unfair cancellation charge

Serkan0
Level 1
London, United Kingdom

unfair cancellation charge

Hello. I have had a guest cancel their reservation because they realised after booking that our pool was a communal pool as opposed to a private pool, even though we are quite clear about this. The trouble is, whilst I am happy to refund all their payment, Airbnb has kept a service charge, which is quite a handsome amount. I feel for the guests. This was an honest mistake on their part, so why should airbnb profit from this situation? Could the guest please get their money back in full? They realised within hours of booking that they wanted to cancel, and it has cost them around €100 Euros. That feels very unfair to me. Can anyone help? What can these people do? Thanks. Serkan 

38 Replies 38

That's the penalty for cancelling.  The guest agrees to that when they book a room.  The cancellation penalties are far greater for hosts.  You can refund those fees out of your own pocket, if you choose, by using the Resolution Center.  

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/311/do-i-get-a-full-refund-if-i-cancel

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/43/what-happens-if-my-guest-cancels 

it seems very harsh.. I mean they cancelled withing 24 hours.. I don't know of many businesses that would be so harsh on people. Of course I don't want to pay this out of my own pocket but this notion of "penalty" ?? I can understand if they held the booking for several weeks or so, but just a few hours, they would have cancelled within an hour but did not know how it would affect their payment .. ?? This makes me a little sad for them.

 

I love airbnb, I really do.. but this kind of thing is not customer focussed at all, it would breed resentment. I think airbnb should have a cut off point.. of say 12 - 24 hours. C'mon Airbnb, have some heart ! True heart, not just an logo of one .. don't be fixed on your own rules and regulations.. show some flex ! In this situation, it is simply cruel to take people's hard earned money for an honest mistake. Please. 

We also use VRBO and usually there is a phone #  or email address  of the guest. Very ofter I'll get a AIRBNB alert on my phone but am not near a computer to read the entire message and it might be hrs. before i can check it.  I don't always have the guest phone # listed.I wish there was a way to get a direct contact with the guest to have questions answered or asked without going through AIRBNB

As far as I am aware all my bookings have show the guests number.

David
Steve143
Level 10
Limerick, Ireland

Hello @Serkan0,

 

The guest used the Airbnb booking service. Irrespective of the outcome, that's still a cost for Airbnb.

Most guests use the service only once, to book. This guest used it twice, to book and to cancel.

 

They didn't read the description of your pool, they weighed up their options and still decided to cancel instead of proceding with the booking.

 

All payment problems are a matter between the guest and Airbnb. If they wish they can contact Airbnb customer service to complain but they won't get the fee refunded.

 

Steve.

Serkan0
Level 1
London, United Kingdom

 

Hi Steve,

You make a fair point.

However, consider it this way. This was an online transaction, no people were involved directly in this, yet airbnb are pocketing €100 euros. Which "cost" are you refering to exactly? Payment processing? Why don't they say that then? It would not be €100, that's for sure. 

Ikea take products back if customers are not happy, even if you change your mind after opening the packaging.. Amazon will issue refunds too.. This is true customer service. I don't believe a coorporation as big as this platform should shut the door in people's faces when they have made a very human error. I get your point. I don't agree with it, simply becuse of the time scales involved in their cancellation. many thanks. 

@Serkan0

Airbnb charge between 6-12%. So service fee is not always 100€ , but it can be even more if canceled booking is pricy.

But, in case when host has to cancel penalty is 50 or 100€ + blocked calender + lost of superhost status for a year , what about that?

 

It is common knowledge that guests don't read and it's often causing problems to us hosts. So, I am not very upset when they have to pay for it. I am always surprised when I see someone book accomodation for few houndreds or thousands € without carefully reading everything before booking. It is really stupid. 

 

 

 

I can't call these guests "stupid"... this was their first airbnb experience. It has not gone very well for them.. 

They charge 20 per cent just very slick with the numbers. I rent an apt and if I charge 70 euro they charge the guest around 84 so that's nearly 20 per cent

Hello @Serkan0,

There lies at least one difference between providing a service and selling goods. When someone uses a service they have been given something unrecoverable, use of a service. Sellers of physical goods can always resell the returned items. Of course their margin is lower due to returns handling costs.

 

I don't like that Airbnb and other service providers, like estate agents and banks, charge a percentage rather than a fixed fee for their service as it's no more costly to process a transaction for, say, €200 than one for €100.

Steve.

In Italy they do give back the fee.

 

Presumably they booked flights as well, Easyjet whoever, if they wanted to cha ge those they would be charged.

 

Seems unfair to me that the host is always the one to lose.

David

Hi Steve was reading your messages and agree a hundred per cent with you, I have a lot of issues with air bnb and cant get a hold of them, they kept a date blocked on me because i cancelled six months in advance, five min after the guest booked, as I hadnt done my pricing and was new to the site. 

I lost out on a weekend booking as I couldnt contact them to unblock it. Dont think I can.

Very poor customer service indeed.

Thinking of moving to another booking system where they are not grabbing every oppertunity to load their pockets. 

Cormac0
Level 10
Kraków, Poland

@Serkan0

 

Another perspective is that it stops people booking that have no intention of coming to visit, time wasters or malcontents, the popular expression now a days is Trolls.

Steven112
Level 2
Decatur, AL

I am in the middle of that very same thing. The guest canceled less than 5 hrs after booking. This happened a few wks. ago and now her AMEX statement has arrived and she was charged over $300 for the cancellation.  Neither she or I was aware of this policy.