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My family are due to stay in an Airbnb home in the next few days. It's three bedrooms and advertised as having the place to ourselves. We are two adults, and two children (a five year old and a one year old). It is a long drive to get there.

The host has messaged this morning and says that they're having trouble offering us the entire home now, and want to confine us to a single bedroom which they say will accommodate us. We assume that, since this was booked a few weeks ago, they've got other paying guests since who they want the custom of. They also say that they will give us a reduced rate, but that's not the point.

We are currently trying to get a refund and try to stay elsewhere, as we wouldn't want to stay there and be cooped up into a single room (especially with a baby who is teething and having trouble sleeping through, and a good 4 hours drive to get there and the next day another 4 hours), and wouldn't feel especially comfortable with other people there anyway. But is this doable with Airbnb's rules? I admit I've only had a brief look at their T&C's now.

EDIT - the host came back and said that it was they who were having trouble giving us the property, not other guests. They since said that we could have the property, but they would have to leave their dogs in the back garden. We have since cancelled, as we don't like being messed around and don't want dogs we don't know which may wake us and our kids up, and one of our children is currently scared of dogs.

user25730
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2 Answers2

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This situation is covered under Host cancellations:

What if a host informs me that the listing I already paid for is now unavailable but they have an alternative?

Even if you’ve already booked your reservation, it’s your choice whether to accept or decline a host’s offer to book an alternate listing.

...

After you’ve paid for your reservation

If your host is asking you to stay in a different listing than you originally booked and you’re okay with a switch, either you or your host can change your reservation. Make sure to check the details of the new listing before accepting a change.

If you’re not okay with a switch or your host is asking you to switch without officially changing the reservation on Airbnb, ask the host to cancel your reservation so you can get a full refund or find another home that better accommodates your stay.

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Greg Hewgill
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Yes, you are entitled to get out without penalty if they cannot deliver their end of what was agreed to - this goes not just for AirBNB rules but for contracts in general, and is the case even if you have already paid, and even if they are trying to negotiate a separate offer - you are not obliged to accept.

That said, what would make sense to me in this situation would be:

  1. Ask the host if you can have the rooms that you originally reserved.

    From what you've said, it's not clear if they definitely cant satisfy your original reservation (ie they've overbooked already), or if they're just hoping you'll agree to a change, but will relent if you don't seem willing. You want to be sure which it is, and if they're just fishing, you want to let it be known that you'd rather stay with the originally booked rooms.

  2. If they say no, tell them you would just like to cancel. If they don't do that via the AirBnB system straight away, follow it up with an email or written message that you'd like to cancel (and briefly why) and keep a record of both that message and their response.

  3. If no luck or if they're not responding quickly, call AirBnB. It's absolutely something that can sort out for you and it shouldn't take too long.

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T.R.
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