SAFETY DEPARTMENT BEYOND INCOMPETENCE

[Amami3]

I got tested positive to covid in Paris,

I informed airbnb I cannot host people in my listing in Paris at the moment.

the safety department suspended all my 29 listings (27 of which are located in the Philippines and Italy)

now they dont answer and they disappeared since 4days and from airbnb support they cant do nothing. All my listings are suspended, I cant rent a Villa in the Philippines because I got covid in Paris

long story short if you have covid it seems better to DONT TELL AIRBNB! 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Amami3  of course not. The best is to avoid involving Airbnb and to solve any problem by yourself

[Huma0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

Very true. Problem is, the only way to cancel guests penalty free in this situation is to tell Airbnb you have COVID, so it's not surprising that @Amami3 took that route.

Of course, it would have been better to be penalised than have 29 listings suspended...

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Huma0  I would tell nothing and wouldn't cancel, I would just hire someone to clean and meet my guests on check-in 🙂

But, I am not an onsite host and the author of this post is not either. You are, that's different

[Huma0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

Very true. If I tested positive, well, I am not sure what I would do. It would be a complete mess!

It sounds like @Amami3 only informed Airbnb because he had to cancel bookings for his listing in Paris, I assume because that's the one where he does also live, or, he does not have the set up there to clean/check in guests as the rest of his listings are abroad. 

He could not have expected that CS would be so incompetent as to suspend all his listings in other countries. 

Lesson learnt. It's always good to have a back up plan, but if you regularly do the cleaning and check ins yourself, then it's hard to find a suitable person to be 'on standby' to do it on rare occasions. The only time I had to do that (a few years ago so not related to COVID), I ended up getting a former guest to do it! 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Huma0 

The first thing I've done when we start hosting was to connect with other hosts in the street. And then I also know a few women who help me clean. It is always good to connect with other people and to build a net where we can help each other when needed, like when someone is sick or has overbooking and similar. I don't think about them like "competition" more like "partners" 🙂

[Huma0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

Good advice. I did actually connect with a local host who had a similar listing to mine (primarily to refer people to if I couldn't accommodate their friends/family). Unfortunately, that host paused his listing due to COVID. Perhaps I will investigate again to see whom else I might connect with, although these days, I'm here pretty much all the time anyway...

I have to say though that, while I referred people to that host (and they said they would do the same, they never referred anyone to me! I also got a 4* because the guest thought that their listing was nicer (and inconveniently didn't consider that it was nearly twice the price of mine).

Anyway, that's a bit off topic!

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Huma0 

people can be real jerks sometimes 😞

I also referred some guests to some other hosts and didn't do the same to me but it doesn't mean they will or would not. I am not thinking about it, I'm glad I can help 🙂

[Huma0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

Perhaps the host never got an opportunity to refer anyone to me. This was pre-COVID, but maybe they were able to accommodate all the guests that contacted them. More likely, they just forgot about it. I will never know. That's no big deal as, at the time, I got all the bookings I could handle.

My main issue with that situation was that the first guests I referred to them (partly stayed at my place and partly theirs) I think ended up comparing the two accommodations and mine came out unfavourably. The set ups and style were very similar, and the other listing just around the corner from me, but I have 3.5 shared bathrooms and the other has only 1 shared bathroom. His house, however, is more 'finished' and immaculate than mine. Fair enough, but mine is close to half the price to reflect this.

In future, if I refer to another host, should I suggest a listing that is at a slightly lower level than mine? I don't want to have to get tactical when I am just trying to help out a guest, but I was a bit stung by that experience. The guests seemed very happy with every aspect of their stay, but when you put yourself up for comparison with something slicker, it can cause them to rate you down even though you are charging much less...

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

 @Huma0  this guest was just a jerk, it is possible he would rate you the same even if he didn't stay at another host's place later. I mean, most of my guests go to another Airbnb in another city when they leave my place, Zagreb is a transit destination for most of them.

[Huma0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

Of course, a guest can always compare you to other listings they stay at. I just feel like in this particular instance they were directly comparing me to the other, slicker, double the price one, without factoring in the price. They would have not done that had I not recommended it to them. Most of the other listings in the area (and they wanted to stay close by) are not so slick...

[Nick]

Hi @Amami3, first and foremost, I hope you feel well, and your symptoms are mild. I took the liberty of sending the details you provided over to Customer Support on your behalf.

I will send you a DM when the team gets back to me. 

I hope you'll feel better soon. 

Thank you 

Nick 

[Amami3]

Thank You Nick the customer support cant do nothing I tried already five times, they can only leave a message to the security department that looks to me its on holiday