Airbnb Pressureing me to Refund on Strict Cancellation Policy

[Tony134]

I assume I am not the only one.  I have had multiple instances where a guest basically makes a reservation on a strict cancellation policy listing without reading a single detail of the listing or how airbnb works.  I have a strict cancellation policy so that when guests decline to do even their tiny part of the responsibility for all this, it does not fall back on me.  Then, a guest who did no part of their responsibility complains, and Airbnb calls me asking me to refund the guest for a paid stay.  Each time I tell them absolutely not.  After they went over my head a couple times, I filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau.  They responded to those complaints, apologized, and said it would not happen again.  Instead, each time, they waited until the BBB closed the complaints and went back to business as usual.

Yesterday I got another call like this.  I had a guest last week who did not read the listing at all, thought he was paying $27/night for the entire house! He also listed his children as adults so he could make the booking apparently.  He did not check the check in instructions at all either.  Basically, he looked at some pictures (the first pic is the room with beds in it, not a house pic or anything) and clicked book without messaging, asking questions, or reading listing.

Stuff like this is EXACTLY why I have a strict cancellation policy.  There is ZERO reason I should have an unbooked room for two weeks because this guy has zero sense of responsibility.

So Airbnb calls me up, and asks about refunding him.  I explain all of the above, they confirm the guest had no complaints about the listing, only that he made a mistake (by not reading ANYTHING).  I tell them I have already filed complaints with BBB about this issue of asking for money back on strict cancellations, and they say ok, and it is settled and I will see the payout.

Then today, I get a message from Airbnb through app, again pressuring me to refund the money to this guest. In the first two messages, they imply (8) times that I am not 'fair' or 'human' for not immediatly refunding the money, no joke, (9) times.  See messages below:

Airbnb Rep: Hi Tony,
I’ve raised this case with my team and my manager, and after careful consideration, we believe that we should be issuing a partial refund to the guest. One of Airbnb’s values and commitment is to provide a *fair*1 resolution to everyone.
Since your guest did not stay in your listing for the full 15 nights and the fact you can still be able to get other guests who can fill in those dates, then *it’s just and right that they get a refund*2&3. Another point is the fact that Airbnb operates globally which maybe communication barrier depending where the user comes from. This means that an English terminology may be totally different from someone who came from the Middle East, Europe or Asia. We would like you to understand that there will be cases like yours where we should be *considerate*4 of the situation.
With that being said, we would like to propose 50% refund on the nights not spent and let us take care of refunding the rest to the guest.
Please let me know your thoughts.
Sincerely,
Rep

Me: Rep, I was very clear, and I'm now filing another complaint with the Better Business Bureau and the FTC for violation of terms of service. A strict cancellation policy is meaningless if I have to pay out of my pocket every time a guest ignores all house rules and listing notes.

Rep: We understand your point and you have to understand that the reason we are proposing this is because this is what we believe is *fair and human thing to do*5&6. This does not happen everyday nor something that you encounter on your reservations. Knowing that someone unintentionally booked the place which have a different understanding to what our listing says is an honest mistake.
We just try to inform our host about this *because most host would rather not take something when they have not rendered any service to someone*7. We would still refund the guest with the amount that we think is *fair*8 and will leave your payout as it is.
Thank you for your time and we are considering this case closed."

I mean look! This is some seriously bent virtue signaling!  I grew up with a mother who rocked the guilt trip, have actually went to counseling, I know what a guilt trip looks like.  They say here that I am not fair, human, just, and that I'm essentially a thief for not refunding that money because the guests chose not to stay.  Is this not HORRIBLE?

I would think if Airbnb is at all concerned with being 'Fair,' they would start by honoring the terms of service I choose, like when I choose a strict cancellation policy.  Me, I'm never going to see these particular guests again.  There is ZERO benefit in me refunding them money.  Airbnb hopes to make money off of them in the future, so you would think if Airbnb wants to issue them a refund against the terms of service that Airbnb would do that on it's own dime WITHOUT PRESSURING A HOST TO DO IT FIRST SO THEY CAN SAVE MONEY.

I know this happens a lot, so if anyone of you would like to be heard on this issue, you can contact Better Business Bureau and add to the complaint, this really needs to stop.

The BBB complaint # is 12515809, you will need to contact San Francisco BBB.  Thanks for reading, anger rant over, just so tired of bad virtue signaling from Airbnb...  Sigh.

[Linda108]

@Yvette60  I sense that you are not happy with my feedback and I apologize if you experienced the feedback as anything other than a host trying to help another host who is requesting that from the forum.  I see that @Fred13 was also confused by your description of the two rooms.

