Bad host behaviour damaging Airbnb

[Tobias21]

Hi,

I am a host and a traveller with Airbnb since 2014.

I have hosted over 25 guests and am proud to have an excellent service record.

Recently, after a long search, I booked a trip to Sicily.

The place looked great - and after our booking was accepted, I let my in-laws and friends know that my family and I would be staying there over the summer. They had started to look and make similar plans when, two weeks later, the host for the property contacted us to let us know that the property was actually not available, and asked us - rather rudely - to cancel the reservation.

When I asked the host to cancel, he refused, explaining that it would be free for us to cancel, and that otherwise our money would not be refunded.

I felt this was unfair, but after a long search I realised that Airbnb places a financial penaly on hosts for cancelling (which is logical), but does not offer guests any kind of indemnity for host cancellation. What's more, there was no way for me to contact Airbnb to inform them of poor host behaviour. Airbnb must not care how hosts behave, and even wants to protect bad hosts from having a bad reputation visible to travellers!

As a host within the community, I find this depressing.

I am proud to be an independent house owner and host, and value having guests who take attention in how they interact with hosts and their properties.

In order to secure growth of its own revenues and profits, Airbnb has included large agencies (like the one I recently had to cancel with) who behave badly, and has cut down on customer support. Over time, these bad hosts will give Airbnb a bad name, drive lower prices and attract customers who expect nothing more than cheap accomodation, and become used to poor standards.

I would like to know if other hosts/travellers have had similar experiences, and if you (anyone out there?) have noticed similar closure of channels of communication with Airbnb?

Of course, if Airbnb is reading this, I invite you to contact me and let me know what you are doing about this issue - or indeed if this clearly defined corporate strategy is going to be "reviewed" to return to the older, more transparent and well supported system.

Thanks community.

[David126]

AirBnb contact details are on your confirmation, also posted here.

[Jess21]

@Tobias21 I hope you didn't cancel the reservation yourself; the host clearly double booked and should be penalized for that. 

[Rhiannon8]

Hi Tobias,

I had a terrible experience with an Airbnb host recently and was given next to no support from customer service. Its been an incredibly draining and relentless situation and Airbnb has done little to help our situation or assuage our fears that this kind of thing could happen again. This specific scenario was booked on a friend's account, but I was one of the guests. Below is what I posted on social media in a (so far) vain attempt to make Airbnb take more action than they have. If you had any luck with reaching someone more helpful please let me know!

I have been using Airbnb for over three years and I had SUCH a horrible experience two weekends ago, both with the accommodations themselves and the way Airbnb customer service handled the situation. I was traveling with 3 other people to a wedding in Atlanta and our first Airbnb, which we had had booked for two months, canceled on us last minute. This was the first issue which left us scrambling to find something else on a dime. We found another place that looked pretty bare bones, but functional. When we arrived, though, the place was filthy, there were tarps everywhere and the walls were half painted as if the host had just moved in. There was a private bedroom and then a pull out sofa to accommodate our party of four, but the pull out bed was offered to us without pillows, without a full sheet set, and so broken that when my boyfriend and I climbed into bed the mattress sunk to the floor beneath us. Our flight had been majorly delayed and it was 4AM by the time we got in, so we had to pull the mattress onto the floor and sleep there having nowhere else to go – without pillows and with only a top sheet (no fitted sheet) and a ratty blanket. The next day the 4 of us told the host we would be leaving as the apartment was not equipped to host ANYONE, much less 4 people due to one of the beds being completely broken. Instead of apologizing she began to intimate that WE must have broken the bed (we did NOT) and proceeded to charge us $75 through Airbnb for the “damage” we had caused it. We took extensive pictures and sent them to Customer Service and explained our situation, but we were met with inconsistent replies, different agents with each call, vague information and long phone calls that solved very little. We were refunded for the two nights we did not use, but we did not feel that we should pay for the first night either as it was an unbelievably unacceptable host environment and caused a lot of stress and loss of sleep and money during a weekend that was supposed to be about celebrating a wedding. A few other complaints: 1) she provided us with dirty towels 2) the closet in the private bedroom was “off limits” and filled to the brim with stuff so that there was nowhere to hang our clothes for the wedding 3) she tried to charge us for WiFi even though that was listed as one of the amenities 4) we later realized that the photos used in the listing were NOT photos of the place we stayed in. Ultimately Airbnb concluded that it could not be determined who broke the bed and we were not refunded for the one awful night we spent with this host. I would love an explanation from Airbnb as to why they treated our case with such suspicion and inconsistency and did not try to go above and beyond considering the situation. So far I have been a big brand ambassador for Airbnb as my experiences have always exceeded by expectations, but I have been telling this story to EVERYONE I know, most of whom use Airbnb on a regular basis. I did not feel supported by the company or made to feel safe in any way and I cannot even imagine what would have happened if the situation turned out to be dangerous instead of a crappy night spent on the floor. I have otherwise loved using Airbnb, but this has made me incredibly uneasy and disappointed.

