AirBnB cancelled a booking.

[Mike--Leonora-and-Samant0]

 We having been using AirBnB as hosts for several years and are regular Superhosts. We received a booking on the 2nd July for the 14th - 21st December, during our peak summer season. On the 8th December AirBnB cancelled that booking and refunded the guest due to irregularities with their payment. We have a strict cancellation policy but are being paid nothing for a 'significant' booking during peak season that we cannot fill on such short notice, how is that acceptable? The cancellation was not my fault, if it was I would have been severely penalised, if the guest cancelled at such short notice he would have been penalised, but AirBnB can cancel, refund the guest and the only looser is us; can someone explain this to me?

[Robin4]

@Mike--Leonora-and-Samant0 

Hi Mike, Leonora & Sam, on the surface of it.........you have put a bit of effort into coming here with what is another example of shoddy host treatment by Airbnb, and I was all set to say how disappointed I was that nobody has responded to this post you put up quite a few hours ago. This is, after all, the Community Centre and we should be here to support each other....you have gone to this trouble and yet, you have been hung out to dry here!

And then I realised all the regulars here....... are asleep! They are on the other side of the world doing what people do in the middle of the night and the fact that your post has not been responded to is my fault......it's come to the CC here on my watch! I am sorry OK!

Guys, you are so right this is poor treatment and I am afraid there is nothing you can do about it.....It's their rules and if we don't want to play by their rules,  then do something else is their philosophy! 

In this instance Airbnb feel they are being the good guys here, they are saving you from performing a hosting for which there is a strong possibility you will not be paid.

Here it is, they spell it out in the terms of service.........(click image to enlarge)

You could possibly explain to Airbnb that, you as the host are specifically forbidden to indulge in financial transactions with guests outside the platform and on that basis it is up to Airbnb to advise you in a timely fashion if there are payment issues to allow you to get another booking.

Obviously what has happened here the guest when booking has elected to enter the 'Pay Less up-front' scheme where they have paid half at the time of booking and when Airbnb went to collect the remaining 50% 10 days before the stay, payment was not successful......so Airbnb have cancelled the reservation.

This is THE major issue we have been hammering Airbnb about with the PLUF scheme since inception.....'What if the booking falls over' and Airbnb have dismissed our claims as to be so small as to be irrelevant. The host should be automatically entitled to the 50%  that has been paid....... that should be the guests loss, not the hosts. IF they knew that, that would keep a few more of them committed. The fact that Airbnb could not get paid has absolutely nothing to do with host, but the fact that Airbnb give the guest back their initial payment just goes to show how little they value their hosts ....but we have been essentially laughed at!

My feeling is Airbnb should accept some responsibility here because they have been amply warned that this situation could arise......but then again Mike, Leonora & Sam.......pigs might fly!   

Sorry guys, one of the 'perks' of dealing with Airbnb!

Cheers......Rob

[Mike--Leonora-and-Samant0]

Hi Rob,

thanks for the reply, I wasn't expecting anything instantaneous I assure you.

I hear everything you say and agree whole heartedly. In this instance it seems pretty clear cut to me that the fault (or default) lies somewhere with the guest and the person most affected by the result of that default is me. Ergo whatever funds are available should be used as recompense for my lost income and it does say in their terms of service that 'payout' is also an option for them at their discretion.

What also intrigues me is that the guest seems totally unperturbed that his holiday has been cancelled with just a couple of days to go. He is listed as coming from Ireland so I would assume that air fares etc... have all been paid for. Maybe he saw this coming all along, which makes me all the more aggrieved that he gets his money back and we are left with a hole in the booking calendar.

Just to cap it all, its raining here now too. Sh*t happens I guess, I just hope it isn't coming in 3's.

Cheers

Mike

[Robin4]

@Mike--Leonora-and-Samant0 

Mike please send a bit of that rain here. Australia is burning and there is no rain in sight to put out the fires. Two of the 127 of them currently burning in New South Wales are classified as 'Mega-fires' they are burning on a 100 Km (60 mile front) and there is just no way to put them out. There are no resources to fight fires on this scale! To add insult to injury today 19th December 2019 has marked a new record. Today was the highest average temperature Australia has ever recorded. The average temperature around the land mass of Australia (an area the size of the continental US) was 40.9c (105.62F)....here in Mt Barker we hit 44.3c! 

People who say that Global warming is a myth and these are simply seasonal variations seriously need to get off what ever medication they are on....enough about the weather!

Your guest from Ireland obviously found accommodation that more suited his liking and was delighted with Airbnb's offer to refund his initial  payment.

Mike, mate, it's wrong and please don't think we are taking this lying down. I personally have made 14 representations to have this situation rectified but Mike, the problem we face is....guests make Airbnb money, hosts cost Airbnb money.....who do you think they are going to side with?

All the best.....Airbnb permitting! :-))

Cheers......Rob

[Mike--Leonora-and-Samant0]

My sympathies to all affected, we experience similar situations here, February this year was quite close for us, fortunately not as large scale as your current disaster but I do most certainly have empathy.

Points taken re AirBnB; in relation to the above, it is small potatoes really, so I guess we should count our blessings.

Keep safe.

Mike

[Linda108]

@Mike--Leonora-and-Samant0 and @Robin4   I agree that there needs to be some more protection for the host, preferablly not allowing split payments.  However, I wonder what would happen if Air BNB kept the initial partial payment, cancelled the booking, gave payment to the host and then the guest disputed the payment with the credit card.  Probably the credit card company would side with the guest and reverse the charge, which would ultimately come out of the host's payments.  Right?

@Mike--Leonora-and-Samant0   I also have a high season that is short as I am in a desert in southern California, USA.  Because there are several large events in my area, I am booked for those music festivals sometimes a year in advance.  If there is a cancellation, I increase my rate a bit and within a day there is another booking due to the demand.  Maybe you can do that as well 😛  Good luck!

[Mike--Leonora-and-Samant0]

Hi Linda,  thanks for your comment. I have no idea of the ins and outs of this particular booking, so I’m not sure what the ramifications would be. However wouldn’t that also apply to any guest cancellation made by a card, in which the guest lost their deposit or complete payment?

likewise we are booked quite often a year in advance for the high season but we tend to cater for overseas visitors who are normally planned well in advance. A booking for a 3 bedroom cottage with less than a week to go is a rarity, hence our strict cancellation policy.

Cheers

Mike

[Mike--Leonora-and-Samant0]

I think I might have worked this issue out...from the guests' side.

He did approach me with the possibility that he might not be able to come on his holiday and asked me what the cancellation policy was, to which I referred him to AirBnB. Supposing he had a valid reason for not travelling, bereavement or such like but looked at the cancellation policy and saw he would loose his deposit. Instead of being 'up front' and saying 'I have such and such a a problem', in which case it would have been up to me to credit his deposit or not, he took the default on the final payment option which (obviously) has guaranteed he gets all his money back.

His integrity sucks (we have never refused payment to anyone who cancelled with a legit/plausible excuse), but I think I understand why he did what he did, as I assume not every host thinks the same way as us. This would make sense as to why he did not kick up a fuss when his holiday was cancelled at short notice and yet he was happy to part with 50% several months in advance.

I guess I will never know the true answer, but there is an issue here that should really be investigated... I hate it when I play 'devils advocate' and blow my own issue out of the water! In this instance I kind of wish my hypothesis was correct and the guest was not some form of pond life...but who knows. I still think AIrBnB could help out more though !

Cheers

Mike