Potential guests fed up with Airbnb bothering them?!

[Debbie----Terri0]

Hi Airbnbers

I am new to this and lovving it...however....We had some guests that were friends of a friend wanting to stay in our house. Because we wanted to do our friends a favour, we wanted to give them a special deal and suggested they would book via Airbnb so they could also give us a review. They gave up as they felt that the whole procedure of joining Airbnb was too much! Lots of personal questions and information was wanted. Personally I kind of like that it is not so easy peasy to join as it is some kind of selection procedure, however they are now being charged by Airbnb for a booking that was never confirmed by me and which they canceled as well. How is that possible? It is now creating a difficult situation between me and my friends. They are obviously upset and I have to say I am not too happy with this either as it is creating a lot of extra work for me. I have now spend several minutes trying to find a way I can contact Airbnb but it is not easy to find. Does anyone else have these kind of experiences or can tell me how to best get in touch with Airbnb themselves? 

[Dave-and-Deb0]

Hi @Debbie / Terri,

Sorry for your experience that you and your potential guests are having. The verifications are setup to protect us hosts and the guests.  I don't remember answering "personal questions", except for financial information, but maybe things have changed since I signed up for Airbnb.

The guest should have also understood your cancellation policy before booking and with ALL cancellation policies it states, "The Airbnb service fee is non-refundable."

https://www.airbnb.ca/home/cancellation_policies

It does NOT sound like they gave up as they were able to book your listing and then cancel so they must have been successful in setting up their account.  I am also unsure what you mean by "selection procedure".  As long as they can verify who they are and can pay for the booking, they can become Airbnb guests.  I am also curious how Airbnb was "bothering them".

I do see how this has caused stress in the relationship between you and the guests but I would try to contact Airbnb and see if there is anything to do as they may waive their fee.  

Please check out this How To guide in contacting Airbnb and I hope they can help you rectify the situation for the both of you and mend the relationship:  https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Tips-Tricks/Contact-Airbnb-A-How-To-Guide/m-p/16165#M728

Good luck!

Dave