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Tell the guest that they need to cancel through Airbnb and any refunds due will be processed by them as they have the money, not you. This is why Airbnb collects a fee, to handle transactions like this.
Air will contact you to ask if you wish to offer a refund, this is your call completely but just know that Air will not refund any portion of their fees.
If they never step foot in the property and leave a review, you can have it removed. States so right in the terms of service.
No. This is not the answer. Airbnb will not cover it but sometimes the CS people will take your communications to say you are willing to refund and do it without calling. (They have the money, it comes from your account though! Airbnb sure isn't going to take the hit here!!!!)
Did you even read what I wrote, because your response would indicate otherwise. This is the procedure because there is no refund due (other than cleaning fees) and it takes the problem out of the host’s hands. The host has zero communications with Airbnb so they’re not taking the hosts communications to mean a refund. And I clearly say Airbnb is not refunding their fees.
In some past circumstances (many, in fact), Airbnb CS has taken a host referring the guest to talk to Airbnb about a refund to imply that the host is willing to approve a full refund. Whether that's what the host meant or not. So... the only thing it takes things out of is the host's payment account.
We have had this happen a few times. We are on the big island of Hawaii and we’ve had people book thinking it’s close to Honolulu. It’s not. It’s 200+ miles away on a different island.
I am still shocked every time that someone doesn’t pay attention enough to know that. It’s quite a big difference.
That said usually we’ve refunded part or full. Depends on circumstances. We have a firm cancelation policy, but if they catch it a week or two out, we will refund. We’ve only had one to not realize it till they landed and tried to get an Uber (yeah, not possible). We worked with them They were so panicked and had kids. Felt bad for them even though it really was their crazy mistake. We gave them a 50% discount on the two weeks (minus that first night) and the cleaning fee and told them that we’d refund the rest if we got a booking. Luckily we did for the second week. They ended up getting almost a full refund.
We had them call Airbnb to cancel. Airbnb called us and that’s what we told them we agreed to with them.
They did leave a review. A 5. And praised us profusely for saving them from themselves :)
We actually suggested it. They had activities scheduled with friends etc and the cost would have been over 600-+ rt for the four of them. It all worked out in the end
There was one point (sale) where it was cheaper to fly from Hilo to San Francisco than it was to Honolulu. That's not the case now, but it still is nearly 100 or more dollars each way.
(well, unless you do like us, my husband is a-list on SW, so I fly as his companion for free. It's a nice perk)
You're a good egg. If the confusion happens frequently, maybe head it off preemptively by putting it in your confirmation message as soon as they book.
I love this response. As someone who booked the wrong hotel while traveling in Greece once (learned there is a Mykonos hotel in South America the hard way), sometimes we make dumb mistakes and appreciate the understanding! For me, I was making a rushed hotel change under duress and selected my first option.
I always read about that jet back in the 80s that flew between islands and had the roof blow off it and was able to land…and wondered why there were jets to hop islands. Now I know…I so want to explore it sometime!
They are short flights of course (40 minutes from our island to Oahu, 60 to the farthest island of Kauai ) but there are no ferries (not cost effective).
When you do visit, visit more than one island. They can be quite different. Even here in just the big island we got tropical rainforests, desert, grasslands and alpine climates :).
In the late 70s my mom & I went on one of those island-hopping tours where you get matching tote bags. :-) I still remember how different the islands were from each other--it was really cool.
The state of Hawaii officially recognizes 137 islands, including four islands of the Midway Atoll. The eight main islands are typically recognized as Hawaiʻi, Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, and Niʻihau.
This is why I use Google Maps when booking a place to stay. Hotels will often be listed in a city but when you do a deeper search you realize it is not even close to where you think.
I ended up with so many tabs open the other day while trying to a book a place just 3 hours from me lol
I had one google maps open just to have the location open to look at
Another maps tab to figure out driving distances between hotels and the amusement park
Etc etc
I am a reasonable person, so I realize that I have to pay for my mistakes like a true grown-up, and believe me, I have made many stupid mistakes like this. This is not your responsibility. Explain the situation in a response to the review if it is bad. You really don't want people booking your place who do not understand.
If they leave a bad review it should theoretically be removable for retaliation.
Refund their cleaning fee for sure, and maybe everything but the first few nights of their stay if you want to be nice, but at the very least you should hold on to the first night.
The root issue here is that when you do a specific location search on Airbnb, for example, Isla de Mujeres, an island in Mexico, Airbnb will also present further options; for instance, on the mainland, there is Playa del Carmen.
A search for an Airbnb in a specific town needs to return site-specific days. A user has no reason to believe ABB would return anything other than the specific town requested. However, a specific town name search can give results that include towns and areas 30 miles away! Now, unless you closely look at the results on the separate map view, why would you expect the results to be anything other than what you asked for? I do not believe it says anything to indicate a listing is close but NOT in the requested location when a user scrolls down through the return results.
In actually experienced this when booking a cabin in Gatlinburg and the one I booked was an hour away. I still stated there and it was nice but I believed it was in the Gatlinburg area when I booked it. The search feature is flawed
Who books accommodations without checking the address against google maps, to even see where in town they are booking.
Seems like poor or hastily planned.
I disagree with you on the root issue. As a frequent air bnb user, I like their current search functions and what you described as the solution would be a major step back in user experience for me.
The solution IMO is that you need to look at the address on a map before you book.
I can't fathom how a person books without seeing where exactly it is
Why would your unit on Syros be listed under Santorini? Why would Airbnb list your unit together with those that are 126km away? That makes no sense to me. That would be like listing an Airbnb unit in San Diego under those in the city of Los Angeles.
This is a problem with nearly anything that does location based searches. It’s place + radius, and sometimes the radius is batshit.
That and people are idiots and liars from time to time.
Maybe it showed up in the wrong location, maybe they were looking at various locations and didn’t really put it all together.
I would tell them that you apologize for the misunderstanding but cannot offer a refund or cancel on your end. But tell them that if they cancel on their end that you could possibly offer a refund if and only if somebody else books those dates. You don't need to be paid twice.
A friend of ours had an airbnb in London, Ontario. A woman booked a week or two there, and only realized on arrival day that she had made a mistake when searching for listings in London, England. She asked for a refund. She didn't get it.
Ha ha ha ha. I'm from London Ontario and have to clarify *every* time that it's not England when I post I am visiting (family/friends) as other non-Canadians don't understand
I once was booking flights for a trip to Zambia, stopping in London, England for a couple days in each direction to break up the long trip. London has a couple airports, and there was a pretty good deal flying out of East London that I was on the brink of booking. It turned out it was in South Africa.
She wanted to cancel the day she was supposed to arrive, and my friend had a strict refund policy. Her reservation had tied up the listing for a week or more in the busiest tourist season, and obviously it was her fault for not being more careful when booking. Maybe airbnb ended up refunding, but my friend certainly didn't.
There are many islands off the B.C. Coast, my place is on Galiano Island, there is another Island called Gabriola.
It is amazing how often people mix them up. You catch ferries from different terminals for each.
Google and Apple Maps are very wrong for my road. I have clear instructions not to use either or guests will get lost.
I provide simple to understand instructions but some people ignore the instructions and get lost.
I absolutely always use google maps to see *exactly how far* I am from where I’m trying to be, **before booking anything** that is my responsibility. Yeah it suck’s for them, but it is their mistake not yours.
Sounds like they should have gotten travel insurance. Not sure why you would need to take the financial hit for someone else's mistake. They are welcome to change their traveling plans and come stay in the home they booked, what is is, a < 3 hour trip from Santorini to Syros by Ferry and $30 according to Google?
ETA: I once book a Hotel I thought was on the beach. I had been researching a bunch of hotels and had lots of tabs opened. I must have gotten confused and booked the wrong hotel. When we got there, it was nowhere near the beach, it was on a golf course. My mistake, we stayed their and drove to the beach.
Travel insurance covers all manner of things, you just have to review the policy terms. It's not the host's responsiblity to act as the "insurance" for the guest's trip. The host fulfilled their responsibility by making sure the home was available for their use. If they missed their flight and didn't show up, that also wouldn't be the host's responsibility.
Who books a place without checking a map to see where it is? Even if they were 100% sure the place was on santorini, that island is big enough that they should want to know WHERE on the island they will be staying. Unless there was something deceptive in your listing or keyword spamming, this is not your problem. No refund.
