Airbnb is killing me and I'm afraid for my life

[Davor6]

Airbnb is destroying my health and life these days. 

I have been Airbnb member almost 5 years and a Super host for 3 years now with more then 45 active listings and around 350 reviews. 

Airbnb is my breakfast, lunch and diner, and never a guest waited more then 5 minutes for my reply, even in the middle of the night, cause I sleep with my phone. 

They are investigating false accusations against me already 2 weeks now and refusing to speak with me about it and are not willing to look at evidence that I want to send them. 

Instead of it, first they have limited visibility of my listings, then they block them and yesterday they cancelled the guest reservation that was for today with announcment that they will do to others too, during the process of investigation. 

I am losing guests, losing money losing customers with who I work with, but most importanely losing my health, nerves and mind. 

Yesterday almost car runed over me because I walk like a zombie. 

I cannot eat, I cannot sleep and I don't want to live anymore like this. 

And why? 

Not because 1 damaged and evil person reacted from ego and spite against me when I complained about her not paying me for extra person. I can understand there are all kinds of people around us, but evidence is on my side and I am not afraid in my innocence. 

I'm suffering because Airbnb treats me like **bleep**, they had only 1 short phone call with me 8 days ago and promised to resolve the issue within 48 hours which was too much to wait anyway. But that didn't happen, neither they replied any of my mails. 

Over Airbnb agents I have called them 7 times leaving a message to call me, I have replied on their one and only mail 12 times beging for some reaction. I wrote them on open case message around 10 times and I opened several new cases just beging for a phone call that they closed without replying, because that ignorance is killing me. After 7 days they just replied shortly on mail: "Please know we are still investigating this matter, and we are following our procedures, which can include the cancellation of reservations throughout the process."

When I asked do they need any help and evidence, they just cancelled my today 6 day reservation. 

Guest was confused and angry, but I couldnt help, Airbnb called him directly not to be my guests like I am convicted criminal. 

It seems that more then 300 fantastic reviews, compliments and no complaints on me dont mean anything to Airbnb. 

This is the biggest injustice I ever faced in my life so far, in 39 years. 

If I was arrested police would read my rights and I would have an attorney and would defend myself on court, but Airbnb ignorance and punishment is worse then jail. 

I am taking pharmacy drugs to function in real life and sleeping pills to get trough the night just hoping for a call or mail that doesnt come. 

If this continues further more I would rather be dead then experience this injustice anymore. 

I am afraid for my health and I cannot know in which way this pain and depression will leave me. 

Guys, please be aware that this could happen to you to. Anyone can file a false complaint on you and Airbnb will treat you like a criminal until they slowly investigate you are not.

Nobody deserves this kind of treatment. 

[Mark116]

@Davor6  Yes, don't contact the guest any more, this will only hurt your case w/airbnb.  I can't find the review in question where the accusations were made, can you put a link to it?  I agree w/others that there is no reason to be available 24/7, stop answering guests from the house of 11pm - 7am.  Absent a crazy emergency, there is nothing that guests are going to need in the middle of the night.

[Davor6]

@Mark116 There is no review, accusations were made secretly the day she left and it took AirBnb 7 days to told me something is going on after dozens of my concered messages. 

[Alice595]

It must have been a very serious accusation. But Airbnb should have investigate seriously by communicating to both guest and host before they made any judgement conclusions. Airbnb is not law enforcement organization. If it were a serious accusation, it should go through the law enforcement.

[Alexandra316]

@Alice595 That's not how Airbnb works in these situations. If a guest makes an accusation of harrassement or similar, Airbnb investigates without ever asking the host for their side of the story. They act as judge, jury and executioner, and the host never even knows what the exact accusations werem let alone have a chance to respond. The process is completely opaque.

[Emilia42]

@Alice595 

Search 'Airbnb closed my account' or 'Account suspension' in these forums to see all the hosts who have written about their accounts being closed for reasons unknown since Airbnb will not involve the host in their "investigation." It could happen to any of us and I imagine it is extremely exhausting and frustrating as @Davor6 describes.

[Davor6]

@Alice595, @Emilia42 @Alexandra316

So what to do then?

I will read others experiences, but I'm afraid what to find out. 

If they are that straightforward, shouldn't they be on the side where is money? I am the one who brings them money and actualy work for them, not some random guest. 

[Alexandra316]

@Davor6 Considering what you're going through at the moment, I don't want to be negative about it, but Airbnb seems to view a host accused of any wrongdoing as a liability that could cost them money with lawyers and courts if they don't act immediately and decisively. That's also why they won't give you any details on the accusation: the Terms and Conditons say they don't need to give you a reason for terminating your account at any time, so they don't.

[Alice595]

@Alexandra316 and @Emilia42  If what you stated are true, that is terrible. A guest could easily ruin a host business by filing a false accusation.

[Emilia42]

@Alice595, yes, it is very terrifying. I would do a lot more with Airbnb, create more listings, etc. But I can’t rely on them because I know at any time they could suspend and cancel my income; even though I have had 100% satisfied guests.