UPDATE: We have now been contacted by Airbnb requesting money AGAIN from the host for the "broken" bed. This is AFTER Airbnb promised this would be resolved and we would not get any more requests about this issue. This is completely outrageous.

[Helen3]

@Rhiannon8 You are right they have treated you appallingly and should at the very least give you a credit because of the poor way they have handled it.

Presuming you reported this within 24 hours (as they advise guests to do), and you have evidence through photos of the state of the property you decribe, you are right they should have refuned all nights.

As hosts we can't tell you why they behave in the way they do.

However you say you have confirmation from them that you aren't liable for the bed, so just call them on the number you used originally or use Twitter and tell them this. I would definitely ask for a credit note too towards a stay elsewhere.

[Mandi-S-Just-Business-Ro0]

I'm glad you brought this up.

There is a 5 room place within walking distance of mine, and the "host" will literally take anyone with a heartbeat.

There's been over 500 reviews on the place and let's just say he'll never be Superhost.

I won't host anyone who's been there because of possible infestation. Yes, I'm serious. He's got listings that the fire marshall would have a fit about.

Lately he deleted and re-set an old listing, and the latest review is literally stomach-turning. And he responded with open hostility: i.e., "wadya want for $20 a night," that kind of crap.

I flagged it. 

What would you do?

[Mandy194]

I know this post was from over 2 years ago but I had a bad experience with a host just last week. I traveled with a friend and turned out that my friend’s car had leaked power steering fluid in the host’s driveway. She got very angry and argumentative with us when we were telling her we would take care of it.  We admitted that the vehicle leaked the fluid and I had thought i diffused the situation when I told her we weren’t denying that her car leaked it.  She refused all offers of help and said she was going to deal with it through Airbnb.  The next day I get a message from her via my Airbnb inbox that she’s demanding $50. I had looked up the product info for driveway cleaner and told her I would only do $25 to cover the cost of the product.  Before I actually paid the $25, I had spoken with 2 representatives and had emails from a third.  A day later after I had thought the dust would settle, she demanded another $25 for supposedly “bleaching out her towels with makeup products” and using a “display towel”. We did no such thing.  She had threatened that if this was not paid then she would “go after more money” and had threatened a damning review.  I’ve contacted Airbnb about this as it’s clearly extortion and it feels like they don’t want to do anything about it.  I’ve been using Airbnb for over  3 years and never had an issue with anyone until now.  I noticed that they have lists and forums out there for “bad guests”, but what about bad hosts? If I leave a “buyer beware” review on this host, I know she will come back at me with a scathing review.  So, as encouraging it is to know I’m not the only one who has dealt with a horrible host, it’s disheartening to know that Airbnb still does the same thing now as they did for your situation.  

[Tina7929]

Reservation #HM5Z9TMC2F.
I am a soon-to-be former customer of AirBnB. I made a reservation in Abiquiu, NM in an off grid home owned by a woman who's name begins with G**l  and ends with R**n. I write this to share the experience I had with her. I booked my two reservations in 1/21 for stays in 9/21 and 10/21. I did my due diligence at the time reading the cancellation policy and making sure I understood it. I was getting two different pieces of info from the website re cancellation, so I asked the host directly for clarification. She ended up saying in no uncertain terms:
"Gail7:16 AM
I know what you mean about the best laid plans! As per the cancellation policy, if you give me a 30 day notice I will return the monies BnB issues to me, which is the daily amount less 3% plus cleaning fee. Anything over that that BnB charges you, such as occupancy tax, would have to be negotiated with them."

Fast forward to 8/21, 45 days before check in when I cancel and she reneges on her promise to refund the monies. A number of email exchanges between us. I use the Resolution Center. And more emails to host to try to mediate a partial refund. I remind her of her promise of refund with cancellation 30+ days in advance of stay. She begrudgingly returns money for one stay and refuses to keep her word about the other stay.
I initiate a request through VISA and receive a partial chargeback. I am still out of pocket $252.

Today Air BnB Resolution Team reaches out to tell me the issue has been resolved and I indicate I am not satisfied with the resolution. They look back in our email exchange and see her promise and call the host asking her to make good on her word. Host says no deal. Up until today the Resolution Center has only engaged in circular conversations and been of no help to this side of the equation, the guest. It's been 2 months since the cancellation and I've spent roughly 12 hours on this. Deeply unsatisfied with the structure of AirBnB and will be deleting my account to never be a customer of theirs again. Here's the icing on top of the turdcake.....since I didn't stay with the host, I cannot leave this type of information in a review as the reviewing option is only for completed stays. This is my only avenue to say: Buyer(Guest) Beware!