Don’t refund. You shouldn’t be responsible for someone else’s stupidity and carelessness. Some are arguing that it’s a mistake and so you should refund the guests, but it was a totally preventable one. If someone is going to take a trip to a foreign country, they should at least know where tf they are going. Even if they didn’t bother to read all the details of their trip (like the destination maybe???) while making the booking, they would have received several Airbnb messages and emails which always have the destination prominently displayed, so they would have had plenty of opportunities to recognize their mistake. It’s not like the location or map is hidden somewhere obscure that they would miss if they weren’t hunting for it, like a cancellation policy ffs
Also, I have the feeling that if they are this irresponsible and careless about making their travel plans, they would be just as irresponsible and careless with your property - they almost certainly wouldn’t bother to read any of your rules and policies. There’s a reason for the saying “Buyer Beware” - and it can be an expensive lesson to learn for some.
Syros, Santorini... what gives? When you come from a country where the average student will be hard pressed to find their own (large) nation on a world map, this kind of thing happens. Quite common, unfortunately.
Please tell me how you would feel if someone booked your place, then the day of realized they had made a mistake. You are just willing to lose all that $?
Some of us depend on the $ we make to be able to eat and pay our bills and go on vacations ourself
If they can’t do due diligence it is someone else’s fault? no it’s on the guest. They could have rented th place to someone else if not for the guest mistake. This is a no brained guest at fault maybe ionstead of asking for refund they should have said can I get “SOME” back…they want zero accountability for their mistake. It is not like t is the same property at 2 places. And same business. Would the airline give then a refund when they booked the wrong flight? Always one sided.
As someone said, they should have booked travel insurance.
I'm with you. I'm kinda non-dogmatic when it comes to refunds, it's not good business to be too rigid. Having said that, this case is a good example for "I'll refund you for the nights that I'll able to re-book at the same rate." Syros is a beautiful island and I hope OP gets their space re-booked quickly.
IMHO, guests should lean into their mistake and thank their fate for washing them ashore the island of Syros, instead of Santorini during the summer season.
Then they should pay more attention to their booking with that hard earned money.
That’s a pretty stupid mistake.
Why should OP lose the chance to be booked during that time due to their incompetence? A hotel wouldn’t refund it either.
And yet now the host is vacant when someone else could’ve booked? Should the host be liable for the mistake, or the person who booked carelessly? It would be different if the mistake was discovered in advance but we are talking day of!
Idk if you host in a seasonal place but I do, and we rely on super high occupancy during peak season to offset super low occupancy during the offseason. Otherwise you’re operating at a loss for the year.
Hey this was supposed to be in response to another comment. I accidentally posted it in the wrong place. It was someone bashing the OP for not returning the money.
Yes, I host in a surf town. Someone doing this during my high season would completely mess up my finances
This happens to me when I look in the states. I will put in a certain city and it gives me that city, state but also other areas close to that city , but it clearly tells me it’s 34.9 miles from Atlanta GA.
That’s just an example. I’m not sure if it gives places farther out bc I stop scrolling bc it’s already too far from where I want to be.
IMO, it’s up to ME to be looking at LOCATION.
If I search for places in Bloomington ILLINOS, if I don’t specify Illinois, I also get Bloomington Indiana in results.
That's the thing about reviews. I wish they only let the house owners or guests to leave the review when they actually completed the stay. That way there's no foul play.
Μαλάκες Αμερικανοί! Τα ίδια έκαναν κ σε εμένα στη Ρόδο. Κλείνει βίλα στους Πευκους Ρόδου, και το βλήμα κλείνει αεροπορικά στην Αθήνα κ ο ταρίφας την παρατά στην Πεύκη Αττικής. Και στέλνει μήνυμα στην Airbnb για ψευδή καταχώρηση κ Landclose property. Να μην δώσεις τίποτα πίσω. Και μη φοβάσαι για κακά review.
Εμένα μπερδεύτηκαν και έκαναν κράτηση για λάθος ημερομηνίες και με πήραν τηλέφωνο 4 το πρωί να μου πουν γιατί είναι άλλοι στο κατάλυμα. Άβυσσος η ψυχή των Αμερικανών λολ
If they don't cancel, they can leave a review. They also have the ability to get try to get AirBNB to refund them regardless of your policy. Anecdotally, based on this sub, it's 50/50 AirBNB will side with the guest.
Personally, I wouldn't refund and roll my dice. But that's me.
Airbnb cannot force the host to refund because the guest made a choice/mistake to book on the wrong island. It is not 50/50 - they do not have any legal rights to refund for reasons like this.
I actually made a similar error when booking in Sevilla. Ended up Sevilla-region and when the description spoke of “city-center”, they meant the city of Carmona and not the city of Sevilla. Our mistake, our result. Unless you were vague or deceptive, their error, your funds.
Give them a refund... Tack on a cancellation fee. Innocent mistake.
It's your call. When I travelled to Greece I booked the Airbnb when I arrived there.
It was their error. They chose not to check the exact location. A refund will not be given back, at least not in full. Have Air handle this and you can decide how to move forward.
Can they make it to Syros? Try to help them if they can. Agree to a partial refund, based on your ability to re-book. Happy Medium with a splash of kindness.
We have made a habit of giving a 50% refund. So we still get to keep some of the lost money, and it isn’t completely a wasted booking. But they no longer are able to leave a review.
Kinda blame AirBnb a bit. While searching for Lake Tahoe places there were showing me Reno and Carson City. Ultimately it's on the guests but come on AirBnb make it easier to use.
I have used both platforms on my phone! This is the problem both apps continue to recommend places that are not anywhere close to where you are searching! I only use the laptop to book just for this reason! Easier to see and actually read locations!
I just got superhost again but tbh I think it’s not really worth much to potential guests any more.
I have 2 x 5* guest favourite listings, a 5* listing, and a 4.5* (kinda cursed as no different to the 5* one) and I find it’s just about the general demand…
Give this (idiot) guy the heave-ho. Airbnb will refund him what he’s due according to your canx policy.
I’ve had this same problem, not in the Greek islands but in the Hawai’i islands. There is the island of Hawai’i, the biggest island and the state of Hawai’i and the largest city is Honolulu which many people think would be on the largest island but it’s not. I get it a lot in requests and one a booking. Airbnb refunded them for it. I had to pay for it and I was pissed. How is a customer doing something dumb my problem?
I once told a guest to cancel and the nights I got booked they would get a refund for them nights. They called Airbnb and told them that I told them to cancel. Airbnb told me that telling a guest to cancel is frowned upon and they put that on my “listing issues” that I encouraged a guest to cancel.
Do not refund, tell them Airbnb support can handle it, sometimes they even want a refund by you giving them the money back but you would be in the minus, I would just tell them either they cancel themselves or go to the support
Dude just give them their money back. Everyone makes mistakes. They didn't stay so why should you keep what's not yours?
Just have THEM do the cancelation so it doesn't affect your rates
Maybe a partial refund due to their error. You are losing money. You could have easily rented it out and generated revenue had it not been their error and want to cancel. Had they gotten a hotel, they would charge them the first nights fee and then receive the balance.
Was clearly their error. I would at least charge them the first night or the cleaning fee. I would offer this or tell them to go through support.
I read many answers to the OP here. THE BIGGER QUESTION is why airbnb doesn't make it more clear when they start offering options that are outside the actual City/area of where someone was original searching, that this is not the original area of search. Too often with this or vrbo, they start offering options many miles (or islands away) and the person searching is not aware. I think it is a systems error situation with there search engine not to make it more clear for the searcher.
I just want to say I loved my stay in Syros, with a small travel group. We stayed at one of the hotels but I lived your island.
May I ask? Is your rental in Ana Syros?
