Airbnb Cancelled reservation during the stay but guests didn’t leave my property

[Vitor181]

Hi, I have been a Superhost since 2018, I currently manage more than 20 properties in Orlando, FL, but it was the first time that it happened something like this.

A guest booked one of my 5 bedroom properties, I sent her the check-in info, we exchanged a few messages in the Airbnb app and everything was fine. Until her reservation appeared as "Canceled by Airbnb". Suddenly, all her messages were "hidden by Airbnb", but Airbnb didn't contact me, notifying me why that happened.

Now, what I found the most absurd is that I called Airbnb, and they said an especially would get back to me soon (which has been 2 weeks and I'm still waiting), and the guests only left after two days that the reservation was canceled (which was her original check-out date). I received $0 for her stay, had to pay for the cleaning out of my own pocket, and still, after trying to contact Airbnb Support by phone and through the app, they haven't responded to me regarding that matter. 

Has anything like that happened to you guys? How should I proceed with this?

Any help would be appreciated.

[Helen744]

@Vitor181 sounds very odd but you should have spoken with the guest and made sure they left the property . If the cancellation occurred then no messages would be able to be sent . there is no way to know really who cancelled . It sounds like you have been scammed by a guest who never had any intention of paying . this is really a matter for a small claims tribunal because I supect Airbnb know perfectly well that this guest has done this before.As you have so many properties it is within the possibility that you were targeted as probably not checking the property and they booked to see if you had any other people staying during those two extra days . you have been conned good and proper . Make sure to explain all this to airbnb so that this , probably fake , guest can be removed from the platform . Good luck H 

[Vitor181]

Hi @Helen744.

Yes, I also think that could have been a scam, even though I can see that the guest's profile is still active on Airbnb. However, what concerns me the most is that Airbnb removed the payment, removed my right to communicate with the guest, and did not explain why they canceled or even tried to ask the guest to leave my property. I was completely unable to do anything with some random people on my property, possibly scammers, that could have destroyed the whole house, and I wouldn't be able to receive any money for that. That is pretty scary if you think about it.

[Helen744]

@Vitor181 Hi Vitor , I looked at some of your listings and they are generally super nice. The only thing I would suggest is that you tighten up id checking and ask for full face recognition in your due diligence because otherwise in the rare circumstance that your cleaner or whoever your operations manager is has no way to actually identify the problem guest and or try for communication or compensation. At all times you should know who is in your apartments. H

[Jenny]

Hi @Vitor181 

I'm really sorry to hear about your experience.

I have sent the details over to Airbnb support and asked if they can get back to you about this.

Jenny

[Vitor181]

Thank you, @Jenny.

I was really frustrated when that happened. When I joined Airbnb 5 years ago, I stopped giving priority to VRBO, and when this event occurred, I felt unprotected by Airbnb and started to think about giving more focus to VRBO again.

I really appreciate your help.

Regards,
Vitor.

[Jenny]

No problem @Vitor181 - they've confirmed they've received my request for an update.  I really hope you hear from them soon.

Jenny

[Kristina46]

This sounds like they discovered fraud on the card, perhaps within a much longer time frame than usual. They will usually do a sudden cancellation like that if something comes up either  with the payment or they did a random background check and discovered something foul. I would still keep pressing for the payment though, especially since the guests had already checked in when the cancellation was initiated. Surely they would have informed the guest they were canceled? 

[Inna22]

This is one of the reasons why I require an ID from every single person staying

[Rhonda301]

Do you ask before they check in?

[Lorna170]

@Vitor181   Wouldn’t it be great if air cover actually covered this?  It should protect both guest and host. Otherwise what is the point if a host(or guest) can be scammed?

[Helen3]

It's annoying for sure. Airbnb normally cancel if there is a payment or security issue.

did you not change the check in details and go over t ensure the guest had vacated as soon as you got the notification from Airbnb ? 

[Vitor181]

Hi everyone. I want to let you guys know that Airbnb Support resolved the issue! After almost one month, the payout finally came through. More important than the payout is the assurance that I can still trust Airbnb. I appreciate all of you for your help, especially @Jenny , for sending it to Airbnb Support.

I hope you guys have a great weekend.

Regards,

[Jenny]

That's great news, @Vitor181!

I am so glad you've got your payout, and that your trust in Airbnb has been restored.

Jenny

[Rhonda301]

I hope this happens for us. As  I deep Cora. The water damaged home I am so discouraged.