She booked a $1,400 weekend stay for her 15 family members on Airbnb. The host allegedly cancelled on her last minute
She had to deal with this while grieving the loss of her mother.
Jazzy Gonzalez (@jazzyg1711) booked an Airbnb in Washington, Utah, for her fifteen family members. She alleged that the host canceled her $1,400 stay without a refund.
“Airbnb, the site we all trust and know and love, actually just scammed me out of $1,400 for a weekend stay that I was doing in honor of my mom,” Gonzalez alleged on TikTok. She has been posting about her grief journey after her mother passed away on the 10th of July this year. Before her death, Gonzalez said that her mother signed them up for a half-marathon run in St. George, Utah.
“And I wanted all my family and my friends that were coming to support to be in one place. I didn’t want anybody to worry about having to pay for accommodations,” Gonzalez added. Because of that, she decided to shoulder the cost of the rental. She found a listing on Airbnb, and she and her brother paid $1,400 for it. Gonzalez said she had worked seven days a week to pay for the Airbnb.
The Airbnb in question is from a superhost in Washington, Utah. It was advertised for thirteen people, with 20 beds and five baths. The property also included a heated pool, lazy river, splash pad, hot tub, and pickleball area.
After booking through Airbnb, Gonzalez alleged that the host sent her an external link. The host allegedly told her to confirm her guest count and pay a $500 security deposit. Gonzalez hesitated to pay the security deposit, so she contacted customer service about the additional charge. As a result, she couldn’t confirm her guest count in the system.
Regardless, Airbnb confirmed to Gonzalez that hosts may not request payment outside the platform. But when she tried to confirm her guest count, the link wouldn’t let her.
A stressful Airbnb experience
The host told Gonzalez that she didn’t need to pay the $500 deposit to confirm her guest count. Just a day before the stay, her host messaged her to confirm her guest count. Gonzalez confirmed that she has a total of thirteen adult guests and two children. In total, she had fifteen family members. The host replied, saying that she couldn’t approve thirteen adults and two children.
Gonzalez alleged that the link her host sent didn’t include children under two in the headcount. Therefore, her booking would have been considered a thirteen-person booking instead of a fifteen-person booking.
“What do you mean you can’t accommodate thirteen? The house is advertised for 20 people,” Gonzalez said. Even though it is a thirteen-person property, the listing claimed it has 20 available beds. Through their message thread, the host defended herself, saying Gonzalez’ initial booking confirmed only one adult. Therefore, her property could only accept one person.
Gonzalez argued that she reached out a week before to confirm her booking but alleged that the host only replied a day before their stay. Gonzalez alleged that the host denied her refund request because of the cancellation policy terms.
“Dude, of course I can’t get my refund back because you waited a week and a half to not say anything to me so you can do this and know that I wasn’t going to get a refund,” Gonzalez claimed. When she reached out to Airbnb, they allegedly told her the refund was at the host’s discretion.
“I paid $1,400 for two nights. Why would you advertise a home for 20 people and only be able to accommodate one person?” Gonzalez commented. In the end, Gonzalez had to find different accommodation for her family. Although she was able to participate in the half-marathon to commemorate her mother, she has posted no further updates regarding her issue with Airbnb. Gonzalez isn’t the only one complaining about Airbnb hosts. A couple of Airbnb hosts from Georgia went viral on social media after they lost it on guests who moved their couch a few inches away from its original position.
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