Host Rep attempted price renegotiation after booking was finalized

[Ken1917]

I had a recent experience with an airbnb "representative". Who said they ran and organised tons of Airbnbs for "clients" locally.  I booked and paid for the room, talked to the representative on the phone (as they mentioned was part of their screening process - which is understandable).  Then, I spoke to the actual host later on the phone who told me, "You're a great fit, I'll be happy to have you." 

Later, the representative calling me and began to try to renegotiate the price, after I and booked, had my confirmation and my receipt.  When I told her I found this suspicious, she became very irritate and started telling me that "Hosts lose 14% of what they make.  Did you know that?".  When I told her, I wasn't trying to be a pest, she threatened to tell her client to cancel my booking.  My booking was canceled.  And, I was left high and dry. 

Are people supposed to try to get more money outside of the BnB system?  Was I right to be suspicious? I have a recording of the phone call and, you can tell that my directness threatened her and she back-peddled quite a bit before hanging up.  Is there anything I can do about this?

[Roberta2]

Hi @Ken1917 

Yes, this is suspicious.

Yes, airbnb charges a fee, but the hosts do not "loose" that amount of money.

If a host charges $100 for the night, airbnb pay the host $97, and charges the guests $113.

Any negotiation via the phone is a red flag.

[Susan17]

@Roberta2 

Many "professional" and commercial operators pay a 14% host-only fee, with their guests paying no service chargers

[Ken1917]

Thank you for that!  I don't really know how it works.  I've never been a host.  I just don't know why the "representative" was giving me this information, other than a means by which to coerce me into paying more by telling me that her "client" was not making enough money on the booking. 

[Susan17]

You're welcome @Ken1917 - a lot of hosts wouldn't be aware of the host-only fee either, so no worries! It's difficult to really assess what sort of a "host" you were dealing with, or whether this is just a one-off or a pattern of behaviour with them, without seeing the listing. If you want to post the link, it will be much easier to advise. 

[Emilia42]

@Ken1917 

The first paragraph of your posts leads me to believe this is a scam. Did you book through the Airbnb website?

[Ken1917]

Yes, I did.

[Sarah977]

@Ken1917  Emilia's question is crucial to your issue. If you booked through the official Airbnb website, report this host to Airbnb- they are not allowed to ask for more money after a guest has booked, unless it's something like a pet fee or extra guest fee. If you booked this through some other site, and it's a scam, then there's not much you can do about it but try to stop pàyment and report the scammer to the police.

There is no such thing as an "Airbnb representative" who manages hosts' listings. There are only co-hosts and property managers who some hosts employ to run their listings, and they don't ask guests to call them to make arrangements- communication between hosts and guests is done through Airbnb on-site messaging.

[Ken1917]

Everything was booked and paid for through AirBnB.   But, There were 3 separate calls, within hours of one another.  All the calls seemed strange and contradictory.  Right after my booking was canceled by them.  They relisted the room for nearly 3 times what I had booked it for.  Is this something I should report? 

[Sarah977]

@Ken1917  Yes, definitely report it to Airbnb. Hosts are not allowed to ask for cash outside of the platform. And if a host ever does this again, starts calling you or asks them to call you, decline- say you want to keep all communication to the Airbnb messaging. These people knew what they were doing- they didn't want a record that Airbnb could see of asking you for more money outside the platform. 

There is no reason for a host to claim that a phone conversation is part of their screening process- they can't get any more info about you over the phone than they get by communicating with you through the platform.

[Susan17]

@Ken1917 

This sort of unethical behaviour is common practice amongst a certain genre of host these days. It sounds as if the apartment owner is using a "professional" management company to run the place. There's definitely been a pricing screw-up somewhere (either by the mgmt. company, or by Airbnb's glitch-ridden system) and the agent was obviously trying to claw back the difference from you. (This type of host cancelling bookings and re-listing at a higher price is a regular concurrence, unfortunately)

You could, of course, report the host but quite honestly, you'd probably be banging your head against a brick wall, particularly if the agent is working for a management company with a sizeable inventory on the Airbnb platform. 

How were you able to speak with the "owner" (highly debatable whether it actually was the real owner you spoke with), because theoretically, it's not possible for hosts and guests to exchange phone numbers prior to booking confirmation, without them being redacted by the system. 

[Ken1917]

I provided my phone number, which I often do, if there is an emergency or something needed to be worked out.  But, I spoke to the "rep" who said, "we'll see.  I'll have to talk to my client "the host" to see if this will workout.  As to imply this was some kind of phone vetting system.  AFTER my booking was complete and confirmed.  

Then, the actually host (who I believe was actually the host) called and made congratulatory comments about how I had been approved by her representative.

Then, the rep called me again and started to say she spoke to her client and was concerned about how little money she's getting for it.  When I told her I feel like I was being played, she called my comment "Aggressive and Nefariously Suspicious"  And, she was going to tell her client to cancel my booking because she didn't want someone "like me" staying there.  

[Susan17]

Ok, so they "vetted" you, after you'd already booked? Nuts. Your whole experience, from start to finish, was completely off and the reps responses to you, in particular, sounds as if they're either scammers, or completely clueless (or both)

[Emilia42]

@Ken1917 @Susan17 

The weird thing is that there is no automatic cancelation notice under the reviews which makes it seem like Airbnb canceled the reservation. 

[Ken1917]

Well, apparently the Rep called Airbnb and canceled it through them (?) when I asked the Airbnb person to give me the reason for the cancellation.  They said it was confidential.