[David7778]

Airbnb Bookings are a two-edged sword.  They've used the excuse of Covid-19 to reduce staff to the point you can spend two to three hours on hold trying to resolve an issued.,  We have 14 properties and have been hosting since 2013.  Every time I think we've ween it all something else crops up.

We just had an account suspended due to bad reviews,  The irony is it is a company booking and the guest has been there for FOUR MONTHS!!  We are in communication with the guest and they have nothing but praise for the property.

The Airbnb representative we were finally able to speak to said, well they also look at past reviews.  Come pn, someone went back more than four months, found bad reviews and suspended us?  We also didn't receive the supposed notice nor did I receive a copy on my personal email as promise.

We buy the property, pay, mortgage, tax and insurance, pay for upkeep and damaged property and are lucky to net 10% at years end.  Airbnb on the other hand with abysmal service response due to laid off Americans,  has  no significant investment uses foreign call centers and can get 10% off the top.,

A common complaint is furniture needs to be updated,  We've had guests whose children used new furniture for a marking board with permanent marker. 

We've had countless dishes, glasses, pots and pans ruined by weekend guests.  Grease spilled on carpets.  Towels used to clean something greasy.

We've had guests smile and say everything is perfect only to call back and say if we don't give them a $200 refund they will write a bad review.

Airbnb should get off their pedestal and be more proactive through prompt response and resolution.

[Juan272]

You are right. Airbnb will eventually attract mostly a certain type of customer who may not mind low standards.thus is the main reason I have never given Airbnb my work email. They will never make it as a true business travel service provider. 

[Ted39]

I feel for you. This just happened to me today, litterally 2 hours before my check-in time in Montreal. I was driving on the road from Vemont when I got the host cancellation message. And this is the second time it happened to me. First time was in San Francisco. I was litterally on a 12 hour flight at 10pm when I got that host's cancellation message. The feeling of rug being pulled out from under you is better than that of a host cancelling on you. Airbnb "tries" by assigining someone to help you book somewhere else, but in today's case, it took hours to comunicate with Airbnb, review choices, rebook. The new host didn't respond in a timely manner, it was getting late, dark and we were tired of driving around downtown waiting for the host to respond. The reviews on this new host weren't good---they sometimes don't respond for 24 hours even though the response rate on their profile says 98%. So Airbnb service fully refunded me. I demanded not just a full refund but a full credit of the amount I would have paid. The contract is one-sided and unfair. If I cancel, I am on the hook for 100% of the fee, but if the host cancels they are not? I think I get a measely 10% credit. In this case, the host pays $100 penalty, but Amazon gets the difference? I should get all of that and more. After wasiting MY prescious time dealing with this fiasco and not getting satisfcation, I demanded Airbnb ay me or credit me for the full amount I would have paid if I canceled. They did not agree. I get nothing. Of course I have no recourse and I cannot even post a bad review of the host. The host "felt very bad" and said they would pay me, but I know they won't. What a *bleep* company. Hotels will not go under due to Airbnb's slimey customer treatment. At least hotels are usually reliable and don't cancel on you. 

[Ted39]

Oh, the host in Montreal is "[Host]" at [Link hidden]. If I get a penalty payment from her, I'll update this comment.

[David126]

When a Host cancels the Guest gets a full refund, plus usually a bonus from AirBnB.

[Kenneth12]

Did you get the payment you demanded?   I've found ABB very unreliable in such matters,   including that they will promise payment which never posts-- and of course,  they close the tickets after 48 hours of no activity,  so there's no simple,  fast way to follow up without jumping the same hoops again (and again,  and again).

[Scott276]

Hi Tobias,

I’m sorry to hear about your troubles. I’ve been planning and booking many places and flights around Thailand for myself, the wife and 8yr old daughter. It took ages and lots of research to eventually book and pay for a place on Lamai Beach at **  hosted by a very rude unresponsive Girl called [Host]. She cancelled after 4 weeks with only 3 wks to go. I’ve spent lots on flights and most importantly prepared my daughter for a dreamlike holiday on the beach. The prices have almost doubled for similar properties and most are fully booked now around the island so I have to look elsewhere. I’m deeply upset and a little bit stressed out frantically looking for a similar place. The host has made no effort to apologise and as I viewed her availability just hours before she disappeared from Airbnb I now think she just had a better offer from someone else wanting to stay for longer or pay more than I did. Perhaps we should have a steeper penalty in place or at least some kind of proof and integrity check to safeguard bookings after a week or so as the financial losses for guests can very quickly mount up.

Anyhoo, I will continue my search and hopefully find the right place for us in the short time I have before our trip begins. Take care and thanks for reading my short winge.