Extended Stay and Guest No Pay

[Kirstin38]

December 12-15 we had a guest named Andrew (+2 additional people) with no reviews stay with us.  He was moving from Louisiana to Nebraska.  They were coming in a few days before closing on their home in a town 30 miles away.  The funds are good for Dec 12-15.  

On the evening of December 14, Andrew messaged me and asked if he and his guests could stay through the 1st of January.  He said their closing date was moved to January.  Then, he said Airbnb website wasn't working and he couldn't book.  He was RIGHT!!  I couldn't get the app to work either.  I started calling Airbnb and talked to two different Customer Service people.  Neither knew what to do. 

Last night, I was finally able to get the app to work.  I messaged Andrew.  He said he couldn't find my listing.  I sent him our link.  He still couldn't get it to work.  I sent him Airbnb's phone number.  He told me he was going have his Aunt handle the booking because he couldn't get reception on his phone.  I received a message on Andrew's account from his Aunt.  She booked December 15-17.  On my end, it shows payment pending.  Maybe because the card isn't in his name Airbnb isn't accepting the payment.  The calendar shows he booked it through Friday but it's in grey.  What would you do if you were me?  

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kirstin38 I would have just asked for any extension to be in cash if Airbnb's site was down. Yes you lose some protection but frankly some of the host guarantees are fairly worthless. If this is a third party booking (by aunt) you would lose the protection anyway.

By the way - Staying to the first Jan does not really make sense - Is it likely that a closing will take place on Jan 2nd? I don't know the law in your state but do beware of extending too far as the guest may end up with tenants rights.

[John5097]

I would wait for them to sort it out. Someone else paying sounds fishy. ABB has allowed a guest to make a booking and give them 48 hours to pay, then when they didn't it opened back up. Then some months later guest messaged wanting to know if their reservation was still good. I quoted the cancelation message I got from ABB and flagged them. It all sounds like trouble. I would just wait and let ABB do their job on their end. I wouldn't deal with guest outside of ABB.