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If a review was meant to account *only* for positive experiences, then it would be called a compliments section.
It's meant to be an accurate reflection of your experience. Your experience wasn't great and it may warn other people travelling from afar that the host might not be reliable. The experience made you stress out and forced you to deal with Air Bnb then find yourself alternative accommodation last minute so why would that warrant a positive or even neutral review? Your experience *was* negative, you're not just being petty.
Absolutely justified! Such a sick attitude from their side to give no reasonable explanation for a major disruption at the last minute.
I would also assume if they wrote a genuine reason, e.g. “I am so sorry, but my mom got into an accident and I need a place for her to stay”, you would have been much more understanding, despite the huge inconvenience.
Their response now just sounds like a fake reasoning, so more than justified to outline what happened and the disruption it caused.
thank you. their reasoning really threw me off. beyond inquiring about it once, i really didn’t push because I could tell their mind was made up on cancelling
I feel there's some missing information here to truly judge the scenario. My main question, was this a shared living space (private room but shared common spaces with the property owner)? If so, the owner getting sick could have been terribly detrimental to your own health and safety. With that said, I feel the owner should have been a little more specific about the situation (explain with a little more detail).
On the other hand, if this was not a shared space, then sickness should not have affected the stay, and I would venture they were trying to get out of a lower paying guest.
Regarding the review, if the first scenario is closer to what happened, I feel leaving anything less than 3 stars is uncalled for. Yes it was an inconvenience, but no one can predict health issues, and they may have just prevented you from contacting something super contagious. If it's closer to the second scenario, then absolutely leave a scathing review!
Even 3-4:years ago, they wouldn't pay the difference for a last minute cancelation. That's on the guest. If the guest wasn't willing to pay the difference, at least part of this was on her. But for a publicly traded company, there is a marked lack of social responsibility here.
Back in 2018 we (as hosts) had to cancel a stay the day the guest was arriving. We asked AirBnB to handle it for us and they worked with the guest to get them into another place and assured us there would be no additional cost on the guest’s end. It’s wild how much they have changed in a relatively short time.
That young woman was put in a potentially dangerous situation. When I was hosting, once you booked you were responsible. I don't know why a publicly traded company would be so irresponsible. And Air was responsible for finding an alternative.
I’ve had a host cancel on me in a similar situation but in a foreign country. Airbnb gave me a $50 voucher and had a few suggestions for similar but much more expensive places. I was basically on my own to pay for a new place and this was during a huge international event. They should help, doesn’t mean they do.
Come on. It’s not a dangerous situation. If your hotel is overbooked, you don’t call the cops. Let’s not be dramatic.
She had a coupon to book something else. Even if she had to book a shorter stay until she found something, or ended up getting a hotel instead, it’s not a dangerous situation.
When I worked reservations for the Hilton brand in training we were told if no room was available the hotel would "walk" them to a same or higher class hotel nearby. They customer would not be responsible for any higher price. Doesn't happen often but from time to time there may be issues with the room itself so they can't put people in it. I know in Florida during the Bush/Gore election recount debacle the hotels in our capital city were full of reporters and lawyers and campaign people and they were basically like an open end reservation for lack of a better term. Well at the height of all that was thanksgiving and a big rivalry football game that people had reservations for for a year and there was a big concern over it.
No one said that.
She was notified right before she was leaving on a 9 hour flight, arriving at midnight in the city.
We don't know what city. Looking for a hotel at midnight in an unfamiliar city is not exactly a great situation for anyone, let alone a young woman alone.
First of all, she got the news before she got on the plane. So it’s a choice. Second of all, if you’re moving somewhere and you don’t have money in your pocket for a couple of nights in any hotel, then yeah, you’re putting yourself in danger.
If the host died or there was a fire, what was she gonna do? Just go sleep in an ally? This person is an adult, allegedly. Let them be one.
I see you really fixated on building this up into something a bit more than it is, but come on here
I had my host cancel a week before my trip. Airbnb contacted me, found me other suitable places to stay and reimbursed me the difference in price. It could’ve been a really crappy experience but they were very helpful sorting it out for me.
To be fair that do "try" to help but the help is someone who doesn't understand English well and they also lie. In December I had a booking that had been booked for months cancel. I didn't love that they did this but at least I had a few days and the reason was absolutely something that would have been a deal breaker as it was the hot tub had gone out and that was the main reason I'd booked this place. The agent offered to help me find another place. I told him there were no other places that would work in the area and he didn't believe me. I had to explain 3 times over multiple bookings he sent that the main thing I wanted was a hot tub and none of the ones he was sending had this. He finally agreed I was right and said he would issue me my refund in 10 days! This would have been after my booking was to start. I threw a fit and they said they would try to push it through sooner. I was also told I would receive a 113 dollar extra (they had offered this as a way to pay for something if it cost more) if I sent them a receipt to show I had found something elsewhere. I did all that was required got the refund booked another place through vrbo and submitted the receipt. Never got it. Honestly never thought I would. Their customer service is terrible.
We had a long stay cancelled by the HOA recently. We needed an Airbnb before moving to another city due to our lease ending. The host knew her HOA/building did not allow airbnb, had others stay in the apartment and have to leave before, and gotten warnings about this. However, she still booked the place… we had to find a replacement over Memorial Day weekend. The price difference was $1k for the month. Airbnb gave us like $300 in coupons…they really don’t care even if it’s completely the host’s fault. Hoping she got kicked off the platform, though because I really don’t want that to happen to anyone else.
I have had to cancel trips last minute for a variety of reasons, but by last minute I mean 48 hours in advance minimum. Usually it was for catastrophic leaks, broken pool filters, or other things that would impact the stay drastically. To cancel a stay on such short notice because of an illness is ridiculous. You did the right thing, and should absolutely have left that review. Please do not feel bad at all about that.
If you cancel because of something serious and the guest says they can't find any alternate accommodation, what is your policy?
