Cancelation policy

[Alexander94]

I am pretty annoyed right now! Airbnb changed the cancellation policy without informing me at the moment of cancellation that the dates will then become unavailable for further booking! I cancelled it because he booked for one person but was coming with three! the dates are for new years eve!

On top of that it is **bleep** impossible to find an email adress of where to contact airbnb for a complaint?! where is the service AIRBNB?! you cant build a platform and only expect to make money and cut out all service! wtf!

Alex

[Tami14]

You are so right. This happend to me as well. I made a mistake an did not block the dates. I advise the guest immediatly and appologized. It was more then 2 month prior to arrival.

Now my plans changed and i want to reopen dates but Airbnb blocked them.

I've been trying for hours to find a way to contact Airbnb but there is no mail adress anywhere.

It's the 1st time i'm canceling reservation. I'm quite new at this. I would expect Airbnb not to be so stricked as no harm done.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

Hate you tell you but that cancellation policy has been in place for a long time now. 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/990/how-do-host-cancellation-penalties-work

However you may be able to convince them that there was a legit reason for cancelling: https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1341/are-there-exceptions-to-the-host-cancellation-penalties

You can contact Airbnb by using the "search for anything ...." box above and looking for the "Contact Airbnb: A Community Help Guide" for all the ways you can contact Airbnb.  

[Alexander94]

I sort of understand the policy to protect travellers, but come on its 2 months in advance!

Besides I am not fighting the changed policy, I am pissed that I wans't informed of the repurcussions at moment of cancellation since this was my first cancellation after they changed the policy! Furthermore I think my reason of cancellation is pretty reasonable!

Yes after one hour of searching I found the link you also posted! So two problems here;

1) they made it on purpose so difficult to contact airbnb to minimize hired capacity for help lines, that pisses me off! their phone number should be the first thing you see when looking for help. We are renting out our apartment, they are just the middle man! what if my f*cking place burned down or something! I have to search for two hours?!

2) basically the only way to remove the repurcussion is if your family member died. And you have to prove this?! where is the option of cancellation for legimate reasons without having family death?! again the sole reason for this is to minimize the workforce needed to handle these complaints. its fcking bull**bleep**, travellers are our customers and hosts are the customers of airbnb, so treat them like that.

[Craig59]

I agree with my man.  The Help Center is circular.  It just keeps sending me back to another help cener and asking me to log in again.  What gives with this kind of logic.  Even the Community Center Pros dont have the Airbnb email address, just sends me back to where I was to begin with.  Doesn't anyone at Abnb care about the hosts who are taking it in the wallet for legitimit and (in my case) mutally agreement to cancel  the reservation?

[Craig59]

Can't  you give out the email address for Airbnb?  I've tried all that and it just sends me around in circles.  Very frustrating as I'm losing money on a mutally agreed cancelation and refunded all the guest's money. 

[Lynne2]

I have found that the best way to contact Airbnb is via Twitter @AirbnbHelp .  Next time, if you have an issue like this with a reservation, ask Airbnb to intervene.  If your House Rules are not adhered to, they can intervene

[Coln0]

I received response from Airbnb Twitter in less than 30 minutes. They assigned a case manager to follow up with me until the case resolved. I personally think their service is adequate.

[Clare0]

@Alexander94, @Craig59, @Alice-and-Jeff0, @Tami14 Keep in mind that Airbnb incurs costs when a host cancels.  Most guests opt to have their original payment, plus 10% of the original cost, applied to a new booking plus Airbnb has other relocation and customer service costs involved with angry guests who have booked flights and made plans pursuant to a confirmed reservation.  

Airbnb is experimenting with new cancellation policies in Italy.  Search for any listing there and you will see what I mean. 

But for now, these host cancellation policies apply to the rest of us: 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/990/how-do-host-cancellation-penalties-work

You can find answers to most common questions from the Community Help guides including contact phone numbers. 

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Community-Help/Community-Help-Guides/m-p/23100#U23100

And, yes, Airbnb tries to keep their phone lines open for urgent or emergency situations.  All other help is available through 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/contact_us  Just keep clicking "My question is about something else" and you will get to a help support center where a live person will help. 

Before cancelling a reservation, contact Airbnb first.  Help is there!

Sorry to ramble, but there are always two sides to the story!

[Coln0]

Did you try alteration before cancel? There are always better option available before you actually cancel. If you must cancel, contact Airbnb first. Airbnb has the valid reason to penalise the host for cancelling otherwise host can just cancel any guest at anytime just because they want to make more money.

[Sandra126]

You certainly sound very angry. Breathe! Since you have had 12 guests, you have been a member for long enough to have taken the time to familiarise yourself with the site. I cancelled too, once, when I was new-ish by mistake and rang them, they said nothing they will do and I certainly learnt to check and double check what buttons I pressed after that. You could try to contact them but they are very strict about cancellations. Alteration would have been the thing, and let the guest cancel if not happy with the situation. When you as host cancel, the guest gets a travel credit which will come out of your pocket in the form of a fine, depending on how long until actual booking date. Anyway, good to see you on the forum, lots to learn from other users on here.