money transfer

[Norma406]

My guest transferred money to my Airbnb account because she needs cash and asks me to give her the cash minus $50 for the inconvenience. I don't mind, but it feels like an scam. Do you know if that money is secure, could she reverse it?

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Norma406 If she has used a stolen credit card then the money would be reclaimed from Airbnb (and hence you) by the bank.

Who knows but it feels wrong to me when ATMs exist for just this purpose

[Mark116]

@Norma406  I'm a little confused, how did your guest get the details of whatever bank you use for airbnb?  Why would you give this out?  Or are you saying that the fee for your guest's stay has been transferred by airbnb to your account, but the guest wants the cash back?  Whatever it is, I would not do it.  It almost certainly is some type of scam, and the guest can of course always demand money back from airbnb.

[Colleen253]

@Norma406  Sounds fishy to me. It costs far less than $50 to withdraw from an ATM, so why on earth would she want to use you for cash. Also, Airbnb is so guest-centric that anything is possible. One little snivel from the guest and bam, your money is taken from any future payout. I wouldn't touch this one.

[Anonymous]

@Norma406  Could you elaborate on how the guest conducted this transfer?  Airbnb does not have a unilateral transfer mechanism. You can use the Resolutions tool to submit a payment for a service, but you would still have the option of declining the payment if you don't consent to the transaction.

Given the fact that you've posted your question here, it's clear that you don't have complete trust in this guest. I would give her directions to the nearest bank/ATM, and not get involved beyond that. Here's one way the scam might work:  if her account is locked, the ATM will instantly decline the withdrawal, but Airbnb might take several days to inform a host that the payment method failed.

Be aware that if you supply cash to the guest and your Airbnb payout gets denied, there is nothing that Airbnb can do for you. The Host Guarantee explicitly does not cover missing cash.

In short: never give cash to a guest. You are not a bank.

[Nick1931]

@Norma406Hello Norma, I completely understand that you want to help guests with any aspect on their stay but in this circumstance I wouldn't be providing money to guests. There are many scammers out there and you wouldn't want to put yourself in any position on losing money or having more worries. The guest can notify friends or family if they need money if they dont have access to it. Or they can easily go to a local bank to withdraw money.