Unable to collect guests payment

[Rick3296]

Hi all,

I had a guest who made a reservation at my place for 2 months. After one month I received an e-mail from AirBnB saying they had problems collecting the guest's second payment. I got in touch with the guest and asked him what the issue was. He stated he had instant financial issues due to COVID-19 but planned on paying me as soon as possible. 

A few days later he reached out saying he wanted to leave the house because of his financial issues (he had found a friend's place where he could stay for free). I decided to help him by offering him a new end date for his stay, on the day that he could move out. This was two weeks into the second month of his stay. He promised he would make the payment as soon as possible, and he said he was in touch with AirBnB about that. 
He then moved out but he never made the payment for those two weeks of the second month. I reached out to AirBnB several times, and they said the 'case manager' was handling the case 'with urgency'. However today I received a message saying that since they have been unable to collect the guest's full payment, they are unable to compensate me any further for this reservation. 

I am quite disappointed in AirBnB because I hoped and expected they would have some kind of protection fund for home owners in these kind of situations. Does anyone have any advice on how I might see any of the money back that this guy owes me? It seems AirBnB just 'gives up' on the guest and does not start any debt collection, leaving me with the loss.

I hope someone has a suggestion for me!

Thanks in advance,

Regards,

Rick

[Sarah977]

@Rick3296  When Airbnb tells you they can't collect a guest payment, why would you trust that guest, telling you they had financial issues, but would pay you at some point in the future and allow them to continue to stay simply on a promise? 

I'm afraid you were quite naive in trusting a stranger to pay you. Why would you expect Airbnb to cover the loss when they already let you know they couldn't collect the second month's payment and you made the decision to allow the guest to stay anyway?

[Rick3296]

@Sarah977 the e-mail from AirBnB stated they had an issue collecting the money, but had urged the guest to pay asap. The guest then contacted me proactively about the issue,  and in that conversation he explained the issue to me when I asked him about it. I was not in the country myself, I realized that there was not a chance I would find another guest for the place due to COVID travel restrictions and I decided I wanted to help find a solution together with the guy. It was my first time renting out my house via AirBnB, maybe that's why I was not reasoning from a cynical point of view that apparently is needed as a host? 

[Sarah977]

@Rick3296   I'm sorry this happened on your first reservation. It's not a matter of being cynical- it's that the guest is a stranger to you, so you have no way of knowing if they are an honest person who'll follow through on what they tell you. I'm sure if some stranger walked up to you and asked to borrow $1000 and that they'd pay you back in a couple of days, you wouldn't be reaching into your pocket to hand over the money.

There's a balance between assuming that most people are honest and can be trusted and putting yourself in a vulnerable position. 

 I'd say a host needs to have a practical attitude, as opposed to a cynical one.

[Elena87]

@Rick3296 

Airbnb deems itself as a 'Limited Payment Agent' - which means it hides behind being an intermediary between guests and hosts when collecting and releasing payments. Otherwise it would be wide open to collusion fraud risk.

https://www.airbnb.com/terms/payments_terms

If you check the above payment terms at 9.2 you should pay close attention to the clause ; 

Each Providing Member understands that Airbnb Payments’ obligation to pay the Providing Member is subject to and conditional upon successful receipt of the associated payments from Purchasing Members

What this means is that as soon as you receive email notification that there is a problem with airbnb collecting payments, it's going to be your headache unless it is resolved by the guest within 24 hours.

It's too late in your case to do anything now. Don't expect airbnb to underwrite your losses and raising debt collection processes seems unfeasible and onerous.

In summary, if you receive such an email (usually for last minute instant bookings, live trip extending amendments, and long term bookings) it's time to act fast and decisively as a host if you value remuneration.