Instant Book Hosting nightmare

[Justin131]

I’ve hosted over 2,000 times & have over 1,000 reviews. Yesterday & this morning has made me seriously rethink my relationship with Airbnb.

 Last night a guest instant booked one of my properties representing 1 guest. (7) 19-22 year olds showed up with full coolers.

I kept my cool, I explained to them that 6 was the max & we charge $60 per additional guest after the first 2 ($480 extra for a 2 night stay). 

1) you can’t change the # of guests through the app past checkin time. Why is Airbnb continuing to tighten its control over simple modifications to reservations. Guests wish to add guests all the time - get out of our way Airbnb! The guests still has to accept the change so why are you making simple changes difficult?!

After requesting the $480 through resolution center I waited a while, then reminded the guest he needs to make this right to stay. Still no response, then a “I’ll do it right away”. An hour later, still no response. So, I had enough & went to cancel the reservation due to breaking house rules. I had reached my 3-times limit so I was informed I need to call customer service.

2)If I host 10 times a year in 1 listing I can cancel instant book reservations penalty free 3 times through the app. So I can cancel 30% of my reservations no problem. If I host 1,000+ times a year in 9 different listings (like me) I can cancel instant book reservations 3 times penalty free through the app. WTH?! Use percentages not hard #s Airbnb!

So, I was informed I need to call which I did & I WAS ON HOLD FOR OVER AN HOUR then shifted around until finally someone could help me. I called at 8:30, it wasn’t until 10:40 that Airbnb took action. To all Airbnb executives, what’s 2 hours of your time worth to execute a simple task.

I challenge all hosts to turn off instant book & look at the message Airbnb displays.

“Are you sure? We have peace of mind guarantee if anyone breaks your rules or you’re uncomfortable you can cancel.”

A total & complete lie.

I called again this morning to cancel the reservation & after over 30 minutes of re-verifying who I am, asking mindless questions, & being shifted around I just hung up & handled it myself.

This experience has made me re-think my relationship with Airbnb. I no longer trust that I can have control over my home or rental properties.

I went 100% Airbnb last year & stopped using other booking sites. This would have never happened on VRBO. On so many levels I’m disappointed & feel Airbnb does not have our backs as hosts.

So, dear Airbnb, If a guest shows up with 6 friends, only pays for 1, & refuses to pay the extra charge should I, as a host, be able to efficiently & easily cancel that reservation as a guest is clearly in violation?  If your answer is “yes” then your actions don’t match your words. Remove these crazy controls like “only 3 times” for active hosts and have our back already so we can manage our own business without your terrible customer service bottleneck.

[Cormac0]

Sam, Airbnb's rule is like a river delta, constantly changing without rhyme or reason.

Based on empirical evidence if you’re a host that charges more than $ 100 per (think $400 + per night) you’ll be writing odes about Airbnb fantastic help desk and out comes ask Fred he’s your man.

The rest of us are just Airbnb cannon fodder.

[Justin131]

Sam, as I stated before, that’s reasonable for hosts who have 1 unit & personally greet each guest. I have 9, and checkin time is the same at every property. I just happen to be on the doak that evening (6 of the 9 are boats) & saw them after checkin.  They were already aboard by the time I confronted them. 

Could I have immediately kicked them off & demanded they make the reservation right before reboarding? Sure... & you can imagine the review (which airbnb’s Response would be to simply reply to it & tell your side as they won’t remove untruthful content).

So I gave them the benefit of the doubt, which in this business you have to do as it’s review driven. 

Additionally, I would have handled this mUCB different if I thought it would have been a 2+ hour process. I didn’t think that because I thought Airbnb was reasonable. If I had known that it would take 2 hrs I would have handled it w/o calling to cancel at 8pm. Instead, by the time Airbnb intervened - as a person who hosts people - I didn’t think it was right to kick someone off at 10:40pm. What they did wasn’t right, but as we all learn as kids 2 wrongs don’t = right.

Would I have kicked them off at 8pm? You bet. Didn’t know I was going to be bottlenecked into customer service purgatory as a $500,000+ per anum host.

[Sam397]

Justin,  I understand completely. And you are 100% correct as far as this being review driven business (rightfully so I think). As well as BnB not caring if review is bogus. I would like to know what kind of review they did give you. Hopefully they will at least show the class  that you showed them but I dont now if that will happen. I guess this is one of them situations where no review is good. Hope it all works out for you or at least dont bite you in the ass.

