This thread needs to be bumped up because this has only gotten worse since COVID.
UNIQUE new information. If you are a listing with emphasis on last minute bookings, near airports, transportation hubs, cruise ports - we are almost always booked - but bookings are all last minute, short overnights, and we have embraced the marketing and lightning fast communication this requires - if you survive on those customers, you are so hurt by this, you might not even realize it's happening to you. You are told next to NOTHING, no matter how hard you try.
HOWEVER - this AWAITING VERIFICATION nightmare has led us to start listing on other sites to protect ourselves from this hellishly unfair, quite outrageous taking money literally out of our pocket daily. Sure, everyone is talking about inconvenience, and I believe the 24 hours block has been changed now to 12 hours since 2019. So ABB KNOWS something is up. Well us "same day booking" listings laugh at this nonsense because we are just as harmed either way. How would you feel if...
It's check in time or later on the SAME DAY you are available, you get an inquiry for a great booking from a 5 star guest with 50 reviews, just asking if you advise cab or UBER (We are only $5, 1.8 miles, and the only listing for these folks with missed flights, as well as airline personnel) We can get booked and they are in bed within 30 minutes. We have been a major resource for stranded, and even frightened solo travelers. We can be in the car and at their gate in 5 minutes.
Then some ROOKIE with one fake first name like "I'm Magic", new account, no profile info, no pic, no reviews, NO CITY OF ORIGIN, get's you blocked up "Awaiting Verification" at 3pm? Well, 12 hours my friends means NO BOOKING FOR YOU that night. 9 out of 10 of those are absolutely fraud since COVID.
-- They WILL NOT answer messages
-- You get no phone number yet, no email, NADA
--City and country can be faked at step 1 for them, they just walk away if they can't provide ID
-- ABB does not care that they ignore you for the entirety of that 12 hours, not even if you are sure it's fraud, and have a piece of evidence.
--If your CITY has a "too close for vacation rental to your home" law (like Miami Beach), you should have a right to refuse, so if your city is 8 miles wide, and this mystery person is likely on your block coming to smoke out, have a one - night stand, or evade a previously suspended account - you're done and blocked for the night.
--Did you know all they need is a fake first name and fake phone number to get stuck in "awaiting verification"? Well, we had some friends test it, and were stunned it worked. They said they were from Istanbul, which hasn't existed since about 50 years ago. Sure, after 12 hours it all disappeared.
The public has FIGURED THIS OUT. We went from once a month, and a courtesy removal - done twice for us as Superhosts - before COVID, to once week, then 3 times a week, to every day, to yesterday THREE TIMES IN ONE DAY. (counting team members listings locally)
Myself and co-host and neighborhood friends are pretty creative solving workaround problems. The only solution is have another bnb site to open up, sync, or not sync at your own risk, because inevitably - that verification WILL NOT ever verify. It will time out in 12 hours, likely your next calendar day. Yes, if it happens at 10pm, you can lose two entire booking days by this unbelievable policy, because you aren't available until 8am the NEXT day.
The worst that can happen is that you book with the other site, then the rare verification actually occurs so you have to cancel one of them. It hasn't happened yet.
Final note: If someone needs to book you and is TRULY STUCK in AWAITING VERIFICATION and trying to solve the problem - THEY WILL ANSWER YOUR MESSAGE and tell you so. Then, the honest souls respond if you ask "would you mind withdrawing your request if you end up unable to provide what they need for verification?". Guess what. Real people care and withdraw the request, or they hurry up and solve it. If they are IGNORING YOUR MESSAGE, they are IGNORING ABB as well.
I am hungry to know why more hosts aren't incensed by this literal "block your listing because we think the request is fraudulent" rule. Or have any of you had any different experience?
and why does it look like an entire year no one has commented on this?