nd293 Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Be warned that you need to read AirBnB's fine print very carefully and assume the most unreasonable interpretation. I just asked to cancel one night of a 5 night booking, made and paid for several months ago. The host agreed to the change, but rather then refunding me one night, AirBnB instead recalculated my booking at a new (much higher) rate and then proceeded to debit my credit card for more money. So I cancelled one night and ended up paying more for a 4 night booking than I had for a 5 night booking. AirBnB's wording is "If the host altered their pricing before you requested the change, your new reservation will reflect this pricing.". I would not have said I was making a 'new reservation' when I cancelled one night, but apparently that's what AirBnB calls it... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Oh that would tick me off!! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Ouch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 That's crazy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScoutTN Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Not a good way to build a business. Repeat customers are necessary! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 (edited) That's terrible -- she certainly should have let you know beforehand if she had to raise the price given the later date of the "new" reservation or fewer nights (possibly resulting in no discount), and then letting you make the final decision. We had a sort of similar experience last year when we were planning to rent an airbnb for 30 days. It turns out we were arriving a day later, so I contacted her (in plenty of time for no penalty) that it would be only 29 days. Well it turns out that her discount was only for 30 days, so by staying just 29 days, we'd have to pay far more! She did warn me of this though and gave me the option to just stick with the 30 days even though we weren't arriving until the second day. That's what we ended up doing, of course. She actually tried to change it a number of times so that we'd get the discounted price for just 29 days, but the equations/prices were pretty set on her site, and she couldn't figure out how to change it. Oh well. Edited September 17, 2016 by J-rap 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 Thanks for the sympathy and interesting to know I'm not the only one to run into this problem. I've cancelled the booking, which means I'm out the AirBnB service charge, but I really, really didn't want to do business with that host after this experience. I'm a bit 'booking shy' now - I'm doubting my ability to make good choices. I've booked us into a large hostel, which isn't ideal as there isn't a kitchen but it's convenient and isn't likely to change its prices on me or cancel the booking or be closed when we want to check in. Right now I need that assurance. Arranging 'budget' travel is hard work! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 yuck That's a crummy policy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Yes, I know someone else that had that problem. If you change your reservation, it's basically a new reservation. I considered using AirBnB this summer when we were travelling, but I never found a place that was affordable and configured the way we needed it. We ended up in a Residence Inn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 Thanks for the sympathy and interesting to know I'm not the only one to run into this problem. I've cancelled the booking, which means I'm out the AirBnB service charge, but I really, really didn't want to do business with that host after this experience. I'm a bit 'booking shy' now - I'm doubting my ability to make good choices. I've booked us into a large hostel, which isn't ideal as there isn't a kitchen but it's convenient and isn't likely to change its prices on me or cancel the booking or be closed when we want to check in. Right now I need that assurance. Arranging 'budget' travel is hard work! Ah yes, we've done a lot of budget traveling! Doing it with 7 people has always been a challenge. We've stayed at some pretty interesting hostels too. I'm glad you were able to cancel out of the AirBnb. Our family has mostly had great experiences with them. Have a great trip, wherever you are going! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butter Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 I wonder if that's not the host's issue, but AirBnB's. The host may not have even realized cancelling one day would increase the total cost. It sounds like the host altered their price some time between the initial booking and the change. The host may have thought, as you did, that it wasn't a new booking. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted September 17, 2016 Author Share Posted September 17, 2016 I tried to resolve it with both the host and AirBnB. After a number of emails AirBnB did actually suggest there was a procedure to deal with this, but the host meanwhile sent me a message saying she couldn't (wouldn't?) do anything. We're off one a month long Europe trip in December. It was intended as a dream vacation but it's giving me nightmares! I am very grateful we can do this, but it's more stressful to plan than I expected. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 I tried to resolve it with both the host and AirBnB. After a number of emails AirBnB did actually suggest there was a procedure to deal with this, but the host meanwhile sent me a message saying she couldn't (wouldn't?) do anything. We're off one a month long Europe trip in December. It was intended as a dream vacation but it's giving me nightmares! I am very grateful we can do this, but it's more stressful to plan than I expected. Trip planning can be difficult if you aren't planning to stay in typical hotels. That said, I have planned four vacations now that included several reservations with private parties, b&bs, etc. and out of all of the places we have stayed, I have only had one cancel on me (with plenty of notice) and one other that we didn't feel comfortable staying at once we arrived. 95 percent of the time we have been very happy with our accommodations and we have usually saved money and experienced something memorable. I try to stick with places that have a lot of positive reviews and give detailed information. The planning is stressful but hopefully once it is done and set you will end up with a smooth, fantastic trip! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs_JWM Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 (edited) I work as an AirBnB assistant and occasionally have to deal with the website. It's not terribly intuitive or sensible, so I wouldn't be surprised if your host was constrained by the format and unable to change things as you wanted. It also sounds as if the host has changed her pricing since you've made the reservation, which she could have dealt with differently, so that's too bad. And yes - Airbnb considers a change to actually be a cancellation and a new request. Good luck planning the rest of your vacation - I'm sorry it's been so stressful. Sent from my XT1049 using Tapatalk Edited September 17, 2016 by Mrs_JWM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted September 17, 2016 Share Posted September 17, 2016 some hotels and (especially) rental condos are similar - it's cheaper per night if you rent five or more nights, and you pay more per night if there are fewer nights. was that an established policy at this place when you made your booking or did they change it so they could ding you more? and, the cautionary tale I would share is my friend's son. he rented a house here for a week. his mother went to stock it in preparation for his arrival - it wasn't the person's to rent. it was privately owner occupied. it was a clear case of fraud, but I don't remember if he ever got his money back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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