Appeal to Airbnb's final decision

[Teresa3]

We had an ABB guest who is supposed to stay with us for 7 days and wanted to cancel her reservation for the last 3 days after she moved in for four days.  We could not refund her for the remainder 3 days  according to the cancellation policy we published on ABB.  In order to get her refund, the guest made a false claim to ABB saying our internet did not work, and she needed to move out.  ABB refunded her for the 3 days based on what the guest's story.  When we found it out 2 days after, and told ABB that the guest's claim was false, and we have proof for it.  ABB case manager said it was too late, and she already made a final decision to refund the guest based on what the guest said, and we can not change or appeal her decision, and we can not talk to her supervisor either.  She sounded like she has the absolute power to make decisions for me with or without my agreement.  Does anyone know if there is way to appeal for the case manager's wrongful decisions?  

[Susie5]

@Jennifer316, has there been any further movement on your case? You mentioned taking legal action - we would all love to hear if anything came of it!

[Diana495]

Airbnb tell me that they are only the thrid party in the transaction and that the 'contract' is between host and guest.  This is interesting as the host has no meaningful means of contacting the guest if there are any problems.  I now ask all my guests to fill in a check-in form and scan a copy of their id., so I can sue the guest myself if Airbnb Host Guarantee process decides they don't like my inside-leg measurement!

[David126]

There a lot inconsistencies in the AirBnB terms and conditions, I am not a Lawyer and certainly not one that specialises in Contract Law but could imagine one that is would have a field day.

I agree with checking in Guests.

[Tristan-and-Angela0]

@Jennifer316 I am curious if you persued the matter against Airbnb, I have found a firm in  Dublin called Fairbnbclaim.com who spcialise in these claims on a no win no fee basis.

[Alexandre152]

Indeed, it is unbearable. Had several times idiots in the resolution dpt who could only repeat that the decision is final after they made silly mistakes like forgetting to pay the VAT on a  borken item claim!!! 

The main problem is the absence of a properly dedicated account manager when we deal with the company on a daily basis on a business basis 

[Newport0]

Just has a similar situation and nightmare with airbnb although im a superhost. They cancelled and refunded the guest in full without even speaking to me The guest did not even contact me about any issue at all, just called airbnb to complaint about something silly. When i reached out to the guest he wouldnt answer to exchange messages which was clear he changed his mind and was forcing a cancellation to suit his needs through airbnb. This is a big loophole for expensive properties and airbnb case managers making wong decision need to be held accountable.. or atleast provide a path to escalation

[Jess74]

Literally am going through the same thing right now. It is a total scam. I am disgusted and horrified. Am also a SuperHost. A previous case manager even SAID this guest was obviously trying to scam me for a refund; and said that lots of guests do this now-a-days! 

So horrible! Is there anything, as hosts, we can do to protect ourselves?!

I've spent so, so much unpaid time trying to resolve this ... and nothing. Don't even get a response.

I can't imagine what it must be like to work as one of these case workers. They must be instructed to be obtuse.

[Jess74]

I got helped, y'all!

Here's how I did it:

-- Called 3x and spent 3 hours on the phone

-- Sent like 5,000 messages to the awful original case worker

-- Put the whole story on Twitter and had my friends amplify it

-- After a comrade reached out to AirBnB on twitter to ask what the heck was up with this, and why was I being scammed and how was my money being taken away for unsubstantiated invented claims? AirBnB reached out over DM

-- They assigned a new caseworker, who was AWESOME and called me right away

-- Case worker called back and end of day, and said he'd not only found the guest's claims were fishy and insubstantial (she'd sent AirBnB photos of a small stain on my pillow AFTER she'd stripped the pillowcase off; a dead bug near the windowsill; and boxes I'd received in the mail stacked in my living room ... off-limits to guests and clearly says so in the rules, BTW)!, but that the previous caseworker hadn't followed procedure.

-- My $$$ was refunded to me; AND the case is being used to train other caseworkers.

Long story short -- AirBnB does all they can to make sure hosts can never reach people who can actually help us. MAKE A STINK ABOUT IT. Put it on social media. Have your friends reach out. Public shaming seems to be the only thing they listen to.

But if you've had a case opened against you unfairly, you SHOULD seek restitution. In this case, they assigned a new manager. 

It sucks, though. I've spent probably +10 hours of totally uncompensated labor dealing with this case and the Guest from Hell. Just to get back the money I was already paid.

Sigh.

Hope this helps someone else!!!

[Kat53]

Thank you so much for posting this hopeful, helpful information! 

[Elena932]

Thank you I'm not going to give up!

[Diana495]

Hi Jess,

Is there anyway that people on this thread could get together and blitz their social media account with these Airbnb problems, a social media campaign seems to have worked for you?  If we were to pull our social media resources & contacts together, we might get more done.

Cheers Diana

[Amir567]

Were you able to get your account reactivated with the same reviews and superhost status or just a refund?
Thanks

[Kat53]

I was also wondering how those case workers deal with the job and themselves! I'm getting my first (and last!) taste of how Airbnb treats hosts when things go wrong, and it's awful.  To have "resulution" specialists and customer service jobs but spend all day saying 'nope, my wrong decision is final, I won't talk to you anymore' must be pretty awful.  I think that as long as people keep hosting through Airbnb, though, we're condoning it for ourselves and them.  

[Elena932]

That's exactly what Myka the case manager said to me!

[David126]

@Newport0

I always assume that my cancellation policy can be got around if a Guest wants to. I have Moderate but if it becomes a cost issue will switch.

I have had a few cancellations and the odd no show, 2 Extenuating Circumstance claims which I am pretty sure were not, and a couple of odd ones I just decided to agree to a full refund as I did not want them here.

Something you need to assume will happen and factor into your rates.