[Alexandra316]

@Alice595 it is sadly very much true. There are cases on here all the time. In one instance, it happened to a regular here who ran a boutique hotel and had been featured by Airbnb. He never found out why it happened to him. 

[Davor6]

Dear friends, hosts. Before I go to sleep I will thank you all for comments and support. I hope all will turn out for the good. 

Considering what @Alexandra316  wrote recently, which is not very optimistic, I tried to change the bad vibration around this issue and look at it from other perspective, and that is Airbnb perspective.

So I wrote them and send an honest letter, all on my smartphone, slowly and calm. 

Here it is:

Dear Jade and my beloved Airbnb 

I will now take a moment and look things from your perspective. 

If Airbnb is afraid that in future it might have a problem with me and with law and courts that might ruin Airbnb reputation and cost it money, you should know few things first:

1. I was really falsly accused, I treated my guest with respect and simpathy, but the fact she had extra guest that she refused to pay made her react this way to avoid paying. 

If you would investigate that, you would come to that conclusion easily.

2. Airbnb is my business partner, it is my family member, it is my love and it is my life. There is no reason, fear or doubt that I would do anything to compromise that. 

3. I am super host with a reason, and I have worked hard every day on Airbnb reputation more then you can think of. 

I have invited and teached for free dozens of people to use Airbnb platform without even thinking to earn some coupons. 

4. I have contributed Airbnb platform over past few years with many suggestions and advices that have helped Airbnb to be even better. For example the latest: I have advised that Payment accounts on host dashboard have a name of the account holder, so that its easier to connect accounts and listings. That is very helpful for hosts with multiple listings. 

5. I have never been accused, neither prosecuted by police, law or state, and that can be easily proven with documents. 

6. I am a calm person who doesn't over react, I don't have a problem with temper, with other people or with myself. Also can be proven by hundrets of guests who have met me. But I also dont tolerate injustice and I know to take a stand for myself. 

7. I advertise apartments only that are good enough for Airbnb and great for guests. I have under my juristiction many other apartments that are low profile and cheap, but I avoid to advertise it here, cause Airbnb deserves only the best. 

8. I help and sustain several families with advertising their homes on Airbnb, some of them for free, and they return me with great reviews from guests. That is why I take precious period of time choosing which host can be my and your partner. 

09. Last year I have placed my primary home in OPEN HOMES program that gives flat for free to people in need. 

10. In the future Airbnb can only continue to make profit from my hard work. 

Once I had a suggestion that time notice: "Host answers within an hour/few hours/day" should have also: "Host answers within minutes". 

Because I am the one who always answer within few minutes. Guest (who reported me), prior to her reservation wrote me from Washington in the middle of the night (CET), around 3 am, and I would still wake up and answer her in few minutes. But when I was writing her during day, I was careful what time is it in Washington, so I dont wake her up. 

11. I understand Airbnb needs to be careful with every single accusation, but after its really investigated and considering all things mentioned above, Airbnb should not only choose a side who is correct, innocent and loyal to them, Airbnb should also work hard to protect their partners, hosts, especially if they are hard working Super hosts. 

12. Airbnb is community that is built on great hosts, not on great guests. Great hosts should be cherished like mother nature, because there are milions of hosts who either don't know or don't want to waste time on being a great host. But there are only few percent of them who work only in best interes of guest and Airbnb. 

I am proudly a Super host and I intent to stay that way, if you let me. 

Thank you for reading. 

Davor Bobanac 

Davor Bobanac

čet, 6. lip 2019. 14:21 <response@airbnb.com> je napisao:

Prikaži citirani tekst

[Bernd95]

I’ve today faced a £1,000 refund to my guest for the remaining 20 days of a 1 month booking.  The brand new tiny house concerned cost me £100,000 to build on expensive land which I have to pay off every month. The reason given was firstly that my combination / convection oven was not an oven and secondly that my garden shed was not clean. With a tighter market Airbnb is very prepared to play to the gallery of fewer guests who do not have to take any responsibility for their own decisions in an erratic consumer culture. This ‘community’ start-up Airbnb has lost its cause, and on forums like this it honours spies and stasi agents for the support they do readily give to feel part of this sad monopoly game...

[Alice595]

@Bernd95 in your case, the guest has stayed for 10 days. He can change his booking to have an earlier checkout. Even though it requires a host’s acceptance for a change request, it is normally reasonable for a host to accept the change request. If you let a unsatisfied guest stay, it probably would not be good for either of you anyway. You will end up with a bad review. If you let him go, a retaliatory review could be avoided.

If the guest just wanted to get refund of the remaining days, Airbnb normally would grant his request. But if he wanted further refund for the days he had stayed, you can refuse it.

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Davor6 

1. I was really falsly accused, I treated my guest with respect and simpathy, but the fact she had extra guest

Retaliatory review or vindictive guest because they were found out in having extra unauthorised guests who did not appear on the guest register and just wanted to avoid extra payment?

Definitely defamation.

[Ute42]

.

Hi @Davor6 

is the guest who accused You an american citicen?