Attendees of the Coachella festival are venting their frustrations after experiencing last-minute cancellations for their Airbnb bookings.
Drea Buse, an influencer, took to TikTok to express her distress, revealing that her accommodation for the four-day event was suddenly canceled just days prior. She shared that she had received a message stating her “reservation has been cancelled.”
Posting a screenshot of the notification, she mentioned, “I booked everything in September, but my Airbnb reservation was canceled this morning.”
She further noted the added stress of high rebooking costs, asking if others faced similar issues. “It takes so much money, time, and energy to plan a trip like this… It’s very inconsiderate of an Airbnb host to leave us like this,” she lamented, adding her disappointment over the situation.
Fortunately, in a follow-up post, she announced that she had found a new place to stay just in time for Coachella.
Another influencer, Asante Madrigal, shared similar sentiments on Instagram, where he posted clips from various influencers also facing cancellations.
One person detailed how their reservation was canceled because the host decided to raise the nightly rate significantly. “They want to raise the price from $500 a night to $1,600 a night,” they remarked.
Madrigal mentioned that the influencers were invited to Coachella but faced these last-minute changes.
In response to these reports, Airbnb stated that they had “not seen a significant increase in cancellations for Coachella weekend.” They assured that they were in contact with guests who raised concerns online.
The company also noted challenges in verifying some claims, as some guests did not have booking records or didn’t respond to inquiries.
“Festival goers trust Airbnb for their Coachella stays because we offer options to fit every budget and reliability,” the statement added, emphasizing that they have measures in place to mitigate cancellations, such as fees and support resources.
They further explained that, during high-demand events, increased demand usually leads to more available listings, providing guests with more options. Also, higher-priced individual listings tend to attract fewer bookings.