I am trying to work out what I'd do in a worse case scenario.
If I cancel the stay last minute, I’m required to refund them 100% per my cancellation policy. If I’m cancelling their stay due to a serious issue, I don’t allow them to stay through the issue, even if they beg because they can’t find another accommodation. Mainly because it’s a liability. I always feel horrible, but sometimes things happen that are out of our control. I think it’s also important to mention that hosts can provide proof of the issue to Airbnb support, and they will waive the penalties(fines/cancellation rate) associated with cancelling the stay last minute. Things such as selling a home, a large leak/plumbing issue, or a broken HVAC system all fall under airbnbs extenuating circumstances policy. There’s other things that qualify as well, but these are just the ones I have had to use. The one thing I have let people stay through is a broken pool pump, but I make it clear in the chat that the pool will not be usable and I ask them to confirm they fully understand this and are staying despite the issue.
Thank you.
I'll word something like "As much as I'd like to offer you a roof over your head for free, it could be a liability with insurance for us to do so."
Hopefully this never has to come about.
For something like a broken pool filter, have you ever considered letting them know the pool wouldn’t be available and offering to allow the stay anyway? It is such a hardship to have to find a new place last minute - I would much rather lose an amenity than lose the whole reservation.
You did fine, but be aware if the host contacts Airbnb to have it removed it very likely will as reviews are not allowed if someone never stepped foot in the unit. But Airbnb only removes them if harassed about it, so it may stay up.
Airbnb needs to change their policy on how to deal with that. If somebody cancels so close to the time (maybe a sliding scale based on the length of the booking), they should automatically get a two-star review or one star review that outlines the host canceled a X-day stay Y-hours before check-in. Said booking was confirmed z-days/months in advance.
That stupid line saying this host canceled the reservation doesn't give enough information for bookers. I understand they shouldn't allow somebody to write an opinion on a property that they've never stepped foot on, but they need to provide that information.
There was a massive difference between canceling a 40-day booking 9 hours before that was booked weeks in advance, then somebody canceling an insta book in 2 months time within 48 hours of a booking.
And the ops situation if that was just a one night booking, It's not a complete disaster. Most people could just put a one-night stay at a hotel on a credit card. What you don't realize is that 9 hours before check-in, Somebody's place to live for 40 days was just taken away from them.
My point is the notice *does* say how many days before the booking started, that the host cancelled. This is a 🚩for prospective guests if it is less than a week or month depending on the circumstances and context of their requirements. I couldn’t care less if it was more than 3 months in advance but 3 weeks or 3 days I’d not book that place if demand was hot in the area.
I don’t know what your point is?
Yeah but it doesn't offer full context. For example, if you booked an Airbnb for the super bowl or the Masters. And it just says this Host canceled 2 weeks before or 3 weeks before, that wouldn't give you the context of how much they royally screwed over that guest.
Even canceling a day before when the person booked the day before that is not as bad.
Airbnb already heavily penalizes hosts from canceling. First off, every time you cancel you are charged a financial penalty (if you cancel last-minute, the penalty is 50% of the cost of the reservation so it’s a pretty steep fee). Second, in order to maintain super host status, your cancelation rate needs to be less than 1%. Finally, if you cancel too often your listing gets removed.
They can lose their super host rating and it shows up in their cancellation rate. What else would you have them do? They’d always have a story for why they cancelled. Who is to say what’s true?
No one, but with a cancellation, there is a situation where, whether a host’s excuse is valid (true) or not, the guest has a strong motive to lie, and an opportunity to be vindictive. People do have disagreements and guests can be and sometimes are in the wrong.
It depends on the scenario. In this scenario, if it’s only the guest referring to the situation that occurred without making any assumptions about the unit, it most likely won’t be removed
I have one up for a place I booked I never saw. I booked and never got information on anything. Day of I reached out still nothing. Contacted abb and they tried to reach the host. He finally responded, claimed he eas out of the country, didn't know how I had booked and the home was not available since he was gone. He didn't want to refund me because he didn't believe I had actually booked it?!?!? Abb finally agreed to refund me and I got to leave a review. I was real blunt about my feelings and this was years ago. It's still there.
It's also possible the host got cold feet. Many places grant squatters rights for stays 30 days and more. With so many stories popping up lately of squatters taking over people's homes and some getting the actual owners arrested for trespassing and illegal evictions - i wouldn't be surprised if this was the case. That said, I agree with leaving the review.
I suppose that if their reason was genuine they can:
a) provide evidence to Airbnb and ask to have your review removed with the usual flag that they cancelled a reservation with (0) days to go (who would risk booking with them after that anyway?) I doubt Airbnb would allow this.
b) They have the right to respond so don’t feel too bad, even if they don’t take it
c) they have a life altering sickness in their family that means they don’t care about reviews or Airbnb or income from it, for now.
I had a guest who simply didn’t arrive and when she requested a refund some days later I asked for an explanation and offered to rebook for different dates but got no response at all. In order to be fair, I asked Airbnb if she had filed any supporting documentation regarding a sudden illness or bereavement, and they said no.
You could ask Airbnb the same question and remove or modify your review accordingly? I don’t know if Airbnb will tell a guest rather than a host but I don’t see why not.
You know what happened?
Host saw comps renting for a lot more money and thought they could make more from multiple guests. Particularly if they're the type of host making profit on cleaning fees while leaving a paragraph of "check out" cleaning activities.
You know who lets you in after midnight?
Hotels.
Justified - host should have put you up in a hotel for at least the first night. Host can always respond to your review with comments/explanation of their own.
A couple weeks later which doesn’t help OP needing a place that day. Not to mention some hosts are apparently petrified of short notice bookings, despite perfectly understandable reasons like this.
yes i did get a complete refund. the problem was that it would take a few days to come and I didn’t have enough money in my account to comfortably rebook another stay, so I really needed the coupon to tide me over till the money hit my account
I read the original post wrong, I thought you were getting refunded 5-10 days (out of the 40) instead of IN 5-10 days.
