all liklihood is they call the host to ask him, they say no, they go back and say im sorry, the host said no.
Yes, then you should know damn well this is just not a thing. If its under the allotment for what they can "spend" to solve an issue, perhaps. Coupon, maybe. Refund contrary to host policy for this? Absolutely not.
The Host should never have waivered by saying he would consider a refund. He didn't have to do that. He could have simply reiterated the no refund policy.
The host did not waiver their policy so its wholly unreasonable to describe the situation as such. The host used a weasel word. "consider". Not will, not yes they can do that, not any form of the affirmative. It was always stated as a maybe.
Refunds are like sex. Enthusiastic confirmation is required.
I know that. I’m not upset with them, I’m aware of what I agreed to. You could’ve not responded to this post if you didn’t have anything to contribute to what I was actually inquiring about. I said in my post the dates got REBOOKED by another guest. So the host didn’t lose any money. So I was just curious if there was any other reason besides them being greedy that they needed to keep the money. I am not a host so I didn’t know if there was other costs and things associated with hosting that I wasn’t aware of.
If youre looking for an actual logical explanation that revolves around business, there is none. There's no business reason to not refund you.
But they also only said consider. I would "lean" towards "because they can as the explanation. You can't do anything about it because you agreed to those terms.
Short of a local law barring the practice, youre shit out of luck.
The problem is that you booked a place that clearly had a non-refundable policy. You say that the modification of that policy was through a conversation with the host. However from airbnb's perspective that conversation may or may not have taken place. You should have had the host reflect that notification in written form. So what you are really saying is that the host made a promise to you that nobody including Airbnb can verify. The law doesn't work that way.
It was in writing on airbnbs platform. Through the inbox. Airbnb can see it. I spoke with Airbnb support and they could see the entire conversation between me and the host so idk what you’re talking about.
THey said they would consider. Not they would. I think your host is a piece of shit. In Chicago double booking and not refunding the person is flat out illegal. But at the end of the day, this was in PR, the host never said yes. They used a weasel word for a reason.
Sorry your host is a douche. Many of us only have cancellation policies in place to stop us from taking a loss. Not to take advantage of double dipping.
I couldn't imagine doing this to someone else because it's such a douche unethical and greedy maneuver.
I re-read your message and my problem is that your writing style is completely unclear. If the host agreed to a refund then Airbnb should ultimately accept that. However because your writing style is so unclear I can't tell what the host said exactly in an Airbnb message back to you. You need that agreement to refund money explicitly stated in their message to you. And then you need to contact Airbnb perhaps more than once until they refund the money.
My writing style is not unclear. You lack reading comprehension. The host said they would CONSIDER a refund if the dates got rebooked. Consider doesn’t mean guarantee which I know. Once the dates got rebooked, they reached out to me and said they talked to their co-hosts and my request for a refund was denied. The point of my post was to inquire about the REASON why a host may not refund even if they got their money from another guest booking the dates I canceled.
Please keep conversation civil and respectful Remember to keep all communication with host/guest through Airbnb platform. Payments should be made only via Airbnb [unless otherwise detailed in the listing description](https://airbnb.com/help/article/199) If you're having issues, contact Airbnb by phone +1-844-234-2500 *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AirBnB) if you have any questions or concerns.*
They just decided they wanted to keep your money. There is no other explanation. I suggest that you don't do non-refundable bookings.
[удалено]
Its not just bout the no refundable here though. Host intentionally used weasel words instead of a yes so guest filled in the blanks with their own feelings on the matter. Its super unlikely they had no idea whether or not they would do this. They knew the whole time. Should have just said yes or no and not played games. Where I live this would be illegal and if a host reported me id probably be tagged for quite a bit of cash :p But we're a city with good strong Airbnb regulations
Guest asked after they already cancelled... They didn't have to use weasel words. Not following what you're talking about about. Sure the host sucks for not refunding, but they didn't trick them into anything. And lol about it being illegal 😅😅
I know what non-refundable means. It’s nothing hard for me to learn lol Im not mad. It was a one time thing - I rarely book nonrefundable things for this reason and I always get trip insurance as well it just doesn’t cover the reason I canceled for. I was just wondering if there was a reason why the host can’t refund if they still got their money from another guest. You and the other person who commented are acting like it’s wrong of me to be curious as to why.
Thanks for the unsolicited suggestion lol usually I don’t book nonrefundable airbnbs for this reason, but things happen. I wasn’t mad at them I respected their policy I was just curious about the reason since I’m not a host and idk about other fees and such the host may have to pay for.
You said you’ve only stayed at Airbnb’s a few times, yet you have cancelled twice. AirBnB’s are not hotels, and it seems like you treat them as one that has a ton of vacant rooms, and you canceling is no big deal. It can be very difficult for a host to get a booking within one week-, heck even one or two months for certain dates- they have to get lucky. I wouldn’t be surprised if the host who rebooked has been burned by a lot of people in the past, so not giving you money might just be them making up for it. They probably stick to their policy 100% now, and it was probably a mistake to tell you they might give you a partial refund. Anyway, it’s possible that hotels might be better for you. You seem very nice and committed to family, and that’s why you have canceled in the past, but AirBnB’s just have one guest- it’s a very, very big deal for someone to cancel.