[Jim-and-Marcia0]

Also, if extra guests arrive and we want to simply change the number of guests on the reservation to match reality, after the stay has begun we can no longer do so. Airbnb support tells me only the guest can request a change to the number of guests in a reservation and it's too late to do so midway during the stay. What? Another policy change that was never communicated to hosts. So, for the record,  I documented the correct number of guests in the message thread.  I would have been paid $10 per night more if the reservation had been made with the right number of guests at the start. I let it slide because it was the guests' first time using Airbnb and they were a nice family and not trying to pull anything over us, just an innocent booking mistake. Generally I have good luck with Airbnb support and receive great service, but it depends on which agent takes the call. Best to call back and try for a different agent anytime you run up against an agent who is providing poor service.

[Natasha0]

well that is what we get from a **bleep** service that is just destroying teh market of hosting. The hosts were the foundation of airbnb, now that airbnb has grown enough, time to squeeze out the hosts, not pay for damage and other issues.

That is pretty much what Uber is doing as well.

We will stop hosting on airbnb soon, just trying to resolve a claim about a damage on our flooring after hosting 300+ people over 3 years. We are done with airbnb

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Host-guarantee-bull-bleep-when-guests-damage-your-proper...

[Randy155]

I totally agree, arbnb does not have any quality service, its just a lucrative frsudulent company, which will crash very soon!

[Melanie467]

Thank you everyone.  I am new to hosting (just today) and have already had an issue with IB where a traveller instant booked at 9pm for the same day.  I cancelled because I was not ever home to host but could not cancel with AirBNB as the booking was the same day:-(

I will need to continue to learn (this forum is so great for that) but will be turning off IB as I really want to have a conversation with prospective travellers before accepting the booking.  If that means less bookings, then so be it.

[John1574]

@Melanie467

 There is a learning curve in using all the settings available to a host. 

 Pricing, availability, using the calendar are crucial aspects of your listing that you must learn to manipulate and revise periodically according to the season and your needs. I put a lot of study into using the settings on the calendar, periodic pricing, availability etc. etc.

 I have same-day booking setting set at 8 AM usually.  Which means a guest must book by 8 AM for same-day accommodation. 

 But for this weekend since I had no booking as of Saturday for New Year's eve I changed it to 3 PM on Saturday and I got a booking that afternoon.  I will now return that same day booking setting to 8 AM. 

 Setting your same day booking  requirement  for no later than 8 AM elimates the problem you just described. 

The philosophy I have developed is to eliminate all obstacles to booking for guests.

 If a guest Instant books who causes me concern I deal with it through saved messaging.  I have a saved message that requires them to respond that they have read the house rules and will be in compliance with them. 

Learning how to use saved messages is  crucial in my opinion.

 You do not need to turn off  Instant booking. Simply adjust your approach and your settings to protect yourself but still get every booking you can possibly get.

I hope this advice helps you.

[Santi11]

Oh I see I am not alone. It happened for the second time now that a guest books with Instant Booking, does not bother to change the number of guests from 1 - 4, but gets a confirmed booking! If I did not wonder why the amount is so low and checked, I would have lost 3/4 of the value of the booking. I have sent them and adjusted quote but I'm pretty sure they are going to cancel. I will also probably get a bad review, instead of the Instant Booking feature being blamed.......

[Sandy111]

My last (and final) Instant Booking gave me a review of "budget friendly" because of the low amount of rent Airbnb gave the renter. I was afraid to cancel because this would effect our "super host" status. 

[Louise523]

I’m fairly new to Airbnb & have just put a new property on & turned off instant book when I set it up. It’s magically slipped back on and I’ve finushed up with an instant booking. I’ve trued to turn it off this morning, but having no luck at all. It’s a fruitless merry go round. Can anyone suggest what to do please? I’d love to get in touch with Airbnb but can’t find a way? 

[Glen63]

im just commenting to see my level

[Angela1468]

Buyer Beware

I am a regular user of Airbnb but am unlikely to use them again, after a horrible experience.

I used my usual login and chose a lovely place to stay for two nights. I spoke to the owner and decided it was too far away, so I chose another. As I was preparing to pay for that one with a credit card,  I received an email with the receipt for my payment, not of one, but of two bookings for the same night's stay.

