Lack of host support

Jani15
Level 4
Corning, CA

Lack of host support

This is a bit lengthy but valuable information for a host. First let me say that our Airbnb has nearly 600 reviews with a 5 star rating. We work hard and take very seriously the comfort and safety of our guests. Our Airbnb is above our garage so we greet nearly all of our guests and let them know we are here if they need anything, anytime. 

 

This past week on Wednesday we had PG&E come to our home for electrical reasons (issue with our kitchen lights dimming off and on and turns out it was weather/wind related) but PG&E sent a rep that only checked gas issues. Since he was here I asked him to check our gas fireplace and then our (new) dryer just to make sure things were properly hooked up. While here he checked our meter outside and stated that we had a gas leak. He said it was significant enough that he turned it off immediately and put a lock on the meter. He said we would need to get a plumber out to find the leak.

 

Unfortunately we had guests arriving that afternoon for a stay of five nights, in fact they arrived as PG&E was here. I explained the situation to them and told them they should have enough hot water (there was a separate large water heater in the garage only for guests use) to hold them over until we resolved the issue. We immediately called a reputable plumbing company and they sent two technicians out. They worked for the entire afternoon but said there was still a leak and they would need to come back the next day. As you can imagine I was beyond stressed over concern that my guests would not have hot water. The plumbers came the next afternoon and finished around 5 pm. The bill was $1,600. Again, we called PG&E and asked them to turn come out and turn on the gas. They arrived at 8 pm, did a check and announced that there was still a leak and they would not turn on the gas, and again, locked the meter. I stayed in communication with our guests who fortunately said they were doing fine. 

 

We had another guest arriving for a weeks stay at the end of our current guests stay. I reached out to the guest and told her what was happening and that I was worried we might not have the issue resolved by the time she arrived. I told her I would give her a full refund if she wanted to cancel and book some where else. Still feeling horrible for our current guests and even worse for the guest that had to find a place to stay with only 4 days notice I decided to call Airbnb. I needed support, perhaps they could guide me a little and well, make me feel like I was doing everything I could. Big mistake. Big.

 

I reached out to them and gave them a bit of info. All they heard was gas leak (forget that it was turned completely off and the meter locked) and then transferred me over to their safety team. Hear me now....the safety team is not there to help YOU the host, only to help the guest.

 

The safety team person assigned did not listen to me. She was smug and condesending. She told me the gas leak was a hazard to our guests and immediately told me she was blocking our Airbnb until the issue was resolved. I told her there was NO gas leak, NONE because they gas was turned off and the meter locked by a technician. I emailed her during the call with a photo of the Service Report stating it was off and locked. I tried telling her that the issue was this; our guests might be without hot water.  I had only reached out to Airbnb for a little guidance. And just like that, bam, our Airbnb disappeared from their site. I told her that it was unrealistic to block our account indefinitely. I would understand even a month but it completely disappeared. That was Thursday night. We met with our guests and were completely transparent with all that was happening. We told them we would give them a refund if they didn't want to stay the next four nights. They said they would think about it. The next morning, Friday, they said they wanted to stay. With that I told them I would refund them a fair amount. 

 

The same Friday morning we hired a different plumbing company who eventually found and repaired the leak. The bill was $600. We called PG&E, they came out again and all was resolved before our guests returned at 5 pm. 

 

I immediately emailed the Safety team rep with documentation from PG&E that EVERYTHING was resolved.  She called me, however I missed the call but the voicemail said to refer to an email she sent me. PS, at that point she reinstated our account and it was again visible. 

 

Here is the last paragraph in the email (the first two told me I had to reply with a written statement that I had read, understand and agree with their Community Standards policy regarding safety and security):

 

Please note that failure to comply with this requirement, or future violations of this policy, will result in the permanent termination of your Airbnb account. Regards, so and so.

 

After 5 and a half years of hosting, nearly 600 reviews and a 5 star rating, I was treated like I had done something intentionally. Violated their safety policy. Really? My husband and I spent over 48 torturous hours, 4 inspections by 3 different PG&E technicians, two plumbing companies, numerous phone calls, $2,200,  me crying, him so upset because I was distraught. Not because of the money although that was painful enough but because I work extremely hard to assure every guest has the best possible Airbnb experience ever. Oh, turns out we could have hosted the guest who decided to cancel but she had already booked another place. I was happy that she found a place.

 

The bottom line: Airbnb does not support the host. Period. I will, in the future, not make the same mistake. Be very careful if you have issues, be minimal with what you say or how you say it because this could happen to you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

29 Replies 29
Mike-And-Jane0
Level 10
England, United Kingdom

@Jani15 Sorry to hear about your troubles. For the few issues we have had we just liase with the guests who have always been incredibly understanding. Involving Airbnb is, as you say, only to be used as a last resort.

Brian2036
Level 10
Arkansas, United States

@Jani15 

 

Nightmare scenario. Thanks for the heads-up.