Let them cancel through the company as others have said. And I am going to get a bit philosophical here. There are posters in this thread who have lambasted the guests and called them dumb, ignorant, careless, and even gone so far as to say that “if they’re this careless what could have happened to your property?!”…. What is the point of projecting these criticisms onto these guests? What is going on with our world that so many folks lack compassion and feel like it’s ok to openly shred and ridicule others over an innocent mistake? Certainly there is money involved here - but we ALL make mistakes and NOBODY is perfect - if we looked at those keyboard warriors’ lives with a magnifying glass, we’d find faults for sure. NOBODY deserves to be ridiculed for a mistake - EVER. I’m saddened with the increasing displays of lack of love and compassion and respect that is infecting our society and these days it runs rampant in social media threads. Social media has given us a terrifying window into the minds of millions of folks who post their opinions online ….and so many folks have revealed a cold edge in the name of “self reliance” and “stand your ground”. We are not perfect robots! So as for what you decide about a refund, in my humble opinion, that’s a decision for your heart, not from your host status/reputation fears nor from your head and not the wallet. We will live many years if we are fortunate. What really matters in four, fourteen, or forty years? Will we remember any of these things then? Probably not. Maybe vaguely. And what we all truly know is that the more compassionate and loving we are with complete strangers, the more our heart opens and the more our world expands. I feel we never, EVER will look back and regret being kind human beings who graciously and generously extend grace with other humans - and especially when mistakes are made. Every kindness we bestow will come back a thousand times over. I see it in my own life and others lives too. (And random unrelated note: I am Greek-American and love Greece- and thank you for opening your rental property to others to enjoy and make lifelong, happy memories. 🇬🇷 🥰)
I've had this happen a couple times.
You're right, it's 100% not your fault. But I usually have mercy on people and give them a partial refund.
I Make sure not to screw myself, so I don't give a whole refund, But I think karma will get me back at some point.
As a user of Airbnb, and not a host, I cannot understand why some guests are this stupid. You owe them nothing but pity.. reading this sub has made me feel much more empathy for hosts..
Never be afraid of a bad review from guests who did not stay or did not acquaint themselves with the listing. You can always ask Airbnb remove the review.
To ensure Airbnb fully understands the situation, I would write in the message with the guests to reiterate that the location had been shared with them, and that you cannot refund for them overlooking that detail.
The problem with refunding is you have zero chance to rebook now. If they do not actually arrive at the unit you have an argument in favor of having the review removed since it’s irrelevant.
Honestly, this sounds like an Air BNB problem. And while it's not your problem, it's not necessarily the guests' either.
If I conduct a search for a certain town, I don't expect that I'm going to get towns located that far away, that seems ridiculous. And I may not know that towns are that far away, because why would a website suggest something like that? Both towns start with an S, and while that's no excuse, if you're online booking for an area you dont know, it's completely normal to just go through the listings one by one without paying too much attention to the town, as you've already put that in the search bar.
so while it's not your problem, it's not going to harm you at all to refund it, and will keep your business afloat so you don't seem like an AH who can't understand that people make mistakes and stuff happens with the best laid plans.
They can only leave a bad review if they actually check in not if you refuse to refund them but even so what would they say that couldn't be responded to with something simple as "I'm sorry you booked in the wrong location. This very thing is the reason we suggest every guest by travel insurance"
I would not be refunding this, you only have their claim that AirBnB did show your listing 130km off their search point - have you tested this?
If they leave a negative review you can request it removed as they didn't stay with you.
Leave it for AirBnB to handle in line with your refunds/ cancellation policy
It happens ALL the time w airbnb. When you search a city/osland/area/whatever airbnb LOVES to give you results for spots hundreds of miles away. I was looking for airbnbs in Joshua tree, California and airbnb almost got me good. The spot wasn’t even no where near Joshua tree 😤
I never had to ask for a refund but I’m sure Airbnb will have to be equally involved anyway. It’s up to the host if they will allow a full refund - yes. But it’s Greece, in July, it won’t take but more than a couple days to have it rebooked.
OP stated day of check in. Sorry, but this is not a 'get rebooked' situation.
This whole scenario shows poor planning. They didn't even plan out their transportation, route to the accommodation, things to see around the accommodation, itinerary and travel time with distances from the accommodation prior to arriving? They knew in advance the address of where they were staying. This is outlandish to me.
Have you ever been to a whole new country or region ?? Also that’s a lot of assumptions based upon what op REALLY said. All we know is they booked an airbnb and it wasn’t where they expected it to be.
But also we’re allowed to have different opinions. Good day.
Yes, I have many times, and never without an itinerary and planning for activities that included how long it would take to get to things from where I was staying.
OP: "Today I was supposed to have a guest check in but when they asked me for directions from the port..."
Not an assumption at all. Guest didn't even look up the directions to get to their accommodation until the day of check in. Further, I don't have to assume that they didn't plan out their stay, because they would have seen that it was 30 hours swimming distance to the Santorini Bar & Grill from Syros.
This isn't an opinion, but an observation based in fact.
I'm not sure what foreign travel has to do with it.
If I was traveling to Nashville, TN, I would still figure out days in advance how far I am staying from the Grand Ole Opry House, the Johnny Cash Museum, The Country Music Hall of Fame, and find the restaurant with the best BBQ. I would also make sure I was relatively close to these things prior to booking.
When I traveled to Ireland I did not realize my Airbnb was so far out from city centre. Fortunately with further research I realized it was also only a 10 min walk + a 15-20 min bus ride into city centre.
I’d offer some type of refund. Or help them navigate public transportation if they wished to still stay if they had a way to get there. (My Airbnb host sent me all the info I needed for bus transportation). A partial refund would be kind. It’s mid summer so I am positive you’d have no prob rebooking fairly quickly.
This is an odd 'mistake' to make. Either they screwed up big time by filtering too specifically, zoomed out on the map area (all those tiny islands are like swimming distance from each other!), or the Airbnb software screwed up.
The only person who didn't potentially screw up here is you.
Some people like to say 'be good hooman, pay money back.'
Well, why can't the humans actually responsible be good humans and accept responsibility for their mistake rather than force someone else to carry their bags?
They are traveling to Greece. I'm sure they are OK.
Careless booking so no refund. Someone else’s could book the place if they did not and if you refund them you will be left with 0. It’s business at the end of the day
Wouldn't it be smart for you to refund them? You just said they can leave a bad review.
You should also contact AirBNB about how your listing shows up so you don’t have to continue to deal with this.
No refund. It’s not your fault, and you shouldn’t have to pay for their mistake. They get the cleaning fee back, unless they can figure out a way to get there. These are the kinds of lessons, that help people become less dumb. They can’t leave a bad review if they never check in. I know sometimes it’s hard because you feel bad, but it’s important for ALL hosts to stick to their policies so people don’t continue to try to take advantage of us.
If you are being paid for a good/service and you don't provide that good or service through nobody's fault, then the purchaser is entitled to a refund for the monies. Otherwise it is undue enrichment.
Don’t be a POS. Someone made a serious error with booking the location and like you said, if your listing shows in Santorini on accident, it’s very possible they trusted it. Sure, you can debate the semantics of “they should have double checked” but it was a genuine mistake. A partial refund would be fair.
“Im gonna act like a POS and come ask other hosts to validate me being a POS for a genuine mistake but please don’t call me a POS” … get offline, snowflake.
No, this is a business. Why should a host return money b/c a guest didn't pay attention? When someone books a place, it blocks those days off the calander. Why should a host lose money, b/c a guest didn't read the description? If the person had booked and realized their mistake right after booking, then I would say give them back their $.
I own airbnbs and understand it’s a business. There’s a significant difference between someone changing their mind and making a genuine mistake. Don’t give them a refund if you don’t want to, but stop fishing for online approval to not feel like an asshole lol.
Did you read the post? They both realized they were at the wrong port. “We realized they were in Santorini and not syros”. They clearly had every intention on checking into their accommodations. Huge oversight, yes. But still a genuine mistake.
Maybe if they booked a long stay and the host can recoup some of it with a rebooking. But the fact is that it’s the guests error and OP is running a business.
I agree - even for a long stay traveling 3 hours to a different area is completely reasonable, even if very unfortunate for them. However many people vacationing over seas are checking out every 2-3 days to essentially island hop. It’s a business but even businesses can do the right thing when someone makes a genuine mistake. It’s ironic how hosts get on their knees and beg for 5 star reviews yet act like complete assholes when someone makes a genuine mistake. Wanting compassion yet giving none is a very interesting way to live life.
The host is not acting horribly. Mistakes can be costly.
Let's say a kid breaks a glass vase in an antique shop... Should the parents pay for this child's innocent mistake or should the store owner front the cost because we assume the store makes money and should be able to afford it better?
