Has Airbnb Shut Down Phone Support?

[Christopher187]

Maybe this has already been discussed, but I didn't see it posted anywhere here. 

I just tried calling Airbnb to take issue with a cancellation under the new 'agreements don't mean anything' policy.  A pre-recorded message says that Airbnb isn't offering any phone support anymore, due to COVID-19. 

It directed me to use online support, which I understand to mean 'we've automated the ignoring-you process'.  They could at least stop advertising the help numbers on their website.

Sigh...

[Sarah977]

@Christopher187  I've actually never called Airbnb for anything. I always use the messaging option, and while it has sometimes taken a few back and forths to get them to understand the issue, and several days to resolve, in the end I've gotten pretty prompt and helpful service that way, although I can't say it'll be like that right now.

One thing that's importnt to keep in mind when writing about your issue is to keep it really simple, in chronological order, bullet point form, rather than long sentences or paragraphs :

" Good Day.

  My guest, reservation code XYXY, booked on March 15 for a May 16th check-in date.

 This booking falls outside the parameters of your 100% refund COVID19 policy.

 My payout should have been $XX according to my strict cancellation policy.

 The guest was refunded 100% even though her booking was outside the stated EC policy for full refund.

 I am asking that you please correct this refund and payout in line with the current EC policy.

 Thank you for your assistance."

Once I started writing to them like this (although nothing to do with the current situation), I got better results. YMMV. Good Luck.

[Christopher187]

I'm finding that Airbnb is replying to most everything with pre-generated messages.  Copy and paste.

[Sarah977]

@Christopher187  How frustrating. When they've sent me those before, I message back saying "HiXX, thank you for the response, but it doesn't address the particulars of my issue. Could you please reread my original message and respond accordingly. Thank you and awaiting your reply."

At this point, I might even put something in there about realizing how swamped they are right now. I've found that when I offer a little understanding or sympathy, they are more willing to help. Worth a try, anyway. I bet there's about a thousand or more hosts right now who are contacting them about exactly the same issue.

They seem entirely discombobulated right now, and refunding guests outside f that COVID!) policy. They probably are giving 100% refunds to whichever guests manage to get through to them and yell at them or come up with some sob story or even legitimately can't travel because of lockdowns either where they are coming from or where they were going.

[Huma0]

@Sarah977  Sound advise on keeping it short and simple. I am going to use your message as a template next time.

I have tried the approach of "I understand you are overloaded and under resourced right now," but the rep only responded to that part of my message, saying yes they are, but ignored any information I had given about why the cancellations were not within the EC policy and just asked me to explain what the problem is.

I have explained, repeatedly, both on the phone and via messaging. What is so hard to understand? The policy is not applicable to stays where the guests already checked in. It's really crystal clear on that. I am repeating their own policy back to them over and over, and the only responses I have gotten are:

- It's up to the guest.

- I don't have the authority to do anything.

- The cancellation is within our policy (No it's  not! Read the policy!)

- Can you explain what the problem is (Oh, you mean again, for the 12th time?)

I am giving up all hope. I have a guest who doesn't qualify for EC, who is willing to pay me according to the long-term policy because she will be refunded by her university, has told Airbnb this, but just wants to know that the correct portion of her fees will be refunded. She has been waiting for an answer on this from Airbnb for a week. Yet, the guests who contact Airbnb about a refund (outside of EC) get an immediate response.

At first, I was alarmed to not be able to get through on the phone, but now I don't care. Usually when I called, I was on wait forever, then would speak to someone who seemed sensible and understood what I was saying, told me I was correct and the refunds were wrongly issued and they would look into it but after that I either got silence, or when I chased, a message with the nonsense excuses listed above. 

Calling was just eating up my time and getting my hopes up to have them dashed again.

[Sandra126]

That is challenging, not to be able to speak with someone. But as phone lines weren't coping with the load, maybe messaging will work better. I found myself losing coherence and starting to stutter and put words I  wrong order, that's how stressed I was when I eventually got through. Yet, I could have said my mission succinctly in two dot points. Good luck, stay well.

