Have stayed with Kathi three times before and considered a friend, even had her number saved in my phone. She is very communicative and such a personable host, my siblings and I have had a blast every time we stayed with her.
This time, I informed Kathi of my arrival and asked if it was okay to keep her posted of my ETA throughout the day as I was on a road trip.
Two days before I was supposed to stay, my car broke down and it became clear that I wouldn’t be able to make it to San Diego as soon as I wanted to.
Over text, Kathi was very understanding and even offered a different night in the room at first because she did not have other guests coming.
When I informed her that it would be certain that I would not make it on the scheduled night, she was very kind and seemed concerned for my wellbeing. I asked if I could have a refund and she said Airbnb handles that.
I went through Airbnb to request a refund and was shortly notified that the host denied my request for a refund.
Certain that there was some confusion, I reached out to Kathi once again. She then told me that she did not intend to refund me and that this is a business for her.
I understand that that is the point of this app, but I also thought that with our history I had made a friend, or at least someone I could trust.
Make sure to read her host cancellation policy before booking.