I received a last minute request yesterday at 4 pm telling me “they were in the area and had an Airbnb fall through” and needed a place to stay for the next 3 nights including “right now” - they were with their newborn baby & older well mannered dog. I said my RiverHouse Waterfront Apartment is available and there is an additional charge for the dog and the extra person and sent them a special offer with the extra person fee & pet fee. So I received a request from the potential guest to waive the extra person fee “since the baby doesn’t take up much room.” Well I wrote back and very nicely stated that I do not waive fees and I am sorry that they are stranded but we are probably not a good fit for their budget. I wished them the best - Here is my question, if their Airbnb cancelled so doesn’t Airbnb give you funds for your next booking? (I had an Airbnb cancel on me and Airbnb sent me $100.00 credit for my next booking). Also doesn’t Airbnb help you find another booking? So I am thinking this may have been some kind of scam. The guest didn’t have any reviews and was pretty new to Airbnb. Anyone have any thoughts on this or similar experience. Thanks.
Yes, AirBnB normally does do these things for a guest, but (1) maybe the guest does not know this and didn’t think to call AirBnB for help, and (2) maybe they actually mean they didn’t like their AirBnB and they themselves want to move.
I’m actually thinking they might have shown up at the first rental with the dog or the baby unannounced and the owner said no to them.
I agree, this is the first thing that came to my mind
Thanks for your responses @eliel and @Yana_Agapova and that is probably a more likely story than a scam. I guess I was a bit surprised that a last minute booking with “special needs” would ask for a rate reduction, We have no problem with children or babies but they are not less work. We have a crib and everything but between the diaper disposal and the wear and tear on the furniture they are not less impact. I hope they found a place to stay but they were from Washington, D.C. so if they needed to return home it was only an hour back to the city. I have learned from this forum and experience not to waive fees or reduce rates upon request. It rarely turns out well and my rate is VERY reasonable for a waterfront apartment.