Unauthorized weekly discount given by AirBnb

[Thomas1603]

I just had a guest get a 34% weekly discount that I did not enter.

I promptly changed the discount to 5% from 34%. I never entered the 34% discount.

I likely had zero discount, since I stopped offering weekly discounts years ago.

I use a desktop, so I don't have a small screen issue. I have been using the platform for years, this is not a user error.

Help me @Lizzie @Katie 

I contacted customer support. I am not impressed with the support.

I was told to ask the guest to pay the difference or cancel. That is an unacceptable resolution.

[Emiel1]

@Thomas1603 

Airbnb should be able to see when and where/ by whom the change was made.

If it happens to be a glitch , then Airbnb should cancel the reservation penalty free.

BTW Did you consider the account could be hacked ?

[Thomas1603]

I did not consider the account being hacked.

I am not on instant booking. I approve every request. Never having a billing issue before, I got complacent and accepted the booking without checking the math. Bad move on my part.

AirBnb should not penalize the guest. The guest made an offer and it was accepted by me.

That being said, AirBnb should reach into its pocket from time to time to address these issues instead of making hosts bear the brunt of every circumstance.

I am not optimistic that AirBnb will admit to a glitch in its software. I found it especially odd that the weekly discount was exactly at their recommended amount.

[Colleen253]

@Thomas1603 Have you looked at your account activity to see who what where when...? May be helpful if contacting Airbnb. Try chat so you can share screenshots and whatnot.

[Thomas1603]

How do I look at my account activity?

I am the only person with access.

Do you know from experience what activity AirBnb tracks?

[Emiel1]

@Thomas1603 

Your account (click on account photo in right upper corner) menu has an option " activity",

it also has an option under "login and safety" under option "account" , showing devices used for login.

[Thomas1603]

I logged out several devices, other than the current one.

I don't see any menu option labeled "activity" using Firefox or Microsoft Edge. It could be because I am the sole person with access.

I see financial transactions. I don't see maintenance transactions for the listing.

Are there sub menus under activity?

[Ann72]

@Thomas1603  I have "activity" and I'm the sole person with access.

There aren't sub menus, but the activity is posted by date.  When you click on your profile photo in the upper right, you should see:

Profile

Account 

Activity

Transaction history

Your Guidebook

I'm in Chrome on a Mac.

Not showing up at all?

[Sue1766]

Hi Thomas,

I am going trough the exact same thing now.

[Thomas1603]

Don't expect any satisfaction from customer service, just stonewalling.

[Emiel1]

@Thomas1603 

You accepted the booking manually.... unfortunatelly this weakens your position :>(.

Allways pay attention to what is displayed on the screen.

With "penalty free"  i mean: no penalties for you, which will occur if you cancel yourself:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/990/

IMO you better continue with the reservation, as you accepted it, also considering:

- If you cancel, you have nothing (no rebook possible due to dates blocked)

- If you discuss it with Airbnb, it can be endless conversation.

BTW You can report the bug at: Airbnb Feedback 

[Thomas1603]

AirBnb said I could cancel without penalty. That is not really a fair option for the guest.

I am not concerned with a $50 or $100 penalty. The discount was for almost $1,000. I will have no problem booking that high season July week through other means.

I have a legal obligation to the guest to honor the contract we entered into.

[Sarah977]

@Thomas1603  I would say you have a moral obligation, at least as far as you wanting to have integrity and being fair to the guest, but not a legal one if the contract entered into was altered by Airbnb without your knowledge by changing your settings through their tech glitch. 

Certainly if a host has simply failed to have their pricing correct, that's the host's responsibilty and not a valid or fair reason to cancel.

If I had a contract with a builder to construct a shed for me, and some thief came along in the night and stole $1000 worth of the lumber, I wouldn't expect the builder to eat the loss just because the contract included all the materials.

If you don't feel right about cancelling, by all means follow your moral guide, but I also don't see anything wrong with explaining to a guest what happened and why you just can't take that much of a loss. 

[JD5]

Happened to me as well.

[Melody79]

I currently am hosting a guest for 7 weeks. My monthly discount is 5% but Airbnb gave them a 35% discount.  Airbnb is calling it a glitch. Has this happened to anyone else and how do you recover what is owed to you?