What can you tell me

[Gloria151]

I am a first time guest and am very disappoited with my experience....

I received preapproval on a downtown Toronto accomodation this morning.....see message below......

"Rena saw you're interested in staying at DOWNTOWN TORONTO PRIVATE ROOM and pre-approved your trip for Jul 24 - 30, 2017. You can now book by 6:23 AM CDT on Jul 13 to confirm your reservation......"

I had committments throughout the day and when I got home in the evening I tried to pay & confirm this accomodation.  I was not able to confirm this booking so I reconnected with the host.  She informed me that she gave the booking to someone else because she did not hear from me in within the allotted 24 hours.  24 hours is actually not up until tomorrow morning... as this host stated in her email to me as above.   

I booked my flights to Toronto based on her email that I was preapproved as long as she received my monies before 6:23am on July 13th..... and now she tells me she gave away my accomodation to someone else.

Thank You .....from an extremely frustrated guest......  Gloria

[Karen-and-Brian0]

Hi @Gloria151 That's a very frustrating situation. Usually you do have the full 24 hours to book - unless the host recieves another request in the same time frame, and then it becomes "first come, first served". The host should have tried to contact you to tell you she had another pre-approved request, perhaps she did try to? 

Hopefully you'll be able to find another listing that can accomodate you. If you'd like to discuss it with one of the Airbnb service reps, and perhaps see if they can help you find replacement accomodation, all ways to contact Airbnb are HERE. I think Twitter gets the fastest response. Hope that helps! - Karen

[Gloria151]

Hi

Thank you for your reply....

This host definitely did not try to reach me.......  I have all her posts and her first response to me was not until I contacted her telling her I was unable to make a payment to her account and asked her if she could provide me with assistance........

Yes, I would appreciate any help you could provide to me to secure accommodations near the Toronto Convention Center that has two beds with kitchen facilities at a rate of under $100/day including fees/taxes for July 24-30th 2017 (6nites) for a bridge tournament for myself and my bridge partner

I would also like to add that I find it very frustrating not to be able to speak with the hosts by phone.  I gave Rena my phone number and asked her to call me so I could ask questions......and she informed me that airbnb blocks the phone number so she was not able to call me

Thanks.......  Gloria

[Marit-Anne0]

@Gloria151

It is just how airbnb works. When there is a booking request ticking in from someone ready to book, it takes precedence over a more un-secure pre-approval that in most cases do not result in a booking.  Many shop around, contacting several hosts, so a preapproval from a host is not a commitment, it is just the host saying you may instantly book the requested dates.  In the meantime, other bookings may tick in and the host is of course free to choose and accept whichever one preferred.  

A host would in most cases choose someone ready to book over someone dwindling and asking a lot of questions.  

Phone numbers are hidden for security reasons until a booking is made.  

[Andrea9]

@Gloria151 Hi,

That's very disappointing, From the other side though, I can't tell you how often a potential guest seemed very interested in booking as well as a nice fit, and whom I pre-approved, to never hear from again. Just window shopping. As a host you can never count on somebody really booking either until it's done.