AIRBNB seems not really protect host...wanna hear your opinion

Tracy114
Level 2
Auckland, New Zealand

AIRBNB seems not really protect host...wanna hear your opinion

Hi Everyone, I have been hosted more than 1 year, I had lots of enjoyable experience, but the issue happened lately made me kinda disappointed about the airbnb customer service...

Here is the stories.... 4 guests booked my whole apartment for 3 nights, I arranged cleaner clean the apartment before their arrival, and I write on the description that this is my home, I have personal belongings in the home and the closet in masterroom is not accessable.

After the guests arrive, they were not happy about my place and complained I have too many my own items in the apartment, but the fact is I already tried to hidden/cover all my belongings.... they wanna leave my house and get full refund, I don't think it's fair as this was not my mistakes, then they opened my closet in the master room to take pic to show airbnb I have lots personal stuffs, also uncovered my shoes shelf to take pic about my shoes and other belonging... I was so angry!!! but airbnb didn't provide any help to me, they just cancelled the booking " on behalf of me" on the same night and refund full money to the guest, I lost 3 nights' payment....

What do you think about this case? What should I do? just accept airbnb's desicion?  Quite disappointed now 😞 Thanks for reading.

15 Replies 15
Beatrix11
Level 1
Saint-Juvat, France

I have been contemplating joining in these discussions and your headline suits my very feelings.   I have had 28 x 5* reviews and been made a Superhost.  I , like other people in this discussion, had a bad feeling about a 2- week booking from a student over Easter.  She was alone, with dog, and originally requested 3 weeks...not possible.   I accepted the 2 week booking; she arrived much later than expected on the first night and I did my usual hosting stuff, showed her around the place, gave her the welcome pack etc.   Next a.m., we left at 11 a.m. for a lunch with friends and stuck more local info on a notice on her door, as her bedroom curtains were still closed.  Came back to find no guest and note saying she had had bed bugs DROPPING on her on the sofa and on the bed.   To my mind, she had something happen that day that made her change her mind and this was a get-out story. To cut a long, nearly- 2 -months -story short,  we ended up with one night's stay payment  (after being credited with the full amount as usual); being de-listed for 4 days;  losing our Superhost badge and oodles of stress.  I checked minutely EVERYTHING...including the bin in case she had actually found some bed-bugs, which cannot "fall off" ceilings.   I also slept there.  Despite all those super reviews; despite the fact that I told the person on my case that she had a bad acne or some such on her face  (she evidently sent some supposed photos of the bites); despite my profile showing that I owned/ran a boutique hotel for 17 years, Airbnb chose to believe her , not my previous glowing reports. (I have had 3 more 5* ones since).   Because I persisted, rang the London office-  who were sympathetic but could do nothing because my case-manager was "higher in the hierarchy" etc., I have finally had my Superhost status restored....but- OF COURSE-- no apologies and no money.  I have suggested that perhaps she should have a warning posted on HER profile...bet Airbnb don't do that...the guest is always right, hey?   They are the ones who pay.

Hi Beatrix,

Thanks for sharing your story, completed understanding how you felt when the issue happen. I contacted Airbnb again and tried to appeal it, but they said it was the final decision and closed my case. Yeah, they really have the super power!

I also read a few stories from other hosts who also experienced similiar frustration, pretty sad....Now I am considering to stop doing Airbnb, as a small potato I can't change anything, yes the guests are paying the bill, but hosts are not important to them?? This is not what I expected and I don't think I will recommend my friend to being a host anymore. Guess being a guest would be much happier!

 

We are in a similar situation right now.  our first guest had raised several issues after their stay.  Some were refuted, some accepted.

