Airbnb suspends my account based on a guest whom stole from us and told them a lie !!

[Willem36]

In the past 18 months we have 3 horrible incidents with guest. 2 stole from us and did damage. One did horrible damage. 

We ask for a $125.00 security deposit so at least we can recoup some of the damages. We had reciepts and pictures yet Airbnb did not help us at all and we were out of all expenses.

In January 2019 we decided to turn the master bedroom into a room with 8 beds. On February 10 we had a guest that was on drugs and destructive, After the first night we asked him to be respectful and quite. The second night was worse and we had to cancel his stay. Airbnb asked to host him for 24 hours white they would find him another place.

Are you kidding me? You are going to expose another host to a drug user whom is destructive? I was hisitant but agreed, that night was horrible also. That morning this man called airbnb claiming we had hidden cameras. 

I recieved a email from airbnb that i was being investigated and to respond immediately. Which I did and stated that we do not have and never had and cameras. That we also currently have 6 other guest who can attest to this.

Our listing were immediately suspended. We called every day, emailed and message daily. Constantly we are  getting the run around. Nothing is geeting solved. 

we still have a couple of guest that are able to rebook as long as their current reservation does not run out. 

If they truly believe we had cameras and are concerned oabout the guest then why would they allow those guest to stay? if they were really "investigating" then in order to do so someone should come by, make a phone call, check on the current guest. None of this is being done.

airbnb expect us to remain a rating of 4.6 and above. Yet when you google airbnb customer service rating they have 3000 comments and a 1.1 out of 10

Airbnb is not standing by their guest and host which without them they have no business. They may be great in creating this wonderful business but running it when it comes to people is their greatest failure. 

I have contacted a attorney and will persue this untill this is solved. Anyone who has been wrongfully abused by airbnb are encouraged to contact me so we can see how far and deep this goes and how we can legally tackle this company for their wrongdoing.

[Sarah977]

@Willem36   I'm very sorry this has happened to you. And yes, Airbnb's response to such things is generally abyssmal.

But I have to point out that it seems like a recipe for disaster to be running a hostel with 8 beds, potentially housing 8 unrelated guests, in one room.

This type of situation is not going to attract mature, responsible people, who would normally want more privacy than that, but mostly young people simply looking for a cheap place to crash.

Maybe you should consider changing what you offer. Turn the master bedroom back into a private room with a king-size bed and a couple of singles, as it seems it is large enough for that, up the price significantly, and market towards couples with or without kids. That should bring you a much better clientele.

[Willem36]

@Sarah0,

Thank you for your advice but we have thought this all the way through before changing the concept. We did think we were going to get more travelers but by adverticing on Airbnb we mostly get professionals who rent for weeks and more at the time. This is a different concept and as a traveler people like me actually like this types of rooms because it is easier to meet people and you are not as alone as you would be renting a hotel room. This concept does take more management then merely renting out a room and we are also prepared for that. here in the Dallas- Fort worth area we have about 10 hostel types like this at the moment.

I think you are confusing the type of business we run with the lack of responsibility Airbnb provide.

In the first year just renting out 2 private rooms we had also incidents happen which Airbnb should have helped us with and they didn't.  Just like this time, we were we equipped to handle a bad guest and all was taken care of on our side. what you are losing site of is that Airbnb had no right to pull the plug on us. We did nothing wrong and airbnb was to lazy to even call, follow up or anything.

Hostelword and booking.com  are now being worked with, hopefully they are more professional than Airbnb.

[Sarah977]

@Willem36  Thanks for explaining your set-up and that it generally works for you.I definitely wasn't losing sight of the fact that it's outrageous for you to get this type of response from Airbnb- like I said, their responses are quite often abyssmal and to delist you because of a guest lie is inexcusable. You aren't the only host this has happened to.

I was only suggesting you rethink what you're hosting because you said you'd had 3 horrible guest experiences in the past 18 months.

I have a friend who runs a hostel in my town- she has never listed on Airbnb- she uses some hostel site, I'm not sure which one. Unfortunately her experience trying out booking.com was disastrous- she said she got the worst quality of guests and then to add insult to injury, she never got paid for any of the bookings at all! She spent months arguing with them-they kept suggesting there was something wrong with her bank account info (there isn't) and claiming they were worlking on it, and eventually she just gave up. But there may be a difference in how booking.com is administered depending what country you are in.

[Willem36]

@Sarah0, 2 of those incidents were when we had just 2  private rooms for rent.  It is expected when you run a business that things are going to go wrong. You just need to be ready to deal with issues, which Airbnb is horrible with.  Thank you for the advice of booking.com, I definately will further investigage, Hostworld is a place for hostels to list which we are currently setting up with. 

everything has been documented here with airbnb , every call, every email, my attorney has send a demand letter to the corporate office. it would be a drug out lawsuit but I am not afraid to fight for what is right.  in the end , all will be fine, with or without Airbnb and with or without a lawsuit. all that is up to how Airbnb will prevail at the end.

[Susie111]

@Willem36 

Hi,

What about joining couchsurfing.com?

Airbnb is what it is- sadly they are not that host friendly like they would like to think

of themself.

I wish you all the best and please keep us updated.

[Willem36]

 Today I recieved a email from Nadia whom is with the Airbnb team. i was informed that my account was reinstated and that they take  safety very seriously. No any other explenation nor apology . 

This was my response letter. 

I am not satisfied with the outcome and am currently seeing what my legal options are. 

Hello Nadia,

You know that I am deeply disappointed with the action Airbnb and you took against me, my co hosts and our guest. You say to take the safety and security seriously. really? We had a drug addict at our place that had to be removed. Airbnb wanted us to wait until another place was found for him. Are you not concerned about the safety of host and the other guest? You failed to listen that we had a drug addict staying with us.
Then because of a lie, we the host get suspended ? For 2 weeks, we receive no contact from anyone. All emails, messages and phone calls went unanswered by Airbnb and your team. Do you call that professional? We lost appr. $2000.00 in revenue and all because of what ? A knee jerk reaction on a lie ?

Now let me ask you, Why did your team suspended us in the first place without doing due diligence ?
Can you explain to me what kind of investigating you did and how you came to the conclusion that we were honest and the person was lying?
Can you tell me what action Airbnb took against the person who lied about the camera?

I also hired a attorney whom wrote a letter to the corporate office. Not knowing when or even if we would get reinstated I had to take legal action. How can my expenses be resolved or do I continue my representation and make charges against Airbnb in court.

I hope this time your office will respond and be professional enough to answer all of my question.
You can also understand my lack of faith in your team and Airbnb as a company.

Sincerely,

willem De Vijlder

From: response@airbnb.com <response@airbnb.com>
Sent: Monday, February 25, 2019 6:08 AM
To: Willem De Vijlder
Subject: Airbnb: Re: Airbnb Customer Support


Airbnb Customer Experience

Nadia M., Feb 25, 04:08 PST:
Hi Willen
Thank you for your response. Your account access has been fully restored, and you should be able to navigate the site normally.
I appreciate your time and attention, and am marking this case as resolved. As you know, the safety, security, and privacy of our community is essential, so we must take reports like this seriously. If you have any further questions, please let me know in a reply here.
Best regards,
Nadia
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