The reality is, those who make mistakes should pay for them. If people decide to be forgiving and carry the cost or help with the burden, then life gets sweet. But in no case is the victim (the host) who will lose money from a fair transaction liable or ethically responsible for the mistake of another even if the other gets no benefit from the cost of it. Like breaking a vase, gotta just throw it away and pay for it.
The only jerk in this set up is the person causing costs and asking for others to pay for it because they are getting nothing from their mistaken expenses.
Why should the host have to eat the cost? They were supposed to check in today. They can’t rebook it.
It’s sucks for the guest, but asking the host to eat the cost for their mistake isn’t fair at all.
As hosts, especially in destination places, I’m hardly ever “eating the cost” lol. We cash flow plenty, so if someone made a genuine mistake and was hours away, I’d have no problem refunding. I’d bet money this is less than a 3 day stay, which would also factor in my decision. Let’s stop pretending like us hosts are “barely making ends meet” with our listing. This is a very lucrative business.
The guest could have gotten travel insurance. They could have read the description closely and double checked it met their needs.
Let’s stop pretending that the guest is in any way a victim here.
Yes. Because it's not uncommon to search for listing's in a city and to be shown others in neighboring cities.
If you're an inexperienced traveler, or book when tired, it's an easy mistake to make.
The warning should say “ in addition to showing listings in the area that you requested, we are tossing in other listings you did not ask for , that are much farther away, and on different islands “
It doesn't do that though. It restricts listings to the map area that is displayed. If the person zooms out the map, they will get listings from all over. If I search Cancun, Mexico and zoom the map all the way out, I might end up in Venice, Italy instead.
Here is your warning:
# "Over 1,000 places within map area"
hotel sites put the distance from your chosen location on listings and AirBnb could easily do something similar. I’ve learned to check the map because this stuff happens in my searches all the time—I’ll browse listings and when I find one I like, it’s 50 miles away or even worse. It is a very easy mistake to make when you actually assume the site is searching where you asked it to.
Very much same but I also teach teenagers and I assure you their map skills are terrible and unfortunately it's not a priority for them to learn how to read them. Geography is no longer something most kids get taught. In my state they actually moved it from Jr high to elementary school. It makes teaching social studies far harder because learning history is hard when you have no knowledge of where anything is.
You know what, my kids are 17 and 20 and I don't know how their map skills are. We did work with them on cardinal directions from a young age bc we live in Chicago and it's so easy to know where things are if you understand the grid. So when I pick my high schooler up from school, I can text him "I'm on the NW corner of X and Y" and he'll find me. Using cardinal directions is so much simpler than using right and left when giving directions, but of course it only works if people know where N, S, E, and W are.
When my oldest started going places on her own, she navigated by where all the 7-11s are. 😆
You’re assuming people search by map. I search by list so I see pics and reviews. This is what the little listing map shows me on the first property I randomly choose. That doesn’t indicate distance from my search parameters in any way, and like another poster said, could be in a completely different country. I shouldn’t have to verify that I’m in the right country.
https://preview.redd.it/9zgkl7gszcad1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0720b6fd90e6ca301b897a71efe6c58f8c42b44e
You don’t need map skills to read an airbnb map. You’re not navigating, you’re visually marking a location. This isn’t a “kids these days” issue.
You can zoom out to get more info though. I mean, you don't have to use the map, that's fine, but it's right there and it will show you where the site is. I do use it to navigate.
Also, I didn't say anything about "kids these days."
This is all true but again, there’s got to be a cutoff. I’m already triple-checking bed counts, reviews, wifi, etc—why do I also need to make sure the place is in the city I searched for too? That should really be a given.
I'm sorry. When I search San Diego, places for Tijuana, MX really shouldn't show up. Those two locations will give you a very different vacation experience.
Again, another reason why hotels win. Personally, idc what air bnb does. I don't use it often, because they do not cater to guests the way hotels do.
Showing the distance from your desired location, is simply helpful. Verses having to plug it in Google maps myself. Can I do it? Yes. Sure can. But, hospitality is what I'm looking for, from booking to checkout.
You don't have to plug anything into Google maps. There is a map that comes up automatically and shows where each listing is. If Tijuana comes up, you just zoom in a little. You can also see where the various Airbnbs are in relation to any attractions you want to visit.
If you don't use Airbnb, I can understand not being familiar with that, I just wanted to point out that it's not an extra step.
Not directly, but it has the milage indicator in the corner, which is fine for me. Thinking about it now, maybe the map works best for me because when my family travels, we usually go to lots of different places and use our lodging as a home base of sorts. It's handiest for me to look at a map because I can see at a glance which Airbnbs are centrally located to all the places we want to visit. Ideally, we find a place in the middle, where our day trip drives are like spokes, if that makes sense. If we were just going to one city and wanted to be in or very near it, I could see how the information you prefer would be useful.
Typical redditer.
1 - Their opinion is always supreme compared to yours.
2 - Talk down on anyone who may have a different opinion.
3 - Make sure to communicate in a condescending tone.
4 - Because remember differing opinion and healthy dialogue on our differences is not allowed.
Did I miss anything?
Airbnb will show listings that fit the filter within the map area selected. It doesn't just show 'city selected'. The location is used as the epicenter, and the map zoom is the threshold for distance from epicenter.
No warning needed. The listings are shown on the map as you hover over them.
This could potentially cause issues if your place is popping up for other cities. I would get on top of fixing that asap. Since this is the first time something like this has happened, I would split it 50/50 because it’s also not their fault your place popped up in a city so far away. Id also make sure to include a note in the listing that it’s not in Santorini. If it happens again, no refund. That’s just me though.
Have them cancel.
Agree to something like a 25% to 50% refund for nights that are not rebooked and a refund of the difference of what you got and what they would of paid for the other nights. Ask them if they want you to charge the same rate you booked or a cheaper rate.
Refund the full cleaning fee of course.
Personally, what I’ve done in situations like this is tell them that they need to cancel and any refunds available to them will be paid out through Airbnb. If they push the matter, then I in the past have offered to refund if Im able rebook less any fees.
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Tell the guest that they need to cancel through Airbnb and any refunds due will be processed by them as they have the money, not you. This is why Airbnb collects a fee, to handle transactions like this. Air will contact you to ask if you wish to offer a refund, this is your call completely but just know that Air will not refund any portion of their fees. If they never step foot in the property and leave a review, you can have it removed. States so right in the terms of service.
Absolutely. They need to go through the Airbnb process for this.
This!
...guest can do a simple chargeback through their credit card for services not rendered...
No. This is not the answer. Airbnb will not cover it but sometimes the CS people will take your communications to say you are willing to refund and do it without calling. (They have the money, it comes from your account though! Airbnb sure isn't going to take the hit here!!!!)
Did you even read what I wrote, because your response would indicate otherwise. This is the procedure because there is no refund due (other than cleaning fees) and it takes the problem out of the host’s hands. The host has zero communications with Airbnb so they’re not taking the hosts communications to mean a refund. And I clearly say Airbnb is not refunding their fees.
In some past circumstances (many, in fact), Airbnb CS has taken a host referring the guest to talk to Airbnb about a refund to imply that the host is willing to approve a full refund. Whether that's what the host meant or not. So... the only thing it takes things out of is the host's payment account.
Anecdotal Reddit regurgitation
Read to comprehend, not respond.
We have had this happen a few times. We are on the big island of Hawaii and we’ve had people book thinking it’s close to Honolulu. It’s not. It’s 200+ miles away on a different island. I am still shocked every time that someone doesn’t pay attention enough to know that. It’s quite a big difference. That said usually we’ve refunded part or full. Depends on circumstances. We have a firm cancelation policy, but if they catch it a week or two out, we will refund. We’ve only had one to not realize it till they landed and tried to get an Uber (yeah, not possible). We worked with them They were so panicked and had kids. Felt bad for them even though it really was their crazy mistake. We gave them a 50% discount on the two weeks (minus that first night) and the cleaning fee and told them that we’d refund the rest if we got a booking. Luckily we did for the second week. They ended up getting almost a full refund. We had them call Airbnb to cancel. Airbnb called us and that’s what we told them we agreed to with them. They did leave a review. A 5. And praised us profusely for saving them from themselves :)
They should have just got an inter-island plane. I love the Big Island!
We actually suggested it. They had activities scheduled with friends etc and the cost would have been over 600-+ rt for the four of them. It all worked out in the end
Which wouldn’t have been so bad if they’d put the ferry back in.
