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.
