Airbnb more concerned about the guests then about the hosts

[Val4219]

For 3 weeks I have been at odds with Airbnb.  I am new to hosting.  I have just acquired a house and decided instead of renting that I would host it on Airbnb.  I do the work of furnishing and beautifying the place.  Spent quite a bit, maybe too much to guarantee a great hosting experience.

The first reservation is problematic.  This person was injured at one airbnb and comes to my airbnb in bad shape.  My instinct is to cancel his reservation for his and mine health concern.  Airbnb tells me they will penalize me if I cancel the reservation.  Its only $100 penalty which means nothing t me.  My concern was to start with a bad footing with airbnb.  So I defer to their suggestion and let teh host stay.  Well, 3 weeks later, the host checks out and leaves me a house full of blood stains.  Costs me over $400 to get it cleaned. Airbnb advise me that they will only reimburse me 30%, a little over $100.  How fair is that?  I wish I had taken the $100 penalty a the top rather then aggravation and losing well over that. I am still fighting airnbn on this so let us see.

Well today I receive a reservation to which I agree.  Then looking at my payout I realize something is not adding up.  I look at teh payment detail and see that for 5 days airbnb is paying me $27.  For 5 days.  Not per day!!!.  Mind you, my minimum was set at $42 for one room. I contact Airbnb and at first they tell me its a system glitch that they will correct.  Then upon furthr insistance they tell me it is not a glitch.  There is a low volume and the system defaulted to a low value to encourage booking.  And Airbnb threatens me again with penalty if I cancel the reservation.  They say it is in fairness to the guest.  Wait, how about me the host?

So I reach out to the guest and give him an option to pay an additional discounted fee or to cancel with full refund.

I reach back to airbnb and let them know, that if, in spite of the set minimum value, the system is going to do its own thing, they should notify the host at the time of reservation to let the host now the values were changed below their set threshold.  There is much for us hosts to be concerned with, te platform should be predictive not counterintuitive.  For me to pull up every reservation makes the process manual.

Please share your views.  Thanks

[Val4219]

sorry for the typo. i was typing fast and angry. 🤔

[Debra300]

@Val4219,

It sounds like you have Smart Pricing enabled.  Check your pricing settings, and make sure that it's turned off.  If this was an Instant Book reservation, you are entitled to three cancelations per year.  Just inform Customer Service that you do not feel comfortable taking this booking right now.  Please note that your calendar will be blocked for the dates of reservation.  As an fyi, you should check your settings on a regular basis, because there have been reports by other hosts that Airbnb does make changes without notification.

[Kath9]

@Val4219, yes I was going to say the same as @Debra300 . You need to go into Booking settings and switch off Smart Pricing. I would also consider switching off Instant Booking until you have more experience as a host - that way you have greater control over who books.

[Ann72]

@Val4219  It's definitely unacceptable if you set a minimum to have that minimum replaced by something you would never choose.  Can you message them on Twitter by direct message to @airbnbhelp?  I would say, reservation #X, can you tell me what my nightly price was before the booking.  They can look back and see what your Smart Pricing minimum was set at.

Smart Pricing isn't bad if you always set the minimum at the price you want for your room.  Never below that.  Set the maximum at their suggestion.  It will never go that high but the algorithm likes to have a range.

When coming up with a price, think about the unexpected, like blood all over the place.  Then make the minimum higher.  

[Val4219]

@Ann72 thank you.  I spoke with Airbnb Support.  They told me its the seasonality issue causing an issue with their algorythm and Smart Pricing has gone rogue.  at least down here in Hollywood Florida.  Today I turned it off because I got another booking for my house at 93% below my minimum.  What I do not like is Airbnb "not our fault roll with it attitude" and they arm twist you in a direction contrary to what was agreed.  I turned off rogue smart pricing now I gotta figure out my pricing.  I enrolled with AIRDNA to see what my expectations should be.  Bit tricky but I think I will get a hang of it.  Yes, I gotta look back on that experience of guests bleeding all over my furniture to price right.  Very disappointed but we live to learn.  Thank you for your support.

[Ann72]

@Val4219  That is REALLY annoying.  They made a mistake, due to a system glitch, and they won't make good on it for you.

I agree with @Helen3 that you should chase them down on the most recent reservation that came through.  Maybe not too late to get the price adjusted.

I didn't use Smart Pricing or Instant Book for the first year or more of hosting.  So I think you're in a good place now, in total control of everything about your listing.  You can turn those tools on when you're ready.  I have used Airdna in the past and found it helpful with insights into my local market.  Then, at some point, you throw everything out and make your own decisions, because it's your place and only you know the value of what you offer!

[Helen3]

I would remove smart pricing and Instant Book until you becoming more confident/familiar with hosting @Val4219 

I’d also have a look at Airbnb Help - really good for covering the basics around managing your STR business on Airbnb.

finally don’t rely on the Airbnb guarantee- you also need specialist home insurance for STRs

i would chase up Airbnb regarding the incorrect pricing they can’t make you accept a guest at a rate you didn’t set.

good luck 

[Sarah977]

You should be able to see the projected payout for a reservation before you accept it, so in the future make sure to do that before accepting a booking. If it is incorrect, just message the guest saying there seems to be a tech glitch on your account that you are dealing with Airbnb to fix, that the total price they were given is actually the price per night, or whatever the glitch happens to be. 

It's obviously irritating for guests to see one price and then have a host ask for more, even if it's not your fault, so if it's a tech glitch, make sure to explain that to the guest. If it's your fault for not checking that all your price settings are correct, then hosts usually just bite the bullet and consider it a learning experience.

But in this case, you obviously can't rent at $27 for 4 nights- that's absurd, and it's incredible that even smart pricing would go that low, considering that there is a minimum price per night that you can list at of $10/night.

@Val4219

[Val4219]

Thank you guys. The situation is ongoing. Airbnb support told me to wait 24 hours after turning off smart pricing and instant booking for the system to stop doing what it is doing...to me apparently just happening to me.  At least I got their attention after 4 people tried to book with free nights in between their stay.  So let's see, got until midnight. Yay!