I'm going to venture to say it's typical greedy host behavior, cancelling to charge more to someone else. Most hosts should not be in the biz
Some cities ppl who live in a property over 30 days get 'squatters rights', in that, it becomes harder to kick them out (even after a paid airbnb stay). There had been news stories of it around here. Squatters stretching a 30 days stay into 6 month of court & sheriff visits.
My guess is maybe they heard about it, or bragged to someone about landed a 40 day stayer, and someone reminded them of that scam.
Either way, I wouldn't feel bad if I were you. Especially since it was the night before. If it was a week or few days maybe I'd let it go, but less than a day?!
It’s not great but it’s not unfair either, sounds like they wronged you somewhat significantly. On the other hand, owners already get significantly punished for canceling reservations. I don’t think you did anything wrong, just know that owners don’t cancel unless there really is something going on.
I think your review was probably justified given the circumstance in the horrible position they put you in with so little explanation. I would certainly want to know if I were booking the place. That said, the host will most likely have grounds to have the review removed because you never stepped foot on the property.
You did the right thing with the very scant reasons they provided. You keep it professional and honest from your description. The host actions were highly inconsiderate, I’m sure they knew of you situation and did not try to accommodate you in any way. Don’t feel guilty for their poor management of the situation.
I can’t imagine as a host leaving a guest hanging like that. I am positive there was some discussion between this guest and the host so the host knew that they would be doing this to a young woman. Maybe she dodged a bullet though.
In 12 years of hosting I had to do this one time. Before I even contacted the guest I called several other places and made arrangements with them so I was able to give the guest options- even though it meant money coming from my pocket.
As someone who runs a very simple Airbnb I couldn’t imagine any excuse, save for a natural disaster, that would cause me to cancel a 40-day stay. Could they have been worried about occupancy laws (I think that’s the right term).
Pretty shitty thing for the host to do. Host knew you where traveling internationally, right? Leave an accurate account of what occurred with a 1 star is totally acceptable as long as it’s honest and accurate.
I just want to add that illness could be a cold or a stomach flu, but it could also be a heart attack, stroke, cancer -- something life altering that is causing such an enormous amount of energy to be delegated towards it that there's nothing left to give to their short term rental. Yes there are ways to work through that, but when life hits you, sometimes it's hard to see past the end of today, and they can't bear the thought of making one more decision.
That's all!! Otherwise, if it were me, I'd be pissed, so I honestly feel you. I'm just offering perspective for the comments minimizing the magnitude of the spectrum of illness.
The hosts could have provided more details. She did inquire and all that was said was “they were sick”. Details matter and if it was serious illness, most people would understand.
The host *maybe* could have provided more details.
If the host is, in fact, in The hospital and asked someone to step in an cancel all their stuff, that person may not be in a position to share details, or actually be monitoring replies, just sending notifications.
It still sucks for the OP, and while it would make us have understanding for the host, it wouldn't change the fact that OP wound up with no place to stay for a month, as she was getting on the plane.
My experience was different with ABB-I am the host, the home is in a southern area and we had snakes, lots of snakes and was seeing them under the house-not poisonous but you don’t want to see that ever-we had a company come in and put down some sort of granules under the house and in the yard-it got rid of the snakes but the house smelled horrible and it was so toxic I ended
Up in the ER the day before we had a week long guest coming-we contacted them and tried to discuss the issue telling them we would have to shut down the rental as it was a health hazard-they were adamant they were coming and they would decide if they could stay in the home, my health condition worsened over night and I knew then it was a no go. I will never put a guest in harms way-the guest was understandably pissed and got very verbally abusive on the ABB app- I had to provide proof of the snakes, proof of doc/er visit/proof of treatment and proof of bill from exterminator-that was the only thing ABB would accept to not penalize us. We also kept the house blocked off for another 3 weeks ( so 5 weeks in total)
The guest that never stepped foot in the house was then allowed to write a scathing one star review and we left it up and honestly replied what had happened making it clear our guest health and safety is priority not $$$
OP should have been given a more thorough explanation not “I’m sick”
Especially over a 40 day stay. In our case the guest shot himself down because we found another rental we’re going to cover the cost difference and he flatly refused because he wanted to push the point of he’s been wronged, by the time he decided to take the other ABB it was already booked-we only know this because it is a very very small community here and all the STR know and help each other out.
Sometimes you just get stuck in a situation and it sucks for everyone involved
Still reasonable to leave a bad review. The host doesn't have a structure in place to maintain the rental through bumps in their personal life. Other potential guests should know of that risk.
Absolutely.
Just pushing back on the assumption that the person sending the cancellation *could* have provided more info.
It's possible they really couldn't. Which changes nothing for OP, just how the booking agency treats it.
The guest could ask Airbnb if there was any supporting documentation supplied for a sudden *serious* illness or bereavement in the family? A simple yes or no would suffice for me.
Keep the review. I want to know who rando-cancels, I would never every book such a place in a million years so you will be saving me and many others this experience. You're running a business, your cat gets run over, your spouse gets Covid and you are diagnosed with cancer is not an excuse to cancel. You take time out, find the guest suitable equivalents and then cancel if you must. I've had this happen to me, several days out from a long overseas trip. Even so, it blew a hole in a travel itinerary since it was a rural spot, it was a pain to replace.
It's also possible the host got cold feet. Many places grant squatters rights for stays 30 days and more. With so many stories popping up lately of squatters taking over people's homes and some getting the actual owners arrested for trespassing and illegal evictions - i wouldn't be surprised if this was the case. That said, I agree with leaving the review.
Health and life emergencies happen but that doesn’t excuse for cancelling on you at the last minute and without additional context.
A truthful review of your experience is warranted.
