Disgusting response from Airbnb - They pay refund to guests who leave room in disgusting condition

[Yanling0]

I have just had guests leave after booking 2 nights renting a room sharing with myself, a single women. They booked and paid for 2 nights to check in at 12:00 on the day of arrival and was told they would arrive at 1pm.  At 6.30am on that morning, I recieved a phone call saying that one of them had arrived downstairs. I went to let them in but what else could I do though I expected them at 1pm. This couple were the worst people that I have had staying. They were constantly having sex in the shared bathroom making myself feel very uncomfortable. They left the room in a very dirty condition staining the sheets. Ok I thought this is just one of the bad experiences that I have heard about.

They left at 2pm on the day of departure though check out was 12:00 and it was a relief that they had gone. About an hour later I received an email from airbnb saying that these guests demanded a refund as the house had dirty sheets. I replied to them saying that of course not and that they should pay me for the stained sheets but I will not demand it.

This morning I awoke to receive an email from Airbnb that they have refunded the guests and the reservation has been cancelled and I will not receive payment.

This is disgusting behaviour from Airbnb to not even contact me before refunding the payment and no way to contact them.

All previous reviews I have had have been very positive and there no point to host on Airbnb if you will not be paid.

[Robin4]

@Yanling0.... Send a personal email to brian.chesky@airbnb.com! He will not anwer it but will pass it on to someone who will sort this out for you Yanling. Don't get emotional, just explain exactly what happened, and in particular name those you dealt with in either Trust and Safety or the Resolution Centre.

This has got to stop and the only way to get it to stop is put as much pressure on the founders of the company as possible. If you don't get a response send your email again and again until you do get a response....

And Yanling, let us know how you get on.

Cheers.....Rob 

[Elena87]

For a guest refund - it can be given by airbnb (according to their guidance ) if your place 'does not contain clean bedding and bathroom towels available for the Guest’s use'.

The guest should  'within 24 hours of check-in to document the issue and place a hold on the host's payment. Include photographs or other evidence of the issue as part of your claim.'  

However the guest must ' Have used reasonable efforts to remedy the circumstances of the Travel Issue with the host prior to making a claim, including messaging your host on Airbnb to notify them of the issue. We'll verify this in your account'

First of all, you should call airbnb to discuss this with an agent. I don't know all the details of what happened, but did the guests follow the policy ? - ie tell you it was an issue via a message. You can also ask airbnb to let you see the photographic evidence that should have been sent to them. Also I see your reviews all mention your place is 'clean'. The guests stayed for the full duration of the stay and I think that should be taken into account. If there was such a big problem, why would they stay so long.?

It sounds if airbnb might made a decision without consulting you and perhaps without paying heed to their own rules, so it is worth to question it and ask for this decision to be reappraised based on the policies.

As far as the early check-in and late check out, unless you make an agreement in advance to this, you can say no.

In my opinion arriving at 6am , they should have booked the night before as well.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

United Kingdom +44 203 318 1111

[David126]

Good Luck

Others who have posted with similar issues have hit a brick wall.

[Ange2]

@Yanling0    As well as writing,  using Airbnb Twitter and FB is a good option. This has happened to other hosts,  insistence and persistence is  key,  a.k.a. being a "ball-breaker!"   Sad that one has to go that far but when push comes to shove that seems to have been the only option left for getting a fair hearing and just resolution.

p.s.  It's best to stick with your rules, especially if you have not yet met the guests. Unfortunately generosity or leniency is seen by some as weakness, they will push for their advantage even going as far as a making complaints after they have left to get any refund they can!

[Yanling0]

Just to update. I have been paid by Airbnb so looks like they refunded the guests as well.

After throwing away their disgusting sheets, I will ask more questions to guests in future before accepting a booking, their reasons for staying though guests do sometimes lie as someone said they were coming to look around the city but instead drunk and spilt red wine over the bed but these are things to expect. Should we charge a deposit when guests arrive? I never have before but maybe I should start and no more instant bookings for me!

[Helen3]

I'm sorry this happened to you. You have a good track record BNB should have taken this into account and checked with you before refunding the guests.

Next time if guests arrive way out of the check in time you have two options. You can offer to take in their luggage and they can off and do their own thing till check in time or you can let them know that if they want early check in there is a cost and send them a special offer with whatever charge you want. You can then ensure they accept this on arrival before checking in.

If you have problem guests next time make sure you follow up with a message about any behaviour and then BNB has a record. You should also photographed any damage and contacted BNB within 48 hours to make a claim.