Our host isn't replying at all and I'm panicking

[Rose454]

Three months ago, I reserved a room for this August in Barcelona that looked wonderful. It has two dozen reviews and 100% of them gave the place perfect 5 stars. Every comment was praising the host and the apartment, so I reserved the room right away without contacting the host first.

After sending my reservation, I immediately sent a message to the host. I think within an hour our reservation was accepted by the host and our booking status is now "confirmed". I was thrilled. I didn't even notice that my message and questions were ignored by the host. But I thought that since they confirmed my booking, I guess it's alright.

Last week, I sent another message asking the same questions about the meet-up and about the keys. No reply. I figured maybe language is a barrier? (Even though AirBnB has a translate option using Google). So I sent another message a couple days ago that I translated into Spanish. No reply.

This is when I began to feel worried. I checked her listing again and began to notice some guests did say that communication is a problem, but the place was okay. On the listing, it says the hosts' response rate is just 40% and it said they reply after a few days or more.

Oh no. Our trip will be in a few days time.

What should I do now? At what point do you think I should ask AirBnB for help?

Thank you for reading thus far, and I hope you can help us.

[Anonymous]

@Rose454  A 40% response rate is even worse than it looks. The rate doesn't refer to messages sent after a booking is confirmed; it's only the rate at which the host responds to inquiries and requests within 24 hours of receiving them. This hosts seems to be completely disengaged from the platform and there's a very significant chance that you won't have access to the property.

I would call Airbnb immediately and ask them to cancel this booking from the host's end, so that you don't lose money to the cancellation policy. If they push back in any way, take care to note the 40% response rate and insist that they review the host's recent record with other bookings. You must not let yourself get stuck trying to find last-minute accommodation during high season in Barcelona; Airbnb should supply you a full refund toward re-housing and suspend this listing.

[Rose454]

@Anonymous Thank you, I can't believe it might be worse than what I imagine. I'm glad I decided to escalate the issue ASAP. We're not hosts so we're not sure how these things work. I don't know if this is this particular host's way of forcing people to cancel a reservation to prevent a "The host cancelled this booking" review on their listing. Or they're just that inattentive.

Because on their page some people said they were very responsive and wonderful. It doesn't make sense. Only one message (the most recent) mentioned that communication is bad. If there's only some way to talk to other guests, I can ask if they went to the property even without any replies and still managed to find a way to stay there. At the very least, what they did to find the room and check in.

I messaged AirBnB on Twitter and sent them a DM with the details. I'm still sending messages to this host now to see if it will help them notice us. After work I'll try calling the host's international number (last resort, this will get expensive!)

[Justin271]

 I love the Spanish but they are notorious for being too relaxed and non professional. You may want to consider looking them up on Facebook or Instagram and messaging them. You can call voice call through Facebook. There are also apps you can text their number for free but if it were me I would add calling and texting to Europe to my data plan so I can confirm without stress. Best of luck.

[Rose454]

@Justin271 Oh, I didn't think about using Facebook! I'll try and find a way to contact the host there. Maybe they're on a trip or busy somewhere? Especially since it's summer now and there's a heatwave, so they must've escaped the city. The last guest who stayed at the room mentioned in the review that communication was definitely bad. The hosts weren't there at all, so the guest got the entire place for himself.

Anyway, thank you. I was hesitating contacting them directly outside of AirBnB because of the fees. But if I can call them through Facebook for free, I can do it right away.

[Rose454]

I found a few people with a name similar to the host, they all seem to be in Barcelona too. But I can't make sure if it's them, and I don't want to intrude on a stranger on Facebook, so I guess I can't take that route.

I'm going to depend on AirBnB's help for now. I've contacted them on Twitter, I sent a direct message, and submitted another one to their official Support here in this website. If AirBnB would just acknowledge and respond to at least one of those, I can finally stop panicking.

[Anonymous]

@Rose454  Are you in Japan? Airbnb has a toll-free number you can call in Japan:  +81 800 100 1008 

The people running Airbnb's social media are not customer service agents. You need to contact someone who can actually access your booking details.

[Rose454]

@Anonymous Thank you for the number! I didn't know they had a toll free number for our country.

Their Twitter account finally noticed our messages. It said they've received the Support Request we submitted using the AirBnB Contact page and that  a Case Manager will be in touch. I haven't heard great things about what comes next, so fingers crossed in all my limbs that we can resolve this ASAP before we board our plane.

If not, we'll definitely use that number and call immediately.

[Yadira22]

Hi @Rose454 

what’s app is also an option and requires minimal effort for looking people up online- also gets rid of any guess work. 

Thanks,

yadira 🙂

[Rose454]

@Yadira22 Thank you, I'll try and install that on my phone. I don't know how to use it, but I'm guessing that I just have to type in our host's phone number? If they don't use WhatsApp, are they still searchable there?

[Sarah977]

@Rose454 @Anonymous  That listing now says 15% response rate!  I can't believe Airbnb hasn't shut it down yet. The weird thing is, they have a lot of good reviews. Maybe some disaster has befallen those hosts, since even Airbnb couldn't reach them by phone. It's hard to believe hosts would be that lax.

[Rose454]

@Sarah977 Oh my goodness, yikes! That's a HUGE fall down. 40% to 15%? I wonder if the Case Manager edited the listing's Response Rate manually. I don't think our single booking can affect it that much.

Well, they had good reviews to those who actually HAD the chance to stay at the property. Otherwise, it wouldn't have shown and not included in the property's score.

But I did send messages to the host asking if they're okay. The previous guests say they were responsive and gracious, makes you wonder what truly happened. It also leads unsuspecting guests (unfortunately, us) to book it since it has a good reputation.

[Rose454]

UPDATE (current status): SOLVED

AirBnB Case Manager tried to contact our host and gave her a 24-hour chance to reply. When she didn't, AirBnB cancelled our booking and gave us a full refund, plus 20% of our original booking cost as compensation.

We have now successfully booked a new property at a much better location, with larger rooms, better amenities, and extremely responsive hosts. Can't believe that this incident doesn't just have a silver lining, but was actually a blessing in disguise. What a turnaround!

This was our previous booked room: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/26590973

1. Private room with AC
2. Cheap yet sparsely furnished
3. Far from city center
4. Shared space has minimal basic necessities
5. Host didn't reply to our messages, not even once

--------------------------------------------------

This is our booked place now: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/36465466

1. AC room with balcony to green views, private rooftop terrace
2. Gorgeously furnished open-concept apartment
3. Few mins walk from El Born, Ciutadella Park, and all the beaches
4. Gracious host was responsive and pre-approved us with self check-in
5. BONUS: Host told us they're away, we can have the entire place!!

Thank you to everyone who has helped and provided as much info as they can. We tried to exhaust all our options and came out with a much MUCH better situation than we can dream of. This is amazing and we will try to pay it forward by helping others who might find themselves in the same situation in the future.

Our room in Barcelona had been the weakest link in our plans, but now it has become the highlight of our trip! Really excited now and our hearts are filled to the brim with wanderlust and good vibes.

I hope anyone reading this can benefit from what the community has contributed. If you guys have any questions, just tag me to a reply here or message me.

Our flight is a sleep away, see you soon guys! Thanks again!

[Anonymous]

@Rose454   Thanks for updating us,  and hope you have a wonderful trip!