Airbnb hast not released payments of USD $61,500 and counting! Need help and alternatives

Mario-and-Cata0
Level 4
Medellín, Colombia

Airbnb hast not released payments of USD $61,500 and counting! Need help and alternatives

Hi Hosts team. 

 

My name is Mario, I'm a proud host for 8 years now. I'm facing a critical situation and need help and alternatives:

 

Airbnb is not releasing payments for my Airbnb account since April 5th. To date, we are talking about USD $61,500 that Airbnb has not released. They all appear on the upcoming transactions, but Airbnb is just not sending the payouts (no issues with the banks, but with Airbnb not releasing them). 

 

We have more than 70 listings and hundreds of Airbnb guests every single day to host and support, but our cash flow has stopped since April 5th. We won't be able to properly host them very soon. Our operation is big and expensive, we always want to offer great experiences to the community, but without money, no business in the world can operate. Plus, we channel everything through Airbnb, all our places are listed exclusively on Airbnb. We don't even receive direct payments , so basically 100% of our cash flow stopped suddenly.

 

We have followed the right process. We created a support case since April 18th, they escalated it to the Payments department and they assured us we were going to have a resolution within 48 hours, but we have received no more than a few copy-paste answers.

I have also posted on Twitter to Airbnb officials accounts but same copy-paste answers.

 

At this point, I'm considering alternatives. I know Airbnb has tons of cases, but this is not a normal case, I have around USD $20.000 payouts every week and they are not being released. I'm thinking of:

1. Hire some individual/company with good traction on social media or press that can call the attention of Airbnb

2. Hire some individual/company with legal alternatives. I don't want to sue or something like that at this point, but create a legal requirement that gets the appropriate response and support

 

I'm clearly desperate and frustrated, and I'm reaching out to Hosts community. I'd greatly appreciate your suggestions, advices and help. I still love Airbnb and I plan to grow with this Company and community, but I need the entire Airbnb team more than ever. It's a rough time for us.

25 Replies 25

Could you believe that there are monies which Airbnb owed me since 2019 which they did not pay? It is recorded under "pending payouts" in my Airbnb online file, yet, they did not pay them. But at least they did not tell me to pay that 2019 pending payout back.

 

But now they are telling me that my present and future hosting payouts will be used to repay the guest  ($7,854.33) for the canceled reservation of December 1, 2021. Isn't that crazy? 

 

I contacted Better Business Bureau of San Francisco where Airbnb has its head office, but Airbnb replied that their decision about my matter is final. Meaning they will not pay me and I must repay the $7,854.33 with my present and future payouts.

@Sister-Mariam0 @Mario-and-Cata0 @Sylvia732 @Emilie @Jody-and-Okta0 

 

Hello Sister Mariam !

 

Many (perhaps most) readers still don't believe it is possible that Airbnb be so cynical and unfair to the point of deducting thousands of dollars in funds that you never received (!) from future bookings.

 

I believe your version of the story (if it wasn't true the CC personnel browsing the comments would alert us to the fact it isn't and that it is a baseless claim).

 

Airbnb probably realised that you don't check your pending payments often enough and don't seem to care about past payments that are due to you but are 'stuck' (a common 'trick' similar to that of 'taxes' which at least outside North America and China are in 80%+ of cases never paid to any government authority but are kept in perpetuity in Airbnb's accounts) so they went for the 'biggie'.

 

 The Airbnb support can't provide you any solution unless and until a message on their laptop screens appear which fixes this absurd situation you find yourself in.

 

Airbnb is a for-profit corporation.

 

It is not a charity (no matter how many cartoons they release with lofty ideals such as how to wipe a door knob on their notoriously non-user-friendly website).

 

The only way to grab Airbnb's attention and force them to refrain from fraudulent conduct such as that you suffer from is to expose them on social media.

 

You should make a YouTube video and present it to Airbnb as a gift.

 

I will release my own YouTube video at the end of May 2022 because it is now 65 days since I was supposed to get paid for a 28 night stay that was completed successfully and I am still waiting.

 

Emilie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom


@Summit-View0 wrote:

 

I believe your version of the story (if it wasn't true the CC personnel browsing the comments would alert us to the fact it isn't and that it is a baseless claim).


@Summit-View0 We're not part of the Support team ourselves, so we wouldn't be able to comment on ongoing cases.  That being said, we do try our best to help anyone sharing their experience here on the Community Center and we have chased the team for both yourself and @Sister-Mariam0 - I hope you'll both get resolutions soon!

