Airbnb Not Liable if Guest Doesn't Pay?

[Kaitlin50]

**

I got this disturbing email a week ago or so from Airbnb. I thought they boasted insurance up a million dollars and were here to support us. I mean, their job is literally to collect payment and match guests and hosts, right? Wouldn't they be liable if they guest screws a host over?

**[Private conversation removed in line with Community Center Guidelines]

[Emilia42]

@Kaitlin50 This is another great reason why hosts should not get involved with long-term stays on Airbnb. Airbnb only authorizes payment for the first 30 days. After that, payment is taken monthly, and as with any long-term rental, you have to hope the tenant has good intentions. But in this case, you have no safety net.

[Linda108]

@Kaitlin50   I don't hold Air BNB liable for a guest non payment.  Not sure why you would but since they state that they are not liable in the terms of service and you agree to that, it is what it is.  The person liable for payment is the person getting the service, not the platform you use to gather payment.  If someone gave you a check for something then cancelled payment on the check you don't hold the bank liable.  

[Kaitlin50]

I don't pay the bank to cash checks for me, so I'm not sure I see the comparison you're making. Either way, I learned my lesson. 

[Debra300]

@Kaitlin50,

I do longer-term rentals in Georgia, and have encountered a guest payment problem only once.  In that situation, the reservation was for six weeks, and the guest needed to pay for the remaining two weeks.  Since this guest didn't meet all of my IB requirements, I made her pay a refundable damages deposit via Airbnb's Resolution Center.

Had Airbnb not been able to collect the payment from her, I could have canceled her reservation for the unpaid two weeks, and asked her to either: 1) vacate the space; or 2) pay me directly if I felt comfortable with her staying (and also collected another security deposit since I would have refunded the previous deposit after the Airbnb reservation was completed).  I would not have accepted another Airbnb reservation from the guest, and give up control of the transaction.

[Anonymous]

@Kaitlin50  The $1 million "Air Cover" (formerly Host Guarantee) never had anything to do with non-payment of rental fees. It was only a very limited coverage for some types of property damage - not an insurance policy for hosts, but rather a clever rebranding of of Airbnb's insurance for itself against liability to hosts. 

The email you received is the standard boilerplate for when Airbnb can't collect the next monthly installment from the guest's payment method in a long term booking. It's a great reason to not to long term bookings on Airbnb, along with the inability to collect a security deposit or vet tenants with background checks. It's even worse if you live in a jurisdiction where the guest has tenancy rights after 30 days and can't be simply evicted for non - payment; Airbnb can cancel the booking but it sure isn't going to court for you. 

If you want to continue hosting and not get stuck in this situation again, I urge you to cap your maximum stay at 27 days or less. 

[Kaitlin50]

The guest has been great, and fully intended to pay. She even sent me bank statements showing she had paid. She paid the two previous payments. She has over 130 5 stars reviews. For some reason Airbnb still hasn't paid me. I know the guest in person, now, as my rental is on my property. I know it will get worked out, but I was shocked at how unhelpful Airbnb's stance is.

[Kelly149]

@Kaitlin50 how about this... guest books & pays, day before arrival they say 'oh, we're bring a couple more people', ok fine, here's your extra guest charge. They come, they stay, they leave. And guess what, I don't get a payout. Well come to find out, her bank info changed so the extra guest fee didn't go thru. And even though ABB did have the reservation $, they weren't going to pay me ANYTHING until they collected the extra. Totally backwards and a big hassle.

[Kaitlin50]

Oh wow, that's ridiculous. Airbnb dropped that ball on that for sure. That doesn't make sense since Airbnb takes the money out of the account once the reservation is confirmed, so you should've at least received the original payout. I'm extra thankful that my guest has good intentions. So sorry that happened to you.

[David8446]

I am an airbnb photographer and they have been “backlogged” on payments, they haven’t payed me for photo shoots I have completed since NOVEMBER of last year. $500. They are a **bleep** joke. There is only two people. ONLY 2!!! Running the entire photography program. I have been trying to contact them since November of last year and NEVER hear anything except “your issue has been promoted to priority” and “someone will contact you from the photo team”. Going on 3 months and no one has contacted me. I’m blasting this in every thread I see about payments. ANYONE ELSE WHO’S NOT GETTING PAID FROM AIRBNB WHEN YOU SHOULD BE, WE NEED TO ALL GET TOGETHER AND BRING SOME LEGAL TROUBLE THEIR WAY!

@Airbnb 

[David8446]

**

**[Personal conversation removed in line with - Community Center Guidelines]

 

[Helen3]

Sorry @David8446  not sure what your post is meant to show us apart from that your are rude to the customer services staff  airbnb employs ? 

[David8446]

@Helen3 are you telling me if your full time employer (I am a full time photographer. Airbnb is a small part of that) doesn’t pay you for services you completed. While they use the assets you provided. Then they don’t contact you after saying “your issue has been upgraded to priority, someone will contact you” for three months you wouldn’t be mad? Cmon @Helen3 …
I have every right to be pissed off. 
they are using my photos and not paying me.

I didn’t start off rude @Helen3 like I said… three months. With absolutely no one getting back to me. They owe me $500 for services I completed and refuse to pay. 

The entire first month I was extremely cordial, the second month I started to get pissed. Now I’m going on 4 months with not a single person from the photography team contacting me after every message from support saying they would.

So yes @Helen3 I am being rude to them in response to their complete negligence and withholding money owed.

[David8446]

In case you didn’t catch it. The “point” is showing they know they haven’t paid me in 3 full months and don’t give a **bleep**.

[David8446]

I am an airbnb photographer and they have been “backlogged” on payments, they haven’t payed me for photo shoots I have completed since NOVEMBER of last year. $500. They are a **bleep** joke. There is only two people. ONLY 2!!! Running the entire photography program. I have been trying to contact them since November of last year and NEVER hear anything except “your issue has been promoted to priority” and “someone will contact you from the photo team”. Going on 3 months and no one has contacted me. I’m blasting this in every thread I see about payments. ANYONE ELSE WHO’S NOT GETTING PAID FROM AIRBNB WHEN YOU SHOULD BE, WE NEED TO ALL GET TOGETHER AND BRING SOME LEGAL TROUBLE THEIR WAY!