'The worst customer service we've experienced': AirBNB stiffs customer when host double books them and cancels their reservation AFTER check-in

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Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Sep 9, 2023 1:00 PM EDT

It's not new knowledge that AirBNB has been on the steady decline. It's more than just shoddy hosts trying to pull some sketchy things. It's also AirBNB host coming in and jacking up living prices and buying up houses that could have been a lovely home. Long gone are the days where AirBNB is romanticized. Now, we harken back the days of hotel, motel, Holiday Inn (cue Bogus Trizzy song). 

Here is another example (out of many floating around the internet) of an unsatisfied AirBNB customer. This woman had booked a girls trip and was ready to rumble. The weekend was going off great, until several minutes after checking into their AirBNB. Let me reiterate that, they had ALREADY checked-in to their AirBNB, but then the host canceled their reservation, saying they "double booked." How is double booking even still possible through an app???

Anyways, AirBNB didn't get in contact with the customer until hours after they were canceled and even then they simply did the bare minimum. The woman talked back and forth on the phone with AirBNB representatives, but nothing. All she got was the required refund and then a laughable voucher. On their website, it says they should get 50% of their reservation cost in a voucher if the host cancels with less than 48 hours until their booking, but nope. AirBNB said, nah. It's obvious this "customer service" is nothing more than a talk around keeping their cash cow alive. 

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  • 01
    Wood - "Apparently when a host cancels last minute, AirBNB views that as an extra little profit of money that they can keep."
    via Scott Schrantz via Flickr
  • 02
    Font - Posted by u/boskie81 19 hours ago AirBNB Host Cancels reservations AFTER check-in time
    via u/boskie81
  • 03
    Font - My wife recently booked an AirBNB in Dallas for a girl's trip. Her reservation was booked over a month in advance. On the day of check in at 3:04pm, the host cancelled the reservation and advised that the house was double booked.
    via u/boskie81
  • 04
    Font - My wife began speaking with AirBNB Support around 4:30pm. At 7pm AirBNB Support stated that to help "make this right" they would offer assistance in finding new accommodations. Obviously by 7pm my wife and her friends had already found
    via u/boskie81
  • 05
    Font - their own hotel without any assistance from AirBNB. The following evening, my wife received a call from AirBNB Support. I picked up
    via u/boskie81
  • 06
    Font - the phone and advised that we were at the hospital with our sick daughter and asked to be contacted the following day when we would better be able to speak. AirBNB support sent a message almost immediately stating that my wife had received a full rufund
    via u/boskie81
  • 07
    Font - (as they're legally required to do for not honoring their contract to provide housing) and that this chat would be closed in 30 minutes if she didn't respond.
    via u/boskie81
  • 08
    Font - AirBNB Support eventually offered a $75 coupon (roughly 10% of the reservation price) to try to get my wife to go away. After she continued to press, AirBNB provided company policies that show that in a situation where a host cancels with less than 48
    via u/boskie81
  • 09
    Font - hours notice, they receive a penalty of 50% of the reservation cost. My wife advised that it seemed reasonable that AirBNB provide that 50% penalty to her, in cash.
    via u/boskie81
  • 10
    Font - After significant arguing, AirBNB would not offer any more than a 20% coupon. My wife would prefer to receive cash, as she could then split it with the rest of the group and she doesn't really have much faith in AirBNB's reliability, but AirBNB refused. Also,
    via u/boskie81
  • 11
    Font - apparently when a host cancels last minute, AirBNB views that as an extra little profit center of money that they can keep that doesn't need to be shared with the guest to help accommodate them.
    via u/boskie81
  • 12
    Font - We were extremely frustrated with AirBNB's service. If AirBNB Support would have immediately contacted my wife and offered 20% cash, it would have helped her and her friends enjoy a much nicer girl's trip. Instead, they
    via u/boskie81
  • 13
    Font - offered to help find a room after 4 hours had gone by, were extremely reluctant to offer any compensation beyond a refund, provided a deadline for my wife to respond 3 separate times, and would only provide a coupon as compensation. This was
    via u/boskie81
  • 14
    Font - truly some of the worst customer service we've experienced from any company.
    via u/boskie81
  • 15
    Font - 19Claudio 10 hr. ago There is nothing more useless in this world than the Airbnb "support". This company is total crap. Just book a hotel instead, it's much more convenient, safe and cheaper.
    via u/19Claudio
  • 16
    Font - AVIXXBUS 12 hr. ago ● As much as that sucks for OP's wife, I'm glad AirBNB is imploding and people are finally waking up to how awful they are.
    via u/AVIXXBUS
  • 17
    Font - Recently hosts have been buying up houses like crazy to use as businesses, which drives up the cost of living by taking away that supply for the thousands of people that need somewhere to live.
    via u/AVIXXBUS
  • 18
    Font - Mumof3gbb 3 hr. ago We have an a hole in Montreal who operated 2 Airbnbs. One of them caught fire and there were deaths. The windows were sealed shut. There was no fire escape. Both his places had received complaints
    via u/Mumofgbb
  • 19
    Font - and because he's rich, nothing was done. He's now only sorta facing any consequences. Sorta. It's sick and they need to be dealt with.
    via u/Mumofgbb
  • 20
    Font - BasketballButt 15 hr. ago ● We recently had a major sewer issue and needed short term accommodations. Our first thought was AirBnB but after about ten minutes of looking, we quickly realized
    via u/BasketballButt
  • 21
    Font - that with extra fees, hosts wanting us to basically be house cleaners, and everything else, we were better off in a hotel. Called up a local mid tier hotel, explained our situation,
    via u/BasketballButt
  • 22
    Font - negotiated a bit of a discount for being there as long as we were gonna be, and away we went. Didn't have to pay insane cleaning fees or do a bunch of chores, had clean towels and sheets, a pool, a small gym, and had free breakfast the whole time.
    via u/BasketballButt
  • 23
    Font - Was 100x easier and cheaper than AirBnB would have been.
    via u/BasketballButt
  • 24
    Font - dbx99 14 hr. ago ● AirBnB getting less occupancy so the owners jack up prices to make mortgage. It's a death spiral in many areas.
    via u/dbx99
  • 25
    Font - SCDarkSoul · 13 hr. ago They should spiral faster.
    via u/SCDarkSoul

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