Shocking customer service from Airbnb support
Shocking customer feedback from Airbnb support. On 17 March I made a booking and paid a deposit for a stay in Edinburgh. I received a message to say the stay was confirmed. I woke up the following morning to a missed call from Airbnb to say the host had canceled the stay and a refund was processed. The host claimed that they had put an incorrect price for the unit. Airbnb closed the thread immediately, not allowing for a reply. I had to reopen a new report.

I googled Airbnb's policy for host cancellation. They claimed that the host would get a note on her profile and that the dates would be blocked out so that it can't be rebooked at a higher rate. Neither of these things happened.

Since I require accommodation I rebooked the stay at the higher rate. At the same time I sent Airbnb a query:

1.) Can my refund be reallocated to the new booking to avoid additional bank charges?
2.) Why was the host not blocked from selling the same nights at a higher price, as per their policy?
3.) I would like my bank charges refunded.

Furthermore, I would like to know why I was not afforded the opportunity to rebook without the drama of the cancellation at the higher price and thus extra fees.

The reply I received from Tatiana was borderline rude and showed she did not even read the query correctly:

"We can only refund what is made on our platform, we are not aware or responsible for the fees your bank us; you can use another payment method the next time you use a payment on Airbnb.

The full refund was made on your payment method from our side when you cancelled the first reservation, confirmation code HM399DQ953 and you agreed to make another reservation even if the price the host choose is higher. The host has control on his own calendar and has the right to change the price."

Firstly, most of my questions remain unanswered. Secondly, its a callous response to effectively say " oh well, use a different payment method next time ". She further responds that the host has control of their calendar and can change the price. So is their host cancellation policy that they have online then outdated?

The worst part of her response was that she said WE cancelled the reservation, when we did no such thing. How can the customer service agent not even take the time to read and understand a query before responding?