Co-host Problems

Shaz3
Level 2
Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Co-host Problems

Hi all, 

 

Has anyone had issues with their Co-Host? My Co-Host was fine until I told him I didn't need him anymore (I explained why and he was fine about it). He was supposed to check in the last agreed guest, check them out and then clean the flat. For this he got paid in full as normal. The guest was here for over a week. When it came time for the guest to check out he refused to check them out and tidy up. 

 

This left me out of pocket and left me unable to clean the flat properly in prep of the next guest checking in. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? 

Airbnb have pretty much washed their hands of this. I've provided the proposal which outlines everything he was supposed to do, a tracker of each guest, the work done by the co-host and the amount paid- clearly showing he hasn't done anything to warrant the final payment, and screenshots of our text messages where he refused to do anywork. 

 

I'm a little bit annoyed at Airbnb and how this has been handled. I also want to warn other hosts of him, so they don't suffer the same issue.


Thanks all 

 

Shaz 

8 Replies 8
Farah1
Level 10
Seattle, WA

@Shaz3 I am still learning about co-host... are they supposed to get paid upfront?

Shaz3
Level 2
Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Hi @Farah1, so when you Co-Host through Airbnb the Co-Host get's paid the same time as you. Airbnb split the payment (whatever you have decided with the Co-Host) and sends each payment seperately. 

 

In my case the Co-Host took the money and didn't do any of the agreed work @Lithium-Admin1 can you confirm if there is any way to resolve this? 

 

Kate157
Level 10
SF, CA

@Shaz3 I believe Airbnb leaves the co-host relationship up to the host. I do not think they will do anything for you in this case. 

Kaz9
Level 2
Ashfield, Australia

Hi all, I recently got burnt using a co-host. Here is my experience. I chose him over other offers as he was a so-called "superhost". Well, we agreed that he would co-host just ONE of my bookings while I was away. I was totally new to this whole co-hosting thing and he asked me to accept him weeks before I actually needed him, which I did; he said he needed to study my property.

Little did I know that by doing this, he was going to get paid his commission for all my bookings leading up to the one booking we agreed on. When I met him a couple of days before I went on vacation, I asked him how the whole co-host payment system works, and he said "Don't worry, Airbnb will look after all everything".  I had 3 more bookings since I got back from vacation that he was paid a commission for which he didn't co-host, and failed to let me know.

I'm now trying to chase up these overpayments and he's giving me all sorts of excuses... too busy, no time to check his bank account etc.... at first I thought it was an honest oversight, but am pretty sure that he's a scheming crook. And to lay insult to injury, the guest he looked after gave me a measley 3 star rating for cleanliness. 

The only reason he reached superhost status is because he rents out his place every week on a share basis and has the opportunity to charm his guests. He's a bloody crook.

 

Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

@Kaz9 What did Airbnb say when you spoke to them about this? If there is a bug in their system - rather than how you set up the payment arrangements, they should reclaim the money for you.

 

Sounds like you might need to take the co-host to your small claims court if Airbnb won't play ball.

Kaz9
Level 2
Ashfield, Australia

@Helen3, I really appreciate your response. I only discovered the overpayments on the weekend so am giving him a week to do the right thing. I emailed him today with my transaction history and all the details... he's got no excuse to delay it any longer.

In the meantime, I searched on the Airbnb help page but nothing came up regarding co-host issues and I can't seem to find an email address where I can escalate the problem to Airbnb. If you know where it is I'd really appreciate a link. Thanks again for your input.

Marit-Anne0
Level 10
Bergen, Norway

@Shaz3

Your airbnb is your business and a co-host is an emplyee/assistant.  It is up to you to add/initialize and remove the co-host at the appropriate time.  It is also up to you to set the payment split in the system so that the co-host gets paid accordingly.  airbnb facilitates an automatic payment to the co-host, that is all. They are not in any way responsible for what happens between you and your co-host and it is up to the host to get the settings correct and to use the system correctly.

Unless the co-host is someone you know and trust 100%, I would not opt for the automatic split but rather have a separate written agreement that both parties sign.  

Personally, I have my daughter as a co-host, and when she does the turnovers, I pay her a fixed sum per turnover and I pay her directly outside the system according to our mutual agreement.

Hi @Shaz3, I saw your post and am kicking myself for not making time to read everything there is to learn about co-hosts. This guy I took on as co-host gave me the big spiel, about how he is a superhost, and said "don't worry, Airbnb takes care of the co-hosting side of things, leave it up to Airbnb to pay me".... etc etc.  I know now.