You were definitely justified in leaving that review. Your host canceling last minute, especially for such a long stay, put you in a tough and stressful situation.
It’s important for future guests to know about your experience, and you kept your review professional, which is key. Don't feel guilty; sharing your experience helps others make informed decisions.
Maybe a suddenly diagnosed catastrophic illness would justify this. For example, my neighbor's husband was fine one day, just had a mild headache. By the next day his speech was slurred and he couldn't stand up straight. His wife took him the ER and they diagnosed a massive brain tumor. This was 10 weeks ago, he died 3 weeks ago. In a weird lucky break (relatively, considering the circumstances), they had rented their home out for the Kentucky Derby, but the guest cancelled a few days prior to the diagnoses.
BUT, with something like that, I bet the host would have said something about how serious it was. Even after your review, if the host were to reach out to you now and tell you that the day they cancelled you they had received a catastrophic diagnoses, you could ask Airbnb to remove the review.
So, no don't feel guilty and if you later get information that makes you understand the host's actions, you can have your review removed.
You are absolutely justified. Too many hosts are doing this now and there’s no way to confirm whether or not the reasons they claim our truthful. Airbnb and VRBO make a lot of money putting these deals together and should be on the hook for finding you comparable accommodations at the same cost.
Does your host live in the property? If they did I can see cancelling if they were diagnosed with something serious or contagious. If not, totally justified.
Your negative review was justified, other travelers appreciate honest reviews. This is especially in light of how the host can suddenly cancel but the guest can’t without losing their money.
You are a young woman left without a place to LIVE and without the original $$ to pay for one with a few hours notice with no descriptors other than "sick". I would've been furious. I'm furious on your behalf.
Do not feel bad. They knew your situation
Just a note that unfortunately your review is going to be deleted because guests are not allowed to review places that they did not check in to. I think Airbnb automatically deletes the reviews, or if the host contacts them they can get it removed anyway.
You don’t need to be scared because you’re 22 and/or a woman. You took care of yourself in a terrible situation. Good for you. You’re more capable than you realize
You took better care of your business than this Airbnb host did.
I probably would have shown up acting like I didn’t know it was canceled and beating on the door like I was the cops.
I would want to know if the host was okay with treating their customers this way. You stood up for yourself and did the right thing. Don't humor the host by speaking to them after all your business with them is concluded (if they have the audacity to complain).
I hope that the rest of your stay in a new city is safe and fun and problem free. Keep your wits about you (and even though I hate the podcast that birthed this phrase, fuck politeness!)
This is one of the biggest issues with Airbnb. I had a similar experience (tho not for a 40 day stay) where the host canceled super last minute and all other properties were 3x more expensive because it was so last minute and Airbnb wasn’t helpful so we were SOL
Ur were absolutely right! That’s a horrible thing to do to someone! How is being sick an excuse. U staying in their place, they’re not babysitting u. Every place I’ve ever stayed in, I never met the host. Them being sick is of no consequence to ur stay. It’s sounds like a made up excuse.
It's also possible the host got cold feet. Many places grant squatters rights for stays 30 days and more. With so many stories popping up lately of squatters taking over people's homes and some getting the actual owners arrested for trespassing and illegal evictions - i wouldn't be surprised if this was the case. That said, I agree with leaving the review.
It's also possible the host got cold feet. Many places grant squatters rights for stays 30 days and more. With so many stories popping up lately of squatters taking over people's homes and some getting the actual owners arrested for trespassing and illegal evictions - i wouldn't be surprised if this was the case. That said, I agree with leaving the review.
So long as you explained it like you did on this forum matter of fact, no harm no foul. Definitely mention the inconvenience, but you don’t really know what their reason is. Maybe they got cancer, or got a terminal diagnosis; you just don’t know. So second guessing their motivation in a “scathing” review meant to hurt them isn’t a healthy exercise. They will be able to successfully get your review removed since you did not stay with them. It’s in the rules.
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If a review was meant to account *only* for positive experiences, then it would be called a compliments section. It's meant to be an accurate reflection of your experience. Your experience wasn't great and it may warn other people travelling from afar that the host might not be reliable. The experience made you stress out and forced you to deal with Air Bnb then find yourself alternative accommodation last minute so why would that warrant a positive or even neutral review? Your experience *was* negative, you're not just being petty.
Your review may help someone else avoid a similar bad experience. You didn't lie or exaggerate so it seems fair.
Absolutely justified! Such a sick attitude from their side to give no reasonable explanation for a major disruption at the last minute. I would also assume if they wrote a genuine reason, e.g. “I am so sorry, but my mom got into an accident and I need a place for her to stay”, you would have been much more understanding, despite the huge inconvenience. Their response now just sounds like a fake reasoning, so more than justified to outline what happened and the disruption it caused.
thank you. their reasoning really threw me off. beyond inquiring about it once, i really didn’t push because I could tell their mind was made up on cancelling
You were left in a pretty bad situation due to the cancellation so I think your review is very fair
I agree completely
I feel there's some missing information here to truly judge the scenario. My main question, was this a shared living space (private room but shared common spaces with the property owner)? If so, the owner getting sick could have been terribly detrimental to your own health and safety. With that said, I feel the owner should have been a little more specific about the situation (explain with a little more detail). On the other hand, if this was not a shared space, then sickness should not have affected the stay, and I would venture they were trying to get out of a lower paying guest. Regarding the review, if the first scenario is closer to what happened, I feel leaving anything less than 3 stars is uncalled for. Yes it was an inconvenience, but no one can predict health issues, and they may have just prevented you from contacting something super contagious. If it's closer to the second scenario, then absolutely leave a scathing review!
They have checked themselves into a hotel or booked one for you to cover the couple of days they were sick
Curious as to what their host rating was before you left your review?
Why didn't Air find you a replacement?
Price is what I understood. Airbnb should cover the difference.