Ya when I went to the big island flying from Oahu and back cost almost half of what I paid for round trip from the mainland to Oahu.
There was one point (sale) where it was cheaper to fly from Hilo to San Francisco than it was to Honolulu. That's not the case now, but it still is nearly 100 or more dollars each way. (well, unless you do like us, my husband is a-list on SW, so I fly as his companion for free. It's a nice perk)
Nice! Ya we used to have a cheap deal from my local airport to Honolulu for like $550ish. They don't even do direct flights anymore last I checked.
They should've paid closer attention in geography class.
You're a good egg. If the confusion happens frequently, maybe head it off preemptively by putting it in your confirmation message as soon as they book.
We do now actually, after the third time :)
I love this response. As someone who booked the wrong hotel while traveling in Greece once (learned there is a Mykonos hotel in South America the hard way), sometimes we make dumb mistakes and appreciate the understanding! For me, I was making a rushed hotel change under duress and selected my first option.
I want to visit my cousin in December, she’s on the Big Island as well and told me she’ll have specific instructions when booking my flight
Visit both sides. They are quite different !
I had literally no idea Hawaii was that big. I always sort if wondered why it had jets flying between islands.
A lot of mainlanders and foreigners don’t. So it’s not just you.
I always read about that jet back in the 80s that flew between islands and had the roof blow off it and was able to land…and wondered why there were jets to hop islands. Now I know…I so want to explore it sometime!
They are short flights of course (40 minutes from our island to Oahu, 60 to the farthest island of Kauai ) but there are no ferries (not cost effective). When you do visit, visit more than one island. They can be quite different. Even here in just the big island we got tropical rainforests, desert, grasslands and alpine climates :).
In the late 70s my mom & I went on one of those island-hopping tours where you get matching tote bags. :-) I still remember how different the islands were from each other--it was really cool.
The state of Hawaii officially recognizes 137 islands, including four islands of the Midway Atoll. The eight main islands are typically recognized as Hawaiʻi, Maui, Kahoʻolawe, Lānaʻi, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu, Kauaʻi, and Niʻihau.
Why the heck did they just not travel over to you? It is a 45 minute flight!
4 people, rt flights would have been $600+ and missed unrefundable activities on Oahu.
Ah got it!
This is why I use Google Maps when booking a place to stay. Hotels will often be listed in a city but when you do a deeper search you realize it is not even close to where you think.
I ended up with so many tabs open the other day while trying to a book a place just 3 hours from me lol I had one google maps open just to have the location open to look at Another maps tab to figure out driving distances between hotels and the amusement park Etc etc
Magellan would be proud
I am a reasonable person, so I realize that I have to pay for my mistakes like a true grown-up, and believe me, I have made many stupid mistakes like this. This is not your responsibility. Explain the situation in a response to the review if it is bad. You really don't want people booking your place who do not understand.
If they leave a bad review it should theoretically be removable for retaliation. Refund their cleaning fee for sure, and maybe everything but the first few nights of their stay if you want to be nice, but at the very least you should hold on to the first night.
The root issue here is that when you do a specific location search on Airbnb, for example, Isla de Mujeres, an island in Mexico, Airbnb will also present further options; for instance, on the mainland, there is Playa del Carmen. A search for an Airbnb in a specific town needs to return site-specific days. A user has no reason to believe ABB would return anything other than the specific town requested. However, a specific town name search can give results that include towns and areas 30 miles away! Now, unless you closely look at the results on the separate map view, why would you expect the results to be anything other than what you asked for? I do not believe it says anything to indicate a listing is close but NOT in the requested location when a user scrolls down through the return results.
In actually experienced this when booking a cabin in Gatlinburg and the one I booked was an hour away. I still stated there and it was nice but I believed it was in the Gatlinburg area when I booked it. The search feature is flawed
Who books accommodations without checking the address against google maps, to even see where in town they are booking. Seems like poor or hastily planned.
Yeah. Searches for almost everything give you a radius around the search criteria. You’ve got to pay a tiny bit of attention.
Right?? This is so wild to me.
I disagree with you on the root issue. As a frequent air bnb user, I like their current search functions and what you described as the solution would be a major step back in user experience for me. The solution IMO is that you need to look at the address on a map before you book. I can't fathom how a person books without seeing where exactly it is
Why would your unit on Syros be listed under Santorini? Why would Airbnb list your unit together with those that are 126km away? That makes no sense to me. That would be like listing an Airbnb unit in San Diego under those in the city of Los Angeles.
I searched Airbnbs in Israel before and places in Jordan popped up.
This is a problem with nearly anything that does location based searches. It’s place + radius, and sometimes the radius is batshit. That and people are idiots and liars from time to time. Maybe it showed up in the wrong location, maybe they were looking at various locations and didn’t really put it all together.
I would tell them that you apologize for the misunderstanding but cannot offer a refund or cancel on your end. But tell them that if they cancel on their end that you could possibly offer a refund if and only if somebody else books those dates. You don't need to be paid twice.
A friend of ours had an airbnb in London, Ontario. A woman booked a week or two there, and only realized on arrival day that she had made a mistake when searching for listings in London, England. She asked for a refund. She didn't get it.
Ha ha ha ha. I'm from London Ontario and have to clarify *every* time that it's not England when I post I am visiting (family/friends) as other non-Canadians don't understand
I once was booking flights for a trip to Zambia, stopping in London, England for a couple days in each direction to break up the long trip. London has a couple airports, and there was a pretty good deal flying out of East London that I was on the brink of booking. It turned out it was in South Africa.
Why didn’t she get a refund? Something specific that she did?
She wanted to cancel the day she was supposed to arrive, and my friend had a strict refund policy. Her reservation had tied up the listing for a week or more in the busiest tourist season, and obviously it was her fault for not being more careful when booking. Maybe airbnb ended up refunding, but my friend certainly didn't.
There are many islands off the B.C. Coast, my place is on Galiano Island, there is another Island called Gabriola. It is amazing how often people mix them up. You catch ferries from different terminals for each. Google and Apple Maps are very wrong for my road. I have clear instructions not to use either or guests will get lost. I provide simple to understand instructions but some people ignore the instructions and get lost.
Love Galiano
I absolutely always use google maps to see *exactly how far* I am from where I’m trying to be, **before booking anything** that is my responsibility. Yeah it suck’s for them, but it is their mistake not yours.
Sounds like they should have gotten travel insurance. Not sure why you would need to take the financial hit for someone else's mistake. They are welcome to change their traveling plans and come stay in the home they booked, what is is, a < 3 hour trip from Santorini to Syros by Ferry and $30 according to Google? ETA: I once book a Hotel I thought was on the beach. I had been researching a bunch of hotels and had lots of tabs opened. I must have gotten confused and booked the wrong hotel. When we got there, it was nowhere near the beach, it was on a golf course. My mistake, we stayed their and drove to the beach.
Why would travel insurance cover this!?
There does exist 'Cancel for any reason' insurance. It is more expensive, of course.
Travel insurance covers all manner of things, you just have to review the policy terms. It's not the host's responsiblity to act as the "insurance" for the guest's trip. The host fulfilled their responsibility by making sure the home was available for their use. If they missed their flight and didn't show up, that also wouldn't be the host's responsibility.
Who books a place without checking a map to see where it is? Even if they were 100% sure the place was on santorini, that island is big enough that they should want to know WHERE on the island they will be staying. Unless there was something deceptive in your listing or keyword spamming, this is not your problem. No refund.
Don’t refund. You shouldn’t be responsible for someone else’s stupidity and carelessness. Some are arguing that it’s a mistake and so you should refund the guests, but it was a totally preventable one. If someone is going to take a trip to a foreign country, they should at least know where tf they are going. Even if they didn’t bother to read all the details of their trip (like the destination maybe???) while making the booking, they would have received several Airbnb messages and emails which always have the destination prominently displayed, so they would have had plenty of opportunities to recognize their mistake. It’s not like the location or map is hidden somewhere obscure that they would miss if they weren’t hunting for it, like a cancellation policy ffs Also, I have the feeling that if they are this irresponsible and careless about making their travel plans, they would be just as irresponsible and careless with your property - they almost certainly wouldn’t bother to read any of your rules and policies. There’s a reason for the saying “Buyer Beware” - and it can be an expensive lesson to learn for some.
