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How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

chriskiehl.com

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Re: How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

#4

Post by Matheus28 »

I don't see why someone would still use Airbnb for short stays. At $1.5k for 5 nights in Seattle you can surely stay at a decent hotel (which the OP ended up doing anyway, at $1.3k), and not have to deal with some weird hosts.

Hit them with a chargeback, who cares about getting banned from Airbnb.

Re: How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

#6

Post by Nextgrid »

Charge it back via your bank and explain the situation. Worst case scenario, it gets denied, you don't lose anything either way.

The initial misunderstanding was cleared up just one hour after the booking - it should be very reasonable for the host to offer a full refund, it's not like it was a last-minute cancellation where the host would struggle to get it rebooked in time and lose out. The host is clearly being malicious here and trying to make a quick buck by double-dipping - getting some money from the cancelled booking and then relisting the property back on the market.

I am always surprised how many people don't know about payment card disputes/chargebacks or refuse to use them, even right here on HN. The bank and card networks are biased towards you to begin with, and there's no downside to losing one as long as you're not being outright fraudulent or acting in bad faith.

Card chargebacks (or litigation, if you have the means) is the only thing companies understand, especially in a country where consumer protection isn't a thing.

Re: How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

#7

Post by mariopt »

Sometimes some hosts make up some ridiculous excuse to lure you into cancelling yourself to make a quick buck. A minority but they do exist for sure.

When I had an issue with "funny" hosts, I reached out to the Airbnb supported and I actually got a full refund and a discount for a future booking as an apology for the situation.

To be fair, your host was extremely rigid. Reach airbnb support, maybe you'll get a full refund.

Re: How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

#9

Post by trhr »

I had the same thing happen to me. Not only do I not stay at AirBNBs anymore, I cancelled my Discover Card when they refused to fix it... after ~15 years as a customer.

Once you hit a certain tax bracket and your purchases tend to be of a certain value, you start getting a more skilled person trying to fuck you, and they often win. At this income bracket, it's time to get an AmEx (or another card with really good payment protection policies).

But in this case, I'd let the family member sleep in my bed, and I'd go stay at this AirBNB, and I'd probably trash the fuckin' place or something.

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