AirCover Reimbursement Claim Case Manager Ghosted

[Mel7476]

I filed a damage claim more than 2 weeks ago. "Ronald from the Airbnb Claims Team" has been extremely slow to respond and is NOT thorough. The last message I received from him was Saturday September 24, after I had no choice but to call the main support number to get help because the link he included for me to approve and sign the damage reimbursement document was a dead link. After I never heard back from Ronald, the Airbnb support person was able to send me the correct documents to sign off via the messaging in the app. I have signed all required documents and have sent at least 6 emails with screenshots and copies of the signed and approved documents. Ronald has ghosted me and I still have not received any correspondence or help from Airbnb. I am still waiting to receive the AirCover reimbursement after 2 weeks since reporting the damage. Does anyone have the Superhost fast track number please?

[Helen3]

Hello @Mel7476 

You're not a superhost so can't use the fast track superhost process I'm afraid. (the system automatically recognises if you're a SH.

Don't wait for Airbnb to reply. Call them two or three times a day until they do something.

Also you might want to reconsider your profile photo. Your profile talks about you as female but you have a rather intimidating photo of a guy on your profile. 

Best of luck.

[Mel7476]

As a petite young woman who lives alone, I keep my identity and gender hidden and ambiguous to protect my safety on purpose. When I used to have an actual picture of what I really look like (using my work profile picture), I had creepy guys requesting to stay then booking or inquiring to stay here and asking if I was single. NOPE no more of that.

[Helen3]

As a petite single woman I would never book a stay at a listing that had your sort of profile photo @Mel7476  it looks like you are in some sort of para-military group.

I've been hosting for six years and have rarely had any issues with the sort of approaches you mention. If creepy people try and book report them to Airbnb and block them. 

Absolutely no woman should put up with that sort of harassment but I'm sure you could find a photo of yourself that could be used and doesn't make you look like some right wing militia member. 

[Robin4]

@Helen3 

Helen, at times, simply by insinuation I am ashamed to be a male!

No woman should be subject to suggestive behaviour by a male.......not ever. But it's a fact of life that there are going to be predatory males in society roaming the internet looking for their next 'score'! 

I have said here in the past to single female hosts, always give the impression in your listing description prominently that there is a 'significant other' in the wings to help with hosting issues......"if you have any problems either I, or my wonderful partner will be on hand to help you out"!  

You don't have to elaborate any further than that, it just tells those 'dregs of society' that you are part of a partnership and their advance is not wanted or tolerated.

@Mel7476  Helen has a good point, your profile photo is going to put a number of guests off. You would be better off having no profile photo than one that has no relationship to who you are....it looks like you are trying to be deceptive, and that is not a good start to a hosting experience.

Be proud of who you are Mel....... but as I have said above, give the impression in your listing description that you are in a relationship which is not open to offers.

That will keep the scum at bay!

Cheers........Rob

[Fred13]

The first thing I noticed was your icon and the inconsistency. Perhaps best to put the best foot forward; Lord knows the odds are against the host to start.

[Mel7476]

As a petite woman who lives alone, I keep my identity and safety private on purpose.

[Robin4]

@Mel7476 

Mel. I am sorry that you are having trouble getting your guest claim settled. You are not alone, some hosts may get claims settled promptly but, from what we see here many do not, and support can appear to be something of a lucky dip.

There are some things that you can do to help your position though.

I may be completely wrong here, and if I am, I apologize Mel, but reading your post and looking at your profile you do seem to be a 'fairweather' host. If everything is going well you are great, your guests love you, but you don't seem to handle issues well......you do not seem to me to be a conciliatory person.

An overall rating of 4.33 puts you in dangerous hosting territory. You have had a few disputes with guests!

Mel, I have worked in support in the past and there is a saying that goes around the halls of support organisations......'You get the support you deserve'!  You have to understand support is a hard gig, every customer who comes to  support has a problem and most of them are angry.....they want their problem solved and the more aggressive you become the more withdrawn support will become. Nobody likes to get their head ripped off client after client and when someone nice and pleasant comes along it's like a breath of fresh air, and as a support person you really want to go the extra yard  to make that client happy and satisfied.

