Goodbye, AirBNB!

[Danielle476]

After two years of successful hosting and over 300+ stays, I'm calling it quits.  I wish I could have hosted longer, but the lack of support and assistance is costing me dearly.  I've had AirBNB refund four reservations now that were completely ineligible; one of which they assured me in writing that they would not refund...then did the same day without any notification whatsoever.  No e-mail, nothing.  Thousands of dollars that were not covered by the EC clause refunded without my permission or knowledge.

Today I received a letter from my condo board's lawyers stating a guest I hosted on June 23rd threw a party, had guests acting belligerently in the lobby, harassing my concierge & being so disruptive that the police had to be called to remove my guest's friends.  This is a guest that I already have an open claim for as she smoked in my home and damaged some furniture.  (She had great reviews but I suppose that means nothing these days.)  Thankfully my building allows AirBNBs but I was still fined $900 for the disruption and noise bothering neighbours.  I had to call AirBNB three times today to have the $900 added to the existing claim, but I have zero hope that I will ever see that money or the money I requested originally.  I also feel terribly about putting my neighbours through any sort of trouble, they don't deserve to be disrupted in their own homes.

It's just not worth the trouble - it's costing me money to host now that I have no protection when it comes to guests who choose not to follow the rules.  I've enjoyed learning from all of you here and appreciate your advice & counsel over the last two years!  I wish you all the best in your hosting journeys.  I'd love to keep participating here as I enjoy helping newcomers, so I'm sure we'll see each other around.  🙂 Stay safe and healthy!

[Jo101]

I wrote my issues twice and Airbnb is blocking them saying system error.

[Sarah977]

@Jo101  This forum can be glitchy sometimes. Did you include some personal info in your post, like an email address or a reservation code or an external link or something?

[Jd11]

300 bookings and $900 is your breaking point?   My prices reflect that Airbnb has a horrible deposit program so I never get too upset over fines or issues.

What other platform will bring you the business?

[Emilia42]

Not all of us are renting penthouse suites @Jd11. For some hosts, $900 is half of their monthly income. 

[Danielle476]

@Jd11 My breaking point is being held financially liable for the actions of my guests, without any support or recourse.  My breaking point is AirBNB retroactively refunding guests thousands of dollars (not just $900) from my account without my knowledge or consent, for reservations that weren't even eligible for refunds according to their own policies.  I've already leased my condo and it's paying for itself, no skin off my back.

[Patricia2165]

@Jd11 ......VRBO is MUCH better to hosts than AIRBNB will ever be......I'm going full time with them as of today.......I just got screwed AGAIN........I'm done

[Elaine701]

@Patricia2165 

We are listed on VRBO, and my observation is that yes, it treats hosts "better" by not "intervening" and causing damage through incompetence. VRBO simply doesn't bother to respond to much of anything, so it's rather benign and less risky in that respect.

Unfortunately, in terms of market reach and bookings, VRBO struggles to even remotely compete with Airbnb. Hosts really have to work hard to get bookings on VRBO. Or just cut your prices to the absolute minimum, which generally attracts a less desirable guest character. VRBO is also more expensive than Airbnb, with several additional hidden charges. 

So, it's just a different set of headaches. To be successful on either, you need to know where the land mines are buried. And avoid them. 

[David715]

I'm sorry Danielle has fallen out with Airbnb and wish her well for the future. I think as a platform for people renting out properties as a business, Airbnb has its limitations. I'm someone who loves the idea of sharing our homes with travellers and have a lot of sympathy for neighbours of Airbnb properties who have to suffer bad behaviour, especially when the owner isn't around. But I guess Airbnb provides all this infrastructure through scale, i.e. having enough earnings and constantly growing. If I find a more community-focused platform that has as good a marketing reach as Airbnb I'll probably switch but that's probably like finding a small global social media channel - an oxymoron perhaps (Jimmy Wales has started WT.Social as a 'fairer' Facebook but it's an uphill struggle I think).

Love to all in these Covid times!

[Patricia2165]

I'm done as well......going VRBO full time.......this company can kiss my ass and their bullshyt policies, which they never hold to