AirBnB’s Globan Ban on Parties & subsequent cancellation ratings!

Nikky0
Level 7
Durban, South Africa

AirBnB’s Globan Ban on Parties & subsequent cancellation ratings!

Since AirBnB issued a “Wold wide ban on parties”

We have adhered & respected to this rule in every aspect! We have never cancelled a booking. 

The result, however, has been a high rate of cancellations, which have been a result of guests looking for somewhere to party due to the fact that lock down does not allow gatherings in public places!!!

(The guest has always been encouraged to cancel from their side!)

My listing “Luxury at 230 HOUSE” unfortunately attracts parties, due to our beautiful entertainment area with pool & JACUZZI!! Despite my VERY CLEAR description & house rules, stating AirBnB’s terms & conditions regarding parties & unregistered guests. Even when I respond to the booking reiterating the fact that NO parties of any sort are allowed & in PARTICULAR! NO UNREGISTERED GUESTS! This is completely ignored. (Please read my listing description)

I have been a Superhost for the past 7 years, with excellent reviews & ratings! I am very familiar with AirBnB’s algorithm!!

Since my cancellation rate has risen! My listing does not appear above the first 30 listings. Despite continually working on my listing pricing & description throughout the day & up to 6 times a night.

My listing only rises above the first 30, in the last few hours before the cut off time. Only because, everyone else has earlier cut off times.

The algorithm has automatically bumped my listing permanently below 30+ listings!!

I AM BEING PUNISHED FOR ADHERING TO AIRBNB’S TERMS & CONDITIONS & THE WIRKD WIDE COVID GUIDELINES REGARDING SOCIAL DISTANCING & OVER CROWDING!!!

I do not want a discussion or an argument. This situation has been  ongoing, since the last cancellation. It is fact & I am not willing to debate it! All I am asking, is that my concern is passed on to the relevant department!

 

There must be a way to separate legitimate cancellations from ones that are because there is a negative aspect to the listing!!!

It can’t be possible, that they are all lumped together!!!!

Please take the time to read the message thread  between myself & cancelled guests. Also the corresponding email thread with your support agents!!

These will unequivocally show that every guest who cancelled was violating AirBnB’s terms & conditions & our house rules.

 

I am very familiar with how to keep my listing current & have always worked hard on my listing every day. All the necessary triggers are in place eg: Instant book, flexible cancellation, competitive pricing, late cut off time etc. I change my description & amend my prices at leat twice a day. Since the algorithm has bumped me down. I am doing this all day & wake up at least 5 times a night to wirk on my booking & try & get it bumped up again.

Please sort this out!!! It can’t be possible that someone/anyone, in particular, a 7 year Superhost with EXCELLENT reviews & ratings are loosing their Home, because they are being punished for guests who are not adhering to AirBnB’s terms & conditions!!!

PLEASE ATTEND TO THIS URGENTLY!

11 Replies 11
Nikky0
Level 7
Durban, South Africa

FURTHER TO MY POST ABOVE!
We have a HUGE problem, with guests violating AirBnB’s Global Ban on parties & our house rules & the COVID guidelines regarding over crowding, social distancing & the wearing of masks.

Many more than the booked number of guests arrive!!! They drink uncontrollably, trash the house & garden. Despite knowing that no additional guests are allowed onto the property. They Tweet their location, with the result that crowds of people start arriving & they force them into the property! I have to get our private security to remove the unregistered guests as the police in South Africa are easily bribed & won’t do anything to help. My neighbors, who have never had a problem with me having an AirBnB are now, threatening to close me down!!

I can’t understand why I am being punished & permanently bumped right down, past 30 in the search engine. I have always been equally treated in the past. However, now, for the past month. I am stuck below 30, with the result that my booking rate is ZERO!!! AirBnB is my only form of income.

It is the ONLY Platform that I use, because of the excellent support. NOW that I need it most. I am being abandoned for adhering to COVID protocols & AirBnB’s terms & conditions!!!

