Consistently Poor support from airbnb help line

[Cross-Cultural0]

Hello - I started my account for hosting in May and have worked up to superhost over the summer.

I have gotten help from friends that have hosted on airbnb, but the support help I have received when I have called into or chatted with airbnb has been very poor quality.

The airbnb support phone line and chat line both. I have noticed several issues:

1) They need training on how to read a host’s question thoroughly and how to think through finding the answer for them. Each airbnb support person that I have talked to has had the same initial problem: They have not bothered to read my question thoroughly before giving a canned response to the problem.
They are not trained well enough to figure out the answer to a problem.

2) On the chat line - They respond very inappropriately with smiley face emoji’s when they have not even tried to answer my question or help me. It is like they are responding to their 20 year old buddy on Facebook - not helping a host manage their BUSINESS.

I am very frustrated. I have had some serious problems occur and I need seriously trained people available to help me resolve them. When I have asked them to escalate my help request to a supervisor the supervisor that they have assigned the two times I needed serious help - did a very very very poor job of helping - the supervisors responded in a way that makes me think that the supervisors on your help line need a lot more training before they become supervisors - Untrained, smiley faces - and absolutely no help resolving the serious issues.

Three serious issues:
1) Prostitutes and Johns booking rooms in my home
2) Potential traffickers trying to book the whole house
3) The Progress Reports showing my monthly earnings have been really messed up for about 2 weeks now and I have gotten nothing but smiley faces and “its all good, there is nothing wrong” answers from the support teAm

Please help.  *sensitive information hidden*
Cross Cultural

[Linda108]

@Cross-Cultural0   While I agree with your CS concerns, the issues you are seeking help with do not seem to be within the perview of Air BNB as a booking platform.  I have seen these issues posted here in the Community Center and experienced hosts have been able to provide helpful feedback.

Perhaps you could expand on each issue and this forum can be of help.  Just a thought

[Cross-Cultural0]

Thanks Linda

[Ange2]

@Cross-Cultural0    I have had similar experiences (not all, but too many),  no one seems to read or comprehend. I get nonsensical and obtuse answers that have nothing to do with my issue.  

But,  not sure Airbnb can or will address  "1) Prostitutes and Johns booking rooms in my home
2) Potential traffickers trying to book the whole house".  Airbnb is essentially a booking platform and middleman for money collection and disbursement.  The best I can suggest is to have your own back. 

As @Linda108   has suggested there are many posts on these issues so may be worth a search to see how other hosts deal with it.

You probably have all the following  sorted,  but in case not: you can insist on verified ID (not safety-proof, or even a verification that the ID belongs to the person booking,  but a start)  and whatever you need to protect yourself and your property.  I add in my rules  everything I need to put  off inappropriate guests and scammers e.g.  "only people named on the reservation are allowed access" , "no visitors",  but if you are an off-site host oversight is difficult (and more so if guests know you are not around)  unless you have someone nearby.

As for 3.  "The Progress Reports showing my monthly earnings have been really messed up for about 2 weeks",  it's probably a glitch.  Airbnb generally deny they have any bugs or glitches - you can send feedback but not sure how well that works.

[Cross-Cultural0]

Thanks so much for responding - I will add in everything you and @Linda108 suggested!

I just had a really horrible experience with it happening again yesterday. A prostitute booked my nonprofit listing - after I had reported her profile  6 months ago on my personal listing.  4 other hosts in the city that I know of have reported her for acts of prostitution, unregistered houseguests, smoking in the homes, breaking house rules, etc.  It took 4 hours for Airbnb support to cancel her reservation for me after she insta-booked under a different profile name..all the while I and my cohost were in a dangerous situation because it had given her our listing address when she booked.  We were on-site and had to stay onsite and move the other guest for last night to my personal guestroom - and cancel all bookings at the house for last night.

[Mark3433]

I am in Australia & if you ever need help here you immediately end up talking to someone in the Philippines. That in principle is not a problem in any way if they were actually helpful. Repeated calls to them, polite people but they are yet to solve a single problem for my, have not listened to what I have said & I am at the end of my teather with them.

I hate discrimination & lack of equality. I hate that guest can see my profile before they book but Hosts are not treated equally. We face discrimination, we are not treated equally, we can see nothing about the people who wish to stay in our homes until we accept their booking. STOP THE DISCRIMINATION! BRING BACK EQUALITY FOR HOST.