Listing suspended over false accusation

[Mirko116]

Hi fellow hosts. I'd like to share my experience with other hosts and Superhosts. I had my listing suspended for 10 days over a false claim from one of our guests. They accused me of having security cameras and recording devices inside my apartment when, in fact, it's clearly stated in my listing that we have security cameras outside the house, and an Echo Dot for our guests' convenience to turn ON/OFF lights, adjust the temperature, etc. This has always been stated in the "House Manual" and "Things Guest Should Know" sections of my listing.
I tried to get in touch with Airbnb since the first day, almost every day, and was never able to talk to the agent assigned to my case. When I finally spoke with the (second) agent handling my case, after 10 days, telling him that Airbnb should have contacted me and talk to me first, before suspending my listing, he said that that is the Airbnb policy when they receive a claim of privacy violations. My listing wasn't visible for 10 days, and I lost bookings and earnings because of this. I, very highly, suggest Airbnb to change this policy and try to get in touch with the host, before suspending their listings for claims/accusations from a guest. We, hosts and Superhosts, are giving work and money to Airbnb every week, and we should get a "preferred line of communication" and respect, compared to an occasional guest who decides to accuse an honest host!

[Evelyn846]

Wow this is happening to me right now all

because I had an unsatisfied guest. She went from asking for refunds to telling air bnb my place is dirty to accusing me of a camera! Are you still suspended? What was the decision! 

[Mirko116]

Hi Evelyn, I'm sorry this is happening to you too!

I was suspended for 10 days at the time I posted this. And I couldn't speed up the process, or talk to anyone, since I was being assigned a "supervisor" or something to examine my case.

It's just BS, with all the money that we, as host and superhosts, give Airbnb weekly!

I hope you'll get your situation sorted out as soon as possible!

Best of luck!

[Christy0]

Class Action lawsuit!!!

[Lisa7317]

This is currently happening to me. I was in touch with airbnb the entire time I had issues with them. They had unauthorized guests, and i had to warn them about the noise levels multiple times as they were stomping around all hours of the night and clearly they had a party because i am still picking up confetti. They smoked weed the house and damaged one of the bed canopies. One of them also called me a bitch twice and threatened to pee on my porch. At the end of their stay I charged them $400 for the two extra people and then they leveled some false accusation against me about their privacy. There are outdoor cameras and are clearly listed on the listing.

airbnb really needs to consider how they are making their money. Without hosts they have nothing because they don't own real estate. If they are going to take the side of guests that violated not only airbnb policy but the household rules then I will just go make my money somewhere else. They are not the only game in town and ever since they went public their service has really gone downhill. My question is...once the investigation is over are they going to suspend the guest that made the false accusation?

[Christy0]

Who is the guest? I am having this se problem! The guest is new, I’ve been hosting for almost 10years. I asked them if they are going to suspend the guest when they discover the truth about the guest’s lies and they had no answer! They also can’t tell me how long their “investigation last’s or what exactly the “investigation “ entails. Again, crickets!!

[Christy0]

oh and I forgot to mention the guest gave me a wonder5 Star Review, the false accusation about my outside Ring Camera came after we discovered the guest set my side yard fence that I share with my neighbor and the bbq on FIRE and them denied doing it! We sent them the pictures from the Exterior Ring Camera as proof (Ring Camera is in  full view and disclosed in our listing - in 3 places, and only points at public common areas)! I have proof that the guest could have burned my house down and Airbnb is more worried about not haven’t an upset guest who is lying than protecting the real property of a 10 year (former super)host!

[Clara116]

@Lisa7317  I know your situation was months ago but reading what you wrote really made me stop to write you.

How could you allow guests to call you names? throw a party....Call the police when people get disrespectful - Airbnb is a booking platform and they will quickly tell you when you feel in fear, disrespected or any thing like that from guests call the Police or Sheriff. I am sorry you were treated so poorly and hope that's the last time that ever happens. 

Vet your guests a little better if you can and see if you can avoid awful folks. 

Just wanted to say - don't hesitate to call the cops - they are our protectors - not the booking platform.

all the best, Clara

[Lisa7317]

@Clara116 thanks for your response..so to be quite honest...these guests were the first to ever act in that manner so i was a little taken aback by the whole situation. To be quite honest I just wanted them to finish out their stay and then get off of my property without damage...that was my goal. 

I vet my guests, but there was no way to know that they would at like this they were professionals and just happened to feel very entitled to do whatever they wanted to do simply because they booked a property. 

I think anyone would have had an issue with them if they lived on the property...had I not been living next door on the property I would not have known how terrible they were.  I would not have known that they were disturbing to the neighbors and neighborhood because most people won't report it to the host. They have probably done it before but most hosts don't live right next door so as long as the guests leave the place in good condition you consider them to be guest guests.

They are the main reason why so many people hate having airbnb in their area.

[Trevor319]

I am dealing with this right now. I received a call from the "privacy department" and was provided no details as to the reason for the suspension or any timeline related to the suspension. 

I then Called the normal airbnb number and was connected to superhost support and turns out it was a huge misunderstanding and she was able to reactivate the listing immediately. I highly recommend everyone call host support number until you get answers. She also read me the full complaint and provided all the information needed to confirm this was a mix up. 

I hope this helps everyone! At least it will help you understand what the complaint is..

[Shayla38]

And what number would that be???

[Katie-and-P--Adrian0]

Our account was suspended and unlisted without us being notified.  A guest was too noisy (I found out through a neighbor) on New Year's Eve and someone complained to Airbnb.  Was I notified?  No.  Airbnb just suspended my account while it was being "investigated" by "Gary".  We were given until January 6th for an outcome.  On January 10, we were told that the investigation was still ongoing.  We were not told what the accusation was or why we got suspended.  If it wasn't for our neighbor telling us, we wouldn't even know what the issue was.  

Now, my question is this:  We don't allow events, so why is the host being punished?  Airbnb is vetting these guests, shouldn't the guests be the only ones suspended?  We didn't throw or sanction a party.  

[Katerina383]

Hello Mirko, dealing with the same thing now. How did they reactivate your listing? Did someone have to come to the property and investigate the cameras?

[Bhumika]

Hi @Katerina383 ,

You can find some guidance regarding suspended listings here: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/1303

You can also check on policies related to the use of cameras and recording devices in your listing here: https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/3061

Meanwhile, I have asked the related team if they can assist you through the process. I hope you get to hear from them soon.

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[Mirko116 · Accepted solution]

Hi Katerina, sorry you’re going through this! 
No, they reactivated it after I spoke with the supervisor in charge of my case and explaining the situation. 

[Shayla38]

How did you get a supervisor?