Airbnb Resolution Information

I’m involving Airbnb because I do not believe the host has acted or communicated in good faith throughout this reservation and purposefully delayed responses to run out the clock. On short notice, I made a reservation to drop my daughter off at college in MA who’s travel requirements made it necessary to quarantine after arrival for a few days. Unfortunately, a week later, the college cancelled all in-person classes and we had to cancel our trip. The compressed timeline from the college did not allow me to make an earlier reservation nor did we delay in contacting the host as our plans changed and we didn’t need to travel.

Repeatedly, the host has been unresponsive throughout this process, as detailed in the timeline below. I emailed multiple times, checked for a response daily, and called a couple of times. I would have been more than willing to work out something with the host — clearly these are hard and frustrating times — but they have ignored my repeated requests for communication, giving the impression that they were simply running out the clock. I initially made a cancellation request, then a reservation change, used the resolution center, and am now involving Airbnb.

The trip total cost was $1,086.04. In earlier stages, I was willing to accept a discount on the refund, but at this point, I’d like the full original amount.

Timeline of Events:

August 6 — receive notification of move-in date from Emmanuel College, first Airbnb reservation was declined because the host was having out of town guests on those dates and had not updated the calendar

August 7 — make reservation request for Austin H’s place in Watertown, within two hours, receive approval.

August 11 — receive welcome instructions from Austin which specifically indicates the following preferences for communication:

COMMUNICATION:
Airbnb EMAIL is the best and fastest way to communicate!
If you need anything please let me know DIRECTLY via Airbnb email. My phone may not be accessible as I might be out of town.
I am sure that you are aware of how Airbnb stays work but I send this information to all my guests, this is an Airbnb that means it’s different in some ways from hotel accommodation and requires guest(s) involvement and cooperation. I am available to provide any support/help so please feel free to be in touch with me should you need any information or anything.

August 13 — receive notification from Emmanuel College that they’re cancelling all in-person classes and all learning will be remote <https://www.emmanuel.edu/forward.html>. I immediately notify Austin that morning via Airbnb email and have the cancellation declined within a few hours. I follow up with an additional email asking for clarification and forwarding the link from the college where the information had just been announced.

August 14 — no response and a followup email is sent via airbnb. At this point, we submit a request to change the dates of the trip (arriving Aug 22 rather than Aug 19) to minimize the impact if possible. I point out that I’m not getting good communication via email and that I would try calling as well.

August 15 — check for email and call 617.756.8645 (Host’s phone number), no response
August 16 — check for email, no response
August 17 — check for email and call 617.756.8645 (Host’s phone number), no response
August 18 — check for communication, no response
August 19 — original check-in date, check for communication, no response

August 20 — Alteration request finally declined, make a resolution request via Airbnb, and express frustration with difficulties in communication with the hist.

August 21 — check for email, no response
August 22 — check for email, no response
August 23 — original check-out date, check for email, no response

August 24 — Resolution request denied by host and a message included indicating that the host lost opportunities to book new reservations, that they’re bound by cancellation policies, and offering a 20% discount on a future stay at the same property. The host also indicates that I should given them a few week’s notice — from the timeline and actions of Emmanuel, that was never an option and we informed the host within hours of our own notifications from the college.

August 26 — Airbnb involved in resolution.

Assorted Screenshots showing communication attempts