Just had a bad experience using Airbnb for the first time. We have all heard of the startup but I am calling it out on its BS.
Airbnb puts on hold on the funds when you make a booking request, before the host confirms the request! See http://www.businessinsider.com/heres-why-i-will-never-use-airbnb-again-2011-11 If the host cancels then you are left at the mercy of your bank however long it takes them to lift the hold. This means I may not be able to quickly rebook with another host.
This is akin to uber charging you for a ride before finding out if the taxi is available and it is utter foolishness from a laymans perspective. Coupled with confusing refund policies and non refundable charges I am bordering on naming it ScamBnB. I just wonder what % of their revenue is from wrong bookings with ridiculous cancellation policies.
As much as we love to celebrate the US startups, they are never perfect and there is always room for another player. Just think in 100 years there will be innovations in travel, transportation, news, communicationsā¦ that we probably have not thought of now.
Who will bring the innovation in between now and then. Could it be you?
Where did this happen? (Please donāt say Lagos).
It sounds like an isolated experience. Of course one bad experience is usually all it takes to damn a service for a user, but it still takes a preponderance of evidence of bad behaviour to declare a service as generally shitty.
Eeeerm, AirBnB user and fan hereā¦ So far I havenāt had a bad experience. I also know the host doesnāt receive your money until after you have checked in.
However, from what you say, it appears the issue is with your bank/MasterCard, Visa or whatever your card is and not AirBnBā¦ A while back, did transactions on 2 different US sites with my GTB Mastercard, initially transactions seemed successful but was later reversed. However, my card had been debited. Got in touch with one vendor over the phone, the other via email. Both had same responses that my funds had been refunded from their end and I get in touch with my bank. Called GTB, they say it takes 30 days for MasterCard to release my funds except I can actually show the transaction did not take place, then they can initiate a reversal from their endā¦ Sent them email from 1 vendor saying my purchases wonāt be honoured and transaction had been reversed. GT released the hold on my funds based on that but for the other vendor whom I had a phone conversation with, had to wait my 30 days outā¦
You may want to explore speaking to your bank? Even you acknowledged that
Yeah, quite strange. Money shouldnāt have left your account before the host confirmed. That said, I want to assume the delay in refund is a bank issue. I once tried making a withdrawal in Ghana, on GTBās ATM (using my GTB card by the way) and I was debited but didnāt get the money. I complained to GTB and they told me it would take 45 working days to refund it. I mean, thatās like 3 months! (It actually took longer than that by the way).
As @OluyomiOjo suggested, you should contact the host first before booking. Also check the reviews well, especially for cancellations. Cancellations are automatically posted in the reviews.
Yes the real issue is that you cant sustain that cycle of booking cancellation many times due to bank delays in unblocking funds. This means u can easily get stranded for a 1st time user like me who has no clue about the hold.
As @OluyomiOjo mentioned being super sure ur request wont be cancelled is the only way to go.
I actually had the exact same experience about 3 days ago, booked a home in London for 11 days and the money was taken from my card prior to confirmation from the host. I assumed the money would be taken from my account ONLY when the host confirms. Knowing how GTB is, the money is still yet to be returned to my account.
I have learnt to contact the host before making further bookings but I totally understand @Ajibz, this was my first time using the site as well and having a large sum of money tied down is not funny.
All the times I used AirBnB, the host confirmed then the money was taken. I wonder if they changed the system because people were making bookings then cancelling them at the last minute.
They have different levels of cancellation policies, ranging from strict,moderate to flexible. That should have been enough to curtail the last minute cancellations. Authorizing the card after the host has confirmed and not before should be something they should look into. In the mean time, I guess good ol ācontact hostā button will suffice.
I have used Airbnb from London to Spain, and I must say the service is great and far better that hotels. Yes the host have to accept your booking before you are being charged. and if He or She cancels then you have to wait for the money to go back to your account. That is because you paid with a card and not cash or direct online transfer and it takes time to process back. So this is not Airbnb poor user experience.
What you could have done is read the review, and also Airbnb have this feature whereby you book immediately from hosts with that option.
You canāt expect Airbnb to conform bookings for the host. Because the host have the rights to say no at any time.
