Hi, we’ve booked an airbnb in Hokkaido, Sapporo for 5 days (28th january - 2nd feb) for around $400 USD 3 days ago, 7th january.
We then realized we need to change our itinery and canceled our booking without realizing it’s a non refundable booking (actually we were 1 day late based on the policy, it’s a full refund until 9th and we cancelled on 10th).
We’ve contacted both the customer service and the host, and the customer service said it’s fully depend on the host whether or not they would allow the refund.
The host has read our message and hasn’t replied, and we are really nervous. Is there nothing else we can do?
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Nope. This sucks but it is up to the host if they want to or not. Rules stated non refundable
It really sucks. I wonder if airbnb, as a mediator for guest and host should’ve at least forced the host to either give partial refund or reinstate our reservation. The rule is basically 1 or 0 and it wholly depend on the host tolerance.
So it’s actually not “nonrefundable unless you didn’t read the terms.” You had multiple opportunities to read what you were agreeing to - during the booking and the cancelation.
Why would Airbnb do that?
Hosts set their policies for a reason. It’s the responsibility of guests to read those policies and ensure they book an appropriate property for their needs. It’s entirely up to the host’s discretion whether they want to go against their policy but ultimately, you are not a special case, you have the same responsibility as every other guest, there is no requirement for you to be an exception.
If the host decides to be generous, cool. But assume that the $400 is spent.
You also should have travel insurance or get the Airbnb insurance
Yeah. I get it. That is why I limit my bookings based off of refund ability. Really limits my options but….
And yeah there needs to be a compromise somewhere
We only book refundable stays too. And they’re often more expensive but that’s the trade off.
So I hate nonrefundable policies. But I sometimes book them at hotels I stay at regularly when the difference is much cheaper. I have had to change one of those once and the only reason it worked was because I was a frequent guest AND I was asking to adjust the dates, NOT cancel. And if they said no I would've went to my insurance (it was a potentially covered issue) to see if I could recoup anything. NOT expected the hotel to accommodate.
What I am saying is this isn't unique to Airbnb hosts and I am not sure why there needs to be a compromise somewhere. It sucks for OP but they chose this place and ignored many steps where they were told it was nonrefundable. I don't know what their reason is for canceling but I'm pretty sure if it was highly sympathetic (and possibly insurable) they would have said....
I’m not familiar with insurance since it’s not a thing here, and no it’s not a sympathetic reason either. We changed our itinery, basically we won’t be at hokkaido until 3 days later. What i regret the most is that the fact airbnb allow us to cancel a non refundable booking, if we can’t get a cent back, why bother cancelling at all? If we have to then we would adjust our itinery based on the reservation, but again, now we are stuck to reservation cancelled, and our payment not refunded. Which is why is I wondered if airbnb should’ve at least let us rebook the reservation (force was a bad choice of word), assuming it’s still not booked yet.
I get it tho, it’s our mistake, as much as I want to say this is out first experience time travelling abroad, cancelling on airbnb, and English is not my first language, it’s still our fault nonetheless.
Still it’s crazy that most of the comment is about what we should have and could have done, pointing our mistake and emphasizing on it without giving any input at all.
Everyone has given you input. You just don’t like it.
Your comment was “No that’s what nonrefundable means”.
Which part of it was the input?
Also, which one of my comments that stated i didn’t like the input? I thanked two other comments that actually gave me a quite clear input, and said they were right.
You okay there buddy?
“Is there nothing else we can do?”
“No”
Good, an improvement from your last “input” no matter how small it may be.
Next time don’t go around putting words in someone else’s mouth
This sucks. But there’s an opportunity cost to the host when guest book their units.
They lose the opportunity to market their property because you have booked it. Even just taking their property off market for an hour may mean they lost the person who would have “really rented it”.
Thats not to say that you are at fault for needing to change your itinerary. Maybe something came up outside of your control. Or maybe you just found a better opportunity. Doesn’t really matter to the host. Maybe they can empathize with you. But the reality is it’s possible you cost them the opportunity to rent their property.
So here’s the move. Negotiate and offer a buyout. Offer to split it with them. Doesn’t need to necessarily be 50/50 but try and consider that maybe you cost them $400 if they refund you fully.
And also consider that they owed you zero. So asking for a partial refund maybe lets you recoup half if you are both open to it. And the host can still possibly rent it.
Good luck.