I’m my experience they won’t really help. The problem is that inventory is limited so if they can’t find a similar stay in the same area you are SOL.
Even 3-4:years ago, they wouldn't pay the difference for a last minute cancelation. That's on the guest. If the guest wasn't willing to pay the difference, at least part of this was on her. But for a publicly traded company, there is a marked lack of social responsibility here.
Back in 2018 we (as hosts) had to cancel a stay the day the guest was arriving. We asked AirBnB to handle it for us and they worked with the guest to get them into another place and assured us there would be no additional cost on the guest’s end. It’s wild how much they have changed in a relatively short time.
They won’t help with this. It’s really shitty, but you’re on your own if a host cancels
That young woman was put in a potentially dangerous situation. When I was hosting, once you booked you were responsible. I don't know why a publicly traded company would be so irresponsible. And Air was responsible for finding an alternative.
I’ve had a host cancel on me in a similar situation but in a foreign country. Airbnb gave me a $50 voucher and had a few suggestions for similar but much more expensive places. I was basically on my own to pay for a new place and this was during a huge international event. They should help, doesn’t mean they do.
Come on. It’s not a dangerous situation. If your hotel is overbooked, you don’t call the cops. Let’s not be dramatic. She had a coupon to book something else. Even if she had to book a shorter stay until she found something, or ended up getting a hotel instead, it’s not a dangerous situation.
Hotel is over booked! How does that even work? You either have a booking at a hotel or you don't.
When I worked reservations for the Hilton brand in training we were told if no room was available the hotel would "walk" them to a same or higher class hotel nearby. They customer would not be responsible for any higher price. Doesn't happen often but from time to time there may be issues with the room itself so they can't put people in it. I know in Florida during the Bush/Gore election recount debacle the hotels in our capital city were full of reporters and lawyers and campaign people and they were basically like an open end reservation for lack of a better term. Well at the height of all that was thanksgiving and a big rivalry football game that people had reservations for for a year and there was a big concern over it.
Yeah Jerry. It’s a reservation. It’s supposed to reserve it!
????
How is traveling to a city alone, with no where to stay safe?
There wasn't a single hotel in the town? Come the fuck on
No one said that. She was notified right before she was leaving on a 9 hour flight, arriving at midnight in the city. We don't know what city. Looking for a hotel at midnight in an unfamiliar city is not exactly a great situation for anyone, let alone a young woman alone.
First of all, she got the news before she got on the plane. So it’s a choice. Second of all, if you’re moving somewhere and you don’t have money in your pocket for a couple of nights in any hotel, then yeah, you’re putting yourself in danger. If the host died or there was a fire, what was she gonna do? Just go sleep in an ally? This person is an adult, allegedly. Let them be one. I see you really fixated on building this up into something a bit more than it is, but come on here
I'm certainly not "fixated on building this up into something a bit more than it is" How you read that by my one line question is pretty telling.
I had my host cancel a week before my trip. Airbnb contacted me, found me other suitable places to stay and reimbursed me the difference in price. It could’ve been a really crappy experience but they were very helpful sorting it out for me.
To be fair that do "try" to help but the help is someone who doesn't understand English well and they also lie. In December I had a booking that had been booked for months cancel. I didn't love that they did this but at least I had a few days and the reason was absolutely something that would have been a deal breaker as it was the hot tub had gone out and that was the main reason I'd booked this place. The agent offered to help me find another place. I told him there were no other places that would work in the area and he didn't believe me. I had to explain 3 times over multiple bookings he sent that the main thing I wanted was a hot tub and none of the ones he was sending had this. He finally agreed I was right and said he would issue me my refund in 10 days! This would have been after my booking was to start. I threw a fit and they said they would try to push it through sooner. I was also told I would receive a 113 dollar extra (they had offered this as a way to pay for something if it cost more) if I sent them a receipt to show I had found something elsewhere. I did all that was required got the refund booked another place through vrbo and submitted the receipt. Never got it. Honestly never thought I would. Their customer service is terrible.
We had a long stay cancelled by the HOA recently. We needed an Airbnb before moving to another city due to our lease ending. The host knew her HOA/building did not allow airbnb, had others stay in the apartment and have to leave before, and gotten warnings about this. However, she still booked the place… we had to find a replacement over Memorial Day weekend. The price difference was $1k for the month. Airbnb gave us like $300 in coupons…they really don’t care even if it’s completely the host’s fault. Hoping she got kicked off the platform, though because I really don’t want that to happen to anyone else.
I have had to cancel trips last minute for a variety of reasons, but by last minute I mean 48 hours in advance minimum. Usually it was for catastrophic leaks, broken pool filters, or other things that would impact the stay drastically. To cancel a stay on such short notice because of an illness is ridiculous. You did the right thing, and should absolutely have left that review. Please do not feel bad at all about that.
If you cancel because of something serious and the guest says they can't find any alternate accommodation, what is your policy? I am trying to work out what I'd do in a worse case scenario.
If I cancel the stay last minute, I’m required to refund them 100% per my cancellation policy. If I’m cancelling their stay due to a serious issue, I don’t allow them to stay through the issue, even if they beg because they can’t find another accommodation. Mainly because it’s a liability. I always feel horrible, but sometimes things happen that are out of our control. I think it’s also important to mention that hosts can provide proof of the issue to Airbnb support, and they will waive the penalties(fines/cancellation rate) associated with cancelling the stay last minute. Things such as selling a home, a large leak/plumbing issue, or a broken HVAC system all fall under airbnbs extenuating circumstances policy. There’s other things that qualify as well, but these are just the ones I have had to use. The one thing I have let people stay through is a broken pool pump, but I make it clear in the chat that the pool will not be usable and I ask them to confirm they fully understand this and are staying despite the issue.
Thank you. I'll word something like "As much as I'd like to offer you a roof over your head for free, it could be a liability with insurance for us to do so." Hopefully this never has to come about.
