Hi, I am Martin Fuller. I have set up Magpie Cottage as a ho...
Hi, I am Martin Fuller. I have set up Magpie Cottage as a homestay BnB in Taumarunui in the centre of the North Island of New...
Hi guys!
First time posting something in the community, have been more of a reader then a poster!
Im reaching out to try and understand why were all my listings blocked by Air Bnb overnight!
Seems like its a thing that happened to many Superhosts as myself, and in some cases have a terrible outcome, as the host being banished from Air Bnb.
Sounds so absurd! How can Air Bnb possibly do that to a host that has been obviously doing an amazing job, keeping up with a plethora of reviews that absolutely praise the accommodation and space you are making available to people?
I have never had problems with Air Bnb until now, both as a very active host or as a guest. My experience has been so good that I didnt even bother trying to get into other booking websites, so all my eggs are in one single basket. Its just not the kind of thing you would see happening because of one guest that didnt have his/her expectations met! Specially without as much as a phone call to hear both sides of the story.
At this point Im not even sure I got suspended because of a guest. There was this one guest that felt insecure in one of my accommodations a couple of days ago, but it was nothing terrible. He cancelled the booking and that was it. I called the guy, he explained that he has been in situations where he got mugged and had to deal with people robbing him with guns, so a pretty traumatized person. Which is fair enough. He heard voices from the surrounding rooms and freakout.
How can this be possibly a reason to completely destroy a whole business!? No one in over 100 booking has ever complained about security, we have a night-guard, the area is super safe, we have cameras outside as well to control access... We try to shower people with a sense of security, but there are obviously other guests co-located that might speak a bit louder.
Im just extremely upset with the situation, I have 2 employees that are absolutely funded by this business, not to count my family, who also depends on this income on a month to month basis! Its a very concerning and disheartening place to find yourself in out of the blue.
I read around that those blockages can last weeks if not months. That is if you actually ever get unblocked. Nerve wrecking!
Its like throwing someone in jail without ever telling them even why...
Called Air Bnb support half a dozen times, they cant do nothing for you besides increase your frustration of not getting any sort of information back.
I also called the guest, who confirmed that he registered a complaint, that he was feeling a bit bad that his expectations were not met. He was in a much better state of mind when i called him and said that he regrets having that reaction, but its based on his past experience. We were both very reasonable on the phone and he said he was going to write an email to air bnb about it to clear things out. Im not even sure that was the reason, but cant hurt. Its a guessing game at this point.
Its just not a very fun game.
Tagging community managers in a desperate attempt to get some answers.... Thanks guys
The suspension of a listing is a procedural step Air BNB takes when certain types of complaints are made not just the "expectations not met". Unfortunately it is part of the TOS that Air BNB can take this unilateral step. You probably will never know what the guest really complained about. Lack of transparency is more about Air BNB protecting themselves from lawsuits.
But this approach seems so unreasonable! I can only imagine the amount of times that the accusations are completely untrue! In this case, I even talked to the guest to make sure I understood his side, he definitely didnt raise anything that would cause this kind of reaction! Imagine if the guests actually knew that they have this kind of power over hosts? The kind of abuse we would have to endure would be ridiculous! Guests would start demanding for stuff or taking advantage of you all the time, because you know... I can report you for this this and that and bam, your blocked!
This kind of incident management is appalling to say the least.
@Thiago171 Yes, it is most definitely appalling and unreasonable. Airbnb has operated like this for quite awhile and until a host is faced with a situation like this, or reads this forum regularly, it's a shock.
Hosts get their listings suspended for weeks, pending an "investigation" if a guest reports that there were undisclosed surveillance cameras. Instead of the CS rep taking 3 minutes to look at the host's listing, to see that yes, the cameras are in fact fully disclosed in the listing info, they suspend the host's account.
Guests throw parties and completely trash houses, get thrown out, and Airbnb refunds their money, and lets them leave a 1* retaliation review, and a written review full of lies, even though Airbnb can see that the host has 200 glowing 5* reviews.
Despite all their rhetoric about how the platform is built on trust, and how much tjey appreciate their hosts, this is now just a multi-billion dollar company that only cares about their profits. Fairness, respect, and reasonable resolutions have left the building.
I cant believe how long this is taking... been 2 days now, near high season. This is impacting my July sales massively...
Already talking to channel manager providers as this is getting me way to scared and disappointed to continue with air bnb.
This kind of action from air bnb is taking me from an air bnb ambassador to an air bnb antagonist.
Doesn't seem like the same company I feel in love with years ago.
@Thiago171 "Doesn't seem like the same company I feel in love with years ago."
It definitely isn't. They lost their vision quite awhile ago, and while they still talk the talk, they don't walk the walk. It's all smoke and mirrors now.
The exact same thing happened to me today- completely out of the blue despite me being a long-term superhost. I’ve lost all my income in an instant without being given an explanation. I’m extremely distressed and disappointed.
May i know what happened in this case after the investigation results arrived ?