Thank you. It’s certainly better if i can discuss which the host. The host has left me on read for hours now which is why I’m nervous. Will try to wait for another day or two.
Yeah I mean they can do nothing an keep the money. Thats the current agreement. So the sooner you make an offer that appeals to them then they could accept and relist the property and double dip.
If you don’t hear back by tomorrow I’d consider hitting them with an offer to split the difference. Better to be out 50% than 100%.
I recently had guest who booked 10% off non-refundable and asked to shorten stay by 1 day. We really didn’t think we could book the one day so we offered them 60% off this one day & changed dates to open calendar.
We dropped price of this orphan day by 50% and were surprised when it booked last minute for someone driving through.
Guest was happy for the refund and we were lucky to get most of the original amount.
Exactly. I’ve booked Airbnb driving cities roadtripping in the US.
I think the thing to realize here is:
Some host are chill and will take 100% loss and some are greedy scammers. In this case scamming doesn’t really play into it. I’m just saying with Airbnb you have all sorts of host.
And in this case OP is attempting to negotiate with someone who has all the leverage. They can do nothing and keep 100%. And like you mentioned their concern is valid about being able to rent it again.
OP mentioned they were left on read. Best to try and offer a sweetener and see if you can salvage anything. Even a future discount if you want to go there later is better than 0.
What you did for that guest was generous. You either cleaned the place yourself or arranged a cleaner to get down there for a fast turnover twice.
And you bought some goodwill with your guest and hopefully they appreciate that you looked out for them and gave you a good review.
You are right, really appreciate your reply and solution.
I’ve read a few of similar thread in this sub and it’s crazy how some people’s response are basically “it’s on you, you should’ve read and you didn’t, serve you right” when it’s literally an honest mistake.
It’s a contract. Your intention doesn’t matter.
If you’re looking for solutions, hopefully you read the comments above about offering something reasonable to the Host.
“Will you give me $$$ for nothing.” is an offer few would jump at.
Try: “Could i rebook the original dates for +10%” or “Could I rebook alternate dates for +25%” or “Could we split the difference and get 50% back?”
Yes thankfully the host decided to let us keep the reservation.
I’m glad this had a happy ending!
No that’s what nonrefundable means.
Sorry OP, but I don’t understand why you think you should get a refund? After all it was your choice to cancel and you did occupy the listing so no one else could book it. You can write and ask the host that in case the listing should get rebooked if you could get a refund. That is fair - it is not fair to expect a refund outside the agreed to cancellation policy.
You were writing while emphasizing we are EXPECTING a refund. We are not, we are expecting a solution that can work for both party, and my critize was for airbnb as a mediator.
Except your version of mediation is for Airbnb to force the host to find a partial refund or reinstate your reservation
"a solution that works for both parties" isn't what you agreed to though. You booked a nonrefundable reservation..this would be happening on Airbnb or if you booked a hotel at a nonrefundable rate. This is unfortunately a "you problem" and no one else's. Hotels and hosts sometimes will be flexible if you're a recurrent guest or if you are trying to change your reservation but a cancel is different. Your criticisms aren't valid, basically.
I get it sucks but thats what nonrefundable is.
Airbnb does not have a saying. You agreed to a cancellation policy when you booked. I guess you are a grown up so you should understand what that means. I would personally never expect someone else to pay for my choice to cancel. Whenever I travel I buy travel insurance - but travel insurance would not cover either and for a good reason. If the host could afford to refund last minute cancellations they would probably have chosen the most lenient cancellation policy possible in the first place.
Airbnb is not a mediator. They process payments and disburse money according to the agreement you signed.
Not everything in life is negotiable. Sometimes the answer is no.
“ without realizing it’s a non refundable booking”.
This is an important lesson, OP. This is caveat emptor. Life is easier when you understand your side of the bargain. I feel bad because a strict no refund policy is pretty unfriendly but you need to be aware before you book. Had you taken a moment to understand your side of the bargain you would have been able to negotiate with the host but instead you just gave them $400 and walked away.
I’ve been working with my kids on understanding this. Some mistakes are costly and you can’t always negotiate your way out of them.
It’s non refundable dude. Why would the host refund you? They don’t need to reply. They have their money and can open up the calendar for new clients - you have a contract
You booked a non-refundable reservation. That's a contract. There isn't any mediation that is called for her. Your best case is to approach the host and ask, not demand. Maybe if they book your dates they will offer you some degree of refund.