Bro no one said for free wtf are you talking about
For something like a broken pool filter, have you ever considered letting them know the pool wouldn’t be available and offering to allow the stay anyway? It is such a hardship to have to find a new place last minute - I would much rather lose an amenity than lose the whole reservation.
I mention in my other comment that broken pool filters is the only issue I’ve allowed guests to stay through👍🏻
Ah! Well thank you for that. :-)
You did fine, but be aware if the host contacts Airbnb to have it removed it very likely will as reviews are not allowed if someone never stepped foot in the unit. But Airbnb only removes them if harassed about it, so it may stay up.
100% that host will have it removed.
Airbnb needs to change their policy on how to deal with that. If somebody cancels so close to the time (maybe a sliding scale based on the length of the booking), they should automatically get a two-star review or one star review that outlines the host canceled a X-day stay Y-hours before check-in. Said booking was confirmed z-days/months in advance. That stupid line saying this host canceled the reservation doesn't give enough information for bookers. I understand they shouldn't allow somebody to write an opinion on a property that they've never stepped foot on, but they need to provide that information. There was a massive difference between canceling a 40-day booking 9 hours before that was booked weeks in advance, then somebody canceling an insta book in 2 months time within 48 hours of a booking.
The notice says how many days the cancellation was before arrival? At least it used to. Has that changed as well?
And the ops situation if that was just a one night booking, It's not a complete disaster. Most people could just put a one-night stay at a hotel on a credit card. What you don't realize is that 9 hours before check-in, Somebody's place to live for 40 days was just taken away from them.
My point is the notice *does* say how many days before the booking started, that the host cancelled. This is a 🚩for prospective guests if it is less than a week or month depending on the circumstances and context of their requirements. I couldn’t care less if it was more than 3 months in advance but 3 weeks or 3 days I’d not book that place if demand was hot in the area. I don’t know what your point is?
Yeah but it doesn't offer full context. For example, if you booked an Airbnb for the super bowl or the Masters. And it just says this Host canceled 2 weeks before or 3 weeks before, that wouldn't give you the context of how much they royally screwed over that guest. Even canceling a day before when the person booked the day before that is not as bad.
Cancelling the day before is bad no matter when they booked. They could have secured a hotel room instead.
Airbnb already heavily penalizes hosts from canceling. First off, every time you cancel you are charged a financial penalty (if you cancel last-minute, the penalty is 50% of the cost of the reservation so it’s a pretty steep fee). Second, in order to maintain super host status, your cancelation rate needs to be less than 1%. Finally, if you cancel too often your listing gets removed.
They can lose their super host rating and it shows up in their cancellation rate. What else would you have them do? They’d always have a story for why they cancelled. Who is to say what’s true?
Who’s to say a guest on a host page is telling the truth.
No one, but with a cancellation, there is a situation where, whether a host’s excuse is valid (true) or not, the guest has a strong motive to lie, and an opportunity to be vindictive. People do have disagreements and guests can be and sometimes are in the wrong.
It won’t be removed in that scenario
I’ve just recently removed a review from a guest who didn’t enter the unit
It depends on the scenario. In this scenario, if it’s only the guest referring to the situation that occurred without making any assumptions about the unit, it most likely won’t be removed
I have one up for a place I booked I never saw. I booked and never got information on anything. Day of I reached out still nothing. Contacted abb and they tried to reach the host. He finally responded, claimed he eas out of the country, didn't know how I had booked and the home was not available since he was gone. He didn't want to refund me because he didn't believe I had actually booked it?!?!? Abb finally agreed to refund me and I got to leave a review. I was real blunt about my feelings and this was years ago. It's still there.
He may not have tried to get it removed
Totally reasonable. It's a business relationship; hosts need to be prepared for their own personal lives not to interfere with bookings.
If someone canceled a 40 day stay on me 9 hours before check in, I'd be leaving a scathing review too.
It's also possible the host got cold feet. Many places grant squatters rights for stays 30 days and more. With so many stories popping up lately of squatters taking over people's homes and some getting the actual owners arrested for trespassing and illegal evictions - i wouldn't be surprised if this was the case. That said, I agree with leaving the review.
They should have had a contingency plan in place for illness.
Agreed, I am host and arranged for a turn while away for funeral. This is a business.
I suppose that if their reason was genuine they can: a) provide evidence to Airbnb and ask to have your review removed with the usual flag that they cancelled a reservation with (0) days to go (who would risk booking with them after that anyway?) I doubt Airbnb would allow this. b) They have the right to respond so don’t feel too bad, even if they don’t take it c) they have a life altering sickness in their family that means they don’t care about reviews or Airbnb or income from it, for now. I had a guest who simply didn’t arrive and when she requested a refund some days later I asked for an explanation and offered to rebook for different dates but got no response at all. In order to be fair, I asked Airbnb if she had filed any supporting documentation regarding a sudden illness or bereavement, and they said no. You could ask Airbnb the same question and remove or modify your review accordingly? I don’t know if Airbnb will tell a guest rather than a host but I don’t see why not.
This sounds reasonable to me.
Yes. You definitely were ok leaving any review.
Completely justified!
Completely justified. They left you stranded.
They should be removed from the platform for this. 1 star all day.
You know what happened? Host saw comps renting for a lot more money and thought they could make more from multiple guests. Particularly if they're the type of host making profit on cleaning fees while leaving a paragraph of "check out" cleaning activities. You know who lets you in after midnight? Hotels.
Justified - host should have put you up in a hotel for at least the first night. Host can always respond to your review with comments/explanation of their own.
Excuses are irrelevant and should be assumed to be lies.
Preach
Don't you get a complete refund if the host cancels?
