The hen weekend has turned into a ‘nightmare’
Bethany is due to marry her husband-to-be in July 2025(Image: Teresa Noton)
A bride-to-be’s hen do was ‘ruined’ last week after she opened an email from Airbnb. Bethany Noton, 35, is set to marry the love of her life, whom she met ten years ago at work in July.
To celebrate the big day, she planned a trip to Liverpool for two nights. She had planned to stay in a gorgeous townhouse in the heart of the Georgian Quarter next weekend and planned meals, nights out, and lots of activities over the course of the weekend.
However, just two weeks before the hen party, Bethany, from Grimsby, and 15 of her friends and family, received a devastating email cancelling their accommodation, which had been booked through Airbnb at the price of £2,950, ‘without any explanation.’
The email update came from Airbnb on May 10; however, the booking was cancelled by the owner of the property. Airbnb says it quickly resolved the incident, and the hen party added that the company has been “fantastic” in helping them find alternative accommodation.
The bride’s mum, Teresa Noton, 65, also from Grimsby, told the ECHO how the ordeal has turned the weekend they had all been “looking forward to” into a nightmare.
She said: “We booked the accommodation through Airbnb from May 24 until May 26. Last Saturday, we got an email saying they had cancelled the booking with no reason why.
Bethany with her partner who she met ten years ago
“We contacted Airbnb to see what had happened, and they confirmed the host had cancelled the booking. They said they would refund us, which is fine, but it’s such short notice, and we’re now struggling to find somewhere else to stay for the weekend.
The planned hen do coincides with the bank holiday weekend, when Liverpool FC‘s title parade will take place across the city as well as BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend.
The mum added: “We has already booked all sorts in Liverpool for that weekend and had fully paid off the Airbnb booking. It’s going to be a brilliant weekend for Liverpool with so much going on, but it’s meant we are struggling to find somewhere else to stay.
“I don’t understand how they can cancel our booking at such short notice with no explanation. We had made the booking in July 2024 and paid it completely off five weeks ago.”
She says they have been “hugely disappointed” by what has happened and are now scrambling to book alternative accommodation so the hen do celebrations aren’t completely ruined.
Teresa said: “We’re trying to book somewhere else in Liverpool, but everything is hugely expensive because of the parade. It’s put a downer on the weekend; it’s shocking that they have been able to cancel it like this, no reason, no explanation, or anything.
“My youngest daughter, who arranged it all, is so stressed out, she has been so upset and my daughter whose hen do it is is so upset by it all.
“She is Liverpool through and through; every opportunity we get, we come to Liverpool; we’re there for the football; she went to uni there; we come shopping; it meant so much to her to have her hen do in Liverpool; it’s just awful.” Teresa claims the ‘big occasion’ that they had “all been looking forward to” has turned into a “nightmare.”
A spokesperson for Airbnb said: “As soon as we were made aware of this issue, our community support team contacted the guest to provide a full refund and rebooking support, as well as a voucher towards a future stay as a gesture of goodwill, which we are pleased to hear they used.
“While these issues are incredibly rare, every booking comes with AirCover to protect guests in these situations, and we work to prevent host cancellations by applying cancellation fees and blocking hosts from accepting new stays for the same dates.”
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