Account suspension- overturned and then charged for people’s refunds?

Sarah959
Level 2
Ottawa, CA

Account suspension- overturned and then charged for people’s refunds?

Hello! 

I need some advice. I had a guest be pretty deceitful in february. I explained to the guest that I hadn’t rented my home in over 10 months as I had a baby.  I was going away on holiday myself so I put the baby stuff out of sight and rented my house. The guest (on the morning she was checking out of her 5 day stay) messages AirBnb and says I have in undisclosed surveillance device in the bedroom. I rent the home as a 1 bedroom and I forgot to unplug my baby monitor from the nursery when I left.  I am the host of 10 other properties and AirBnb is my professional business.

 

airbnb messages me to say they have to suspend my account and the cancel all of my upcoming and ongoing reservations. I am away at an Airbnb in Mexico at the time and my host knocks on my door to inform me that AirBnb has cancelled my reservation and asked me to leave. I am alone in Mexico with my 10 month old baby as my husband was still at home working. Nightmare aside... they finally overturned their decision and re instated me as a host in March, almost a month after their initial decision. 

 

My first payout once I was back on the site had 3 payouts showing in the negative- for cancellations that AirBnb had offered my long term guests. This number is close to 5,000$, and that’s not taking into account my business being halted for a month. 

 

Im having a hard time getting through to someone who will reimburse me. This is for 3 guests who all stayed over a month in my apartment before AirBnb offered them a full refund. I am not in the business of free stays, and I’m frustrated at the lack of information.

Any advice?

16 Replies 16
Helen427
Level 10
Auckland, New Zealand

@Sarah959 

 

I'm sorry to read you have been acussed of undisclosed surveillance.

What a nightmare to go through.

 

Where has good ole common sense gone when people have perfectly standard monitors for a baby in there home?

 

I thinks it's time we as a society had adult & sensible conversations around Home Security cameras that people have to protect there properties.

 

It doesn't help when the media take as gospel people been under unlawful surveillance simply because the Guest may not have been exposed to knowing such devices exist & there's nothing sinister in it.

 

Airbnb would do well to help educate their clients about such cameras instead of taking the hard & harsh approach they seem to when such devices are found.

 

Most people probably don't even think twice about them running when they are at home themselves.

  

Sorry I can't offer further advice, maybe someone in the mainstream media might pick up on this unfortunate predicament you have found yourself caught up in.

 

All the best

Kenneth12
Level 10
Chicago, IL

Unless the amounts were paid out,  why would you have negatives for the upcoming reservations?  Why would previous reservations be refunded?

Have you called Superhost support?

Hello,

the amounts were paid out to me as they were all long term ongoing reservations of multiple months.

the negative numbers is for the refunds that AirBnb offered the guests when they suspended my account.

these were not upcoming reservations they were ongoing at the time of my suspension.

 

I have called weekly since March, and each time they open a new support case or say there is an angoing support case open. When I check the status of the case a couple days later it simply says “this support case is closed” and I’m back to square one. Each time I call I have to re explain to a new person, and I can’t get an answer from anyone.

Julie143
Level 10
Princeton, NJ

That sounds like a story to put on social media. It’s often the best way to get them moving.

I’m just scared they will cancel my account if I give them too much trouble! 

@Sarah959 

....and that's exactly how Airbnb get away with their abusive and exploitative policies and practices - they've instilled a pervasive culture of fear and trepidation throughout the entire host community, and everyone is too scared to stand up for their rights, lest they be penalised/jettisoned from the platform. 

 

Always have a Plan B. Airbnb is not the only game in town anymore. Far from it. 

There is always other sites to advertise your rentals. If this happened to me. I would leave Airbnb. 

 

I spent hours from Mexico on vacation trying to register to new sites. They do have the lions share of the market unfortunately and other sites are harder to register to and poorly designed unfortunately. I felt like leaving but it would greatly negatively impact my business as there is so so much less foot traffic on other sites.

@Sarah959 

You do not have to put your story out and get publicity, just message for help through FB they respond much better

Aldís0
Level 2
Reykjavík, Iceland

Oh my God, what a nightmare!

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

This is horrible @Sarah959. I've read quite a few stories like yours now and it makes me angry and sad. Are you listing on other platforms? 

I tried to list on other platform but I found their interfaces hard to list on and it took about an hour-two to list just one apartment on one site and hardly any foot traffic. They unfortunately have the lions share of the market in that regard.

Pamela428
Level 1
Safety Beach, Australia

We have had 2 guests in the last week and airbnb haven't paid us but seemed to have actually blocked our site!!  WHY!!! airbnb???  What's going on?????

It sssms they have had a glitch in the past week. I had to call and get a payout released for a cancellation. What do you mean by they “blocked your site”?