It looks like you may have alienated 'Ronald' to the point where he no longer wants to be involved in your issue. You can't just go from one support person to another getting angrier along the way......it's not going to get you anywhere, these people are humans. not something to be abused.

Mel, what you need to to is take a deep breath and in a calm pleasant way, ask for help, apologize for being sharp, say 'the cat has died and it's a stressful time for me'......do something to get Ronald, or whoever, on side with you, sympathize with you and then, calmly ask them how they can help you.

Believe me, the pen is mightier than the sword, and the nicer you are to support the more chance you have of getting a speedy satisfactory settlement. 

I wish you all the best Mel, give it a try and see how you go!

Cheers........Rob

[Mel7476]

One bad review from a guest who didn't read the cancellation policy left me a bad review. Despite screenshots of his disrespectful threatening messages, Airbnb refuses to remove his false untrue review of his experience. I have glowing reviews from all the refugee families I helped and Airbnb even featured me and my home on their refugee website. Please don't assume the all reviews are true and accurate. BY the way, this damage reimbursement is moe than $4000 badly needed to make the necessary repairs. It's not like it's a couple hundred bucks.

[Robin4]

@Mel7476 

Mel, I understand I came across as critical of you, and that was not my intention, I am trying to help you.

You came here with a statement that you have been let down by at least 2 Airbnb CX reps and you wanted information on how you could approach another set of ears with your claim issue. To me, having worked for Airbnb support, that is a red flag, because when a client comes to support with an issue, a ticket is opened by the CX who takes on that issue, and it is up to that rep to follow through to a satisfactory conclusion for that ticket. Once that ticket is closed to everyone's satisfaction that support rep gets paid for that resolution......that's the way the wheels go round. It is done that way to keep support personnel on the case and interested in a speedy satisfactory outcome.....everyone benefits.

Now granted the level of support expertise does seem to have slumped considerably over the past 3 years with many support individuals knowledge and understanding somewhat limited. But there is always a hotline to God if an individual gets out of his/her depth. There is always someone up the chain to pass that ticket on to.

Once again I am sorry if it sounds offensive Mel but if every rep is walking away from this claim of yours it possibly says more about you than it does about them.

As to your reviews we all get the odd poor one every now and then, I have had four x 3 star reviews in a total of 528, so none of us are immune. 

Of your 21 reviews, 18 thought you were great, were complimentary and would stay again.

You did have issues with 3 though.......Jonathan,  Kailey and Ulysses, to the point where your rating  has undone all the good work those other 18 guests did for you. To me that is another red flag, that is a high percentage of conflict for that number of guests.

I want to see you get this resolved as quickly as possible, you have come here and we want to help! You are right $4,000 is a mind-blowing amount to have to swallow, and as I said I would once again approach Malcolm and say....."Hey I am terribly sorry if we got off on the wrong foot here, it was not my intention, I know you are under pressure but I am desperate for a bit of advice and help here, is there anything you can do, or someone you can pass me on to, to get the ball rolling. Looking forward to your help!"

I truly see this as your best course of action Mel try to get them to bat for you rather than against you!

Cheers.......Rob

[Fred13]

   There are a few reviews that I would think would make the casual browser nervous, especially when  the word 'uptight' comes up more than once. For some reason it gave me the feeling of a listing run by a micro-manager, others may also come to the same conclusion.

    Perhaps that is necessary considering your place @Mel7476  has a very unusual combination: 3 bedrooms / 12 beds / 9 guests / 2 bathrooms.  For $179 a night. I would think Airbnb would also be nervous because this scenario screams 'party time', and the following damage claims.

   Speaking of damage claim...

[Mel7476]

Unbelievable, I come here for support and all I get is judgement and assumptions. None of which are helpful. I am so grateful for all of the lovely guests and families who have chosen to stay at my property and left glowing reviews without judging me or my home by my profile pic which is used to protect my identity and for safety.