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Merci de jeter un oeil aux Principes du Community Center/ Please follow the Community Guidelines

Thank you Emilie in London for your reply. I don't think nodging Airbnb team will do anything. I reported the case to Better Business Bureau, San Francisco to intervene. Below is Airbnb reply. They said they have made their final decision on my matter. Meaning their decision to make me repay the money I NEVER RECEIVED IS UNCHANGEABLE.

 

Please read their response to BBB San Francisco below:

 

{We appreciate the time you’ve taken to share your concerns with our team. Upon investigation we found that our claims/resolution/safety team has already issued their final decision on this matter. You did not receive the payout because of $7,854.33 pending adjustment when the reservation got canceled. On December 1, 2021 you had a reservation HMCPCMJNTZ with Catherine which you couldn't accommodate because of safety issue with your son. The guest already paid for the reservation worth CA$10,672.28. On that reservation you already received the initial payout of CA$1,504.15 but since the reservation got canceled and the rest of the payments was put on pause as well. So the guest already received the CA$1,504.15 but did not receive the rest of the refund yet.
Please refer to our direct correspondence on May 06, 2022
We regret any inconvenience that this process may have caused. However, we have issued our final decision for this case and we will disengage from further discussion on this topic.

 

From Airbnb}

@Sister-Mariam0 @Mario-and-Cata0 @Emilie @Jody-and-Okta0 @Mike-And-Jane0 

 

 

Hello Sister Mariam,

 

The ordeal you describe sounds bizzare to the point that many won't believe it even is true.

 

I believe it is true because I too am am dealt a bad hand from Airbnb - they didn't release to me thousands of dollars for a stay that was completed successfully already in March 2022.

 

It is now two months since I alerted the Airbnb support team that the payout didn't go through and I am still not paid a cent.

 

Airbnb is such a cynical mess at this stage that they don't seem to realise that the more they delay sending me what they admit is lawfully due to me the worst it will reflect on them as a company.

 

They are literally shooting themselves in the foot.

 

I openly declared to them since early April that I record each and every phone call with CS and that I take screen shots of every message I get on the Airbnb platform from the 'support' team and that I will make a YouTube video to expose them.

 

Logic says if they delay releasing my payment for four, five or six months they will look much worst on social media than if they delay by 'only' two or three months...

 

Perhaps it is futile to seek logic in the conduct of an American Corporation that feels it has a God given right to play with people's lives and wellbeing.

 

Do update the community on developments on your side.

Some people do care!

Thank you for your reply. What is happening to me is very unbelievable. Airbnb is a scammer/fraudster now. They admitted that they put my payouts/payments on pause yet they made a decision to be using my payout monies to be paying back the money they NEVER GAVE/PAID TO ME.  How does that make sense?

 

They are even making me look bad by not telling Better Business Bureau that I contacted the truth about the scenario. They said I couldn't host the guest without stating that the guest stayed 1 month and 2 weeks at my house and I was paid for that. They canceled the remaining stay of the guest on a flimsy excuse without hearing my side of the story.

 

Below is their response to Better Business Bureau which I contacted to intervene.

 

MESSAGE FROM BUSINESS:

Better Business Bureau Inc.
100 Broadway Suite 625
Oakland, CA  94607
Re: Case #17175014 

We appreciate the time you’ve taken to share your concerns with our team. Upon investigation we found that our claims/resolution/safety team has already issued their final decision on this matter. You did not receive the payout because of $7,854.33 pending adjustment when the reservation got canceled. On December 1, 2021 you had a reservation HMCPCMJNTZ with Catherine which you couldn't accommodate because of safety issue with your son. The guest already paid for the reservation worth CA$10,672.28. On that reservation you already received the initial payout of CA$1,504.15 but since the reservation got canceled and the rest of the payments was put on pause as well. So the guest already received the CA$1,504.15 but did not receive the rest of the refund yet.
Please refer to our direct correspondence on May 06, 2022
We regret any inconvenience that this process may have caused. However, we have issued our final decision for this case and we will disengage from further discussion on this topic.

Airbnb

 

Can you this misrepresentation of the matter? What a lie! The reservation was from October 14, 2021-October 14, 2022. The guest paid  $10,672.20, in total. Not that the amount was paid for a reservation starting on Dec. 1, 2021. The initial payout I got was for the stay not that I got paid and the guest did not have a chance to stay at my house. Moreover, what happened between my son and I did not affect the guest and my son had moved out. Airbnb, without hearing my side of the story about the matter canceled the reservation and suspended all my listings which were in other apartments and not at where my son and I had an altercation.

