Has Strict Cancellation policies changed again?

1

I received a request to cancel this reservation 4 days after booking. I have strict cancellation.

Per Airbnb strict cancellation: For a 50% refund of accommodation fees, cancellation must be made 7 full days prior to listing’s local check in time (or 3:00 PM if not specified) on the day of check in, otherwise no refund. For example, if check-in is on Friday, cancel by Friday of the previous week before check in time.

I believe that I should receive 50% of the booking BUT I received the message below. (No contact attempt was made by Airbnb support to verify if this is acceptable which it is not per the strict cancellation terms.)

Per Airbnb
Hi Lynn,
We regret to inform you that your guest Gage canceled reservation HMS95RYE5T starting on November 3, 2018.
Per your cancellation policy, a complete refund was given to the guest.
For more information on cancellation payouts, please see our FAQ.
Your calendar has also been updated to show that the previously booked dates are now available.
Regards,
The Airbnb Team

2

Doesn’t sound right, unless there were extenuating circumstances.

Why not give Airbnb a call?

3

You’re 100% certain that Strict didn’t somehow change? Call Airbnb, stay on the line and keep asking to talk to a supervisor until you get an answer.

4

I did and also wrote to them. The agent that gave the refund did not document why so now I have to wait until agent comes in later today. My best guess is that the guest is new on platform so they refunded because he said he made an error with location. NOT MY PROBLEM, nor did they reach out to me.

I made the agent document our phone call in writing and send me the email before I hung up.

5

Again if Airbnb is feeling sympathetic they can put their hands in their own pockets.

3 Likes
6

Here’s Airbnb’s latest reply. I try to be professional on the phone but also tell them that I work hard to have maintained super host for 2 years and that seems to get through to them. I’ll update when I get a reply.

Hello Lynn,

I have been investigating your case and also reached out to some other agents to help me.

I am going to transfer your case to our Trip department who will get in touch with you about this case. Our Trip department is more specialized in cases like this than I am and I really want you to get the best help you need.

I made very sure all the information about your case gets to my colleagues in the Trip department. Everything you told me on the phone and my previous emails will get to them.

I also am very sorry I personally can’t help you any further on this case and truly hope everything will be solved as soon as possible.

Kind regards,

7

Plain English Campaign version: Sorry I have had to refer your case to the trip department. I have passed all your information on and they will contact you in X hours. Best wishes.

Why does Airbnb always use 5 times the necessary word count peppered with ridiculous Americanisms I don’t actually think Americans use? As Oscar Wilde said, ‘Sorry for the long letter I was short of time.’

1 Like
8

Good news - AND also an FYI for other hosts if this happens to you.

Per Airbnb - the customer service rep made an error and they will refund me. Made them put it in writing (again) before I got off the phone.

As requested I am providing written documentation of our conversation.

Due to a prior agents mistake, I am reversing the refund and processing an immediate reimbursement of $129.81.

The reimbursement can take 5-15 days depending on your financial institute

6 Likes
9

Very good! But your post said the reservation was 11/3. You won’t see any $ until then, right?

10

Good catch. I thought so too but since they already gave back the guests money he said that there was no reason to wait until the booking. (Personally, I never understood why we had to wait.)

1 Like
11

they have a 72 hour cancel policy now I think for strict.

12

I thought it was 48 hours, US. I don’t see that info on their website. Can you tell me where you saw this?

13

This is so weird… so they sent an email to you saying the guest got 100% refund but in fact they sent them 50% and kept the other half to themselves? What if you never called to complain…? :thinking: :thinking:

I know its not the case here but FYI an exception to cancellation policy is guests from South Korea (not sure if theres more countries). They get 100% refund if they cancel 30days before no matter what policy you have.

14

It’s outrageous if Airbnb treat different countries differently. That’s discrimination.

15

I discovered the S. Korea rule a few months ago. Even though my guests currently lived in Canada they created their account while living in s.Korea. Ugh!