As a busy host, I have missed several important holidays whe...
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As a busy host, I have missed several important holidays when setting pricing and minimum night stays. My market is a weeken...
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I'M JUST VENTING... Crazy situation. Last Minute Booking. Guest came and did a walk through, then Ghosted, (Im sitting right here in the back)... soon after I get a message from Airbnb claiming that the the guest claimed that the listing was dirty and smelled like fish (Which is why I know she ghosted because AirBnb sent a message), but the guest, didn't provide any proof. So I sent 50 Photos of everything showing that the guests were lying.
AirBnb rep sends the guests the photos that I took, rep now claims that since the guest never actually cancelled the reservation, its not an "official cancellation" and now the guests want to come back. (I do not allow guests back after Cancelling). The rep also said that; since I won't allowing the Guests (Lying or Not) back into the property then IM THE ONE WHO IS "OFFICIALLY CANCELLING" the reservation and I wont get to keep the Cancellation fee.
I believe in Karma and I normally DO NOT keep booking fees if the guest cancels, I just refund them and move on with life, but what frustrates me is that I was here with the guest and the guest could have easily told me that they didnt like it. I would have gladly gave them a refund without hesitation, LIKE I ALWAYS DO. But NO!, they sneak out like they robbed a bank. But no they dont show me the courtesy or respect to ask me directly for a refund. That REALLY ticked me off. I prefer to handle cancellations betwen us instead of getting a 3rd party involved it just easier and cleaner and I dont need to worry about a bad review.
I was also in the process of negotiating with another guest who had stayed here before, when this guest booked the property. Since it was a last min booking, I gave her the address and told them to come by and view the property before they booked it, (because I don't want my days blocked in case they don't like it), I also don't want a bad review. BUT NO SHE HAD TO BOOK IT (FOMO: FEAR OF MISSING OUT)!! After 9 years I can smell a cancellation, based on experience and intuition.
After doing this for 9 years, I know exactly how these bookings work out and exactly what I was afraid of happening, IS HAPPENING all because the guest 1.) Booked it, after I told her don't book it, just come by. 2.) Certain groups of women are notorious for cancelling without any solid reason for cancelling. 3.) The Airbnb rep would some how find a way to blame me for the cancellation and the guest would get a refund anyway. 4.) The reps shift ends and now i'm in No mans land.
So now my days are blocked, and ive been sitting here, for 6 hrs trying to get something resolved that could have easily been avoided. BUT BLAMING ME, I thought I heard every AirBnb reps excuse in the book, but this takes the cake. I'm somehow at fault here because the guest decided to Lie and make up Fairy tales. Lol You can't make this up!
I agree with you. If a guest shows up and they’re not happy, I would give them a full refund and let them go stay somewhere else. I don’t need unhappy people in my house. Not worth any of it.
I had a similar experience when I got a message from customer support saying that my guest wanted to cancel her reservation a week before check-in because she couldn’t get in touch with me. Checked my Airbnb messages and she had not responded to my follow-up messages since she booked, and there was no evidence that she reached out via text, voicemail, or email. Turns out she decided to completely ignore the Airbnb app and website, and instead tried to google my contact info and found a phone number that has long been disconnected.
Despite that I did everything right, including directing my guests keep their communications with me on Airbnb, the rep constantly tried to shift blame to me with increasingly desperate and ridiculous arguments. I managed to finally get in contact with the guest by phone and smoothed everything out, because she wasn’t an “internet person”. Even after that the rep was still stirring things up by continuing to try to shift blame to me.
- It was my fault that there was an old number for me floating around on the internet. (Despite the fact that guests are directed to keep communications on Airbnb, and are provided with my current phone # and email through them).
- It was my fault that the guest sent a relative to knock on my door and I didn’t answer. (As if I’m running a hotel and waiting at the front desk all day for people to randomly stop by).
The reservation ended up working out, even though it became apparent that the guest just had issues with following directions in general.
My take away from this experience is that when I receive a guest reference from a local contact, as I did above, I have them book directly with me. I used to ask people to open an account with Airbnb and book through them. Now I realize that if they are not ready wrap their minds around the Airbnb concept, forcing them to join only creates problems for all involved.
@Thomas18I agree with you 100%. I trust myself better than any Representative @ AirBnb, or VRBO or any other company out there. Lifes too short to have people running around angry at each other.
Thats another reason why I love pre-booking viewings. I trust my own intuition rather than a web site algorithm.
You have been a host for a long time, but unfortunately some recent reviews and ratings have reflected poorly on the cleanliness rating. I would imagine you have explored whether these ratings were based on actual experience, but nonetheless customer service is seeing a pattern and giving the guest the benefit of the doubt. I agree with your philosophy of giving refunds if a guest expresses dissatisfaction. In this case, you might as well go forward with the booking. You might get a negative review, but at least you will have the income.
Oh snap!
@Linda108Thanks for your comment, but You're reaching suggesting that I have a cleanliness issue. LOL 1 guest out of 50 doesn't mean that I have a cleanliness issue. Cleaning is very subjective and it doesn't mean much. (nonsense Cleanliness ratings have been covered numerous times on this board) That's why I give full refunds if they complain about ANYTHING. Cleanliness seems to be a very popular complaint that AirBnb will give you a refund for, safety is close to the top as well.
Back to the subject, I don't want their money. Even worse, I don't need liars in here where they could damage things or start doing a "dirt hunt" so that they could stay and then get a free Vacation on top of the false complaint. I Love Those, I've had a few of those over the years.
24hrs later my days are still blocked!! How fun! 😉
Your guest acted very stupidly.
But, I don't understand .... is the booking still active or Airbnb CS canceled on your behalf=?
If the reservation is still active then your guest is allowed to stay and you will be paid.
If the reservation is canceled by Airbnb CS on your behalf then your dates will remain blocked till the end of that canceled booking and you will not be paid.
It could also be resolved if you and your guest agreed to mutual cancelation without any penalties for either of you and with a full refund.
@Nina75 You might want to re-read your reviews. 3 complaints out of 12 is 25% of your guests complaining about cleanliness.
One reviewer... They only one thing was the house was a little dirty
The very next review... Just Clean A Little More Other
Another review... A couple of things I hope to be resolved for future users of this place: There were some areas that need better cleaning. There were dust balls under the beds and bed tables were dusty.
@Stephanie365So your literally going back to 2019. 😂 You might as well go back to 2015. Lol How about 2012.
Cameron is July 2020
Mikayla is Aug 2020
Both of your listings are barely above 4*. Whoops, I just realized they're the same listing.
Clearly your properties have issues, but if you'd like to stay in denial, there's nothing we fellow hosts can help you with.
Cleanliness 4.1*
Accuracy 4.2*
Communication 4.7*
Location 4.0*
Check-in 4.6*
Value 4.3*
Have a nice day.
Hi @Nina75 ,
‘that I was here with the guest and the guest could have easily told me that they didnt like it’
‘ I would have gladly gave them a refund without hesitation, LIKE I ALWAYS DO.’
I felt the same ways as you do.