Guest wanted a compensation of $79. Host offered $25 cleaning fee refund not because the place was dirty but perhaps guest had higher standard and a show of cooperation.  Issue settled when guest accepted $25... Then comes a mail from  EG, a "case manager", giving the host a chance to air their side.    Host informed him that he's a bit late and the case had been solved even asked how are the hosts protected from habitual fault-finders?  No reply from EG instead he called to advise that the guest demanded anew $79 and same is being deducted on the next booking!!!  We inquired what can be done for this decision to be considered/reversed.  Reply was,  nothing, it's final !!!

Now i am reading that this kind of scenario is nothing but common.  it is unacceptable, OUTRAGEOUS and unfair !!!   Did Airbnb

convince guest to demand more?  Are the refunds 100% getting to the guests or AB gets paid for every refund hence the higher demand?

If i dont get any reply from AirBnb in writing, we will have no choice but to cancel our forthcoming guest and pull out our listing !!!time to say goodbye to hosting.

Yvette37
Level 2
California, United States

Hi Beatrix,

 

I have been hosting for about 3 years now.  What I found is that Airbnb will take the guest's story EVERY time evn though the host is right.   To me, it is really sad to see.  Without us hosts, Airbnb has NOTHING.  We are providing an alternative mode of lodging other than hotels and typically we are much cheaper than regular hotels. 

 

Other hosts have replied that you need to have a lower expectation of Airbnb and you will not be disappointed.  It is a good practice, but nevertheless it does not make hosts feel protected or less vulnerable.  I think Airbnb really needs to step up their games to make us hosts feel more fair and protected.  Otherwise, people will leave to other platforms since they are NOT the only game in town.  Furthermore, this is a customrer driven business.  Airbnb needs to remember that hosts are customers to Airbnb as well and deserve to be treated better.  Airbnb will lose a lot more money if they loose a host than a renter.

 

Paul

 

 

Joanna85
Level 10
Las Vegas, NV

I had a goofy experience this past weekend with a guest and with Airbnb.  I am learning as I go...there is a learning curve doing this.  I think I"ve hosted over 80-90 or so guests in five months and I"m still learning.  I"ve had two great experiences with Airbnb customer service and this last experience was partly my not doing what was necessary in order to have things go the way I wanted, but I've learned what they want me to do in case this happens again.  That's just how I take this hosting....I am doing this for a reason--I can stop it at any time if I don't want to do it...and I ultimately can do things my way if I am willing to accept Airbnb may not support my personal decisions about how I do things.  Ultimately if you are a host, you need to learn how to play the 'game'....this is kind of a game of how to turn a profit and make your guests and Airbnb happy all at the same time.  I would not make one bad experience a summation of Airbnb....overall it is good--but remember we are in the service business, even though it is your home and your home is personal, utlimately when you invite people into your home and they are paying you to stay with you.....you need to rememeber they are paying you...so that makes them 'right'.  Every guest is different, everyone has diffrent needs and you need to figure out how to accomodate everyone overall...some people are never satisfied, some people know how to get their money back just because, some people never complain but are miserable, some people complain just thinking they are making you a better host even though they themselves are satisfied...we will get all sorts of guests!  Another thing to remember is that Airbnb is simply a booking service..they connect us hosts to guests and the most all of their policies are in regards to money transactions, because they are handling the money exchanges in relation to the booking.  I never, in my mind, expect I am to be owed by Airbnb for damages by a guest and I expect in most cases the guest is always refunded...as long as I think that way, I will never be disappointed.  I don't invest a lot of money on furniture because things need replacing or will get damaged and I will never be compensated for this...I keep my overhead super low.  I keep my expectation of Airbnb very low and as a result of this expectation, I keep my hosting simple. I"m not a hotelier...I am a very modest, simple woman looking to make a few extra bucks and provide a basic room and bathroom for budget travelers..if they want the Ritz, they can book the Ritz for seven times what I charge and get all the amenities that come with that price point. 

David126
Level 10
Como, CO

I would not use the system for long term bookings or anything that is finacially significant. Most of my bookings are one or two nights, a few longer but none if the worst came to the worst where I would really hurt if they money was not paid.

