In February some friends and I booked Airbnb accommodation for four in Amsterdam for three nights in early April at a total cost of £544. All seemed fine and we exchanged messages with our hosts who said they would give us the keys on arrival day. But about an hour before we arrived Airbnb called to cancel. “Personal reasons” were cited, while our hosts emailed to claim the owner had rented it to a friend.
We were told that Airbnb could suggest other listings in Amsterdam but could not arrange anything for us themselves. So we were forced to spend the first few hours in Amsterdam trying to find somewhere with Wi-Fi where we could check our emails, and try to contact the new listings.
Out of seven, six were already fully booked and one could only take us for the final two nights – so that would have meant finding accommodation for the first night and then spending most of our second day moving. Also, if Airbnb inexplicably cancelled a booking we made more than a month back, what was to prevent them from cancelling one we made 24 hours ago?
We spent the next two hours wandering around Amsterdam trying to find a hotel for three nights. Most were either fully booked or hugely expensive. Finally, we settled on one which cost £1,665 for three nights for four people.
On our return home we sent a formal email to Airbnb complaining about the appalling service and demanding compensation for, at the very least, the balance of the new accommodation. It refunded us the £544 we paid on the original booking, and has offered to refund an extra €626 (£496), which would still leave us £625 out of pocket in a situation for which we were entirely blameless.
Having logged on to the site to leave a review of our booking, we found that we were unable to do so. Our account had already posted an “automated review” saying the booking had been cancelled one day before our arrival (which was untrue; it was one hour).
So, despite describing itself in emails as “a community built on trust and mutual respect”, it was preventing us from giving honest feedback. CC, Brussels, Belgium
Cancelling just one hour before arrival is shocking. Initially, we didn’t get much joy out of Airbnb, whose terms and conditions state that last-minute cancellations may happen, but that it takes steps in these situations to offer an alternative.
It has 2m listings in 34,000 cities, and knows that things will go wrong now and again. Anyone reading of your experience will conclude it has not got sufficient procedures in place to handle such situations efficiently and sympathetically.
It did not help that, when we got in touch, it bluntly refused to discuss the detail. Instead it sent a statement saying: “Over 80 million guests have had safe, positive stays on Airbnb and issues for hosts and guests are incredibly rare.
“When we are made aware of issues, our customer experience team works around the clock to help make things right.
“In the interest of providing excellent customer service, we are in contact with the guests and are providing them with our support.”
The better news is that our intervention seemed to trigger a rethink in your favour and you were later emailed by a customer service representative. It said: “We are terribly sorry that your trip has been affected by this experience and we understand your frustration on this occasion.
“Having looked through all the circumstance, having weighted all facts, we have decided your case to be exceptionally rare. You will be receiving £1,121 to cover the difference of the hotel cost.”
We are happy to report that you received this promptly.
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