AirBNB won’t issue a refund

[Michael Nahm]

Hi all, would appreciate some objective feedback as I only own LTR's and not STR's.

My family and I recently booked a trip to Europe and used AirBNB for accommodations.

The first place we booked was for 2 nights and was non-refundable (we didn’t look at the cancellation policy).

About a week prior to the flight, we realized that there was a mandatory 5 day quarantine for children (us adults are vaccinated). The host informed us that there is another guest checking in immediately after us so we couldn’t extend our stay.

We sent the host a message requesting a cancellation. He did not respond.

We then canceled the booking and were refunded the cleaning fee.

I kept checking if the 2 days we booked were still available for booking. A couple of days later, I saw that the 2 days we initially booked and canceled, were rebooked by someone else.

I then contacted AirBNB asking if they would issue a full refund since the host is not out any money.

AirBNB inquired with the host, and informed us he is refusing to issue a refund.

I’m all for fairness, and wouldn’t have asked for a refund if the rental stayed vacant, however, it wasn’t and personally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable keeping someone’s money if I wasn’t out anything.

I’m wondering if I’m right in feeling that a refund is adequate or am I completely off.

Thanks I’m advance.