Airbnb doesn't pay host's

[Jay235]

so apparently Airbnb thinks it's okay to not pay us hosts the money that we deserve. Airbnb doesn't even collect the money upfront. they are not liable if the money doesn't get collected. What the hell?

The attempt to charge your guest for the amount due for reservation from Nov 1 - 5, 2018 was unsuccessful.

The reservation is still active at this time, and we've sent an email alert with a direct way to pay the balance.

If your guest successfully submits payment, we'll send you a confirmation email right away. If you have questions about the payment problem, you can reach out to your guest.

If your guest doesn't successfully submit payment or if they cancel the reservation before making the payment, Airbnb isn't liable for issuing your host payout. 

[Lynette57]

Im wondering how they made a booking without payment, and why you have already hosted the guests without confirmation from ABB.

This is a bad one .

[Sarah977]

I've been following @Jay235's debacle, which he has a another thread running on regarding this booking- this was a horrible guest who broke house rules and was rude and demanding. And he has already finished the stay- so the last line- "if the guest cancels the reservation...." makes no sense at all. Now Airbnb is telling him the guest didn't pay and that he should reach out  to this jerky so-called "guest" for his money ????

Unbelievable. So now Airbnb claims they're not liable if they let a booking go through to check-out, without having collected payment.  Isn't this part of what we pay them a commission for, to handle the money end? This should be very concerning to all of us.

[Letti0]

@Jay235  When did this guest book this reservation? It can take some cards 24-72 hours to decline payment orginally approved and pending on their charge. He may have removed his payment method also. Did AirBnB try to charge for the extra day also? 

[Jay235]

Nov 1st to nov 5th. I didn't see the email until after he checked out. The email from airbnb came on the 4th, so he left the next day on the 5th. As far as I know, they didn't collect for the extra day...they collected $0.

Once I saw that email I flipped. Airbnb didn't call me or message me on the app where I would have seen it or heard the call. Instead they sent me an email buried in my inbox saying I was not getting paid. Airbnb doesn't care about hosts as much as they say they do and the $1 million host guarantee is a marketing tool more than anything, that is carefully worded so they don't have to pay or be liable. Airbnb makes me feel helpless in my own home. And the support they provide to guests is much higher than what you would think they would provide to the hosts.

Should I post the guests name and picture so other hosts are not scammed by him?

[Letti0]

@Jay235  What I am trying to find out is how many days before his stay did he book you place. Was it 1 day, 2 days, a week etc. 

[Jay235]

It was 1 day. This kid tried to come the same day and I said no. He was very pushy. So the scammers will basically use a bad card on file for the trip with Airbnb, try to arrive same day and then they will make a short reservation for a few days. Then, they will request one more day, one more day, etc, until payment failed and they get kicked out of the house.

[Sarah977]

@Jay235  Going forward, I'd suggest that you change your settings to require 3 days advance notice for bookings. That way if there's a problem with the payment, the guest won't have already availed themselves of your hospitality. It may mean you get a few less bookings, but you'll have a few less headaches, as well. From the posts I read on here, same day bookings often end up being problematic guests, and as you've sadly found out, some people know how to play the game.

[Jay235]

I do have it set for 3 days. For this exact reason. Additionally, he wasn't same day, he was next day guest. What I don't get is how Airbnb thinks it's okay not protect their hosts from scams like this? It erodes the trust we are supposed to have.

[Sarah977]

@Jay235  So how was he able to book for the following day when you have 3 day advance notice setting?  That shouldn't be happening. This whole reservation sounds screwy.

[Jay235]

We made an exception to let him arrive with 1 days notice. So for example, he messaged us one day, and arrived the next.

But it is irrelevant because if he had a bad card and was unapproachable what difference does it make if the guy doesn't update his card? Airbnb doesn't have a process for this except for the guest to update payment. People can basically do whatever they want to as guest and get away with it. it's not that confusing.

[Sarah977]

@Jay235   Reread @Letti0's first response. It's totally relevant because last minute bookings may not leave enough time to get a rejection from the credit card company. 

[Letti0]

@Sarah977  That's it exactly. 

@Jay235  I would bet on your reservation status it was Awaiting Payment when he booked and you did not notice. I have had this happen with a few same day bookings. You need to verify before a guest is actually allowed in that the status is Accepted. It can take AirBnB 24 hours to verify payment in a lot of cases. This is why same day bookings are a always a bit more risky than any other bookings.

Awaiting Payment: A host chose to accept a guest's reservation request, but the guest's payment didn’t go through. The guest has 24 hours to successfully update their payment information for the reservation to be accepted. Otherwise, the reservation will be canceled without penalty. 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/363/what-does-each-reservation-status-mean

[Pete28]

Or more likely Airbnb credit card systems are screwed up - I regularly see same day or same hour payment taken from my Amex etc by Amazon, qfc et al.

[Jay235]

Then why did I get an email from Airbnb saying that the payment was being sent? It says that the payment was successful. Only a couple days later they changed and said it was unsuccessful. So it's complete hogwash.

This was sent to me on the 2nd..."We've issued you a payout of $XXX. This payout should arrive in your account by Nov 09, 2018, taking into consideration weekends and holidays.

Then on the 4th I get this...."The attempt to charge your guest for the amount due for reservation from Nov 1 - 5, 2018 was unsuccessful. "

That's 48 hours....