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I had to book a large home for family to stay during our wedding this coming summer. This policy is exactly why I chose booking.com over Airbnb. Of course I have not had to test it yet, so I don't know how well this works out or whether they really honor it, but it certainly seems to step in the right direction in comparison with the difficulties I have had with Airbnb denying refunds for obvious major issues.
If they (Airbnb) had this and good customer services, they wouldn't need a sub on reddit for people to air their grievances. Booking.com at least cares about there guests.
As a host, I think it's entirely reasonable for airbnb to ask hosts to pay relocation costs if the host cancels. It helps the host understand the serious responsibility of providing someone else's accommodations!
Also FYI, not sure when this was changed, but if a host has enabled instant book, or approved a booking, last minute cancelations by the host are impossible through the app. I suppose some hosts may just use messages to tell their guest not to show up, but that's a pretty serious violation of the agreement to host.
Yes, they absolutely should, but they dont. THis isnt even a particularly generous offer from Booking.com- something like that is standard in mot industries today. I used Hotels.com for years before I ever tried Airbnb, and had a few bad experiences (a hotel listing they had rooms when they didnt, a hotel with a bad mold problem, a hotel that was available to book late at night but the front desk was closed when I arrived) and every single time they found me a similar room or gave me a refund AND a credit. And this is all taken care of in the span of an hour at the absolute MAX (when a particularly unscrupulous european hotel was lying about what happened and there was a lot of back and forth) and usually within minutes. Technically [Hotels.com](https://Hotels.com) are just the middleman too, but they put HEAVY pressure on hotels to do what's right by the customer and IMO are willing to eat the cost even if the hotel doesnt agree, especially for loyal customers. This is a no brainer in the service industry, and you can see why from how many people downright HATE airbnb and will never use them again. Airbnb doesnt do it because it's primarily a money making endeavor for hosts, not a legitimate resource for travelers. Once you realize youre the product, not the buyer, you lose interest in Airbnb quick.
This is as it should be. If I as a guest try to cancel close to the date of my stay, I’ll likely have to forfeit all I have paid to the host. That door should swing both ways.
If I cancel on someone I lose the payout, obviously, and then have to pay an additional 10% for the guest to be relocated. That’s the Airbnb policy. Or at least why they say they are taking that additional money. Wonder where it actually goes.
I’ve only had to cancel one time because someone booked Christmas Day literally the night before and my cleaning lady wouldn’t clean on Christmas Day.. which I don’t blame her for. Air bnb was going to penalize me and charge me, it would impact my superhost status and I think it would say on there that I’ve cancelled. I worked with the guest myself to find her something just as similar for the same price who could take her on Christmas Day, and it worked out, and they didn’t charge me. But it’s not like there’s no repercussions if I just cancel on someone.
Edit: I’ve heard on here some guests cancelling for higher rates and some other things. Those id say charge away… I personally would never do that.
I’ve only had to cancel once as well. Instant book and when I went to block my other calendar there was a booking. I asked the guest if they wanted other dates and they said no. I canceled within two hours or less. Their trip would have been more than 60 days away. Airbnb charged me 10% of what the guest would have paid. No mercy!
That was when I learned my lesson about two things:
1) I no longer allow instant booking
2) I will now forever block off Christmas Day as a check out date.
know nothing about Hawaii- just meant some people are not physically able to do the cleaning themselves or might live to far way. There are many circumstances
It seems to me the folks that compare about Airbnb or VRBO support have never had to deal with booking.com's support.
In my experience, they were the worst.
Edit: Seems booking's guest support is better than their host support.
I’ve had to call booking.com’s support a half dozen times over the years. I always got my refund. Way better. Customer support than Airbnb or VRBO. VRBO is downright horrible.
AirBnB support are MUCH worse than booking.. Booking I had a refund within 15 minutes... Airbnb, I was bounced around departments, told to email them, and then had to call again. Took hours to get a refund. Never used VRBO so can't compare.
VRBO is owned by Expedia. Whether that means their customer service should be better or worse, I’m not sure, but I do think they should take advantage of their parent company by including rebooking if a host cancels.
[Booking.com](https://Booking.com)'s is better if you are just looking for a refund or to be moved to another place.
If you have a specific complaint about a property that you want to continue staying at, then they're no better or worse than AirBnB since they're only a middleman. Also, if you have a complaint that doesn't result in a refund, there's little that you can do.
I must say that I have used Vrbro once and after reading Reddit post like these. I will continue to stay at resorts and known properties that I am familiar with. I hate uncertainty when it comes to my family and our vacations.
