UKC

I have booked some digs in Morocco in November, so plenty of time.
I have a confirmation from Air BnB and from the host.
Then a message from the host saying
"Bonjour 
C'est occupée désolé"

The booking though does not appear to have been cancelled. Is he saying "Yipee, we are busy" or "we are busy, and no room for you"
 

I have messaged for clarification but not got a reply, but I guess a House on a hill in the Anti Atlas, might not be checking emails all the time.

Not really sure where I am with this now.

My basic French says this translates as “hello, it’s busy, sorry” which suggests they’re not able to honour your booking.

Hope you get it sorted. 

-Hello. It's occupied. Sorry.-

There could be a simple enough explanation. I'm no Airbnb expert but I'd hope they have measures in place to sort this out.

Yes, that is how I read it. I just assumed that if that was the case, The Host via AirBnB would start a cancellation process.
I could cancel, but would rather not, as I could have misunderstood or they could have accidentally sent the message to the wrong person.

Happens all the time. Hosts have pretty loose requirements to honour a booking if they have any 'genuine' problems.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/2022/can-a-host-cancel-a-reservation-....

Things are more stringent for customers but vary according  to the listing contract.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/475/cancellation-policies-for-your-li...

Thank you. I rarely use Air BnB, generally only when I will be arriving within a day or two. This is one of the reasons why, as the AirBnb and the host seem to have all the cards stacked in their favour.
I will cancel it and go elsewhere.

If you cancel you may lose a fee, I suggest you ask for clarification and for the host to cancel if they cannot honour the booking.

Thank you, that is good advice and the procedure I have been guided towards by Air BnB support.

I would definitely translate that as saying that you can't come after all but there is also a chance that it could have been a message sent in error or meant for another person.

You have 2 options:

- If the cancellation policy will allow you to get your full booking amount back then just cancel, the refund will arrive in a few days and book something else. There are disadvantages to hosts for cancelling bookings, so it may be that the host is hoping that you will cancel it yourself and save them from the negative consequences.

- Get airbnb involved. They will contact the host to find out what is actually going on and if the host doesn't respond to them, airbnb may cancel the booking and make an input on the almighty algorhymne that has a small negative consequence for the host.

Where your property appears in the search results is a big thing with airbnb, and airbnb use a huge number of stats to make sure that hosts who don't strive every moment for fast replies and solving problems etc. get knocked down that list and get less bookings as a result.

I would expect the host is hoping you will cancel, as then their will be no penalties for him (or for you, if you can cancel for free).

If the host has to cancel, then it negatively affects their ratings..

Agree with comments above.  Worth knowing that Airbnb have recently changed their policy for hosts, they used to be able to cancel a few times a year without penalty, but now all cancellations are punished (off the top of my head they have to pay 10% of the fee that would have been charged).  As a result, very likely he wants you to cancel.

If you can cancel for free, I would just do that, it's the lowest hassle option.  If you're going to be penalised, flag it with Airbnb

It isn't unknown for hosts to cancel and then relist for a higher fee. Can you check to see if your dates are available?

Chris

Don't be too hard on the host.

We have a strict minimum 3 night policy in September for our two gites yet last night someone managed to book a single night through Airbnb which we had to cancel. This has happened a few times this year because the Airbnb calendar system sometimes has glitches.

3 cancellations and we lose our super-host status.

E

Happened to my friends just a couple of days before their long awaited summer holiday. The host relisted a doubled the price! This was a UK property during the pandemic when rules about going abroad were changing fast and there was a scramble for UK destinations. They were distraught.

I understand your perspective, but that is for you to sort out with Air BnB, it is like companies using rubbish carriers for deliveries, and then absolving themselves of all responsibility, and leaving the customer to do all the chasing.

People make plans around accommodation, book train and plane tickets and plan events, so the host having all the power to cancel is unfair. What would the deal have been if your guests had wished to cancel, would they have got a 100% refund.

I will get this sorted, and chose to only use Air BnB on a booking a couple of days before basis in future, as it appears to be an unreliable option.

I might be tempted to suggest AirBnB is deliberately ignoring your three-day stipulation...