 

Always assume the worst.

David
Mali0
Level 2
San Francisco, CA

I joined Airbnb as a host about a year ago. Up until Monday the experience was very pleasant. I had lovely guests who appreciated the uniquness of my home, and were communicative, respectful, and very friendly. My host evaluations were fabulous, and I also enjoyed using Airbnb instead of hotels. My work takes me outside of the US or to the East Coast of the US quite frequently. My hosts seemed to like me as well. Everything was peaceful, harmonious and productive, until **** entered into my guest room.

 

**** is college intern of  Asian American descent.  She was unusually talkative, and like many disturbed people, exposed seeming vulnerabilities and wanted me to engage. All of what I did was to listen with compassion and say the psychological "ah hmm..." Ms. ****  was shipped by her parents to China to be taken care of by relatives as a baby because she disturbed their process of establishing themselves financially.  She developed a history of cutting herself. I should have read her blog prior to approving her as my guest. It indicates that she was anorectic-bullemic. While she admits suffering from PTSD she said that her Chinese American mother would not allow her to seek psychotherapy so that she doesn't create a medical record that will hurt her professional future, and because of the alleged stigma involed. She is very proud of her mother, who is a slum-lord of numerous properties in the Philadelphia area.  She states that she is usually the smartest person in a room, but all of her smarts got her to... Penn State, a C-rate public university. Bottom line, she belongs to the category of young women with untreated PTSD who therefore develop Borderline Personality Disorder. BPS usually sound very coherent and friendly, but it's a veneer tha covers a narcissistic, manipulative personality. I should have read her blog prior to approving her to enter into my living space. 

 

**** wanted out of the place after a week of Skype dramas with her boyfriend (she said she's with him because of his family's wealth) and bothering me and the other guest with an eternal question: "Am I a s-l-u-t?" . So rather than asking to move out, she made up stories to the Airbnb customer advocacy department of charges I allegedly charged her and requested that she deposits money into my bank account, that I allegedly requested her to wine and dine me (actually I offered her a fabulous home-cooked dinner and a glass of wine upon her arrival), that my place is dirty and full of bugs, that she paid me cash per my demands, that she helped me moving furniture around the house in preparation for other guests, that I'm landlording over the head of my landlord as a section 8 person (I'm quite a successful social scientist also authorized to testify in court, among other things), and that I kicked her out, no less. This Monday she herself came with another college intern office mate to pack and depart on her own volition. As she left my place she shrieked several times "Lesbian Psychopath!!!" Yes, I live in San Francisco. I'm an out Lesbian and my place has some pride mementos here and there. 

 

The Airbnb "customer advocates" talked to me in an uncivilized, degrading manner. They criminalized me and believed all the fabricated stories of ****. Her evaluation of my place is libelous but Airbnb won't erase it despite its bogus style and unusual length. She continues to harrass me through text messages and phone calls. Airbnb didn't care much about this. The opposite is the case. They kept calling me to supposedly "settle" the case. Given their level of verbal "customer advocacy" aggression I asked that they conduct all correspondence in writing. It took them time to comprehend this. Eventually they did. I got a case manager, quite a sleek character as far as his manicured texts go -- that is, proper English, polite style, yet the aggressive corporate textual tactics immanent in the emails he sends to me. He closed the case. My cancelation policies disregarded. Further, I now owe money to Airbnb because of my alleged kicking out of ****. It was her who came to my place accompanied by another college girl to pack and leave. 

 

I ended up deactivating my host listings. While I enjoy being a guest, and am a very reasonable, mature and communicative person, this whole **** affair was hurtful, abusive, unethical, and detracted me from my work and daily routines. It is not to be repeated. I have better things to deal with than untherapied BPD anotectic-bulemic cutters. 

 

So if you look for any customer advocacy from Airbnb, better be on the guest side. If you're a host, you're treated as their captive, in a sense, when you live in San Francisco. The assumption is that you must continue hosting to pay the inflated rents of our iconic city.   

