Airbnb canceled a reservation within 24 hours of guests arrival with no communication to me.....

[Trisha79]

I have been hosting for over 12 years in several countries and on different platforms.  In Baja Mexico I used VRBO VERY SUCCESSFULLY, in Hawaii we used Stayz VERY SUCCESSFULLY (and I will add I managed 11 properties on a professional level) when I purchased my home on the Gold Coast of Australia I was excited that Airbnb was the prevalent platform.  2 years ago 41 reviews later, SUPER HOST status established and let me tell you WELL EARNED! I came across my first unfit guest this month. I clearly state no children under 2 years old and no more than 2 children under 12 as our space is specifically set up for families who are active. These guests booked as 8 adults, and zero replies to my queries pre check in to make sure the space was set up specifically for thier group.  They showed up as 1 infant, 3 children and 3 adults.  We did our best to accomodate them, and this is over the Christmas days.... we shut down a family dinner at 9:30 because thier baby finally fell asleep and asked us to stop all noise. Thier baby woke up at 11pm and cried until 3am....2 nights like this.  So no EVERYONE is sleep deprived. We had a few family members drop in over the holidays and a repairman out to fix the air conditioning. Guests were upset that thier baby was being disrupted ?    In fear of bad reviews we go OVER AND BEYOND this guest lodged a bogus complaint that we entered into thier space when they werent here and Airbnb opened a "safety" concern. I explained over the phone and have not heard back since.  Have had 2 successful rentals since with glowing 5 star reviews. 18 hours before my next guest is due to arrive I get a text stating thier reservation is CANCELED...I called Airbnb "guests have a fraudulent" account.  Guest calls Airbnb "Host has a technical issue" I have already given the address, had the house professionally cleaned, ready to go and now Airbnb has re-directed guests to another listing.  My listing is NOT visible, I have 6 phone calls and 3 emails into the "support" team, a message on the Twitter support, no replies, no answers, hang up on me, no e-mails, ZERO communication.  Now i have received texts from future guests, one is a personal friend,  stating Airbnb is re-directing their reservations to another property. 

We are located on the border of NSW/QLD, our country is in dire due to bush fires, our full time work has been canceled due to Bush Fires, we rely on this small income to keep our light son and Airbnb has canceled our reservations that have been booked for months with NO COMMUNICATION!

While I error on the side of caution and can imagine the workload Airbnb has on, when one guest of hundreds is an anomaly, it is horrifying that Airbnb can be in that much control without communication. 

[Inna22]

@Trisha79

this is insane. Did the guests provide any proof? Your listings do appear to be removed. Have you tried to contact them on Twitter or facebook? They tend to reply faster there. Making a public appeal with mention of the difficulties will hopefully attract attention to your situation.  There was a video going around of a court case where a host sued airbnb over shutting her listing for allegedly having a gun on the property as per guest’s complaint. It was a dog toy. I hope this is resolved for you soon!

[Trisha79]

yes this is insane, if there was truly a "safety" risk, why was I able to host 2 more guests after this alleged incident?  And if they were not in the home at the time, how in the world would they know if I entered the space?  I've spent a good part of my day reading and pondering how to respond/react and feel powerless over my own property being shared.  It's very eye opening and discouraging that Airbnb could take such enormous actions that can negatively impact their hosts.  I had no idea of the enormity of this problem, I agree that I cannot remain silent and I must share to help others....on the flip side this knowledge of how to get out of paying for a rental can become quite useful to the real criminals.  sad face

[Rowena29]

@Trisha79 

I'm so sorry you're having this nasty experience.  There have been quite  a few cases like this - if  guest knows the right buttons to push   - privacy violations is  the big one which they sound as if they have used  -airbnb will shut down a listing while they "investigate." I think you will find its in the terms and conditions which you agreed to.   And the investigation can take some time.  I can only imagine how enormously frustrating it is - i have been on the receiving end of airbnb not talking and it drives you insane - they isolate and fail to communicate.

In all of the cases that I have read on these boards, airbnb have got around to re instating the listing - so if you can hold onto that idea  as a sort of a light at the end of the tunnel, that may help.

Otherwise I agree with @Inna22  - make as much noise and create as much heat for them as you can  - if you can enlist local media, do so. I'd be using the bushfire angle - you know lost custom during the fires and now airbnb come along and shut down your only income stream.

And very easy to be wise in hindsight, but every time I"ve had poor communicators I"ve been burned one way or another.  If i have any difficulty now in having a guest respond to my messages or failing to action my requests then I would have no hesitation in cancelling them. Guests who can't be bothered are almost always entitled and spell big trouble.

Good luck and do keep us posted.

[Trisha79]

You are so right, poor communicators are a clear indication of self entitled people who should not be on spaces like Airbnb where we are opening our homes.  More hotel kind.....I will hold tight to the idea that all will end well, however this particular timing could not be worse.  I was truly unaware of the enormity of Airbnb's lack of professionalism, for a global company it is shocking.  A class action suit would surely be on the rise.  Thank you for your input it is greatly appreciated.

[Delwyn3]

@Rowena29 @Trisha79 Trisha so sorry you had to go through this experience.   Ladies I find it so interesting to hear your opinions on communication   Communication is a pet peeve of mine both in hosting and in my personal life.   I am the sort of person who always replies to a text even if its just "ok"   Otherwise how does the sender know you got the text?

Anyway Rowena, you saying " every time I've had poor communicators I've been burned one way or another.  " is interesting.  I am a new host and of the 6 guests I have hosted so far it was the 2 poor communicators that turned out to be less than wonderful guests.   I want to add to my house rules or somewhere in my listing a request to provide full information about the guest and who they are traveling with and where they are coming from.    Most of my guests have provided this on their first message when sending a booking request.   What you ladies have shared has made me decide to definitely add something about this.   Just need to work out wording that sounds polite and reasonable.  

[Trisha79]

UPDATE: I took to twitter and used my motherly instincts to regard all parties involved, I shared our devastion at time of desperation during the Bushfires and  AirBnb has decided to re-instate my account and also pay me for the entire loss of income.  I am confident that I will keep moving forward with other platforms, knowing how easily this could happen without my consent is just too much for me to risk. 

[Inna22]

@Trisha79 phenomenal, congratulations! This was was a very swift resolution and they made it right by you. It is always good to diversify but this is a rare case where I am impressed by the outcome

[Delwyn3]

@Trisha79 I am so happy for you.  Thanks goodness!