I tried online to cancel the original choice. But it could be only a percentage of the amount. 

I called my bank and told them to cancel the payment. I was told it had gone through and there was nothing they could do about it. However, they gave me a phone number.  It took an hour to get a full refund on the initial booking. I was passed from person to person and ended up with a department manager.  I explained I had not even given my credit card details. She said, "Oh we already have all the details." 

I was upset that any company could just arbitrarily use my credit card without even asking if this was the one to use.  (I use different cards for different bookings). 

I then found out that the bank will charge a fee for canceling the amount!  Beware of this "Instant" booking on Airbnb.  It's a fraudulent practice in my opinion. 

[John1574]

@Angela1468 

I say it's buyer beware all the time.

It sounds like you booked carelessly by not paying attention to the host's cancellation policy when you booked  as well as the location of the place.

 If the place turned out to be too far away that means you booked carelessly and then tried to cancel and you ran up against the strict cancellation policy the host had in place.  Under the strict cancellation policy you can cancel within 48 hours or within 14 days of the booking for a full refund. Outside of those two parameters you will only get a 50% refund.  All cancellation policies are fully revealed on every listing.  For you to get a full refund I believe the host had to approve that.  Airbnb probably  nagged the host into approving a full refund.  Under the policy you were only entitled to a partial  refund. 

 That is some sense of entitlement you seem to have. 

 Hosts  generally despise these kinds of guests who book carelessly and then cancel. Only very inconsiderate people do that.

You may be one of those people who are better suited to the hotel/motel industry.

[Ricky-B-Crouse0]

I had a guest [guest name hidden] who stayed at my home longer than the check out date that it says [guest] checked out by.  She was to check out on a Wednesday but instead checked out on Friday morning around 4:30am.  When you speak with this guest she is very personable and very articulate with great stories.  So you can not help but enjoy speaking with her... then you accidentally find out how many people and animals are really at your home.

How does a host add the extra days she stayed especially if the reservation has already happened?  And Airbnb has already paid for that reservation?

So (#1)  - She remained at my home past her check-out date.  

Does Airbnb have a way to charge the guest for the extended days she remained at the home?  

Also (#2) - On the reservation this guest reserved the home for "2 dogs" and "2 people"  in reality this guest had placed around 76 dogs inside my home not including little puppies;  on my reservation profile it clearly states that the first dog is free but the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, ...etc...  is a $25.00 charge.  

What does Airbnb do in a case like this?  

How does Airbnb add the dog fee?

Also (#3)  because of the animals this guest had to hire workers to help her with transporting dogs; feeding; etc... so this guest hired workers/employee's;  took the hinges off my door and broke into my private (no guest usage written in the profile owners garage and owners closet)  the employees stole items from inside  the owners garage and owners closet.

How does Airbnb protect the host and help get back  the stolen items or help to reimburse for the stolen items?

(#4)  What and How does Airbnb go about to help the host when there is damage this guest has caused?

 Between the animals and workers they backed right into my garage door; the dogs   had pretty much they had free range of the inside and outside of my home  running around and jumping  up on my couches; chairs;throw rugs;  eating walls; furniture,  the dogs were shedding, peeing, pooing and some where in heat which ended up getting all over my furniture and carpet and throw carpet, the tile on the inside of my home and on the outside of my home.  

What or how does Airbnb have to help the host to get my home free from the smell, clogged pipes, clogged filter on the a/c; my washing machine had hair stuck to the inside of it is there any help from Airbnb for all the damage these dogs have and are costing me to get my home back up to par. Although because of the blood and urine I do not think my upholstered living room couch and chairs and wool throw carpet can be saved. My leather couches have claw marks and bites; my walls have bite marks from the dogs.

I have cords chewed; etc.

The guest claimed she was renting my home with only two dogs and two people.  

She had an RV up at my home; she stayed longer (past) her check-out date.  

I am trying to get home home free from the smells;damage; etc.  

How does Airbnb go about to charge this guest for all the damage she has caused?

How does Airbnb cover the host for opening up her home with open arms only to have  damage this person has caused costing more then that of the current reservation ?

PLEASE ADVISE

PLEASE Help! 

I am totally  beside myself.

M.chelle

*****

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