[Robin4]

@Christopher187 

Yes, after reading your post I tried to ring and got the same message!

Well we really are on our own now, looks like all the bricks in that security wall around Airbnb have now been cemented in place. There are a few (3) payouts I am now sweating on. Those stays have taken place and I am hoping that those funds are still available and that Airbnb don't seal off that part of their operation as well, even further compromising their hosts to save money! 

Cheers......Rob

[Betty190]

Yes we are on our own.  I have a family staying that want to extend for another month.  My site says this is open for her to book.  Airbnb shows half the month blocked so my guests cannot book.  This involves an insurance payment so it needs to flow.  Airbnb message center wants to continue this for their schedule.  Airbnb used to have experienced employees and they could help on the phone and get these real issues solved in minutes.  Now new employees do not know how to solve real issues and will take you on the long way around until you get frustrated and give up. 

[Mary419]

This all adds to the extra unfair burden on hosts to bear the volume of guests communications . Thousands upon thousands each with burning questions. I am getting verbally abused by guests booked out into the summer (June, July, etc) who are angry that they cannot for sure get 100% back. Airbnb is leaving hosts to handle it. I manage a lot of listings, and unlike some volume hosts I am actually very familiar with all of them and live in the midst of all of them. I can honestly say I have been working nonstop for 10 days as a customer service agent for Airbnb at $0 pay. Worse that zero in actuality it was all to lose a mind boggling well over 6 figure sum (so far) for my clients, and during this I still pay 3 employees to help me (not including maids) so add payroll into this loss. I had no choice but to constantly answer messages and calls to confirm to guests how Airbnb works right now. Even the "efficient" decision they made to do instant 100% refunds for an enormous block of guests for a certain date range came with this ridiculous directive that guests asking them to still involve me in the process. My voicemail and messages have exploded and tons of them who did not even have to ask me but were following instructions, totally absurd that I have to waste my time saying yes please proceed with your cancelation so that I can get zero. I don't think it is easy for Airbnb to envision how the volume I host exponentially increases with small decisions like this. Normally Airbnb gets me (along with all other good hosts) as a free employee, making AIRBNB look good by providing a quality product to buy and quick customer service in the form of reachability. But at least I get paid by my own hard work normally. The past 10 days have been an eye opening experience about what hosts really are which is unpaid representatives of Airbnb, working and making Airbnb look good and without any independent or direct control over the business despite paying hard costs of payroll and carrying costs of real estate that are required to make Airbnb possible. 

[Huma0]

@Mary419 

Unfortunately, most guests just can't see any of that.

One guest told me that "You lose nothing" if she hangs onto the booking and then cancels at the last minute in order to get a full refund. Clearly she has no experience of renting out any kind of accommodation. Sure, if the guest does not stay in the accommodation, it could be argued that they did not get the service they paid for. However, to say the host loses nothing through the cancellation is a bit of a one-sided argument.

That room is blocked off for 1.5 months for her and has been for some time, meaning no one else could book it, so keeping some sort of deposit, even if small, would seem fair. Seeing as my rooms are normally always full booked, another long-term, local guest who wasn't going to cancel, could have booked. Who knows? Freeing up the room now would enable me to try to find a long-term local renter, in which case, I would refund her the rest of her payment (she would already be refunded a part of it and I already offered to refund her more, but only a 100% cancellation will do for her).

She is angry with me, because I did not accept her suggestion of hanging onto the reservation and cancelling it last minute (she knows she is not coming) when she might get a full refund if Airbnb extends the EC dates. This, she said, was a solution that helped both of us because we would both "lose nothing". She told me that she is in between jobs (she does have a guaranteed job coming up - even if she cannot travel, her employer would still employ her in her current location). This is apparently relevant, but any income I have lost is meaningless.

I am not sure what planet she is living on. I guess she thinks that my rooms live in some sort of fairyland where the mortgage, bills and Council Tax magically pay themselves for months, while she holds to ransom a booking that she has no intention of keeping.