 

Nikky0
Level 7
Durban, South Africa

We have a HUGE problem, with guests violating AirBnB’s Global Ban on parties & our house rules & the COVID guidelines regarding over crowding, social distancing & the wearing of masks.

Many more than the booked number of guests arrive!!! They drink uncontrollably, trash the house & garden. Despite knowing that no additional guests are allowed onto the property. They Tweet their location, with the result that crowds of people start arriving & they force them into the property! I have to get our private security to remove the unregistered guests as the police in South Africa are easily bribed & won’t do anything to help. My neighbors, who have never had a problem with me having an AirBnB are now, threatening to close me down!!

I can’t understand why I am being punished & permanently bumped right down, past 30 in the search engine. I have always been equally treated in the past. However, now, for the past month. I am stuck below 30, with the result that my booking rate is ZERO!!! AirBnB is my only form of income.

It is the ONLY Platform that I use, because of the excellent support. NOW that I need it most. I am being abandoned for adhering to COVID protocols & AirBnB’s terms & conditions!!!

 

Branka-and-Silvia0
Level 10
Zagreb, Croatia

@Nikky0 

You are right, this is not fair and you are not the only one who feels so. Airbnb announced major changes in hosts and guests' experience starting tomorrow ....so God help us all....

 

It seems it doesn't matter who cancells the reservation or if you decline the request or your guest withdraws his request. It all pushes the listing down in search.

Clicks on your listings will push you up for certain, and maybe new bookings and new reviews. Nobody knows for sure but it seems updating the listing's description isn't relevant anymore. You can sleep peacefully through the night.

 

But, I noticed you allow 1-night bookings and it may be the root of your party problems. You may think about extending the min stay to 4-6 nights ( you know your market) to attract guests who came for holidays instead of parties. Maybe you could also set a high "cleaning fee" to make short stays more expensive.

If you live nearby or have an outdoor security camera or private security guy then mention this prominently in your description.

I am sure other hosts will also come up with a few helpful ideas.

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for your response. A few years back, I was told that one night bookings are a criteria of pushing your listing up in the search engine. I have tried changing this & have found this to be true. The listing pretty much disappears.

Kia272
Level 10
Takoma Park, MD

"I do not want a discussion or an argument. This situation has been  ongoing, since the last cancellation. It is fact & I am not willing to debate it! All I am asking, is that my concern is passed on to the relevant department!"

@Nikky0 You posted about this last week but apparently didn't like the answers you got. This is a public forum of other AirBnB users, and generally users post seeking help. If you don't want discussion, there's not much point in posting. 

Nobody here can have your concern passed on to the relevant department. 

I would reiterate that nobody knows the secrets of the algorithm, so all of this time you're spending trying to play the algorithm game is not well spent. (ooops! that sounds like discussion)

I would suggest trying another platform if you're so upset with AirBnB. (ooops, there I go again!)

Good luck

Nikky0
Level 7
Durban, South Africa

You can’t win. It’s a paradox! If you as a host cancel: you loose your Superhost status. If you get the misbehaving guest to cancel, you are relegated to the back pages of the search engine!!! The host is disadvantaged whatever they do, through no fault of their own!!!! This needs to be rectified urgently!!!

Nikky0
Level 7
Durban, South Africa

Hi there

After 7 years of being a Superhost. I think I am qualified to know when there is a drastic change in my profile. This is the fact that I am not willing to discuss. However, I am open to any help with regards to the issue. 

Nikky0
Level 7
Durban, South Africa

I appreciate you taking the time to respond. I have invested 7 years of my life in AirBnB. It has been the only platform that I have used. The reason for this is the excellent support that I have always received. Without AirBnB, I am not able to keep my beautiful home. I think you have the wrong impression regarding my post!

It can’t be possible that we as host’s are punished for guests who are violating AirBnB’s own terms and conditions, as well as South Africa’s rule of law. In addition to the WHO COVID protocols.

