3rd party bookings

Andrew-and-Yvonne0
Level 3
London, United Kingdom

3rd party bookings

Hi,

 

Having a difficult time at the moment with Airbnb, the latest being a guest IB for yesterday for one person. Multiple people turn up which is an issue so I contact Airbnb as there were initially 3 people. These people were checked in by the cleaner as the Co host was at a funeral. I message the guest and explain the situation. He does not respond so I proceed to let Airbnb deal with it.

 

As part of our check in procedure we use an WhatsApp group and the person whom booked states he unhappy that he has to supply ID and that of his guests ( despite booking for one) He states that one of the 3 people is a driver. Fine I let it go. Still two people but he booked for one.

 

Then this morning 3 people checkout and none of them are the person whom booked.

 

The real kicker is this Guest whom did the 3rd party booking is a Superhost. Unbelievable! 

 

This is not going to end well. With bad reviews all round.

 

I have updated Airbnb with regards to 3rd party booking and 3 people.

 

Since the person whom booked did not stay at the apartment how would the review work, I have little faith in Airbnb review system as recently I had another guest book for a single person and 5 turned up ( They would not leave) Airbnb terminated the booking but let the guest review which was as expected was 100% lies. 

What can I do to mitigate these rule breakers without my listing being penalised? 

Regards 

 

Andrew

21 Replies 21
Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

@Andrew-and-Yvonne0 You should really consider going to perhaps $99 and see what happens, as @Ann72 suggested in principle.

 

I have never vetted whatsoever anyone beyond those that made the reservation and never, ever have had an incident with the 3rd-8th guest. Who made the reservation is who I put under the microscope and who I always hold responsible. I always start my walkthroughs with - "Who is the leader in this expedition?" and look straight to who made the reservation. 

 

The Airbnb review system has a lot of merit, specially IF implemented with some common sense and with a rational mentality. Unfortunately, nowadays most public companies or entities appear to have a yellow streak down their spine and they are frightened to hold people personally responsible for their actions. Pandering at all costs, for profit or any other advantage has real everyday consequences.  I.e. a host with a good record should never not be given the benefit of the doubt over some Neanderthal that just got thrown out of the place; what statement (aka 'review') of any worth will that guest have to make anyway. 

 

Good luck. You have a very kind manner and deserve better, under rational circumstances.

 

Andrew-and-Yvonne0
Level 3
London, United Kingdom

@Fred13 @Ann72 

 

Thanks you all for the good wishes and valuable advice,  I do believe overall Airbnb do a great job and there business is focused on the customer ( Guest) no matter who they are.


I have increased my prices as I think this is a good strategy in keeping the certain types away from booking.  Bearing in mind my property is in Kenya ( You can get a plumber for the day @£20) so I need to look at the market in Nairobi which is very different from Europe/US I could charge 4x in London and be busy. 

Since March 2020 Kenya was on lockdown with curfew and no flights in/out So only locals booked which meant that I had to reduce prices. They opened up partially from September if my memory serves me correctly & since then I have been 90%+ occupancy however this has been mostly IB and mainly locals. I have been 4.8/4.9 over nearly 3 years and in the last 2 weeks it has dropped to 4.78 Due to 2x 1 star reviews, The last of which I am currently disputing due to lies which I have proof of. Airbnb p’s view is the review stands even though they cancelled the booking.

I searched google for getting reviews overturned I came up with this:

 

https://airhostacademy.com/remove-airbnb-reviews/  

 

  • Demanding something for a good review. Often times, guests will try to turn a host into a review hostage! If a guest threatens you with a bad review, or says if you give us a discount we will give you a good review, you shouldn’t have a hard time getting Airbnb to remove the review.
  • Revealing the exact location of the listing. If the guest mentions the street name or any other clues that will give away the exact location of the listing, that is grounds for removal!
  • Never actually staying. If the guest that booked the listing never stays, or books it for someone else with no intention of being there themselves, you’ll be able to ask Airbnb to remove it. This one might be harder to prove. You should never knowingly accept a third-party booking (when a guest books for someone else and won’t be there themselves).
  • Mentioning a resolution center case. If the guest mentions getting a refund or even asking for one – this could be grounds for having the review removed!
  • Downright lying. This one is trickier, but if you can prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that the guest is lying, you may be able to get the review removed. It sometimes comes down to the luck of the draw with which Airbnb case manager you get. Be sure to continue to use the word “slander,” as that seems to be effective in convincing the case manager that you mean business.

 

Is this correct both my 1 star reviews should not stand as the last review is full of lies which can be proved with documentation transactions ect.  My other 1 star the guest never stayed at my property as she turned up with a large party (  During curfew people were using Airbnb for parties) She clearly never read the rules and I refunded her based in that fact,

 

I know I need to draw a line underneath this and move on however if the above is correct in both cases the reviews should have been removed.

 

Thanks again. 

 

 

 

Fred13
Level 10
Placencia, Belize

Good work @Andrew-and-Yvonne0, now you are armed with knowledge and that empowers to formulate a winning argument. I think the hitch with Airbnb is that too many amateurs are making foolish and even contrary-to-policy decisions. Keep us posted.

Andrew-and-Yvonne0
Level 3
London, United Kingdom

@Fred13 

 

This is from Airbnb: 

 

If you feel a review is untrue

While we encourage and expect all community members to post reviews that contain objective and accurate information, Airbnb does not mediate disputes concerning truth or fairness. We expect the author of the review to stand behind the content of their review. Learn how to respond to a review.

 

 

So from this statement it would seem a Guest can indeed directly lie and Airbnb will not take action and remove a review even if you can prove the lie.

@Andrew-and-Yvonne0  When it comes to a revenge review you want taken down, the best you can hope for is that the guest has made a remark that falls under the ‘irrelevant’ category. For instance, the review where the guest says that you ‘suck’. Point 3 in the review policy asks that we avoid: 

 

  • Profanity, name calling, and assumptions about a person’s character or personality

 

If you were to open a chat with Airbnb and link the review policy with that relevant section highlighted so the rep has it staring them in the face, you stand a chance of having that particular review removed. Worth a try.

@Colleen253 Thanks for this I have re opened a case with Airbnb based on this.

 

I’ll keep you posted. Not expecting much however you do have a point! 

@Andrew-and-Yvonne0 Good luck! Sometimes you need to try a few times with different agents, before you hit on the right one. Depends how motivated you are.