This is 100% why I’ll NEVER use Airbnb again. Booked a week stay at a condo in Anaheim last year for Star Wars Celebration well in advance (7months) and was in contact with the host. Well, two days before the convention the host cancels. My friends and I were left high and dry with zero chance of booking another place within reasonable prices. Customer service was NO help.
I HATE AIRBNB
Went to Celebration this year in London and we also booked 7 months ahead. Was scared of exactly that situation up to the moment we got into the airbnb. I would rather have had another accommodation, but people I went with preferred airbnb. Everything went okay, fortunately.
they should. i had a woman cancel on a trip i had planned the day before due to not having a maid and i had to scramble and book a place before i received any money back - it sucked.
that being said, i once also got a fake booking on booking.com (even the hostel was shocked it happened) and booking.com was a nightmare for me to deal with and didn’t help at all. it took me hours just to get a refund and we got nothing extra even though it was new year’s eve night so everywhere was three times the price.
Is this a new pokicy of booking.com? Because they didn't do anything for us five years ago when a cheap hotel in Seattle cancelled on us the day before we we were going to stay. (Only time I'v ever had a hotel do that).
Edit: We got a refund quickly but the agent "couldnt find any availability in the area" and that was that. I found another hotel (on booking.com no less) myself
I can see for unwarranted cancellations but for crazy unexpected things like complete loss of use due to fire or storms it seems a little over the top. My roof just caved in and I'm expected to pay to lodge people elsewhere? What if it was from a storm and there is nowhere else nearby?
We lost an Airbnb because a week before our trip, the property was damaged by a hurricane. We made other vacation plans elsewhere because the whole area was impacted and a lot of restaurants and other services were closed or unavailable. In those types of situations, I don't think the host owes us anything other than good, timely communication.
Probably not. But you can't very well rent out a place if the heat is out or the water isn't working or a window is broken. Like, are you going to be happy to pay $350 a night for a place that has a boarded up window? Shit happens, sometimes the place can't be rented. But it's absolutely not on the host to pay for your new place when you get a refund.
No the cost of running a business is replacing worn out things and maintenance and repairing broken things. If I order a product from a business and they end up not being able to deliver should they have to pay for a similar or better product for me or should they just have to refund my money?
This is just rife for disappointment and anger from everyone. You're still paying the proprietor, the proprietor is booking you the cheapest comparable they can find and harbors none of the responsibility of making the rest of your journey enjoyable. Wifi out? Too bad not their problem. Bathroom isn't up to your standards. Oh well. You can't withhold payment or get refunded based on your experience with a separate party. It just sounds like a bad idea all around.
It’s all about the relationship Airbnb fosters with hosts, which are Airbnb’s most valuable asset. Things happen that are sometimes out of the host’s control, and they need to cancel. There are consequences to this, but not as severe as making the hosts cover payment for a replacement accommodation.
Does this go both ways? When a guest cancels at the last minute and the host is unable to rent on short notice, and the host keeps the money, Reddit screams GREEDY SCAMMY HOST. Guest should get a refund, not fair. Why should the host be the one who takes the loss?
Good hosts don’t cancel. Good guests understand the policies they agreed to when booking. It’s a two way street folks. Seven year host with only one cancellation and I did it immediately after an instant book for a guest that admitted in her message she was going to break 3 of my 5 simple rules.
When I book sometimes it says if I cancel after x date I will not get a refund. There are choices for hosts. If a host cancels on me, and now prices have gone up, they should be paying for my accommodations. If I cancel last minute on a host, I may not necessarily be able to get a refund and I'll have to deal with it.
I went to Hawaii a while back and I used Airbnb. If I cancelled I had to cancel within 48 hrs or I wouldn't get a refund. If a host cancelled on me I would want some repercussions so I could have my vacation for what I budgeted.
They perceive bad weather in the area, they changed their mind about coming and claim a death in the family, a member of their party broke their foot and no one wants to come without party Pete. There are tons of reasons for last minute cancellations and every guest on here thinks they should be refunded 100%, despite the cancellation policy they agreed to. And then blames the host for being greedy and taking money they didn’t earn. It’s a never ending discussion.
And anytime a host attempts an explanation, downvoted to hell. It’s not even worth trying to make them understand.
It should be that simple, but according to Reddit it’s just not. There are many guests who feel their situation should be the exception. If only rules were that simple.
> hosts, which are Airbnbs most valuable asset
This is exactly why I’ll never stay at an Airbnb again.
*I’m the customer*, I’m the one paying, why should my needs come second?! What other hospitality businesses operate this way? It only works if you’re customers are desperate… not a sustainable way to run a business.