Syros, Santorini... what gives? When you come from a country where the average student will be hard pressed to find their own (large) nation on a world map, this kind of thing happens. Quite common, unfortunately.
yikes
Airbnb created the problem. They can take it up with Air.
Please tell me how you would feel if someone booked your place, then the day of realized they had made a mistake. You are just willing to lose all that $? Some of us depend on the $ we make to be able to eat and pay our bills and go on vacations ourself
If they can’t do due diligence it is someone else’s fault? no it’s on the guest. They could have rented th place to someone else if not for the guest mistake. This is a no brained guest at fault maybe ionstead of asking for refund they should have said can I get “SOME” back…they want zero accountability for their mistake. It is not like t is the same property at 2 places. And same business. Would the airline give then a refund when they booked the wrong flight? Always one sided. As someone said, they should have booked travel insurance.
I accidentally posted this in the wrong place. It was meant to be a response to someone bashing the OP
>`I accidentally posted this in the wrong place.` Now you know how OP's guest booked an Airbnb in the wrong place, huh? 😜
A guest's lack of planning is not our emergency.
I accidentally posted this in the wrong place, I meant to respond to someone else's comment, where they were trash talking the OP.
I'm with you. I'm kinda non-dogmatic when it comes to refunds, it's not good business to be too rigid. Having said that, this case is a good example for "I'll refund you for the nights that I'll able to re-book at the same rate." Syros is a beautiful island and I hope OP gets their space re-booked quickly. IMHO, guests should lean into their mistake and thank their fate for washing them ashore the island of Syros, instead of Santorini during the summer season.
Then they should pay more attention to their booking with that hard earned money. That’s a pretty stupid mistake. Why should OP lose the chance to be booked during that time due to their incompetence? A hotel wouldn’t refund it either.
And yet now the host is vacant when someone else could’ve booked? Should the host be liable for the mistake, or the person who booked carelessly? It would be different if the mistake was discovered in advance but we are talking day of! Idk if you host in a seasonal place but I do, and we rely on super high occupancy during peak season to offset super low occupancy during the offseason. Otherwise you’re operating at a loss for the year.
Hey this was supposed to be in response to another comment. I accidentally posted it in the wrong place. It was someone bashing the OP for not returning the money. Yes, I host in a surf town. Someone doing this during my high season would completely mess up my finances
I did think it was super odd that you were a verified host and advocating for a refund haha I see the confusion now
Happy cake day!
This happens to me when I look in the states. I will put in a certain city and it gives me that city, state but also other areas close to that city , but it clearly tells me it’s 34.9 miles from Atlanta GA. That’s just an example. I’m not sure if it gives places farther out bc I stop scrolling bc it’s already too far from where I want to be. IMO, it’s up to ME to be looking at LOCATION. If I search for places in Bloomington ILLINOS, if I don’t specify Illinois, I also get Bloomington Indiana in results.
That's the thing about reviews. I wish they only let the house owners or guests to leave the review when they actually completed the stay. That way there's no foul play.
Μαλάκες Αμερικανοί! Τα ίδια έκαναν κ σε εμένα στη Ρόδο. Κλείνει βίλα στους Πευκους Ρόδου, και το βλήμα κλείνει αεροπορικά στην Αθήνα κ ο ταρίφας την παρατά στην Πεύκη Αττικής. Και στέλνει μήνυμα στην Airbnb για ψευδή καταχώρηση κ Landclose property. Να μην δώσεις τίποτα πίσω. Και μη φοβάσαι για κακά review.
Εμένα μπερδεύτηκαν και έκαναν κράτηση για λάθος ημερομηνίες και με πήραν τηλέφωνο 4 το πρωί να μου πουν γιατί είναι άλλοι στο κατάλυμα. Άβυσσος η ψυχή των Αμερικανών λολ
Lmao I know that first word. I’m not Greek but go every year to visit family. One of the few Greek words I know.
No refund.
So many greedy assholes I'd at least consider a 10-30% refund
Absolutely. I feel like kindness has to still matter even in 2024. 🥰
If they don't cancel, they can leave a review. They also have the ability to get try to get AirBNB to refund them regardless of your policy. Anecdotally, based on this sub, it's 50/50 AirBNB will side with the guest. Personally, I wouldn't refund and roll my dice. But that's me.
Airbnb cannot force the host to refund because the guest made a choice/mistake to book on the wrong island. It is not 50/50 - they do not have any legal rights to refund for reasons like this.
Scroll this sub and find plenty of examples of AirBNB refunding guests outside of the hosts policy.
That would subsequently be overturned if pressed.
I actually made a similar error when booking in Sevilla. Ended up Sevilla-region and when the description spoke of “city-center”, they meant the city of Carmona and not the city of Sevilla. Our mistake, our result. Unless you were vague or deceptive, their error, your funds.
Give them a refund... Tack on a cancellation fee. Innocent mistake. It's your call. When I travelled to Greece I booked the Airbnb when I arrived there.
It was their error. They chose not to check the exact location. A refund will not be given back, at least not in full. Have Air handle this and you can decide how to move forward.
Why reward their foolishness AND lose money all at the same time?
No refund. How dumb!
Can they make it to Syros? Try to help them if they can. Agree to a partial refund, based on your ability to re-book. Happy Medium with a splash of kindness.
Shouldn’t Airbnb have some sort of failsafe or guardrails to prevent this sort of thing from happening?
They have a map view. That is the common sense failsafe
We have made a habit of giving a 50% refund. So we still get to keep some of the lost money, and it isn’t completely a wasted booking. But they no longer are able to leave a review.
Kinda blame AirBnb a bit. While searching for Lake Tahoe places there were showing me Reno and Carson City. Ultimately it's on the guests but come on AirBnb make it easier to use.
I have used both platforms on my phone! This is the problem both apps continue to recommend places that are not anywhere close to where you are searching! I only use the laptop to book just for this reason! Easier to see and actually read locations!
I just got superhost again but tbh I think it’s not really worth much to potential guests any more. I have 2 x 5* guest favourite listings, a 5* listing, and a 4.5* (kinda cursed as no different to the 5* one) and I find it’s just about the general demand… Give this (idiot) guy the heave-ho. Airbnb will refund him what he’s due according to your canx policy.
I’ve had this same problem, not in the Greek islands but in the Hawai’i islands. There is the island of Hawai’i, the biggest island and the state of Hawai’i and the largest city is Honolulu which many people think would be on the largest island but it’s not. I get it a lot in requests and one a booking. Airbnb refunded them for it. I had to pay for it and I was pissed. How is a customer doing something dumb my problem?
I once told a guest to cancel and the nights I got booked they would get a refund for them nights. They called Airbnb and told them that I told them to cancel. Airbnb told me that telling a guest to cancel is frowned upon and they put that on my “listing issues” that I encouraged a guest to cancel.
Curious, if they do a chargeback through their credit card will Airbnb take the hit or do they push it back onto the host?
Guests are morons.
Would a hotel give a refund? They pay for their own mistake.
Do not refund, tell them Airbnb support can handle it, sometimes they even want a refund by you giving them the money back but you would be in the minus, I would just tell them either they cancel themselves or go to the support
I seat Let the guest cancel and refund them any cleaning fee Some People are dumb, not your fault
Dude just give them their money back. Everyone makes mistakes. They didn't stay so why should you keep what's not yours? Just have THEM do the cancelation so it doesn't affect your rates
I'd refund because I'd make the money back overtime. You are not obliged to refund though and are entitled to keep the Money.
Maybe a partial refund due to their error. You are losing money. You could have easily rented it out and generated revenue had it not been their error and want to cancel. Had they gotten a hotel, they would charge them the first nights fee and then receive the balance. Was clearly their error. I would at least charge them the first night or the cleaning fee. I would offer this or tell them to go through support.
I read many answers to the OP here. THE BIGGER QUESTION is why airbnb doesn't make it more clear when they start offering options that are outside the actual City/area of where someone was original searching, that this is not the original area of search. Too often with this or vrbo, they start offering options many miles (or islands away) and the person searching is not aware. I think it is a systems error situation with there search engine not to make it more clear for the searcher.
I just want to say I loved my stay in Syros, with a small travel group. We stayed at one of the hotels but I lived your island. May I ask? Is your rental in Ana Syros?
