Dictatorial Rbnb "support" attitude

Appart52
Level 2
Menucourt, France

Dictatorial Rbnb "support" attitude

Dear Co-Host, here is what has just happened to us and we need your contribution. We rent 3 whole apartments in Cergy in France. We have a guest booking from 3rd to 29 December. We waited for the guest at 2PM and was informed by them they will be late until 3PM. We could not wait until then because of our other activities until from 6PM and informed the guests. At 2:46 the guests informed they have arrived and can not wait for 3 hours and will cancel the booking. We adviced them to get into the nearest restaurant or coffee and we will reimburse the bill, we received no answer even after we came back at 6PM to check them in and messaged them until late that day including the day next. On December 4th we found that the booking was cancelled "by us" and that RBNB blocked our calendar the whole duration booked by the guests, that is until December 29! We are astonished at such Rbnb behavior and punishment without even contacting us neither asking for our opinion or just to pre-inform us their decision to block our apartment for such a long period!  As we complained their answer has been that we must wait for the guest for 1 hour and that there is no compensation and the will not lift their blocking of our calendar. So far I have asked them to unblock and to provide us the link to their Regulations that allows them to block our calendar in such case, no answer yet and our place is still blocked. We have been only through Rbnb for 6 years at the least and never have had this kind of issue let alone dealt with this king of "support". We are terribly sad against this  kind of very disproportionate punishment without hearing.

12 Replies 12
Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Appart52 

 

The guests encountered a "travel issue" (from their perspective), called Airbnb and were fully refunded as Airbnb cancelled the reservation on your behalf (including the penalties).

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2868/airbnb-guest-refund-policy

 

IMHO probably the guests had more reasons to cancel and took advantage if the situation.

After all it was an almost 4 weeks stay, so what alternative could there be for them at last minute ?

Well, our cancellation policy is "Flexible" meaning guest can cancel until a day before checkin and they are fully refunded. May be they didn't know about that and they took advantage of the situation.  Some comments here saying they were "denied" access because they were 45mn late is quite radical. We offered them our new window 3 hours later that they refused possibly they had other options and that is good for them. My point is the punishment Rbnb has inflicted upon us by blocking the calendar for the entire 4 weeks is disproportionate and I still do not see the rules that allows them to take such a decision. I still waiting for Rbnb to unlock our calendar and show us that rules.

Emiel1, i have read the link.

Nowhere it is said that the calendar is blocked, instead it is said there may be request to reimburse Rbnb is they spent money eitehr to reimburse the guest of to re-accommodate him in the community with supplement costs. This also now worries me.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Appart52  While Airbnb is often unfair to hosts, in this case, I understand why this was registered as a host cancellation.

 

I don't know which of your 3 listings this was, but one of your listings has a check-in window of 2pm-2am, one from 2pm to 10pm, and the new listing says "from 2pm."

 

That means guests should be able to check in anytime during those time periods. And just because a guest gives you an ETA of 2pm, doesn't mean they have to be there exactly at 2pm. All sorts of things can slow people down when travelling. 

These guests were responsible enough to let you know they'd be an hour late. It wasn't okay that they were denied access only 45 minutes past the original check-in time.

 

Unless you have informed the guest when they booked that you won't be able to check them in except during a very small window of time, and made sure that will work for them, it isn't okay to tell them that they can't gain entry during your posted check-in times. 

 

If you need guests to check in exactly between 2pm and 2:30pm, then change your posted check-in times.

Our point is Rbnb now blocking the calendar for the entire period. According to what rules? even those rules exist We find them absolutely disproportionate.

@Appart52  According to the policy for host cancellations, which is a policy you should obviously read. 

 

Blocking the cancelled dates so they can't be rebooked is one of the penalties for a host cancellation.

 

I'm not saying that's fair, but that's the policy.

Sarah, Please post the link to that policy. is this really a "cancellation" for postponing the checkin for 3 hours? What then is called the fact to not let the guest in, neither on time nor later?

1/Sarah please post the link for me to read the specific policy that allows blocking our calendar

2/ You seem to be a Rbnb staff therefore knowledgeable. Please let me know if Rbnb will be cutting my next revenues to reimburse himself anything consecutive to this incident. Thanks

@Appart52  Why on earth would you think I am Airbnb staff? I'm just another host, and a small-time one at that- I only have one listing, a private room in my home.

 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/990/host-penalties-for-canceling-reservations

 

Airbnb is considering this a host cancellation because you didn't allow the guest access during your posted check-in window.

Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Appart52 I am with @Sarah977 on this. You needed to honour your check in times I am afraid.

Mike, 

What is the goal of blooking the host calendar for the entire period the guest have booked, be it 2 days or 6 months? Do you make a difference between Cancellation and postponing the checkin by 3 hours ?

 

@Appart52 Airbnb blocks the calendar when a host cancels to prevent hosts from canceling for reasons that don't actually prevent them from hosting those dates. I agree with previous comments that you brought this on yourself by denying the guest access during your advertised check-in period. You might be able to get the penalty reversed if you are lucky enough to find a sympathetic CS rep, and politey plead ignorance of the policy.