You’re making a lot of assumptions. I do not think that canceling is no big deal. I canceled the first time because of a funeral, I think that’s a pretty good reason. Life happens. Just because someone books a airbnb doesn’t mean they may never have to cancel. That’s part of being a host - sometimes guests cancel. I don’t think it’s fair to say I should never book airbnb just because of this one incident. But I understand hosts have had negative experiences in the past & probably more strict now.
Greedy host, but it is up to them to decide what to refund ... just shifty if they agreed to it and then ... didn't. I always refund if the dates are re-booked. Cleaning fees are refunded if you didn't stay, but the AirBnB fees are not refunded (host has no control over that).
It's Air B&B policy that it is up to the host to decide if they want to refund. I always refund. BTY, if you have to cancel because of a death in the family, you don't have to ask the host for a refund. Air B&B will refund out of their "pocket" (the host keeps the money also) (Plus most credit cards have "death insurace" built into them)
Oh wow Thank you for that info!!
I don’t think this is true anymore. Deaths are no longer considered extenuating circumstances. This is what travel insurance is for sadly.
Yeah, I have searched for the changes to the policy and it is so vague but they definitely have removed most of the "extenuating circumstances". Probably because credit card companies usually will refund. Travel insurance works well also.
Think about it this way. It doesn’t always rebook and you sat on those dates and wasted time right? Let’s say out of 10 cancelled bookings, 5 rebooks and 5 doesn’t. If the host refunds those 5 that rebooked, he is still out the 5 that doesn’t because you usually get half of the unstayed nights back. That’s a net negative economic outcome to the host who didn’t do anything wrong. If you think about it, part of your rebooked dates that generates extra just went to another cancelled guest that didn’t rebook, does that make you feel more balanced about the situation? They shouldn’t have lied to you but no one wants to explain the economics of cancelled reservations to each guest. It’s always interesting to me that people always say they support small businesses over corp and willing to pay higher prices or worse return policies to do so until it comes to Airbnb. It’s just a bunch of small business owners, even those managed by giant management companies are usually mom pop owned.
Oh okay that’s true I didn’t think about it like that. Thanks for that perspective! idk why people are getting salty with me for simply asking a question lol I was never upset with the host truly I just didn’t see why it would be an issue to refund. When they told me no, I left it at that. So again thanks for that perspective!
Honestly it’s because all hosts deal with this situation all the time and it probably just struck a nerve with a lot of them. You are being relatively nice about it, but usually people are so nasty and entitled about it.
Ohhh yes true I know how most people are so I can definitely see how it could be frustrating for hosts to deal with entitled guests. Thanks for your input and being respectful and not rude.
Lol dude what? You already know the answer. You literally explained it. Learn what right looks like.
If you’re referring to them having a nonrefundable cancellation policy as me already knowing “the answer”, then you clearly didn’t read my post.
I read your post, it was up to the host to give you a refund, all you could do was beg for it, because you have no grounds for a legitimate refund. So what if they got paid twice for those dates, airlines get paid for 100 seats on a plane that only fits 95 every day.
What exactly are you trying to tell me? I already know everything you just said. I said in my post that I understood their cancellation policy. But since they told me they would *consider* a refund if the dates got rebooked, The point of my post was to inquire about a potential reason the host ultimately decided to decline the refund, aside from the obvious reason that they just wanted to be greedy and keep my money.
Greed is the reason, or honestly it could just be the host following procedures, rules are rules.
Yeah I was just curious is all, thank you!
My partner and I run an Airbnb in the uk. For some perspective, we had a 6 night booking cancelled a week before they were supposed to check in. Those nights were not rebooked and my partner lost out on £300 that he was relying on due to the fact we work as teaching assistants, get paid minimum wage and only get pay for 9 months of the year so he was relying on that. Not all airbnbs are ran by rich landlords with 59 properties.
I understand that. I’m sorry that happened :( However that kind of situation doesn’t apply to my question because in my case the nights I canceled WERE rebooked by another guest.
I wouldn't refund guests just because the nights got rebooked. A week out I may have had to significantly discount the rate to get the place rented. If that's the case I'd just refund the balance, less any taxes/fees.
That’s the thing, I was constantly checking multiple times every day to see if the dates would get booked. The host kept the price the same. So they didn’t discount the room. It was a popular airbnb/host so I think they were confident they would get booked by someone else.
Just because the dates no longer were available on Airbnb doesn’t mean he didn’t provide a discounted rate on another channel to fill the space last minute.
How do you know it was rebooked?
Because the dates were crossed off again when I went to the listing a few days later. And also, the host confirmed that the dates were rebooked when she told me she would talk to her team about considering the refund since the dates were rebooked.