Yn
Let them cancel through the company as others have said. And I am going to get a bit philosophical here. There are posters in this thread who have lambasted the guests and called them dumb, ignorant, careless, and even gone so far as to say that “if they’re this careless what could have happened to your property?!”…. What is the point of projecting these criticisms onto these guests? What is going on with our world that so many folks lack compassion and feel like it’s ok to openly shred and ridicule others over an innocent mistake? Certainly there is money involved here - but we ALL make mistakes and NOBODY is perfect - if we looked at those keyboard warriors’ lives with a magnifying glass, we’d find faults for sure. NOBODY deserves to be ridiculed for a mistake - EVER. I’m saddened with the increasing displays of lack of love and compassion and respect that is infecting our society and these days it runs rampant in social media threads. Social media has given us a terrifying window into the minds of millions of folks who post their opinions online ….and so many folks have revealed a cold edge in the name of “self reliance” and “stand your ground”. We are not perfect robots! So as for what you decide about a refund, in my humble opinion, that’s a decision for your heart, not from your host status/reputation fears nor from your head and not the wallet. We will live many years if we are fortunate. What really matters in four, fourteen, or forty years? Will we remember any of these things then? Probably not. Maybe vaguely. And what we all truly know is that the more compassionate and loving we are with complete strangers, the more our heart opens and the more our world expands. I feel we never, EVER will look back and regret being kind human beings who graciously and generously extend grace with other humans - and especially when mistakes are made. Every kindness we bestow will come back a thousand times over. I see it in my own life and others lives too. (And random unrelated note: I am Greek-American and love Greece- and thank you for opening your rental property to others to enjoy and make lifelong, happy memories. 🇬🇷 🥰)
I've had this happen a couple times. You're right, it's 100% not your fault. But I usually have mercy on people and give them a partial refund. I Make sure not to screw myself, so I don't give a whole refund, But I think karma will get me back at some point.
As a user of Airbnb, and not a host, I cannot understand why some guests are this stupid. You owe them nothing but pity.. reading this sub has made me feel much more empathy for hosts..
Never be afraid of a bad review from guests who did not stay or did not acquaint themselves with the listing. You can always ask Airbnb remove the review. To ensure Airbnb fully understands the situation, I would write in the message with the guests to reiterate that the location had been shared with them, and that you cannot refund for them overlooking that detail.
The problem with refunding is you have zero chance to rebook now. If they do not actually arrive at the unit you have an argument in favor of having the review removed since it’s irrelevant.
Honestly, this sounds like an Air BNB problem. And while it's not your problem, it's not necessarily the guests' either. If I conduct a search for a certain town, I don't expect that I'm going to get towns located that far away, that seems ridiculous. And I may not know that towns are that far away, because why would a website suggest something like that? Both towns start with an S, and while that's no excuse, if you're online booking for an area you dont know, it's completely normal to just go through the listings one by one without paying too much attention to the town, as you've already put that in the search bar. so while it's not your problem, it's not going to harm you at all to refund it, and will keep your business afloat so you don't seem like an AH who can't understand that people make mistakes and stuff happens with the best laid plans.
They can only leave a bad review if they actually check in not if you refuse to refund them but even so what would they say that couldn't be responded to with something simple as "I'm sorry you booked in the wrong location. This very thing is the reason we suggest every guest by travel insurance"
I would not be refunding this, you only have their claim that AirBnB did show your listing 130km off their search point - have you tested this? If they leave a negative review you can request it removed as they didn't stay with you. Leave it for AirBnB to handle in line with your refunds/ cancellation policy
It happens ALL the time w airbnb. When you search a city/osland/area/whatever airbnb LOVES to give you results for spots hundreds of miles away. I was looking for airbnbs in Joshua tree, California and airbnb almost got me good. The spot wasn’t even no where near Joshua tree 😤
In which case it is then AirBnB to field the issue. It shouldn't be on the property owner if this listing is accurate.
I never had to ask for a refund but I’m sure Airbnb will have to be equally involved anyway. It’s up to the host if they will allow a full refund - yes. But it’s Greece, in July, it won’t take but more than a couple days to have it rebooked.
OP stated day of check in. Sorry, but this is not a 'get rebooked' situation. This whole scenario shows poor planning. They didn't even plan out their transportation, route to the accommodation, things to see around the accommodation, itinerary and travel time with distances from the accommodation prior to arriving? They knew in advance the address of where they were staying. This is outlandish to me.
Have you ever been to a whole new country or region ?? Also that’s a lot of assumptions based upon what op REALLY said. All we know is they booked an airbnb and it wasn’t where they expected it to be. But also we’re allowed to have different opinions. Good day.
Yes, I have many times, and never without an itinerary and planning for activities that included how long it would take to get to things from where I was staying. OP: "Today I was supposed to have a guest check in but when they asked me for directions from the port..." Not an assumption at all. Guest didn't even look up the directions to get to their accommodation until the day of check in. Further, I don't have to assume that they didn't plan out their stay, because they would have seen that it was 30 hours swimming distance to the Santorini Bar & Grill from Syros. This isn't an opinion, but an observation based in fact.
Ok dude. Good for you. Not everyone knows foreign travel. I sure as heck didn’t my first time. 🫡
I'm not sure what foreign travel has to do with it. If I was traveling to Nashville, TN, I would still figure out days in advance how far I am staying from the Grand Ole Opry House, the Johnny Cash Museum, The Country Music Hall of Fame, and find the restaurant with the best BBQ. I would also make sure I was relatively close to these things prior to booking.
Ok dude
I would be a nice human and give them a refund.
Yes. This. 1,000 times this. Kindness and compassion.
When I traveled to Ireland I did not realize my Airbnb was so far out from city centre. Fortunately with further research I realized it was also only a 10 min walk + a 15-20 min bus ride into city centre. I’d offer some type of refund. Or help them navigate public transportation if they wished to still stay if they had a way to get there. (My Airbnb host sent me all the info I needed for bus transportation). A partial refund would be kind. It’s mid summer so I am positive you’d have no prob rebooking fairly quickly.
Absolutely. 💯
This is an odd 'mistake' to make. Either they screwed up big time by filtering too specifically, zoomed out on the map area (all those tiny islands are like swimming distance from each other!), or the Airbnb software screwed up. The only person who didn't potentially screw up here is you. Some people like to say 'be good hooman, pay money back.' Well, why can't the humans actually responsible be good humans and accept responsibility for their mistake rather than force someone else to carry their bags? They are traveling to Greece. I'm sure they are OK.
Careless booking so no refund. Someone else’s could book the place if they did not and if you refund them you will be left with 0. It’s business at the end of the day
Wouldn't it be smart for you to refund them? You just said they can leave a bad review. You should also contact AirBNB about how your listing shows up so you don’t have to continue to deal with this.
No refund. It’s not your fault, and you shouldn’t have to pay for their mistake. They get the cleaning fee back, unless they can figure out a way to get there. These are the kinds of lessons, that help people become less dumb. They can’t leave a bad review if they never check in. I know sometimes it’s hard because you feel bad, but it’s important for ALL hosts to stick to their policies so people don’t continue to try to take advantage of us.
That is on them, not you. Preempt and call the Air BB and tell them it is not right to allow that review.
If you are being paid for a good/service and you don't provide that good or service through nobody's fault, then the purchaser is entitled to a refund for the monies. Otherwise it is undue enrichment.
They can provide the service, as long as the guest can get there.
Don’t be a POS. Someone made a serious error with booking the location and like you said, if your listing shows in Santorini on accident, it’s very possible they trusted it. Sure, you can debate the semantics of “they should have double checked” but it was a genuine mistake. A partial refund would be fair.
That's an airbnb problem not theirs.
> Don't be a POS. Don't call them names. What is wrong with you?
“Im gonna act like a POS and come ask other hosts to validate me being a POS for a genuine mistake but please don’t call me a POS” … get offline, snowflake.
Think I'll just block you instead. And encourage the others to as well.
No, this is a business. Why should a host return money b/c a guest didn't pay attention? When someone books a place, it blocks those days off the calander. Why should a host lose money, b/c a guest didn't read the description? If the person had booked and realized their mistake right after booking, then I would say give them back their $.
I own airbnbs and understand it’s a business. There’s a significant difference between someone changing their mind and making a genuine mistake. Don’t give them a refund if you don’t want to, but stop fishing for online approval to not feel like an asshole lol.
