Host wants me to cancel due to double booking on his end.

[Brian870]

I have a trip planned to Kingston Jamaica March 20-24. I initially booked a home and paid in full. My wife subsequently found a US Government advisory informing of the risk of home invasion (https://www.businessinsider.com/travel-advisory-against-jamaica-tourism-violent-crime-2019-3) We did not believe this home provided sufficient security so we opted to cancel and made no fuss regarding a refund.  

Earlier today I found and booked a more suitable place relating to security only to have the host send me a message both with Airbnb and outside of Airbnb indicating he had previously blocked the availability and now has a double booking. He is asking me to cancel. I sent him a link of a previous Airbnb host cancellation thread and I am awaiting his response. I do have the opportunity to book a third place but at this rate, I am inclined to just book a hotel. How may I contact Airbnb customer service? 

[Marit-Anne0]

@Brian870 

A host with a double booking is not your problem.  Play the ball over to the host - you booked in good faith and you should not loose any booking fees because the host has not managed to keep the calendar up to date.  If there is a calendar bug allowing double booking (this has happened before and not the fault of the host), the host should contact airbnb and ask for assistance having  the booking cancelled.  

Book a hotel at a refundable rate as a back-up till this mess is sorted.

Good luck.

[Mark116]

@Brian870  I think if you cancel that airbnb will keep your processing fee, so you should either get the host to cancel, since it is his fault if he double booked, or call airbnb customer service to ensure whatever happens you get 100% of your money back.  I don't have the telephone numbers on me, but I think if you just google airbnb customer service you should get the US 800 and the SF HQ 415 number.

[Yadira22]

Dear @Brian870 

Hope you are well.

As mentioned m above it is very difficult for a host to double book unless there is a technical bug in the system in which case the host is responsible for highlighting this , or its down to a silly admin error such as someone booked via a different rental 

Under no condition should you miss out on any monies because of someone else- and if you want to coordinate with the host. You could also offer to cancel as a guest as this would keep them from being penalised so long as they confirm a full refund. But if you go down this route please only do so via the Airbnb message app- as to have a full record of it. Protecting both parties from any Bad faith, etc. 

Good luck to you and I wish you a fantastic stay in Jamaica!

have a beautiful day!

yadira 🙂

[Brian870]

Thank you all for your feedback, I found a telephone number for Airbnb customer service and gave them a call. They followed up with the host and had him cancel. They were able to see the conversation which took place between him and me, which made my case a clear one. This, however, points to the validity of keeping all communications and by extension payments within the Airbnb platform.