 

It looks like Airbnb really doesn’t want to know about potential problems. 

It also looks like they don’t give a rat’s scaly behind if they lose a highly rated long term host.

 

 I hope you’re listed on other platforms.

 

And, no matter how much you enjoyed that gas leak, DON’T DO IT AGAIN!  😉

Thanks for making me laugh with your last sentence. 

Colleen253
Level 10
Alberta, Canada

@Jani15 So sorry you had that crap experience with customer circus. You’re not alone, unfortunately, as the forum is filled with similar stories of hosts being flattened by Airbnb. Avoid involving them at all costs. 

PS, next time you want support, come here instead!

Thank you, I will!!

Katrina79
Level 10
Saskatchewan, Canada

@Jani15 @Wow that does not sound like a good experience. I think though you did the right thing and so did Airbnb. It’s nice to know if Airbnb here’s about a gas leak they immediately pull the listing…also it’s nice to know your listing was reinstated quickly! I think this protocol is proper for not the safety of guests and most likely a requirement from their insurance provider. It’s easy to take things personally when you put so much heart and soul into being an amazing host, please don’t take this one to heart, I think it’s just a case of employees doing their job and following protocol. 

Well, you see that’s the problem. There was no gas leak. There was no gas. The issue was no hot water and that’s all I should’ve said as others have suggested. Thank you tho for the encouragement 😊

@Jani15  It's  not just you- lots of hosts have had the issue that the CS reps focus on the wrong thing if you get too detailed. I remember a host who had posted about calling Airbnb because the guests had snuck more people into her place, which was the major issue, but she also mentioned that they had walked across the carpet in muddy shoes, and that's the issue the CS rep focused on, ignoring the over- max guest issue.

 

It's just always best to identify the main issue and refrain from confusing the brainless CS reps with any other details.

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Katrina79 "It’s nice to know if Airbnb here’s about a gas leak they immediately pull the listing…".

 

No, it's not nice at all for Airbnb to suspend the listing if the host makes it clear that the gas has been turned off. He wasn't calling about the leak, he was calling about the fact that he had guests coming and he couldn't provide hot water. 

 

There was no danger to the guests from the leak- the gas was shut off-the CS rep just focused on "gas leak", when that wasn't the issue- no hot water was, which is an inconvenience, not a danger.

 

It is not okay at all for the CS reps to take punitive action because they are incapable of understanding an issue.

 

@Jani15  Talking to CS is like talking to govt. officials and border guards- don't volunteer any extraneous information. Had you simply said your hot water wasn't functioning, the dumb CS rep wouldn't have had a "key phrase" to focus on. Absurd.

Thank you, you are correct. I tend to get too much information but I learned the hard way, minimal is best 

@Sarah977 I stated that it is nice that Airbnb will halt a listing that potentially has a gas leak until they receive documentation stating otherwise. How else can they be sure, just take everyone’s word for it? What if the host is not being honest and the place blows up? They have some due diligence to ensure it is safe. I doubt Airbnb would qualify for liability insurance if they don’t follow certain protocols. It’s quite disheartening to hear you call the CS rep dumb. Why do you jump to the conclusion that the CS rep decided to take punitive action and incapable of understanding an issue…more likely the rep is just doing his or her job as required by the boss. 

@Katrina79  How would they know there's a gas leak or not? Well, they don't. Unless someone reported that there was. Which wasn't the case here. The host just made the mistake of mentioning why there was no hot water. If he'd simply said the hot water heater wasn't functioning, which, in fact, was the issue, this would never have happened.

 

The CS rep was dumb because they didn't understand the issue and took inappropriate action. 

 

If you called CS to see if they could assist in cancelling a booking because there was a flood in your area, the roads weren't passable  and guests wouldn't be able to get to your place and the CS rep suspended your listing because they took that to mean your house itself was flooded and therefore unsafe for guests, how would you like that?

 

It isn't up to a CS rep to interpret what they are told to mean anything other than exactly what was stated to be the issue. 

@Katrina79  In this case it was the  host who alerted airbnb, so there would be no question of the host 'not being honest'. 

 

The real problem is the threatening tone that if there are future violations the listing will be banned...as if a gas leak was due to negligence and  not a break down of equipment.  Things break, life happens.  Airbnb should have been saluting the host in this case for being so pro-active, instead of being smug, threatening and negative.

 

Also, when they treat hosts like this the lesson learned is to simply avoid contacting Airbnb, their cluelessness and tendency toward punishing hosts for things out of their control actually would encourage a host not to disclose issues.

Unless your a host…you wouldn’t understand the issue. No matter what’s going on, they find a way out of helping us! And that isn’t right….even if the guests does things wrong and we try to report they find a way to FLIP IT TO US….the HOSTS. If you were to read more maybe you’ll see the BOTTOM LINE. THEY DONT HELP US PERIOD