Hoping some host on here will know the answer

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Today, my husband and I booked an Airbnb on his account for the Martin Luther King three day weekend at a house about an hour from Washington DC. Once I had the address I googled for directions to that address from our home so I could estimate how long it would take to drive there.

In addition to the directions, other search results came up and the first one was Zillow where the house is listed for sale for 2.9 million.

What happens if the house sells and the new owners do not want to list on Airbnb? I’m assuming our reservation is canceled and all money refunded. Is that correct? Also we paid for the optional trip insurance. Would that also be refunded if the trip is canceled by Airbnb or the host?

More questions. If the house is sold to be run as an Airbnb, do they have to honor our reservation at the same price?

I’ve never had this situation happen before and I’m hoping some of you have some experience that could help us.

I’m wondering if we should cancel the trip ourselves and find another listing. The trip is fully refundable up to December 19th. It will really be a problem if they cancel on us because this trip is for a once in a lifetime event, and we have other people joining us for it.

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I don’t have personal experience with this, but I have read numerous posts about these scenarios.

As Airbnb listings are not transferable, a new owner cannot take over existing reservations. If the new owner wants to honor existing reservations, they have to come up with some arrangement with the previous host- like the old host contacts the guests, explains the situation, tells them the new owner has blocked your dates on their calendar, and you can rebook with them after the old host cancels the reservation.

Even if the buyer wants to continue it as an Airbnb, they don’t have to honor the booking taken by the seller, and are under no obligation to honor the original price if they do.

Basically, it’s a complicated mess, and I have zero respect for the greedy hosts who continue to take bookings after listing the place for sale, trying to wring every last penny out of it, then cancelling the bookings when it sells.
I’ve read many guest posts who this happened to, sometimes having the host cancel their long-standing booking only days before check-in.

If I were you, since this is a special trip for you and prices will likely go up closer to the event dates, I would cancel this booking. Maybe send the host a message first stating your concerns- perhaps they have only accepted bookings up to a certain date and the terms of the sale are that the place doesn’t actually change hands until that date.

Also, many hosts just naively assume that they can transfer the listing when a house that has been listed as an Airbnb sells to someone who wants to continue to list it and are shocked to find out they need to cancel the bookings and will be monetarily penalized. So if the host tells you they are just going to transfer the listing and bookings, they are either clueless, or lying.

I don’t know how the trip insurance would work- you’d have to ask Airbnb about that and hope you get an accurate answer.

Really, the host should cancel this at your request (altho I doubt they will agree to)- unless you are still within the 48hr full refund window, you are going to lose the Airbnb service fee if you cancel, unless you can convince Airbnb otherwise.

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If you really want to protect yourself, cancel ASAP and book elsewhere. The “elsewhere” is probable a better bet with a long track record and on-site hosts. Before finalizing your booking, tell the new hosts that you cancelled a previous reservation when you discovered the house was for sale, and ask them for reassurance that you can count on them still being in business at least until the end of January.

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Thanks for the info. We are still in the 48 hour free cancel window…we just booked about 12 hours ago. I’ve found an option on VRBO that might work. It’s not as posh and it’s a bit more, but it would do, I think.

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Good idea, thank you!

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I agree with Spark. You’re asking us but the party that knows the most about what is going on with that home is the person selling it. I would ask them but that doesn’t mean I’d trust them. LOL.

I suspect you know this but since you didn’t mention it, it’s inaugural weekend as well. The excitement on one side is high and if that side wins, housing in the area will be expensive and all bets are off on what people will do for a buck. This may be a “highest bidder” situation. If the other side wins, given the lack of turnout at his first inaugural, you might be able to get a better price than you can now, so keep looking after the election if DJT wins.
Good luck.

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Please keep us updated.

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Why don’t you ask the hosts?

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I am in the DC metro area and I actually blocked inaugural dates last time around in order not to house anyone with bad intent. I also blocked January 6, and members of a group with a stash of weapons booked a hotel not half a mile from me and were later charged.

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We briefly considered trying to attend a Harris inaugural but decided against it. We may be in Mexico for inaugural weekend instead. Fear of a repeat of 2020/21 nonsense is part of the reason to stay away.

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