There must be a way to separate cancellations that are due to the violation of AirBnB’s terms & conditions etc, from cancellations that are because of issues with the accommodation etc.

If you as a host cancel a booking. You loose your Superhost status. If you get the guest to cancel. You are relegated to the back pages with no chance of ever being booked!! All I am asking is fair treatment for a loyal host who has always worked extremely hard to maintain the high standard required to be successful on AirBnB. We were very fortunate to have a steady stream, even during lock down.

I have never had more than a month, without a single booking request.

I am now on month 2 without any bookings!! At this rate, I am going to loose my only form of income.

I ask you to read my message thread in the spirit that it was meant & not to skim over it    and be unkind. It has taken me a long time to try and express the problem. Not everyone is able to explain an issue perfectly.
All I am asking, is that hosts who have had to get guests to cancel, because they have are violating AirBnB’s own terms & conditions, are treated fairly & not punished through no fault of their own.  

 

 

@Nikky0 I have read your messages in their entirety, and honestly, it seems like you are doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a different outcome, which hasn't happened yet.

I have a suggestion  for you. If you would like to stay steadily booked, rather than having to turn down potential partiers- per AirBnB guidelines, then why don't you experiment with the following: 

 

Reduce your guest capacity, and be more selective with your photos to not emphasize the aspects of your property that attract partiers or large groups. I'm being serious here. 

 

Your guests can still be pleasantly surprised by how great the pool and jacuzzi are, but if you reduce the capacity to maybe 4, you might be more likely to attract families or couples. Put those pool and jacuzzi photos at the end of your pics. Include maybe one or two, rather than many. Take out the wording about the entertainment area. Describe your place as if a family is coming to stay. Include the details about how great it is in your written description. Play it down in the photos. 

 

I'm not educated about your local market, but your price seems pretty low for everything that you offer. At this point, based on what you've said, you don't have much to lose. You say you are constantly making changes to your listing to play the algorithm game (which doesn't seem to be working for you), but here are some changes that might have a positive affect. You are repositioning your property. If you can keep it booked, the guest capacity shouldn't really matter. 

 

As to that algorithm game, you keep emphasizing that you know how to play it, but you don't- because it's obviously not working based on what you are doing. NONE OF US can claim to know, but waking up multiple times in the night to "outwit" the search algorithm is honestly, just crazy. I have made the above suggestion with the best of intentions. I don't claim to have the answer, but I hope this works out for you. Kia

Nikky0
Level 7
Durban, South Africa

Thank you Kia 

your input is excellent & worth thinking about. At the moment, however. I have no hope of getting booked!!

despite me never cancelling a booking and having a 0 cancellation rate.
My AirBnB internal cancellation rate is 36.1%. Most of these cancellation were done by AirBnB and all were, when guests were violating the house rules.

Due to the above cancellation rate I have been bumped to the back of the search engine, which means that I have had no booking requests fir the past 7 weeks, despite lowering my price considerably. 

 I feel that there must be a way fir AirBnB to differentiate between legitimate cancellations and ones that are because there is a problem with the accommodation. It can’t be possible that I am “thrown away” just because I have followed AirBnB’s own terms and conditions! I am at my wits end! 

Nikky0
Level 7
Durban, South Africa

Unfortunately, our only draw card is the pool & jacuzzi. There are no attractions that are close but. There are a huge amount of properties with beach access etc, so it’s pretty much my only draw card. We have always had a great booking rate which has steadily increased over the years. I have huge warnings in my property description & in my house rules, with regards to parties and unregistered guests & all guests are vetted by me personally, before they arrive. These make the majority of the cancellations. The very small percentage of the rest, who think they will be able to get away with it. Are the rest of the cancellations. However, these are becoming more & more seldom as I get better at sussing guests out. Our corporates & families are the majority of our business & they all are attracted by our beautiful outdoor area. The jacuzzi is both a blessing and a curse.