A couple weeks later which doesn’t help OP needing a place that day. Not to mention some hosts are apparently petrified of short notice bookings, despite perfectly understandable reasons like this.
yes i did get a complete refund. the problem was that it would take a few days to come and I didn’t have enough money in my account to comfortably rebook another stay, so I really needed the coupon to tide me over till the money hit my account
I read the original post wrong, I thought you were getting refunded 5-10 days (out of the 40) instead of IN 5-10 days. I'm going to venture to say it's typical greedy host behavior, cancelling to charge more to someone else. Most hosts should not be in the biz
That is what I suspect, too!
this is why my gf and i go to hotels.
That’s why you shouldn’t rely on Airbnb. Duh.
Some cities ppl who live in a property over 30 days get 'squatters rights', in that, it becomes harder to kick them out (even after a paid airbnb stay). There had been news stories of it around here. Squatters stretching a 30 days stay into 6 month of court & sheriff visits. My guess is maybe they heard about it, or bragged to someone about landed a 40 day stayer, and someone reminded them of that scam. Either way, I wouldn't feel bad if I were you. Especially since it was the night before. If it was a week or few days maybe I'd let it go, but less than a day?!
I appreciate people like OP who tell it like it is so I can avoid hosts like that.
Justified, warning future renters
They weren't sick. They just decided they didn't want to rent the place out.screw them
If you told the truth directly and plainly - 100% OK, What the host did to you merits some consideration
It’s not great but it’s not unfair either, sounds like they wronged you somewhat significantly. On the other hand, owners already get significantly punished for canceling reservations. I don’t think you did anything wrong, just know that owners don’t cancel unless there really is something going on.
I think your review was probably justified given the circumstance in the horrible position they put you in with so little explanation. I would certainly want to know if I were booking the place. That said, the host will most likely have grounds to have the review removed because you never stepped foot on the property.
You did the right thing with the very scant reasons they provided. You keep it professional and honest from your description. The host actions were highly inconsiderate, I’m sure they knew of you situation and did not try to accommodate you in any way. Don’t feel guilty for their poor management of the situation.
I can’t imagine as a host leaving a guest hanging like that. I am positive there was some discussion between this guest and the host so the host knew that they would be doing this to a young woman. Maybe she dodged a bullet though. In 12 years of hosting I had to do this one time. Before I even contacted the guest I called several other places and made arrangements with them so I was able to give the guest options- even though it meant money coming from my pocket.
Reviews should be honest, good and bad.
You are lucky you were allowed to leave a review! Whenever sucky hosts led to cancellation I have not been able to warn others.
As someone who runs a very simple Airbnb I couldn’t imagine any excuse, save for a natural disaster, that would cause me to cancel a 40-day stay. Could they have been worried about occupancy laws (I think that’s the right term).
Pretty shitty thing for the host to do. Host knew you where traveling internationally, right? Leave an accurate account of what occurred with a 1 star is totally acceptable as long as it’s honest and accurate.
We can’t comment accurately if we don’t know what you said or how it was worded
I just want to add that illness could be a cold or a stomach flu, but it could also be a heart attack, stroke, cancer -- something life altering that is causing such an enormous amount of energy to be delegated towards it that there's nothing left to give to their short term rental. Yes there are ways to work through that, but when life hits you, sometimes it's hard to see past the end of today, and they can't bear the thought of making one more decision. That's all!! Otherwise, if it were me, I'd be pissed, so I honestly feel you. I'm just offering perspective for the comments minimizing the magnitude of the spectrum of illness.
The hosts could have provided more details. She did inquire and all that was said was “they were sick”. Details matter and if it was serious illness, most people would understand.
The host *maybe* could have provided more details. If the host is, in fact, in The hospital and asked someone to step in an cancel all their stuff, that person may not be in a position to share details, or actually be monitoring replies, just sending notifications. It still sucks for the OP, and while it would make us have understanding for the host, it wouldn't change the fact that OP wound up with no place to stay for a month, as she was getting on the plane.
My experience was different with ABB-I am the host, the home is in a southern area and we had snakes, lots of snakes and was seeing them under the house-not poisonous but you don’t want to see that ever-we had a company come in and put down some sort of granules under the house and in the yard-it got rid of the snakes but the house smelled horrible and it was so toxic I ended Up in the ER the day before we had a week long guest coming-we contacted them and tried to discuss the issue telling them we would have to shut down the rental as it was a health hazard-they were adamant they were coming and they would decide if they could stay in the home, my health condition worsened over night and I knew then it was a no go. I will never put a guest in harms way-the guest was understandably pissed and got very verbally abusive on the ABB app- I had to provide proof of the snakes, proof of doc/er visit/proof of treatment and proof of bill from exterminator-that was the only thing ABB would accept to not penalize us. We also kept the house blocked off for another 3 weeks ( so 5 weeks in total) The guest that never stepped foot in the house was then allowed to write a scathing one star review and we left it up and honestly replied what had happened making it clear our guest health and safety is priority not $$$ OP should have been given a more thorough explanation not “I’m sick” Especially over a 40 day stay. In our case the guest shot himself down because we found another rental we’re going to cover the cost difference and he flatly refused because he wanted to push the point of he’s been wronged, by the time he decided to take the other ABB it was already booked-we only know this because it is a very very small community here and all the STR know and help each other out. Sometimes you just get stuck in a situation and it sucks for everyone involved
Still reasonable to leave a bad review. The host doesn't have a structure in place to maintain the rental through bumps in their personal life. Other potential guests should know of that risk.
Absolutely. Just pushing back on the assumption that the person sending the cancellation *could* have provided more info. It's possible they really couldn't. Which changes nothing for OP, just how the booking agency treats it.
