AirBnB host cancelled my reservation

swills1980

Hi

Back in November last year I reserved and paid for an apartment in Newcastle for two nights, 30th and 31st May, as I am heading up there for the Rugby League Magic Weekend. This was done through AirBnB. The apartment looked perfect, right on the quayside and it had around 30 reviews from previous guests, all praising the accommodation and the owners.

Yesterday I received a short e-mail from the owner stating that he had cancelled my reservation due a death in his family. Whilst I was sympathetic to his personal circumstances, this left me with a massive problem as virtually all hotels and apartments in Newcastle are fully booked for that weekend. Luckily, I did manage to book a hotel in the city centre, however this is going to cost me an extra £114 over and above the cost of the apartment through no fault of my own.

There are no other suitable apartments listed on AirBnb, and so far all I have had from them as a response is that they are looking into my situation. They have offered me £20 compensation towards a more expensive apartment, however there are none available so unfortunately this is an empty gesture.

What is even more galling about the situation is that I checked the host's profile page last night and found that he had cancelled around 15 reservations at the apartment since February of this year, and all at short notice. I don't have any proof but it would certainly appear that he is lying about the reasons for cancelling my reservation and it also seems clear that he has known for while that he could not honour it, and yet left it until almost the last minute to let me know.

What come back, if any, do I have in this situation? I don't see why I should be out of pocket to such a large extent through no fault of my own. If all AirBnb will offer is a full refund would I have any come back through the small claims court or would I just have to put it down to experience? It has certainly left a bad taste in the mouth and I very much doubt I would use AirBnB again.

Thanks for reading and for any advice given.

Phil

unholyangel

Was your contract with airbnb or the owner (just asking as sometimes they only act as agents for the owners)? If airb&b, remind them its their duty to find you alternative similar accommodation and they'll be liable for any reasonable costs you incur due to their breach. It might motivate them a bit.

swills1980

Hi unholyangel

Thanks for the reply.

From reading through the terms and conditions it would appear that they only acted as agents for the owners but I'll do some more digging on that.

Thanks

unholyangel

swills1980 wrote: »

Hi unholyangel

Thanks for the reply.

From reading through the terms and conditions it would appear that they only acted as agents for the owners but I'll do some more digging on that.

Thanks

If your contract is with the owner then it would be the owner that would be liable/in breach of contract.

bod1467

Do the T&Cs mention anything about Force Majeur, and whether a death in the family would provide either party the opportunity to cancel the contract?

duchy

I think I'd be tempted to write back saying my insurance company were happy to cover my extra expenses due to the cancellation but need a copy of the death certificate before they pay up so could the host drop one in the post asap please.

pendragon_arther

You should also let Airbnb know so they can take him off their books.

swills1980

Hi all

Thanks for the replies.

I am pleased to say that AirBnb have offered to reimburse me the extra £114 I had to pay for the hotel and this was without asking to see a copy of the invoice.

Very impressed with their customer service.

wary

Certainly sounds suspicious, although good to hear that it has worked out OK in the end.

Had a similar experience with LastMinute.com when we booked a B&B for the August bank holiday weekend in Scarborough. I did wonder why they were effectively offering discounts when surely they'd have no problem letting their rooms that weekend, and it was quite a way in advance. We received a call about 3 days before, advising us our booking was cancelled due to a flood. Couldn't prove anything but was suspicious that she'd rented it at the full rate, and LastMinute was effectively her Justin Case insurance. This being so, she may have known well in advance but left it to the last minute (irony!) to make it sound more plausible ... which did of course mean that we had absolutely no chance of finding an alternative.

Has made me wary of using such sites now.

keyser666

Airbnb always in my experience cover the costs and their CS is second to none, even if it is cancelled that day whilst you are at the apartment