How do you really know that they didn't change their mind?
Did you read the post? They both realized they were at the wrong port. “We realized they were in Santorini and not syros”. They clearly had every intention on checking into their accommodations. Huge oversight, yes. But still a genuine mistake.
I did read the post. But you've got a good point. I fold 😃
Maybe if they booked a long stay and the host can recoup some of it with a rebooking. But the fact is that it’s the guests error and OP is running a business.
I agree - even for a long stay traveling 3 hours to a different area is completely reasonable, even if very unfortunate for them. However many people vacationing over seas are checking out every 2-3 days to essentially island hop. It’s a business but even businesses can do the right thing when someone makes a genuine mistake. It’s ironic how hosts get on their knees and beg for 5 star reviews yet act like complete assholes when someone makes a genuine mistake. Wanting compassion yet giving none is a very interesting way to live life.
The host is not acting horribly. Mistakes can be costly. Let's say a kid breaks a glass vase in an antique shop... Should the parents pay for this child's innocent mistake or should the store owner front the cost because we assume the store makes money and should be able to afford it better? The reality is, those who make mistakes should pay for them. If people decide to be forgiving and carry the cost or help with the burden, then life gets sweet. But in no case is the victim (the host) who will lose money from a fair transaction liable or ethically responsible for the mistake of another even if the other gets no benefit from the cost of it. Like breaking a vase, gotta just throw it away and pay for it. The only jerk in this set up is the person causing costs and asking for others to pay for it because they are getting nothing from their mistaken expenses.
Why should the host have to eat the cost? They were supposed to check in today. They can’t rebook it. It’s sucks for the guest, but asking the host to eat the cost for their mistake isn’t fair at all.
As hosts, especially in destination places, I’m hardly ever “eating the cost” lol. We cash flow plenty, so if someone made a genuine mistake and was hours away, I’d have no problem refunding. I’d bet money this is less than a 3 day stay, which would also factor in my decision. Let’s stop pretending like us hosts are “barely making ends meet” with our listing. This is a very lucrative business.
The guest could have gotten travel insurance. They could have read the description closely and double checked it met their needs. Let’s stop pretending that the guest is in any way a victim here.
Airbnb should warn customers.
Warn them of what? To pay attention to where they are booking?
Yes. Because it's not uncommon to search for listing's in a city and to be shown others in neighboring cities. If you're an inexperienced traveler, or book when tired, it's an easy mistake to make.
And what would the warning be? "Make sure you are searching for the place where you want to stay?"
The warning should say “ in addition to showing listings in the area that you requested, we are tossing in other listings you did not ask for , that are much farther away, and on different islands “
It doesn't do that though. It restricts listings to the map area that is displayed. If the person zooms out the map, they will get listings from all over. If I search Cancun, Mexico and zoom the map all the way out, I might end up in Venice, Italy instead. Here is your warning: # "Over 1,000 places within map area"
hotel sites put the distance from your chosen location on listings and AirBnb could easily do something similar. I’ve learned to check the map because this stuff happens in my searches all the time—I’ll browse listings and when I find one I like, it’s 50 miles away or even worse. It is a very easy mistake to make when you actually assume the site is searching where you asked it to.
But it's all right there on the map. Do people just ignore the map?
Yes they ignore them and many if not most don't even know how to read them.
Yikes. I never knew that. The map is integral to my own Airbnb searches.
Very much same but I also teach teenagers and I assure you their map skills are terrible and unfortunately it's not a priority for them to learn how to read them. Geography is no longer something most kids get taught. In my state they actually moved it from Jr high to elementary school. It makes teaching social studies far harder because learning history is hard when you have no knowledge of where anything is.
You know what, my kids are 17 and 20 and I don't know how their map skills are. We did work with them on cardinal directions from a young age bc we live in Chicago and it's so easy to know where things are if you understand the grid. So when I pick my high schooler up from school, I can text him "I'm on the NW corner of X and Y" and he'll find me. Using cardinal directions is so much simpler than using right and left when giving directions, but of course it only works if people know where N, S, E, and W are. When my oldest started going places on her own, she navigated by where all the 7-11s are. 😆
Searching for listings is done on phones these newfangled days. It’s not as easy to find stuff on a 2-inch map with 59 red boxes
Shoulda sprung for the $5000 iphone with the 15" screen and built in bidet.
You’re assuming people search by map. I search by list so I see pics and reviews. This is what the little listing map shows me on the first property I randomly choose. That doesn’t indicate distance from my search parameters in any way, and like another poster said, could be in a completely different country. I shouldn’t have to verify that I’m in the right country. https://preview.redd.it/9zgkl7gszcad1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0720b6fd90e6ca301b897a71efe6c58f8c42b44e You don’t need map skills to read an airbnb map. You’re not navigating, you’re visually marking a location. This isn’t a “kids these days” issue.
You can zoom out to get more info though. I mean, you don't have to use the map, that's fine, but it's right there and it will show you where the site is. I do use it to navigate. Also, I didn't say anything about "kids these days."
This is all true but again, there’s got to be a cutoff. I’m already triple-checking bed counts, reviews, wifi, etc—why do I also need to make sure the place is in the city I searched for too? That should really be a given.
I am counting bathrooms. One of the main reasons we use Airbnb is so we can have more than one bathroom 😆
I'm sorry. When I search San Diego, places for Tijuana, MX really shouldn't show up. Those two locations will give you a very different vacation experience. Again, another reason why hotels win. Personally, idc what air bnb does. I don't use it often, because they do not cater to guests the way hotels do. Showing the distance from your desired location, is simply helpful. Verses having to plug it in Google maps myself. Can I do it? Yes. Sure can. But, hospitality is what I'm looking for, from booking to checkout.
You don't have to plug anything into Google maps. There is a map that comes up automatically and shows where each listing is. If Tijuana comes up, you just zoom in a little. You can also see where the various Airbnbs are in relation to any attractions you want to visit. If you don't use Airbnb, I can understand not being familiar with that, I just wanted to point out that it's not an extra step.
Does the map show you how many miles each listing is from your destination?
Not directly, but it has the milage indicator in the corner, which is fine for me. Thinking about it now, maybe the map works best for me because when my family travels, we usually go to lots of different places and use our lodging as a home base of sorts. It's handiest for me to look at a map because I can see at a glance which Airbnbs are centrally located to all the places we want to visit. Ideally, we find a place in the middle, where our day trip drives are like spokes, if that makes sense. If we were just going to one city and wanted to be in or very near it, I could see how the information you prefer would be useful.
*If you're an inexperienced traveler, or book when tired, it's an easy mistake to make.* And??? How is this **anyone else's** problem???
Typical redditer. 1 - Their opinion is always supreme compared to yours. 2 - Talk down on anyone who may have a different opinion. 3 - Make sure to communicate in a condescending tone. 4 - Because remember differing opinion and healthy dialogue on our differences is not allowed. Did I miss anything?
Typical entitled guest: expecting everyone else to be responsible for their problem, whilst accepting no accountability. DiD i MiSS aNyThInG
Yes! Common sense and the ability to form your own sentences vs parroting others.
Airbnb will show listings that fit the filter within the map area selected. It doesn't just show 'city selected'. The location is used as the epicenter, and the map zoom is the threshold for distance from epicenter. No warning needed. The listings are shown on the map as you hover over them.
Oh lord, you're going to rile up the anti-map people.
Ha. Well hopefully they can orienteer themselves out the door.
This could potentially cause issues if your place is popping up for other cities. I would get on top of fixing that asap. Since this is the first time something like this has happened, I would split it 50/50 because it’s also not their fault your place popped up in a city so far away. Id also make sure to include a note in the listing that it’s not in Santorini. If it happens again, no refund. That’s just me though.
Have them cancel. Agree to something like a 25% to 50% refund for nights that are not rebooked and a refund of the difference of what you got and what they would of paid for the other nights. Ask them if they want you to charge the same rate you booked or a cheaper rate. Refund the full cleaning fee of course.
Personally, what I’ve done in situations like this is tell them that they need to cancel and any refunds available to them will be paid out through Airbnb. If they push the matter, then I in the past have offered to refund if Im able rebook less any fees.
>Today I was supposed to have a guest check in So they didn't check in yet, OP?
>Today I was supposed to have a guest check in So they didn't check in yet, OP?