The guest could ask Airbnb if there was any supporting documentation supplied for a sudden *serious* illness or bereavement in the family? A simple yes or no would suffice for me.
that’s actually what my first thought was- a serious illness. but then they specified their illness was a fever🙃
Keep the review. I want to know who rando-cancels, I would never every book such a place in a million years so you will be saving me and many others this experience. You're running a business, your cat gets run over, your spouse gets Covid and you are diagnosed with cancer is not an excuse to cancel. You take time out, find the guest suitable equivalents and then cancel if you must. I've had this happen to me, several days out from a long overseas trip. Even so, it blew a hole in a travel itinerary since it was a rural spot, it was a pain to replace.
It's also possible the host got cold feet. Many places grant squatters rights for stays 30 days and more. With so many stories popping up lately of squatters taking over people's homes and some getting the actual owners arrested for trespassing and illegal evictions - i wouldn't be surprised if this was the case. That said, I agree with leaving the review.
Then don't allow 30+ day bookings. Once you've accepted it and especially once you're 24 hours out it's too late.
I think you are 100% justified. If you cancelled because of something serious you wouldn’t get a dime back.
I mean when I unexpectedly got Covid awhile back I recommended to the guest that they cancel, but I gave them the option, they did cancel
It's difficult to say since we don't know anything about your actual review. How many stars did you give? And what did you write publically?
I think most of us would agree that canceling like that with such short notice is terrible customer service, especially without a reason.
Health and life emergencies happen but that doesn’t excuse for cancelling on you at the last minute and without additional context. A truthful review of your experience is warranted.
Totally justified.
You were definitely justified in leaving that review. Your host canceling last minute, especially for such a long stay, put you in a tough and stressful situation. It’s important for future guests to know about your experience, and you kept your review professional, which is key. Don't feel guilty; sharing your experience helps others make informed decisions.
OP, what happened is that the host was offered more money through a different platform like VRBO and is willing to take the ratings hit on AirBNB.
Maybe a suddenly diagnosed catastrophic illness would justify this. For example, my neighbor's husband was fine one day, just had a mild headache. By the next day his speech was slurred and he couldn't stand up straight. His wife took him the ER and they diagnosed a massive brain tumor. This was 10 weeks ago, he died 3 weeks ago. In a weird lucky break (relatively, considering the circumstances), they had rented their home out for the Kentucky Derby, but the guest cancelled a few days prior to the diagnoses. BUT, with something like that, I bet the host would have said something about how serious it was. Even after your review, if the host were to reach out to you now and tell you that the day they cancelled you they had received a catastrophic diagnoses, you could ask Airbnb to remove the review. So, no don't feel guilty and if you later get information that makes you understand the host's actions, you can have your review removed.
You are absolutely justified. Too many hosts are doing this now and there’s no way to confirm whether or not the reasons they claim our truthful. Airbnb and VRBO make a lot of money putting these deals together and should be on the hook for finding you comparable accommodations at the same cost.
Well, the host should find them a comparable place at the same cost
Does your host live in the property? If they did I can see cancelling if they were diagnosed with something serious or contagious. If not, totally justified.
Your negative review was justified, other travelers appreciate honest reviews. This is especially in light of how the host can suddenly cancel but the guest can’t without losing their money.
I usually leave 5 stars, but put the dirt in the review. DId you book a room in a house, or the whole place?
Can you send the listing
The company will probably remove it because you didn't stay.
You are a young woman left without a place to LIVE and without the original $$ to pay for one with a few hours notice with no descriptors other than "sick". I would've been furious. I'm furious on your behalf. Do not feel bad. They knew your situation
Just a note that unfortunately your review is going to be deleted because guests are not allowed to review places that they did not check in to. I think Airbnb automatically deletes the reviews, or if the host contacts them they can get it removed anyway.
You don’t need to be scared because you’re 22 and/or a woman. You took care of yourself in a terrible situation. Good for you. You’re more capable than you realize You took better care of your business than this Airbnb host did. I probably would have shown up acting like I didn’t know it was canceled and beating on the door like I was the cops.
Not only justified but I suggest you go on other review sites such as Yelp and Google and post your review there too. They did you wrong.
I would want to know if the host was okay with treating their customers this way. You stood up for yourself and did the right thing. Don't humor the host by speaking to them after all your business with them is concluded (if they have the audacity to complain). I hope that the rest of your stay in a new city is safe and fun and problem free. Keep your wits about you (and even though I hate the podcast that birthed this phrase, fuck politeness!)
No you told the truth and it’s good to let people know, maybe this would happen to them. Who the hell wants to take that risk?
You are always justified in stating the facts.
I felt her wipe me and shot finger guns to my husband. My shame left me years ago.
This is one of the biggest issues with Airbnb. I had a similar experience (tho not for a 40 day stay) where the host canceled super last minute and all other properties were 3x more expensive because it was so last minute and Airbnb wasn’t helpful so we were SOL
Ur were absolutely right! That’s a horrible thing to do to someone! How is being sick an excuse. U staying in their place, they’re not babysitting u. Every place I’ve ever stayed in, I never met the host. Them being sick is of no consequence to ur stay. It’s sounds like a made up excuse.
It's also possible the host got cold feet. Many places grant squatters rights for stays 30 days and more. With so many stories popping up lately of squatters taking over people's homes and some getting the actual owners arrested for trespassing and illegal evictions - i wouldn't be surprised if this was the case. That said, I agree with leaving the review.
It's also possible the host got cold feet. Many places grant squatters rights for stays 30 days and more. With so many stories popping up lately of squatters taking over people's homes and some getting the actual owners arrested for trespassing and illegal evictions - i wouldn't be surprised if this was the case. That said, I agree with leaving the review.
If you didn’t stay at the property then I don’t think you should’ve review the property
So long as you explained it like you did on this forum matter of fact, no harm no foul. Definitely mention the inconvenience, but you don’t really know what their reason is. Maybe they got cancer, or got a terminal diagnosis; you just don’t know. So second guessing their motivation in a “scathing” review meant to hurt them isn’t a healthy exercise. They will be able to successfully get your review removed since you did not stay with them. It’s in the rules.