Airbnb won't pay me

[Andrea211]

I had a confirmed reservation begin with a guest who instant booked.  Guest had 21 reviews, five star rating.  After a day she wanted to extend her stay out as far as possible.  I kept having cancellations because of Covid 19 so I extended her out a month.  After a month I still hadn't been paid so I contacted Airbnb.  They never collected anything from her.  They accepted her reservation without being paid and then tried to collect from her credit card 17 times.  Airbnb never contacted me to tell me they couldn't collect payment.  And now with Covid-19, I can't do anything legally.  She could be there for months rent free.

[Helen427]

Hello @Andrea211 

Did you make sure that all communications were in writing?

If you don't want the person to continue to stay in your home without payment maybe block your calendar somewhere close to the current date so they are unable to extend it.

It sounds like the person concerned is having money issues if payments haven't been issued & into your account.

Have you had a firm conversation with the guest about things?

Whilst the last couple of months have been challenging for us all, many have faced job losses, health issues, etc which is stressful to.

Perhaps steer them in the direction of welfare assistance if they have lost their job.

 It's a tricky situation as no one wants to see people without shelter.