Hello everyone,
I am a host with multiple properties in Spain, I have been listing on Airbnb for over 2 years and always took great pride in being part of this community, but recently I had few bad experience and from today I will see Airbnb from a different angle. Allow me to explain;
- On the 11th of March I have "Miss X" checking out (well not entirely as she just moved to another room for one more night) and after 5 days (before another guest's check-in) I notice a damage to my property which can only be associated to Miss X.
- So we are now on the 16th of March (5 days after Miss X's check out), I speak with an Airbnb's representive via telephone as I am running out of time (another guest will be checking-in after few hours and I don't have an estimate yet to fix the damage), so I am being told to open the case ASAP with an estimated amount as I would have been able to adjust it later...the important thing was to open the case before the next guest check-in.
That's when the nightmare started...
Apparently there was a problem with Airbnb's system that didn't allow me to open cases, the same thing also happened after few weeks with "Miss Y"...what these 2 guests had in common is that they were both registered from China...so I am not a genius but I think that maybe it has something to do with the way the system works between different regions - if you have been dealing with Airbnb's system for a while (like me), you know that is not the most "efficient" system on internet.
Everything was put on records (or at least I was told so); my conversation, including screenshots of the error, of the 16th of March which proctacted until the 19th of March (support-messages/3459304) and again the conversation with another Airbnb's representative (about the same error, but different guest) started on the 23rd until the 24th of March (support-messages/3637319).
All I was told that I would have to wait for the tec team to fix the bug and I was assured that the notes (hence the reason of this delay) would have been taken in consideration when reviewing the case...so after few daily attempts, finally 3 days ago I was able to open both cases.
And this is the respons received today:
"Hi Andrea,
My name is Olivia, Trust and Safety Specialist at Airbnb.
Thank you for contacting us. We’re very sorry to hear of this incident.
Unfortunately, this case is not eligible under our Host Guarantee, as we were not notified of the loss or damage within the specified timeframe.
For an incident to be eligible under the Host Guarantee, a host must notify Airbnb and complete a Host Guarantee Payment Request Form within fourteen (14) days of the reservation’s checkout date or before the next guest checks in, whichever is earlier. A......"
As you could imagine, that wasn't the outcome I was expecting...I would have tolerated any other reason for denying my claim but no "we were not notified of the loss or damage within the specified timeframe".
Of course I replied specifying all the reasons above, to which I got another (but similiar) response:
"Hi Andrea,
Thanks so much for following up. I understand this is not the outcome you were hoping for.
We do our best to fairly and reasonably mediate these cases. In our efforts to be objective, keeping in mind that we were not present during the reservation, we must consider all available documentation and communication when coming to a decision which aligns with our policies and procedures.
We regret that this decision has negatively affected you, but we believe this to be a fair resolution, all things considered...."
So I am now questioning the ability of Airbnb to be HUMAN (as it seems that I am dealing with a mule) and therefore to use COMMON SENSE (beside the fact that everything is on RECORDS). Also, let me say that we are not talking about €100thousands worth of damage but €113 - which normally I wouldn't be so fussy about it, but it has now become a matter of principles.
My question is: how can a company be so stubborn denying its own words and is there anything else I can do to escalate this?
