Potential guest seeing 20% discount offer on request to book page, but I haven't put any discounts in place

[Meghan79]

A potential guest contacted me yesterday asking if a 20% special offer that showed up on the Request to Book page was reflected in the quoted price. I don't have any promotions in place. I searched my listing as a potential guest and saw the promotion: "Book now and save 20%. Book within the next 30 hours to get this special offer," but the quoted price did not reflect the discount. I called Airbnb customer service about it and have so far gotten nowhere--the representative that I spoke with said that Airbnb does not issue special offers, only hosts do. It makes no sense for this offer to appear on the Request to Book page since at that point the guest has seen the total cost (with Airbnb service fees and lodging tax included) and is likely to book without the additional discount as an incentive. Supposedly Airbnb technical support is looking into the matter, but no one has yet reported back to me. 

This same situation happened to me last November when a different guest inquired about the "Book now and save 20%" offer that she saw at the same point in the booking process. I called customer service, and the representative told me to ask the guest for a screenshot, which she wasn't able to send because she hadn't yet booked my property. I managed to send the potential guest my email address through the Airbnb firewall, and she emailed a screenshot of the promotion which I forwarded to customer service. 48 hours passed with no response, so I called Airbnb again. The customer service representative that I spoke to the second time told me that the promotion was a scam and that I shouldn't rent my house to the potential guest (despite the fact that she had numerous 5-star reviews). The rep was very evasive but adamant that I wouldn't want this guest in my house. He told me that he couldn't divulge why but that that I shouldn't worry because the guest wouldn't rent my house if I didn't offer the 20% discount. The whole exchange was so odd, but I took his advice and told the guest that I wouldn't be able to offer a discount, and she didn't end up renting my house. 

I am completely mystified and disturbed by this matter. All of the Airbnb customer service people that I have spoken to have said that Airbnb would not honor this 20% discount. It puts me in a terrible position as a host--I don't want to take the hit for the 20% off, but guests seeing this strange promotion are not likely to rent my house if they have been promised a discount and don't received it. 

Are any other hosts experiencing this issue? 

[Felicity50]

Thanks Megan --so frustrating -makes me NOT want to run promotions, in case this happens again. But I like to run promotions for last minute dates - they get seen more and lead to occasional bookings. I hope they can get to the bottom of it so the banner reflects the correct time frame and not open ended/all dates. Thanks for letting me know your fix anyway. 

[Meghan79]

Hi Felicity, 

Just wanted to let you know that I'm still trying to solve this problem as I also rely on special promotions to try to secure bookings during the off-season. I am now on my seventh customer service representative (none of whom seem to read through the message chain about the problem as I need to re-explain the issue each time) and have gotten nowhere and no updates from the tech team that is supposedly looking into the problem. I ran a test this morning by putting a custom promotion on weekend dates in March, and the bogus discount is showing up on any dates, not just the March promotion dates. So, I disabled the promotion again. 

Anyway, I'll let you know if I ever get information back from the tech team. 

Best, 
Meghan 

[Meghan79]

Hi @Felicity50, 

I am sorry to hear that you're experiencing this problem too! I am currently on my third Airbnb customer support representative (since reaching out about this problem on February 4). Supposedly the technical team is looking into it (an improvement from when I first experienced this problem last November), though I haven't gotten any updates for a couple of days. I checked my listing this morning, and it is currently showing the 20% discount if guests book within the next 11 days. 😞

Your theory about this bogus 20% off discount being tied to promotions in place is intriguing. I set up a few promotions to try to get new bookings after cancellations this winter, and I'm wondering if the promotions have somehow triggered this issue. I'm going to cancel my promotions and see if anything changes. 

I agree that Airbnb should honor the discount, since it is clearly due to Airbnb's error. It puts us (as hosts) in a terrible position. I too don't want to offer extra discounts during my busiest season. I lost a prime potential booking (from Monday-Thursday in August; my house is booked for all of the summer weekends, and it is more challenging to secure mid-week bookings) because I was getting nowhere with resolving this problem with Airbnb customer support. I ultimately offered to honor the 20% off, but it was two days after the initial inquiry, and the guest was no longer interested. 

I'll be sure to post information if I receive an explanation from Airbnb customer service. 

Best wishes, 

Meghan 

[Colleen253]

@Meghan79 @Felicity50 Its good you got this figured out. Good on you for working harder and being smarter than the Airbnb Tech Team. Brian should pay you for your hard work (not to mention your lost bookings over this hoohah). Honestly, I don’t believe there really is any actual “Team” when it comes to ANY department in Airbnb. I think if we were to peek behind the curtain, instead of ‘The Great and Powerful’, all we’d see is a little man pulling levers and cranks. Just like in Oz. 

[Leo2569]

Found the solution here, much appreciated, the special promo is on calendar on the bottom @Ann72 

[Inna22]

@Meghan79 checking in to see if you have any updates. I use special promo every once in a while but stopped after reading your post

[Meghan79]

Hi @Inna5,

Unfortunately a solution has not yet been found. It has been five weeks since I reached out to the support team about this problem, and supposedly the tech team is looking into it. 

I'll be sure to post to this topic thread if the problem is every resolved. 

Best, 
Meghan

[Thomas1603]

I just had a guest get a 34% weekly discount that I did not enter.

I promptly changed the discount to 5% from 34%. I never entered the 34%.

I likely had no discount.

I use a desktop, so I don't have a small screen issue.

@Katiehelp me. Customer service is poor.

[Anne10492]

 Hi Meghan, Can you help? @Meghan79 I  just become a host yesterday and my first 2 bookings this morning have 20% promotion discount...which I didn't request.  I am so disappointed as I offered a really good price per night anyway with the dynamic pricing.  What can you do?

Many thanks for your help.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Anne10492 I think that unless you switch off the 20% discount you effectively agree to it when you create your listing.

[Anne10492]

Hi @Mike-And-Jane0 thanks - I never turned it on!  Am onto help now.

[Joseph1512]

I am experiencing the same thing