Nope. All guests get a 10% voucher in addition to a refund. In rare cases Airbnb will help a guest locate alternative accommodation.
Most times you are on your own.
In only extreme cases will they pay for non Airbnb accommodation.
@Helsi, all I can tell you is my experience. Airbnb has already relocated 2 guests to my place after incidents in less than two years of my hosting. So, not “nope” in my case.
I agree with @Helsi we have hosted about 10+ canceled on guests, including guests checking in tomorrow. The guests checking in tomorrow most definitely got no help from Air BNB with booking our property.
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I have a friend who got locked out of a Paris Airbnb because they lost the key and the host didn’t have a spare. Air put them in a hotel at a cost of $600+. It appears that Airbnb doesn’t have a consistent policy… just like airlines when they bump you. It may not be fair but it makes sense that some guests will be treated differently than others depending on a variety of factors.
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This is the only consistent ABB policy…
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I too have taken guests referred by Airbnb after a break down with a previous listing. However guest tales on other forums, demonstrates this is most definitely the exception rather than the rule.
Guest tales anywhere are most definitely not a total accounting of, or even a random sample of, guest experiences. Unhappy guests are going to seek out a platform to complain, happy guests are not. Just as all the host complaints here are not an accurate reflection of host experiences overall.
I appreciate that.
However, Airbnb don’t volunteer in their guest information that they will help guests find somewhere or pay for a hotel.
This is what they say…
“Once you’ve found a new place, we’ll automatically transfer your original payment to your new reservation request, along with any eligible credit from Airbnb. If your new reservation costs less than your original reservation, we’ll refund you the difference”.
It is only when guests push, they might offer to help and most times that’s just doing a search. It’s very rare they will actually phone a host and try and get a guest an alternative booking.
We know guests don’t read our listings or the Airbnb Help Center’s information. But if they did they just as likely might find this:
"Situations that may be eligible for a refund under this policy generally fall into one of three categories:
The host fails to provide reasonable access to the booked listing.
The listing booked is misrepresented (ex: number of bedrooms, location, lacks promised amenities).
The listing isn’t generally clean, is unsafe, or there’s an animal in the listing that wasn’t disclosed prior to booking.
Airbnb will either provide you with a refund or use reasonable efforts to find and book you at another comparable accommodation for any unused nights left in your reservation. The amount of any refund will depend on the nature of the travel Issue suffered."
https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/544/what-is-airbnb-s-guest-refund-policy
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And that’s the problem. A guest in a bad situation isn’t going to search the detail of the guest policy.
And ‘reasonable efforts’ are open to interpretation. That could just be sending them details of a search in the area for available places, as they did for friends of mine stuck in Amsterdam with nowhere when they got to a listing which had been closed down by the landlord who found their tenants had been doing Airbnb contrary to their tenancy terms…
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@KKC I think there is a big difference between guests canceling within the first 24 hours under the ‘guest refund policy’ and having a host pre-emptively cancel. I agree that guests canceling during a stay probably gets more attention from ABB than a host canceling before the guest’s stay.
Like I said we have had many people book us after a host pre-emptively canceled, not too many that canceled during a stay. We did have one guest get rehomed to us during a stay at another property, bc of cleanliness issues. It was the guest the reached out to me not ABB, but the guest was also complaining the ‘pool was dirty’ in the previous listing, so that may or may not have fallen under the Guest Refund Policy.
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No, they aren’t. They are going to call Airbnb and in most cases Airbnb is going to be helpful, sometimes exceeding so sometimes not. To repeat: Airbnb doesn’t hold to a consistent policy, it depends on the situation and only unhappy guests complain.
As for where this thread went off the rails, I think @JudyA would be supported by Airbnb if her booking got cancelled but I don’t know if they could or would find a comparable listing. Also, Judy, I’d go with a superhost with a lot of reviews. Anyone who says “don’t tell anyone you are an Airbnb guest, or don’t talk to the neighbors” or any weird rules or statements in the listing is to be avoided. FYI, I’ve no idea if this listing is “legal.” It’s an entire place so I don’t know how it could be.
This place would be about $3500 for a week. The Shelburne suite with a kitchenette could be had for a comparable amount but they would have two beds in a room and one bathroom. Two suites? Double the cost of this airbnb.
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Sorry, I guess I missed a post or two. I was discussing how helpful Airbnb would be to Judy if she got cancelled on. If guests cancel in the first 24-48 hours I wouldn’t expect them to get any help.
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This is especially a pet peeve of mine. Asking your guests to be complicit in some sort of deceit you are undertaking. Just what are you trying to hide from? Landlords? HOA? City Regulators? I’ve also seen listings that say don’t open the door to anyone. What the what.
Listings that have this type of caveat should be reported to Air. I would never ever book a place that asked me to lie or lay low. I’d be worried about getting kicked out at any moment for god knows what.
Be legal or don’t list.
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I do agree with this until the law affects me; then I’ll have to rationalize! LOL.
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Or when you HOA is a dictatorship and just changes the rules without a vote… Can you tell I LOVED my previous HOA??
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I’m not an HOA kind of gal but I can sympathize.
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Thank you - I will look into this one. and I agree to your suggestions, just so concerned to get stuck!
Sadly in SF HOAs are kinda the majority bc of housing pricing and just the requirements of city living.
I sent you a pm check ur messages