Because I have frequent contact with this forum, I pick up on various trending issues.  One issue is the profile picture and hosts requiring full portrait pictures as the primary profile picture.  I was just sharing that with you as another host.

Since I was able to see the other listings, you might want to ensure that the listings are deactivated.  Sometimes hosts will snooze a listing.  Then the snooze time runs out and suddenly they are faced with reservations or inquiries that might result in the host having to cancel.

[Yvette60]

Thank you! So this is helpful I have to see the deactivate feature on other listings. It will still have them picture ready in time I need them up, right? I spent a lot to have them done according to the airbnb list, so I am still not giving up on the idea.

As far as the Vegas place; this proves more to be of a IT /platform booking issue for I have; one of the issues.that's when I have to explain on the listing how the booking works and make it heavy;  and making guests read is something all have failed to do it seems:) to top it off there are guests who just know all loops and how to take  advantage of situations; .. it's good hosts share them here so we know what to look for as well.

[Francesca62]

Tony,

Correct, you are not the only one who has suffered with guests who refuse to read the listing and house rules. Correct, you are not the only one with whom Airbnb has pressured to to break their own rules designed to protect and "be fair" to the host when damaged. Yes, they favor the guests, almost always. I believe you should be entitled to keep the 50% penalty since you have to do the job twice for the same period (or less) of time.  If you like someone suggested, feel generous, offer 25% penalty if you are able to rebook the entire period of time.  The only consolation I can give you is that every business, especially small business owners,takes the risk, and reap the rewards and suffers the losses - hopefully at the end of the year, more reward than loss, and you come out ahead.  Thank you for sticking to your guns, and reporting Airbnb to the BBB and providing the link.

[Zappa0]

OMG! For one, this is their policy option! Second, if it is that big of a deal why don't they pay the guest out of their billions of dollars. I have had Airbnb call and ask me to refund the guest, but never have I experienced anything like that kind of pressure. Stand your ground. That rep should be fired...completely unprofessional.

[Fred13]

 Very cool; Key West, kayaking and with your best friend Amber.

[Mandrew0]

So would you refund someone who incorrectly books with you two months away and cancels within say 2 hours.   Or would you feel entitled to take half their money because of your "strict" policy.

[Marie82]

@Mandrew0 if u made a mistake a book an airline ticket and after confirmation u call the airline to ask for refund. would u get it ??? even if it is a simple mistake made 2 hours after ??

the flight is 6months away

I always think to refund or not to refund it is to each host discretion 

and host who decide to stick to their rules we have to respect that

Myself i always give back the full refund as not sure each time it happened not sure what Airbnb does but i get boked same day or 1 day later the same time frame

But will never blame any host for not doing as i do as each listing is different/location 

[Szilvia5]

OMG, that is so terrible.

I had a strange story as well.

My guest arrived 2 hours later. They said they did not find my place, luckily they found the starbucks - as their hands showed with two large cups.

I showed everything, they were happy, they wondered that the flat is bigger and nicer then they expected. I asked them at least 5 times to whatsapp me if there is any problem, iam living in 5 minutes far . They said of course they were. Well, in the morning i received a massege (not whatsapp), they felt gas smell, they thought there is a gas leak, so they left the flat after 2 hours and they want refund. It was shockingly for me. 1. they were in trouble and they did not let me know about it. 2. if there is a gas leak, they left my neigbours in a HUGE danger??? 3. they did not respect my property, my right to kow if there is any problem.

I called airbnb, first they said no way to refund them. In the afternoon i got another call that they want to refund my guest because they were very schocked. ???? They were talking to them and poor couple were really schocked. Their explanation was their phone does not work. Seriously? Budapest is not a New York, but still has 2 million inhabitants and phone boxes. I cant imagine that i think a flat can explode and i did not let know about it the owner and the fire-fighters. 
And the worst, they can leave a review!!! I dont care about the money I "lost", but its really shocked me that airbnb does not bother by the reality. If my next guest will hallucinate devil, it will be refund too???

[Tony134]

Hi All,

For anyone interested or still looking for relief, I opened a new thread and actually have an inquiry going with the United States Justice Department.  Thread link below, it also shows clearly that Airbnb knows it has problems and even is bribing the BBB to look good while they try to get it sorted, pics included.

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Arbitration-Agreement-Fail/m-p/774462#M185517

[Kathy652]

I have had the same experience. It is so unfair and stressful. It is equivalent to stealing the Host's monies. They just refunded a guest's full payment - a guest who had pulled a cancellation stunt before and was refunded 100%. They do not bother to discuss the issue with the HOST nor do they honor the Host's cancellation policy. This seems criminal to me. I'll sick of them and will be cancelling my listing with them after my next guest stays. I'm contacting my Attorney General and every other legal entity that might investigate this practice.