NIGHTMARE SITUATION - WARNING - HOST CANCELLATION HOURS BEFORE CHECK-IN.
RESERVATION HAD BEEN MADE NEARLY A MONTH PRIOR.
I HAD CHATTED WITH CHRISTIAN THE DAY BEFORE AND HE GAVE NO WARNING THAT THEY WERE GOING TO CANCEL OUR RESERVATION HOURS BEFORE WE ARRIVED.
TLDR: My party was left scrambling as everyone flew into Las Vegas. Host cancelled the reservation as I was at the airport flying in. Nightmare situation. Please, please reconsider booking so the same thing doesn't happen to your party.
I really hate to write bad reviews, but this story needs to be told to protect other Airbnb customers. Please consider using another service and definitely consider using another host.
On March 9, 2022 I booked a stay at one of the vacation properties that Christian manages. It was a condo in the Wyndham in Las Vegas for a small group of family/friends. The stay was set for 8 guests from April 7 to April 11. We paid the rate and Christian was nice to chat with. We were happy to have a place booked because accommodations in Vegas during spring break can be difficult.
We were set to check in on April 7. One day prior, on April 6, 2022 , I messaged Christian about who in our party would actually check in the following day. He responded quickly and nicely and even said that the company would not charge us to do a name change for the person checking in. His last message the day before we were set to check in was at 6:32PM EST saying 'You're most welcome, Colton!' after I thanked him for changing the name of the person checking in.
April 7th. Day of travel to Vegas. Everyone in our party is excited and ready to go. We're all flying or driving in from 3 different states and haven't seen each other for nearly a year. Everyone is happy and ready to go. It's going to be a party. We're excited to be staying right next to the strip in this great Airbnb that has been booked for nearly a month.
As I'm preparing to get in the car to go to the airport, I get a phone call from a strange number in Michigan at 12:31 PM EST. I didn't answer the first call because I didn't know the number. The number calls right back, so I answer it. The phone line was echoey and quiet, so I couldn't hear well, and a lady immediately starts talking about how they're so sorry that the reservation is cancelled. Cancelled?? I try to get her to confirm what she's saying. She tries to get off the phone as quickly as possible, but I ask her to stop. I ask her to please repeat what is going on. She sounded really nervous and insisted that there was nobody else available for me to speak with (I asked several times). She insists that the reservation has to be cancelled. I beg her not to. I remind her that this trip has been scheduled for a month and that our party is literally on the way to the property. We were set to check in at 4:00pm MST THAT DAY. She goes on about an error in the system, all of their properties booked, they're just a management company, etc. I remind her that it has been booked for a month and they're cancelling hours before the reservation. She again says 'sorry' and the call ends.
Ok. Slight panic mode. I call the Wyndham and they confirm that they are 100% booked and that there is no reservation under our name. Ok. Medium panic mode. I call the number for Christian listed in the booking. No answer. I message Christian and tell him I got a weird call. I'm still hopeful at that point that it was a mistake. Nope. Christian finally messages back 24 minutes later with the following message:
"We are sorry to inform you that we are a management company and our owner client has been non-responsive. Owners, pass away or sell their units sometimes without informing us. A refund will be processed for 100% of your cost. Please be aware that your credit card company may take 3-5 business days before the credit hits your account."
Hard panic mode. I message him back and tell him people are literally flying in right now. I had messaged him THE DAY BEFORE and he hadn't said anything about this at all. Now, hours before we check in, they're cancelling on our party of 8 people?? This is his response:
"We understand that these are not the words that you want to hear from us today. We have done our best to accommodate your stay, however, there was an issue with the owner's account that stops us from finalizing your reservation. We will do our best to prevent this from happening again. We truly apologize for the bad experience."
They've done their best?? In what way? The issue with the "owner's account" seems to be an issue with THEIR account because they approved the booking! This is quickly turning into an issue with MY account and has the potential to ruin our vacation. I message him this:
"Christian. I don’t think you’ve done your best because it’s literally canceling the reservation hours before we arrive. There must be a solution here."
Now his response:
"Cancelling a reservation is the last thing we want to do. We checked with other owners if theres (sic) something we can offer even with neighboring resort. However, there is no availability. We appreciate your patience and understanding. Thank you!"
Nightmare. To be clear, I was out of patience and understanding. Trying and FAILING to get another reservation doesn't win back any points here. At the same time I know that Christian is most likely a messenger, so I don't want to attack him personally, but the company that he represents has created a huge, huge problem for us. This is