Why has Airbnb suddenly unlisted/suspended my listing for NO REASON

[Daanish0]

Hi,

I'm new to Airbnb Hosting and everything has been going great until recently when my listing was suddenly showing as snoozed/unlisted without my knowledge or consent. I'm not sure why this happened and got an error message saying I should contact customer support for more information. I contacted customer support via phone and online live chat and both were extremely unhelpful. I did not get any notification through any communication method to advise that my listing has been suspended. The only tidbit of information shared was that it's been escalated to a higher team but they do not know why? It's been over 48 hours and know one has been able to explain why this is happening to me. I'm really concerned because this is my main source of income at the moment and I'm unable to take potential bookings now and therefore losing potential customers/guests. I really think its shocking to just suddenly unlist/suspend without at least an email/message or some form of alert and notification. I've provided my government idea etc and have full 5 star positive reviews and 100% response rate so what's the issue? I'm so confused and Airbnb have been very tightlipped and unhelpful in giving any information, despite being advised via the site/app to contact customer support. I'm hoping that a senior member of Airbnb picks up on this thread and is able to investigate why this is happening to me as it all seems really unfair and unclear. Hope someone can help!   

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Daanish0 sadly Airbnb have a 'suspend first, maybe ask questions later' approach. It is likely that a guest has complained or you had the word party in your listing or they have just cocked up. Who knows!

[Daanish0]

@Mike-And-Jane0  Thanks for shining a light on the possibilities, I can safely say it’s more information than what the so called customer service team have been able to provide. It really is shocking the turn around time and lack of information. I actually received an email from the team dealing with it but again it’s a huge mystery and it simply said nothing! Why they can’t tell me what’s going on? What am I actually waiting for? They have taken zero ownership of the whole matter and just keep telling me to wait? What kind of response is that when you have no clue why you’re suspended in the first place and you’re losing potential customers/bookings. The whole thing is shocking and really making me wonder if it’s worth continuing with Airbnb if this is how horribly they treat hosts by keeping them in the dark like this. 

[Emiel1]

@Daanish0 

Some possible reasons for suspending:

- Complaining guest or neighbours

- Violation of local laws / local rules / no license 

- Payments outside Airbnb

- Security issues

- Not revealed camera's

- Discrimination

etc...

[Daanish0]

@Emiel1 I get that it could be related to something and my point is what is the reason because Airbnb have failed to inform me and when I’ve contacted customer service there is no help. Most companies would inform the customer/user straight away the reason they have suspended there account like YouTube or Twitter etc but Airbnb seems to have a policy of suspending profiles indiscriminately and without justification from the off set. This puts hosts in an extremely vulnerable position because Airbnb can pull the rug from under you without notice; leaving you high and dry. 

[Sarah977]

@Daanish0  Yes, this is exactly what they do. It's no different from being arrested and thrown in jail, with the authorities refusing to tell you what you have been charged with. It's straight out of a dictatorship's playbook. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Daanish0 I am afraid it will probably get worse before it gets better. Many hosts do seem to get reinstated having been told that if they offend again then they will be permanently barred. The problem is the host is never told what they did wrong but the only thing that matters to Airbnb is that they don't do it again!

Good luck and do keep us informed as your nightmare continues.

[Morgan500]

This has just happened to me yesterday too. Please update me with what happens.

[Daanish0]

Well the latest update is that it’s related to a guest who has apparently either tested positive for COVID or been in contact with someone/someplace etc. I’ve confirmed that I have taken all precautions and followed the guidance set by Airbnb advice/protocol and NHS/Governmental guidance regarding cleaning and sanitation etc. I have confirmed no symptoms also etc.The frustrating thing is that Airbnb have apparently removed restrictions from my account but I still can’t relist my listing!!? The Airbnb policy is to keep apologising and telling you what they can’t do and that the Safety team is dealing with it who btw you can’t actually speak to unless you’re basically have a life threatening emergency that requires police, ambulance, fire services etc.

But the Safety team don’t actually deal with anything other than making you wait for an unreasonable amount of time. They have one case manager per one case/ticket policy. They drip feed you information at a snails pace and it’s all shrouded is riddles/mystery and confusion. Air bnb can’t for some strange reason allow another Member of the Saftey team to take ownership of a case on the spot/over the phone that may be easy to resolve instead of waiting forever. The whole process is inefficient and frustrating. The other thing I noted is that Airbnb doesn’t seem to really have a complaints procedure at all, which is absolutely diabolical. The company operates in multiple jurisdictions all over the world and they seem to just brush things off over the phone instead of addressing the abysmal breaches that would not be tolerated in most countries local laws/customer/consumer rights. I just hope that the process isn’t going to last much longer and they do the right thing and swiftly resolve the whole thing. Oh and they don’t every give you concrete times for anything. Have a nice evening. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Daanish0 You are clearly the chosen one. To be actually told what the problem is is almost unheard of. Sadly, of course, there is really no action you can take other than cleaning although as Covid is transmission is primarily airborne this is likely to be second order. Do you think the guest is blaming you for catching Covid? 

[Sarah977]

@Daanish0 

"What’s Kafkaesque?

Frederick R. Karl defined the term this way:
"What’s Kafkaesque is when you enter a surreal world in which all your control patterns, all your plans, the whole way in which you have configured your own behavior, begins to fall to pieces, when you find yourself against a force that does not lend itself to the way you perceive the world. You don’t give up, you don’t lie down and die. What you do is struggle against this with all of your equipment, with whatever you have. But of course you don’t stand a chance."

[Daanish0]

@Sarah977  So poignant and yet so aptly accurate.

[Daanish0]

So the update so far is that I eventually got my listing back on line. The whole thing is a shambolic shambles! The thing is you ave to wonder why the process would not factor in common sense and logic. In my case even after getting the agreed resolution they still cocked up and made me wait a further 24 hours before my listing actually changed to active/live again.

They have to seriously reevaluate their process and just apply common courtesy and common sense and they will get much better results in the long run. Oh and the complaint has apparently been escalated to “another department” who may or may not call me (because they never confirm any time frame) or message me. I think they should really just pull their act together and stop wasting people’s time and costing them potential earnings which is a lose-lose for Airbnb included. In my case they really have no leg to stand on and I believe they made a mistake; none of the advisors could advise me on anything really. The last person I spoke to didn’t even challenge anything I had to say and agreed that she did not have the power/authority to really do anything about it. What happens next who knows. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Oh yeah...welcome to Airbnb world @Daanish0  ... some superhosts were banned permanently from Airbnb after 5 or more years and were never told why

[Daanish0]

That’s humbly shocking yet unsurprising given my own personal experience of the way Airbnb conducts their business, at least the customer service side. I always highly rate companies that are able to competently and swiftly resolve things when and if they go off track. No one is perfect, including companies, however how you deal with issues/problems, I’m and of itself, speaks volumes.

Ps. 
The complaint I raised is still not fully resolved. I’ve stopped counting the days now since I originally raised my grievances. Might have to respond with a “Happy New Year” message by the time a “supervisor” decides to actually take ownership and get back to me.  Stay healthy everyone.