Becareful - changes to airbnb cancellation terms could be costing you ££

[Deborah799]

I recently noticed that guests were being given a discount without me offering it. When I asked AirBB about this they said I'd "selected to give the guest a choice to receive a discount when selecting the non-refundable cancellation policy. You can learn about the non-refundable cancellation policy here:XXX. If you wish to change your cancellation policy, you are able to do so by following these helpful instructions: XXX . Thank you."

However I'd never have done this because why give someone a discount for only 2 nights stay - I then check the cancellation page and they've added a "NEW" option (see attached) and automatically ticked it for me. When I say this was selected without my consent they say "if you don't want it, untick it" which is not the right answer. 

Can anyone send me a link to a page where I can escalate this? I'm having this conversation with them via Twitter because I can't find ANYWHERE on their website a way to contact them. 

" 

[Sarah977]

@Deborah799  There is a large pinned post on the first page of this Help forum "Contact Airbnb", which lists phone numbers, etc. And to message them on the site, go to the Help page there and keep following the prompts and drop-down menus until you finally get to a "contact us"  message box.

I think trying to escalate this will be a monumental waste of your time. Just untick the box for that cancellation policy. Airbnb is notorious for changing things on hosts' listings, from the cancellation policy to the number of beds - it's important to check every couple of days to make sure all your settings are still as you set them.

[Bluedoodleol0]

Airbnb never do anything notouriosly and don't change settings. Ive never seen that 

[Bluedoodleol0]

its bad your saying things about Airbnb when your accusing me of being racist aswell. WOW

[Rowena29]

@Deborah799 

You're absolutely right, it shouldn't just happen by default.

However honestly, you need to pick your battles.

To be blunt, If you imagine that you can escalate this and get someone higher up give you a reasonable response, or even remotely care,  you are dreaming 

If you phone, you will just get platitudes. if you message, the case will most likely be closed without a response. The company does not have a complaints department ( that's why so many hosts come here to vent) nor are they in any way accountable or transparent about anything.

As you have discovered they are experts at turning it around and making out like its your fault and that it's something you can control so do it.  You have your resolution and it's fixed.

  Share your outrage here by all means but you'll only get more and more outraged trying to escalate within the company because you will get precisely nowhere. 

You probalby wont' get a lot of response here either to be truthful, as there are so many more things to be outraged about - the most recent that springs to mind being a host that had her listing shut down and all reservations cancelled for a couple of weeks with no warning and no explanation. It's back up, with a strict warning not to breach safety regulations again. when she asked what safety regulations she had supposedly breached, she was informed she could not be told for privacy reasons. I'm not kidding. read these boards for a couple of days. They're an eye opener.

Keep a close eye on your listing at all times - the system is full of glitches and things can get altered without notice.

if I were you I'd check in on these boards regularly - you don't need to contribute  - just reading and seeing what is going on is highly educational and can help to prepare you for the worst aspects of awful guests and incompetent customer service.  There are also some wonderful feel good stories and moments of humour. There are a lot of great tips. I have found it very helpful and it's put me a step ahead on more than one occasion.

Hope is of some help even though I know it's not really what you were after.

Regards

[Maia29]

Yes, I saw that new tick box the other day. I thought to myself, "oh hell no!", I'm not offering that.

I check and update my listing everyday.