It is not really the guest's fault. This is what Airbnb told her to do.

[Mary419]

@Huma0  that is generous of you to note it is not the guest's fault and generally true. I have that exact scenario you described playing out dozens of times a day. I can relate in that guests are doing what guests see as best for them, waiting until the promised full refund covers their dates. What persists for hosts is the constant need to reply and explain and without Airbnb having anyone really handling that, esp without a phone line, here we are the sitting ducks who are reachable. I just had one girl ask me (and not nicely) to give her the steps involved in applying for an EC refund. She asked me that after giving me a tongue lashing about how I am forcing her to travel and spread disease if I do not give her a refund for her June booking.  She told me I am ignorant. After sending me all that nice stuff and having not canceled yet she demanded that I walk her through the EC process. They all truly think it is the host's job to be their consultant on this project with the goal of the host having an absolute zero payout.  

[Huma0]

@Mary419 

Yes, you are right. The guest I mentioned was pretty rude to me, implying that I had asked her to cancel now, knowing that I could get money from the booking, when she might get a full refund later and that by trying to find someone else to book the room, I would be getting paid twice.

Not true. Firstly, SHE told ME she would like to cancel (not the other way around) and that she knew she was not eligible for EC. It was only after she spoke to Airbnb CC who told her to wait and cancel last minute that she got aggressive. I did not know that Airbnb was going to extend the EC dates. We have been calling for this information from Airbnb all week, but I found it out from the guest. I had already told her I would refund her further (on top of the 50% I was already offering) if I could get the room rebooked.

She told me that our conversation was making her uncomfortable and that she would rather deal directly with Airbnb. In the same message, she asked me to clarify what Airbnb fees she would be refunded!

[Huma0]

I honestly don't know now how to reply to this guest. It has got me stumped. Nothing I can say is right since she spoke to Airbnb. 

The only thing she will be happy with is a 100% refund. I am tempted just to give it to her to just to get her off my hands, although I would much rather use any funds I can somehow get my hands on to refund the guest who has been nice about all of this. If angry guest gets an opportunity to review (which I have heard other cancelling guests were able to do in the past) she will leave me a stinker anyway.

Just to clarify here. The guest is cancelling because she was starting a new job in London. Her employer has delayed this (understandably) because of the pandemic. However, she will still start her job in her current location if she is unable to come here.

[Alicia533]

similarly but different I ended up just extending a full refund to the first guest that waited for the day before, before any lock down and in an area that was/is barely affected in Ok, But the event being cancelled.  My cancellation is very fair offering 100 percent full refund 5 days before the reservation. 

I realized two things:

1. When the platform is up and running again, I believe that the algorithms may push listings that offered 100% refunds more, so for this alone, I refunded her amount. Though she claimed -generously- that she was coming from a emotional space, and thought me from a "financial" space therefore putting her emotional need above my own financial need. I decided with much thought,deliberation, and lack of ability to reach bnb to refund 100 percent with a kind suggestion that it would be great for guests to extend us hosts the compassion that they themselves are expecting, and asking for.  For Air bnb it is important that you are reminded that it is indeed emotional to have multiple rents, mortgages, and zero income to cover them. 

2.  Airbnb has an " protection against damage" insurance policy.  Surely there is some relief for our revenue lost.  What we need is for bnb insurance to cover the canceled reservations only. 

Please work quickly on our behalf as some of us have gone above and beyond to provide guests with they very best service for the benefit of us as hosts, guests, and  Airbnb platform.  If we make up a larger global team then do not leave us hosts out of an immediate short term solution! 

Guest: "you can agree this is totally out of my control" to which I would not only agree but say in kind "or mine as a small family business".  Air bnb I do not blame you, but surely you can coddle us as you have coddled guests.

[Mark116]

@Huma0  I think you should go ahead and of possible rent the room off the platform. If you know she isn't coming, but the reservation continues to block the dates, move forward anyway.  What is the worst that could happen?