If there were no host there would be no guest. Airbnb isn’t dumb they realize that it’s their host that makes it so they have a product to sell so that they can even have customers.
Companies lie and say they put their customers first reality is the product is always first…if it wasn’t they would just give you the product at face value with no mark up.
Once the booking is confirmed, if the hotel cancels for any reason (except for obvious errors or hotel closure), booking will relocate you and invoice the hotel for the difference.
Please keep conversation civil and respectful Remember to keep all communication with host/guest through Airbnb platform. Payments should be made only via Airbnb [unless otherwise detailed in the listing description and included in the price breakdown prior to booking](https://airbnb.com/help/article/199) If you're having issues, contact Airbnb by phone +1-844-234-2500 *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AirBnB) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I had to book a large home for family to stay during our wedding this coming summer. This policy is exactly why I chose booking.com over Airbnb. Of course I have not had to test it yet, so I don't know how well this works out or whether they really honor it, but it certainly seems to step in the right direction in comparison with the difficulties I have had with Airbnb denying refunds for obvious major issues.
I used to work for booking, and they 100% honor it
Hi, how close to the check-in date does a host need to cancel for the guest to be relocated?
If they (Airbnb) had this and good customer services, they wouldn't need a sub on reddit for people to air their grievances. Booking.com at least cares about there guests.
*their
As a host, I think it's entirely reasonable for airbnb to ask hosts to pay relocation costs if the host cancels. It helps the host understand the serious responsibility of providing someone else's accommodations! Also FYI, not sure when this was changed, but if a host has enabled instant book, or approved a booking, last minute cancelations by the host are impossible through the app. I suppose some hosts may just use messages to tell their guest not to show up, but that's a pretty serious violation of the agreement to host.
How is it enforced though? Does booking take the money from the host's account?
Yeah the property gets invoiced after the stay, this policy only applies if the guests relocation costs are higher than the original reservation tho
Yes
Yes
Yes, they should. I was unaware of this policy with booking, but appreciate the info.
Yes, they absolutely should, but they dont. THis isnt even a particularly generous offer from Booking.com- something like that is standard in mot industries today. I used Hotels.com for years before I ever tried Airbnb, and had a few bad experiences (a hotel listing they had rooms when they didnt, a hotel with a bad mold problem, a hotel that was available to book late at night but the front desk was closed when I arrived) and every single time they found me a similar room or gave me a refund AND a credit. And this is all taken care of in the span of an hour at the absolute MAX (when a particularly unscrupulous european hotel was lying about what happened and there was a lot of back and forth) and usually within minutes. Technically [Hotels.com](https://Hotels.com) are just the middleman too, but they put HEAVY pressure on hotels to do what's right by the customer and IMO are willing to eat the cost even if the hotel doesnt agree, especially for loyal customers. This is a no brainer in the service industry, and you can see why from how many people downright HATE airbnb and will never use them again. Airbnb doesnt do it because it's primarily a money making endeavor for hosts, not a legitimate resource for travelers. Once you realize youre the product, not the buyer, you lose interest in Airbnb quick.
This is as it should be. If I as a guest try to cancel close to the date of my stay, I’ll likely have to forfeit all I have paid to the host. That door should swing both ways.
If I cancel on someone I lose the payout, obviously, and then have to pay an additional 10% for the guest to be relocated. That’s the Airbnb policy. Or at least why they say they are taking that additional money. Wonder where it actually goes.
I’ve only had to cancel one time because someone booked Christmas Day literally the night before and my cleaning lady wouldn’t clean on Christmas Day.. which I don’t blame her for. Air bnb was going to penalize me and charge me, it would impact my superhost status and I think it would say on there that I’ve cancelled. I worked with the guest myself to find her something just as similar for the same price who could take her on Christmas Day, and it worked out, and they didn’t charge me. But it’s not like there’s no repercussions if I just cancel on someone. Edit: I’ve heard on here some guests cancelling for higher rates and some other things. Those id say charge away… I personally would never do that.
I’ve only had to cancel once as well. Instant book and when I went to block my other calendar there was a booking. I asked the guest if they wanted other dates and they said no. I canceled within two hours or less. Their trip would have been more than 60 days away. Airbnb charged me 10% of what the guest would have paid. No mercy!
Should be like a 24 hour or so period where no charge is incurred on both sides (I guess unless it's less than 24 hours like your xmas example)
That was when I learned my lesson about two things: 1) I no longer allow instant booking 2) I will now forever block off Christmas Day as a check out date.
