A group of Eurovision fans have been left with nowhere to go after their Airbnb booking in Liverpool was cancelled with 'no explanation'.
Theatre producers Peter Holland, 37, and Tom Powis, 35, were on the ball when it was announced that Liverpool would be hosting Eurovision in May 2023, and quickly paid a deposit for a big townhouse in Merseyside which could sleep 20 people.
At £1,608 per night, the house equated to £200 per person, as 16 people planned to visit Liverpool and stay in the home for two nights.
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Speaking to LADbible, Peter acknowledged that tickets to the event haven't even been made available yet, but he and his friends were keen to stay in the area regardless to soak up the exciting atmosphere around Eurovision and simultaneously celebrate Peter's wedding next year.
Knowing demand would be high, Peter and Tom had researched accommodation in both Glasgow and Liverpool – the two cities in the running for hosting – and had bookings ready to go when the host city was announced.
The group paid a 50 percent deposit, and to their delight the booking was confirmed, with details of the property, including the address, sent to them.
Unfortunately the excitement didn't last long, as the very next morning the group received an email announcing the cancellation of their booking. Peter claimed there was “no explanation as to why the booking wouldn't be honoured”.
Evidently it wasn't because the owners had pulled out of the Airbnb business, as screenshots indicate the same booking appeared again on the website, only this time with a whopping price of £4,883 per night. For two nights, this worked out at £9,765, and £610 per person – three times the amount it had been only hours earlier.
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Screenshots seen by LADbible indicate the group contacted Airbnb to complain about the cancellation, and responded to the company after it replied to Peter's tweet. The 37-year-old claims the group were told there was nothing they could do about the cancellation, because it happened more than 30 days before they were due to arrive at the accommodation.
The company does have fees and consequences which could be enforced if a host is found to be responsible for a cancellation under its Host Cancellation Policy, though Airbnb told LADbible it has 'not seen evidence to support' the claims Peter's group has made about their cancellation.
In a statement, the company continued: "We take a range of actions to deter Hosts from cancelling stays, including applying fees, penalties and blocking Hosts from accepting further stays. One in four guests say they choose Airbnb to save money and the average price per night of a stay during Eurovision is just £228. In the unlikely event of an issue, our 24/7 support team is on-hand to help."
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The company said Peter's booking “was automatically cancelled within 12 hours of the booking being made due to a documented reason in line with our anti-party policies”, and noted that hosts set their own cancellation policies, which must be agreed to by guests before they book. Peter claimed Airbnb's response was “the first [they'd] heard about it being anti-party”.
Airbnb adds: "We understand the impact cancellations can have on guest plans, and as part of our Host Reliability Standards, we encourage Hosts to uphold confirmed reservations to the best of their abilities."
Peter's group is the second to be affected by cancellations after the location for Eurovision 2023 was announced, with another man left fuming after a flat he rented for Eurovision weekend was cancelled and reappeared online for £20,000.
Topics: Airbnb, Eurovision, UK News, Viral
Emily Brown