 

Why on earth should Airbnb have the audacity to be asking me to pay them back $7,854.33? Money that was put on pause and never paid to me at any time.

 

The situation is really driving me crazy. 

 

 

Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Sister-Mariam0 This can only be a mistake by Airbnb or misinformation from your guest. Guests are only charged month by month for long term stays. as a result there should be nothing to refund to the guest. You don't say what the unforeseen circumstance is but it is hard to see what could cause this issue.

I suggest you contact Airbnb again on Twitter and, if they don't correct their stance, if they don't pay you for future stays then take them to the small claims court. Hopefully it won't come to that!

Thanks for your reply Mike and Jane0. Airbnb took $10,672 from the guest's credit card for the total duration of the stay, 1 year. It wasn't charged month by month at all. I was to be paid month by month as indicated by Airbnb. So this is not a matter of misinformation from my guest. The unforeseen circumstances was an altercation my son had with me on Nov. 29, 2021. Something that did not affect the guest. My son moved out. Nonetheless, Airbnb canceled the reservation abruptly without hearing my side of what happened. And to date Airbnb are bent on changing their mind but to force me to pay the money, $7,854.33 which they never paid to me in the first place. What sense does that make?

 

Below is their response to Better Business Bureau whom I contacted to intervene:

 

 We appreciate the time you’ve taken to share your concerns with our team. Upon investigation we found that our claims/resolution/safety team has already issued their final decision on this matter. You did not receive the payout because of $7,854.33 pending adjustment when the reservation got canceled. On December 1, 2021 you had a reservation HMCPCMJNTZ with Catherine which you couldn't accommodate because of safety issue with your son. The guest already paid for the reservation worth CA$10,672.28. On that reservation you already received the initial payout of CA$1,504.15 but since the reservation got canceled and the rest of the payments was put on pause as well. So the guest already received the CA$1,504.15 but did not receive the rest of the refund yet.
Please refer to our direct correspondence on May 06, 2022
We regret any inconvenience that this process may have caused. However, we have issued our final decision for this case and we will disengage from further discussion on this topic.

 

From: Airbnb}

 

Airbnb are now scammers and fraudsters, taking people's money to enrich their pocket.

Mario-and-Cata0
Level 4
Medellín, Colombia

Hi. I want to leave an update. Everything is solved now in my case. It seems there was a technical issue that prevented all payouts to be released. Solving it with Airbnb Support took longer than expected, specially when you have no money coming in, but at the end we got all our money released and now the payments are being released normally.

 

Although it was a very stressful situation, I'm sure Airbnb don't want to keep anyone else's money. It's just that, in my perspective, some support cases are painfully delayed and you as host have to keep pushing and telling the same story over and over again until the right agent on the right team takes the case. Escalation is a normal thing in every support process, but for some specific cases, that escalation is awful.

 

At the end of the day, we got it solved, we hope it doesn't happen again, and if it does, Airbnb improves the support process for complex and very important cases. This one almost got us out of the business, but we are happy to have it solved now and we are keeping on with Airbnb as a trusted partner.

 

Thank you

Emilie
Community Manager
Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

@Mario-and-Cata0 That's great to hear, thanks for coming back and letting us know!

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Merci de jeter un oeil aux Principes du Community Center/ Please follow the Community Guidelines

April447
Level 2
New Mexico, United States

I have the same problem.....I had a guest who stayed for two weeks over July 4th and payment has not been received. I have been trying to get answers for a week and every time a new CS agent gives me some unknown reason or made up reason, my revenue screen changes.

I am now being told (a week later, 5 calls later and an unknown amount of emails later) that  

"Upon investigation, your payout from the reservation #### was released before it was canceled, and whenever a reservation has been canceled the host won't receive their payout from the canceled reservation.

Therefore, an adjustment was made to your payout from the reservation (RECENT RESERVATION). An adjustment is an amount deducted from a host’s future payout or payouts, until it is reconciled."

 

Problem is I have never received  a payout for the cancellation 4 months ago!

THIS IS BS!!!!

Based on quite a few reports of this abuse, I am wondering if it is time to file a class action suit against AIRBNB. I don't know about the rest of you but it seems this is a new problem many hosts are having. I have NEVER in my 5 years had a problem getting paid until now and it appears I am not the only one.