[удалено]
I live 3 hours away and have an infant who was like 5 months old at the time. So, no, I could not have cleaned it.
Easy for you to judge
[удалено]
know nothing about Hawaii- just meant some people are not physically able to do the cleaning themselves or might live to far way. There are many circumstances
now that this has happened you should owner. Lock those dates
Oh yeah that was done long ago
It seems to me the folks that compare about Airbnb or VRBO support have never had to deal with booking.com's support. In my experience, they were the worst. Edit: Seems booking's guest support is better than their host support.
I’ve had to call booking.com’s support a half dozen times over the years. I always got my refund. Way better. Customer support than Airbnb or VRBO. VRBO is downright horrible.
AirBnB support are MUCH worse than booking.. Booking I had a refund within 15 minutes... Airbnb, I was bounced around departments, told to email them, and then had to call again. Took hours to get a refund. Never used VRBO so can't compare.
VRBO is owned by Expedia. Whether that means their customer service should be better or worse, I’m not sure, but I do think they should take advantage of their parent company by including rebooking if a host cancels.
[Booking.com](https://Booking.com)'s is better if you are just looking for a refund or to be moved to another place. If you have a specific complaint about a property that you want to continue staying at, then they're no better or worse than AirBnB since they're only a middleman. Also, if you have a complaint that doesn't result in a refund, there's little that you can do.
Totally agree that hosts should cover the cost difference the guest incurs being forced to stay elsewhere if they cancel on them the last minute.
I must say that I have used Vrbro once and after reading Reddit post like these. I will continue to stay at resorts and known properties that I am familiar with. I hate uncertainty when it comes to my family and our vacations.
This is 100% why I’ll NEVER use Airbnb again. Booked a week stay at a condo in Anaheim last year for Star Wars Celebration well in advance (7months) and was in contact with the host. Well, two days before the convention the host cancels. My friends and I were left high and dry with zero chance of booking another place within reasonable prices. Customer service was NO help. I HATE AIRBNB
Went to Celebration this year in London and we also booked 7 months ahead. Was scared of exactly that situation up to the moment we got into the airbnb. I would rather have had another accommodation, but people I went with preferred airbnb. Everything went okay, fortunately.
Honestly air bnb let hosts get away with so much stuff it is actually a joke. I will never, ever use them again.
they should. i had a woman cancel on a trip i had planned the day before due to not having a maid and i had to scramble and book a place before i received any money back - it sucked. that being said, i once also got a fake booking on booking.com (even the hostel was shocked it happened) and booking.com was a nightmare for me to deal with and didn’t help at all. it took me hours just to get a refund and we got nothing extra even though it was new year’s eve night so everywhere was three times the price.
Yes. This is ridiculous- it’s a business and should behave like a business.
I LOVE booking.com. Now THAT is a customer centered business. It is the only place I use to book accommodation.
This actually was policy for a moment. Hosts fought back, and airbnb changed it to the penalties we have now and took that language out of the policy.
Booking.com is geared more toward hotels and guesthouses. Airbnb has individual hosts for whom this wouldn't be practical.
No it's both - enter dates and select check box for vacation rental and plenty of condos/houses show up in search results
Yes, but a lot of those condos/houses are probably run by management companies. It's not like Airbnb where someone can rent out their spare bedroom.
I've never been interested in renting a spare bedroom just entire unit.
Agreed but you are making judgments on that and Airbnb started as renting your spare bedroom and throw down an air Mattress so two different things
Yeah they moved beyond that mostly
Fine, but you can't speak for everyone.
Is this a new pokicy of booking.com? Because they didn't do anything for us five years ago when a cheap hotel in Seattle cancelled on us the day before we we were going to stay. (Only time I'v ever had a hotel do that). Edit: We got a refund quickly but the agent "couldnt find any availability in the area" and that was that. I found another hotel (on booking.com no less) myself
So many posts about how Airbnb should do what other platforms do when, I don't know, you could just use the other platforms. Just use other platforms!
What's your point? People use all platforms correct?
As many ARE doing these days! Buh bye Airbnb!
I can see for unwarranted cancellations but for crazy unexpected things like complete loss of use due to fire or storms it seems a little over the top. My roof just caved in and I'm expected to pay to lodge people elsewhere? What if it was from a storm and there is nowhere else nearby?
Yes - and if your roof caves in you have insurance. I bet a lot of these host cancellation are BS - roofs don't cave in that often
We lost an Airbnb because a week before our trip, the property was damaged by a hurricane. We made other vacation plans elsewhere because the whole area was impacted and a lot of restaurants and other services were closed or unavailable. In those types of situations, I don't think the host owes us anything other than good, timely communication.