And please, as other people stated here -- beware of college age mentally disturbed girls with polished manners and unregulated behavior and robbed childhood.  Beware of guests who have primary relationships with slumlords or the shark style real estate attorneys.

 

Sending you my kind regards from the gorgeous city by the bay.

 

Mali.

 

****[Personal information hidden]

I prefer to avoid longer bookings for this reason, you will get the odd guest and if it is only a few days you can put up with it.

David

I have to agree with you @David126, 2 weeks is the maximum stay I will accept. Most of my bookings are between 2-4 days but I've had a couple longer staying guests. I don't want anyone getting too comfortable and I can survive small annoyances when I can see a light at the end of the tunnel 

 Here in Miami we get crazy guestin the summer usually after that most guys are pretty good this week alone I've had run-ins with some pretty bad guest they always say they're going to call Airbnb cancel etc. I always tell him just to call and cancel and keep it simple, I keep my reservations short during the summer month due to issues that way am not stuck with people that are not happy 

Fabs0
Level 4
United States

Hey all,

I host several house in miami so I talk to Airbnb customer service almost ever day.  I think that the best bet if you feel they are not helping you out get firm ask for a manger they will tell you they have no manager.  But be nice and state your case if you, if goes nowhere try the twitter team they have a bit more power and they help out more than phone reps .

Frank274
Level 1
Santa Ana, CA

I recently hosted a guest that had "5" people in their group. i have a 6 person guest policy and then its $100 per person per night over that. I also have a no pets policy as I and my daughter are allergic to dogs. I have also had several guests enjoy that there are not pets becasue they too have allergies. Well anyways, the guest named Lucio checked in on the same day he made the reservation after I questioned him why such short notice but then again me and my wife have also made "last minute", "on a whim" reservations when vacationing. I decided to let them stay and opened the house remotely to them. Immediatlry 5 cars showed up (Ring Stick up Cam and Front Door Cam) and people proceeded to unload. I contacted the guests and let him know about the 6 person policy and he told me that 12 people were there. I said that I dont mind people over but that if they are overnight guests the payment is expected. I awoke the next morning at 6:30 AM and took a look at my front door cameral. All cars still there. So i know that all these people stayed. 

 

In addition, and even worse in my book, was that they had a dog in the house. Thats where I drew the line. I made a request for $750 which is the maximum I can request becasue thats what I have as a damage deposit. After more than two weeks I get an email today from a supervisor named Rhoy that he will give me $400 to help me out. What an **bleep**> I dont need help I want what is owed to me. Even if I count the people and apply the $100 per guests its way more than that. 

 

Bottomline is that Airbnb does not stand behind their hosts. 

Today I cancelled my Air B and B listing.

Here is why....

 

I have been hosting my million dollar home for three years!

I am a SUPERHOST,  which means absolutely nothing if and when you get into a dispute with a lousy guest.

 

I have just had a displeasure of having such a guest..

They were loud did NOT follow house rules, broke my kitchen counter etc etc etc.

 

They managed to convince the clerk at AB&B that I was at fault...

They were refunded 50% of the rent for no good reason this without my approval.

 

BYE BYE AB&B

Get other suckers to make money from.

 

I AM OUT!

Alexi6
Level 2
West Palm Beach, FL

A couple from Minnesota booked my small  pool house in Florida. When they arrived they discovered a better deal in the area. They contacted Airbnb and claimed that the poolhouse and the pool area are all trash. And as a proof they took a picture  of A TOTALLY DIFFERENT HOUSE  IN THE STREET. And sent to Airbnb. Airbnb clearly saw that they sent a fake picture. Not from my listing at all.  But refunded them $750 in full. Right in the middle of the High Season March here.

I sent DOZENS of pictures to show that the cottage and the pool area are in perfect condition. It did not help at all. So our refund/cancellation "policy" is useless.