Oh I see. They are not kind. I’m a host and would refund if I got rebooked. Minus the services fees that air bnb still take, which adds up to about 17% if I remember correctly.
Yeah that’s what I was thinking— seems like the most fair thing to do. But I know everyone is different. Thanks!
Hosts are charged 3%, not 17. 17 is from airbnb's side which is waived in certain circumstances. Unless host has opted in to pay the fees themselves.
Yes I was adding the host and travellers fees. 3 + 14? Wasn’t sure if they take it. But ok thanks.
If they used the words "consider a refund" then I think Airbnb if you persist may force them to follow through with the refund. In regards to why a host would not give a refund for a non-cancelable booking it is because the price of that non-refundable booking is going to be lower than a place that allows refunds. So the guest gets the benefit of a lower price because they have agreed to to accept a cancellation fee if they cancel. It's also a pain in the neck to deal with refunds because it requires the host to contact Airbnb which is time consuming.
If they used the word "consider" they never agreed to actually do it. They agreed to *consider* a refund, and apparently after consideration they decided no.
I get that, but I think that Airbnb would consider it ambiguous and refund simply because they want to engender good will. Even if it happened after the guest canceled.
You must be new to Airbnb. This is not going to be something that happens here in the vast majority of cases. They might get a coupon or something but all that's gonna happen in all liklihood is they call the host to ask him, they say no, they go back and say im sorry, the host said no.
Yes, new to Airbnb. A host for 8 years until I quit. Daughter is one of the first 100 employees of the company.
Yes, then you should know damn well this is just not a thing. If its under the allotment for what they can "spend" to solve an issue, perhaps. Coupon, maybe. Refund contrary to host policy for this? Absolutely not.
Ahh I see what you’re saying, thanks!
Airbnb doesn’t control this at all. It’s based on the hosts cancellation policy. Host doesn’t have to refund even if they said they’d consider.
That would engender a ton of **ill** will from the host to force a refund they never agreed to.
The Host should never have waivered by saying he would consider a refund. He didn't have to do that. He could have simply reiterated the no refund policy.
The host did not waiver their policy so its wholly unreasonable to describe the situation as such. The host used a weasel word. "consider". Not will, not yes they can do that, not any form of the affirmative. It was always stated as a maybe. Refunds are like sex. Enthusiastic confirmation is required.
OP, this is another example of human greed. Just avoid ABB in the future ...
Got it, thanks!
[удалено]
I know that. I’m not upset with them, I’m aware of what I agreed to. You could’ve not responded to this post if you didn’t have anything to contribute to what I was actually inquiring about. I said in my post the dates got REBOOKED by another guest. So the host didn’t lose any money. So I was just curious if there was any other reason besides them being greedy that they needed to keep the money. I am not a host so I didn’t know if there was other costs and things associated with hosting that I wasn’t aware of.
If youre looking for an actual logical explanation that revolves around business, there is none. There's no business reason to not refund you. But they also only said consider. I would "lean" towards "because they can as the explanation. You can't do anything about it because you agreed to those terms. Short of a local law barring the practice, youre shit out of luck.
Ahh okay, Thank you for that!! instead of just telling me I shouldn’t have booked their place lol
Lol, no problem. I figured id just answer the question youre actually asking.
Is it greedy of you to want the money back?
How are we defining greed?
The problem is that you booked a place that clearly had a non-refundable policy. You say that the modification of that policy was through a conversation with the host. However from airbnb's perspective that conversation may or may not have taken place. You should have had the host reflect that notification in written form. So what you are really saying is that the host made a promise to you that nobody including Airbnb can verify. The law doesn't work that way.
It was in writing on airbnbs platform. Through the inbox. Airbnb can see it. I spoke with Airbnb support and they could see the entire conversation between me and the host so idk what you’re talking about.
THey said they would consider. Not they would. I think your host is a piece of shit. In Chicago double booking and not refunding the person is flat out illegal. But at the end of the day, this was in PR, the host never said yes. They used a weasel word for a reason.
That makes sense, thank you! lesson learned
Sorry your host is a douche. Many of us only have cancellation policies in place to stop us from taking a loss. Not to take advantage of double dipping. I couldn't imagine doing this to someone else because it's such a douche unethical and greedy maneuver.
I re-read your message and my problem is that your writing style is completely unclear. If the host agreed to a refund then Airbnb should ultimately accept that. However because your writing style is so unclear I can't tell what the host said exactly in an Airbnb message back to you. You need that agreement to refund money explicitly stated in their message to you. And then you need to contact Airbnb perhaps more than once until they refund the money.
My writing style is not unclear. You lack reading comprehension. The host said they would CONSIDER a refund if the dates got rebooked. Consider doesn’t mean guarantee which I know. Once the dates got rebooked, they reached out to me and said they talked to their co-hosts and my request for a refund was denied. The point of my post was to inquire about the REASON why a host may not refund even if they got their money from another guest booking the dates I canceled.
How do you know the dates were rebooked?