I have always wondered what happens if you have a problematic guest; one who is breaking the rules-- will Airbnb support you? The answer is no. Host at your own risk because Airbnb support is only trained to give the option that will make money for Airbnb at the cost of the host. I have heard the horror stories, people with a guest who destroy things, who have guests who refuse to leave, hosts who get shut down because of false claims by guest, etc. I have always wondered if, for some reason, you have to file a liability claim, how difficult would that be. My experience has always been, when I call CS, they do everything they can to promote revenue and nothing to offer support to me.
Tonight was my first real test, though, and I have to say Airbnb has failed. I have a guest who is hosting friends without asking for permission, and my listing is for two. They are breaking my posted rules. When I called Airbnb to report this, my options are to charge them more for cleaning, charge them for the extra guests, or ask them to leave. But guess what they still get to leave me a review. So if I do either, I run the risk of a bad review, and as many of us know, it takes 300 reviews to overcome a 4-star rating and 3,000 reviews to overcome a 3-star rating. So even though they are breaking the rules and I am paying the price and probably upsetting my neighbors, I need to keep my mouth shut or run the risk of a poor review. Which By the way I may already be getting because when they asked me to bring Advil for a headache, I brought it to them and asked how many people do you have here??
I spoke with Al in CS, who repeatedly yelled, we don't change the rules for anyone. But I wonder if that's true since there is a listing up the road from me, the "Jamestown Bungalow" that increased last year to a 4.99. So I have to wonder who made that happen? Because Al from CS, who I spoke with tonight, was furious, kept yelling, we don't change the rules for anyone. So I get it Charge more, charege more, and dont complain. Thats the Airbnb Way and by the way "Thank You Super Host". Haha.
