Airbnb host offered to help, then pocketed our £2,000

In May my partner and I booked a trip to Las Vegas. We found an apartment through Airbnb and paid £2,097 for a month-long stay in August. A few weeks later we found out that my partner’s mother had advanced cancer and did not have long to live. We decided not to travel so we could be by her side and support the family.
The booking was non-refundable but, given the circumstances, Airbnb recommended that we contact the host to see if he would offer some flexibility and refund us. I messaged through the Airbnb app to explain our situation and he said that if I cancelled and other guests booked the same dates then he would refund me. It seemed like a risk worth taking so I cancelled the booking.
In August I checked the apartment’s availability and I saw that the host had fully booked the dates but when I asked for my refund, he said he was having financial difficulties so couldn’t give me my money back. He said he could offer me a credit towards a future stay at his place. This is not what we agreed so I contacted Airbnb — the agent was sympathetic and said that it did seem unfair. Airbnb then contacted the host on my behalf but he said he was sticking to his original cancellation policy and that the best he would offer is travel credit. Given our circumstances, it was difficult for us to plan another trip. We no longer trust the host so we wouldn’t feel comfortable staying at his place anyway.
The host is still active on Airbnb and his flat is booked until early next year. It seems like he just wanted me to cancel so he could collect double the income on my dates.
Airbnb has offered $300 (£225) as a goodwill gesture. Name and address supplied
You took a gamble that the host’s property would be rebooked but you said the flat was in a popular part of town and it was peak season so you were confident others would want to stay there.
In situations like this where you can’t travel because a relative is unwell, I would expect travel insurance to cover you, but you said you hadn’t yet taken out a policy so this wasn’t an option. This is a lesson on why it is important to buy travel insurance when you book a trip, especially when the accommodation has such a strict cancellation policy.
Still, the host had misled you, promising a refund if the apartment was rebooked, only to go back on his word. You showed me the exchange and in one message he said he no longer had your money, so it sounded like he had already spent your cash. When you protested he then switched between saying that he might be able to refund you in a few months or offering you credit to use for a future stay at his property.
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I could see why you have lost faith in him. You said he had broken his agreement with you and that, if he had refused a refund from the outset, you would have kept the booking and asked your friends to use it instead.
The host then blocked you in the app so booking another stay at his flat was impossible anyway.
As there was a full trail of the conversation on Airbnb, the company could see that the host had backtracked on his promise, so it was disappointing that it only offered a meagre $300.
When I intervened it had another chat with the host and, while I don’t know what it said to him, Airbnb then decided to reimburse you. It said: “We were sorry to learn about this family’s personal circumstances and after reviewing this particular case we have issued a full refund to the guest as a goodwill gesture.”
In July my husband and I were driving between Lewes and Hailsham in East Sussex when a pothole punctured one of our tyres. We stopped by the side of a narrow lane and called our breakdown firm, RAC, using the number we had saved on my phone but we couldn’t get through to speak to anyone. The automated message told us to register our breakdown online but we were in the middle of the countryside and had no internet service. I was very concerned about my husband who has mild cognitive impairment and gets very confused and anxious.
I called my friend and she recommended calling Green Flag, which answered the phone immediately and sent a breakdown vehicle to us within an hour. The technician temporarily repaired the puncture so we could drive to a safer spot and then called for another vehicle to tow the car to a garage in Lewes. He also gave us a lift to our house. We got home at 5.15pm having set out at 12.30pm.
I contacted RAC to ask for an apology and a refund of the £150 fee we paid Green Flag but it refused because it said we had chosen to call another firm. This might seem like a small amount of money but it’s not for retired people like us. We paid £79.99 for our annual RAC membership but we feel like the company neglected us.Maureen, Sussex
If you asked me to list some of the most stressful situations I’ve been in, breaking down in the middle of the countryside without any internet service is definitely up there at the top. In fact, shortly after I got involved in your case in August, my partner’s car broke down in the Peak District and we also struggled to get RAC to rescue us.
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After waiting for three and a half hours with only a Daim bar to ration between us, we also gave up on RAC. I wondered if our similar experiences were coincidental or a sign of a wider problem with the company. Either way, I understood your decision to call Green Flag, which thankfully came to your rescue.
RAC told me that there were no issues with its phone lines when you called so that part of your complaint remains a mystery. But it said it was sorry that you had to wait longer than normal to be rescued and agreed to refund the Green Flag fee, which is now in your bank account.
If you have a money problem that you would like Katherine Denham to investigate, email [email protected]. Please include a phone number.
£1,426,086: the amount Troubleshooter has saved readers so far this year