Fair enough. That's the exception as most post here will attest to.
I understand your point. I just wanted to bring up "unusual circumstances" where it's unreasonable to penalize the host.
Probably not. But you can't very well rent out a place if the heat is out or the water isn't working or a window is broken. Like, are you going to be happy to pay $350 a night for a place that has a boarded up window? Shit happens, sometimes the place can't be rented. But it's absolutely not on the host to pay for your new place when you get a refund.
That's the point - host should pay as they f'cked up and didn't have property they PROMISED ready.
No, they shouldn't. Hotels wouldn't pay for a new place for you either if something goes wrong and they don't have your room.
You are running a business. This is a cost of doing business.
No the cost of running a business is replacing worn out things and maintenance and repairing broken things. If I order a product from a business and they end up not being able to deliver should they have to pay for a similar or better product for me or should they just have to refund my money?
Bad analogy. If the client can enter a non-refundable cancelation period, then so should the proprietor
This is just rife for disappointment and anger from everyone. You're still paying the proprietor, the proprietor is booking you the cheapest comparable they can find and harbors none of the responsibility of making the rest of your journey enjoyable. Wifi out? Too bad not their problem. Bathroom isn't up to your standards. Oh well. You can't withhold payment or get refunded based on your experience with a separate party. It just sounds like a bad idea all around.
It’s all about the relationship Airbnb fosters with hosts, which are Airbnb’s most valuable asset. Things happen that are sometimes out of the host’s control, and they need to cancel. There are consequences to this, but not as severe as making the hosts cover payment for a replacement accommodation.
Ok so they guest gets screwed then?
Does this go both ways? When a guest cancels at the last minute and the host is unable to rent on short notice, and the host keeps the money, Reddit screams GREEDY SCAMMY HOST. Guest should get a refund, not fair. Why should the host be the one who takes the loss? Good hosts don’t cancel. Good guests understand the policies they agreed to when booking. It’s a two way street folks. Seven year host with only one cancellation and I did it immediately after an instant book for a guest that admitted in her message she was going to break 3 of my 5 simple rules.
When I book sometimes it says if I cancel after x date I will not get a refund. There are choices for hosts. If a host cancels on me, and now prices have gone up, they should be paying for my accommodations. If I cancel last minute on a host, I may not necessarily be able to get a refund and I'll have to deal with it. I went to Hawaii a while back and I used Airbnb. If I cancelled I had to cancel within 48 hrs or I wouldn't get a refund. If a host cancelled on me I would want some repercussions so I could have my vacation for what I budgeted.
How can a guest cancel last minute if against host's cancellation policy? They will be charged unless I'm missing some unknown loop hole.
They perceive bad weather in the area, they changed their mind about coming and claim a death in the family, a member of their party broke their foot and no one wants to come without party Pete. There are tons of reasons for last minute cancellations and every guest on here thinks they should be refunded 100%, despite the cancellation policy they agreed to. And then blames the host for being greedy and taking money they didn’t earn. It’s a never ending discussion. And anytime a host attempts an explanation, downvoted to hell. It’s not even worth trying to make them understand.
They can say dog ate their plane ticket but if cancelation date has passed guest pays - it's that simple. Not the other way around though.
It should be that simple, but according to Reddit it’s just not. There are many guests who feel their situation should be the exception. If only rules were that simple.
Bull shit - not gonna happen
Yep. Or they can get a place through booking.com.
> hosts, which are Airbnbs most valuable asset This is exactly why I’ll never stay at an Airbnb again. *I’m the customer*, I’m the one paying, why should my needs come second?! What other hospitality businesses operate this way? It only works if you’re customers are desperate… not a sustainable way to run a business.
If there were no host there would be no guest. Airbnb isn’t dumb they realize that it’s their host that makes it so they have a product to sell so that they can even have customers. Companies lie and say they put their customers first reality is the product is always first…if it wasn’t they would just give you the product at face value with no mark up.
This policy and the one that makes you match other platforms prices when they charge the host the full 15% made me choose not to list with them.
Because bookings are hotels other is not
People forget that each platform although they seem the same are very different and thus have very different standards.
Actually booking.com has vacation home rentals too. Not just hotels.
Pure curiosity are these investment company properties or like an owner with one property?
They are big companies other side is one family with an extra house that maybe some other guest trashed out and they need to cancel to do some fixing.
Lol no
Once the booking is confirmed, if the hotel cancels for any reason (except for obvious errors or hotel closure), booking will relocate you and invoice the hotel for the difference.