Guest stayed and didn't complete payment- No payout for hosts

[Laura2592]

I had a guest stay for three nights. They called me prior saying there was trouble with a credit card. I directed them to Airbnb. I thought it was unusual and posted here. Everyone reassured me that the guest could not stay without completed payment.

They came and went. No payout. Now on my 4th call to Airbnb requesting the payout a very nice customer service rep said they did not complete their payment. She is looking into "options." HOW on Earth could this happen??  I am still waiting for a "resolution."

This is the holiday season and we are booked solid. We had several inquiries for the guests' dates. Be careful my fellow hosts!

Also a note for Airbnb CR-- I was called by three different names in the course of a 45 min conversation with two reps- Lorna, Lauren and Laura. My name is Laura 🙂 It is a little frustrating to not be called by the correct name when trying to resolve a problem. Doesn't make you feel as though you are heard or matter much.

[Laura1455]

I am so glad that the guest confirmed and CS told you maybe by tomorrow the payment will flow @Piotr48 so yes, also in my case it was an alteration made from the guest from 1 to 5 people as she had made a mistake and did not realized she had booked for 1 person only, what was weird in my case is that she did the change on the reservation 1 hr after  she booked and her stay was for 1 week after , meaning it was not a last minute reservation, so to my view, Airbnb should have had plenty of time to ensure the guest had paid before they even arrived to my place or at least to notify me but they did not until I figured it out myself there was a problem. I think Airbnb should ensure for us as hosts that the guest payment is complete before the day of their arrival/checkin, I thought it was like that but apparently no

[Piotr48]

Thankfully ABB made the payout today.

[Laura2592]

Still no payment.  Guest has one been to collections and Airbnb has confirmed they have the funds so its very frustrating that we have not been paid. Going on two months now....

[Tony-And-Una0]

We were actually asked by Airbnb to evict some guests mid-stay as they had issues with their payment. This was after they had checked in.

How awkward a situation is that!!!

We sorted in out privately with the guests. However, despite Airbnb asking us to evict them, they were still able to review us. Unbelievable. What sort of review would we have received if they had been evicted mid-stay.

[Laura2592 · Accepted solution]

I had updated another thread but FINALLY got paid for this stay last week. And not a moment too soon since everyone is cancelling and hosts are getting hit with 100% refunds no matter how far out. 

The moral of this story is that if you EVER hear that a guest has a payment issue, or their reservation is cancelled ahead of their stay due to incomplete payment, do not rebook that guest unless you want to argue with Airbnb for months to get your money, The only reason we got payment was because the guests were honest and finally got Airbnb to process a new card so that they could pay in full.  It still took a good three months of calling (over two dozen times) to get our payout. 

We had a guest get cancelled a few weeks ago three days before their stay because of payment issues. They asked us to rebook and we declined. We will no longer host guests who have any payment problems whatsoever if we are made aware of them. And its a shame as many people might legitimately be able to pay but just have an expired card/make good on their payment as our guests did . But getting that money is a FIGHT and one that we aren't willing to go through again. 

[Kelly149]

@Laura2592 I think a late breaking reservation change is the most likely culprit for causing a payment problem so that is a situation for hosts to realize they should be very vigilant about as well. Glad to hear that you finally got paid!

[Marg11]

Laura,

Glad you finally were paid. Not good.

[Kristin1807]

Hi! I am having the same probelm. No payout and no help. How do I take it to small claims court. The guest is staying 8 nights for free now.