Another unannounced “improvement” creates dysfunction

[Susan1028]

I can’t accept bookings.  Guests can’t access the platform and are reporting hijacked accounts with unauthorized transactions.  Other hosts are reporting missing payments and fund transfers....

I had a banner day yesterday with new summer bookings.  Then all of a sudden  I went to accept another for a 5-star guest and got an error message saying “ something went wrong, try again later.”  So I did...on 3 different devices, fir 12 hours.  Same error message, and now I’m having problems signing into my account.

Called “super host support” 3 times.  No resolution. One very rude supervisorrevealed there’s been a new global “platform improvement” rolled out and insisted it was my web browser at fault,  which can’t be the case because I use 3 different ones on my 3 devices to avoid problems like this, and then went on to tell me the app would solve all my problems...but that’s malfunctioning too.

12 hours later I’m still waiting for a call back from another rep who was apologetic and admitted there was an internal problem, and my booking request is soon to expire...and guess who will lose the booking and get “demerits” for not responding timely?

A web search reveals everyone’s been having issues with Airbnb in the past few days (5/9-5/16/19) with everything from hijacked  accounts, missing funds, associated credit card fraud, to being blocked, guest reports of being stranded in foreign countries, potential guests being unable to access the site to search for listings, hosts being unable to communicate with guests or solve urgent remote issues, and myriad excuses by “support” with no resolution...

... and nothing here either?

Reports include dysfunction with the website, app, and most of all “customer service/support” from guests and hosts alike.

Anyone found any workarounds?

[Susan1028]

Good idea!

[Susan1028]

Finally able to accept that guest...26 hours later!

Hows everyone else doing?

[Susan1028]

No, we’re not crazy:

https://www.databreaches.net/airbnb-users-complain-of-accounts-being-hacked-saying-theyve-been-charg...

[Susan1028]

There are several recent threads in this forum that have popped up about recent hacks...and based on this search, this isn't the first time: 

Here is the most recent: https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/ACCOUNT-HACKED/m-p/106614?advanced=false&collapse_discussio...

and there's more:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/forums/searchpage/tab/message?advanced=false&allow_punctuation=f...

I'm truly dismayed, but not suprised by the silence from management about this significant issue and the needless frustration, stonewalling, and lack of response people are running into from "support" with these legitimate concerns.

It's time for a hotline and some policy chnages...which won't happen unless we work together.

[Jennifer1421]

@Susan1028It is totally wrong that there is nothing forthcoming from Admin on this issue. What do you suggest, in terms of working together? Piling on the feedback, or something else?

I see that there are changes to be made to the Community Centre - do you suppose it's in any way related to an overall change vis-a-vis security?

I also noticed that in the past week/week and a half, Cookies have been implemented on the site (or at least a cookie disclosure notice has been appearing. As I delete cookies with every browser shut down, and coinciding with this notice appearing, I now need to receive a text every time I log into the site. Also a coincidence?

[Susan1028]

Perhaps, and maybe not.  

Thank you for sharing.

The cookie notice is happening with all kinds of sites.  I believe it’s a legal privacy requirement now.

As for the 2-step log in, Google and others have been implementing that as a security measure along with the option of notifications of “unauthorized log-ins” and saved secret randomly generated passcodes for years, and I use it.

key word being “option” because we can choose it in settings, so we know about it in advance because we set it up.

im not encountering that on Airbnb although others in related threads have asked for it after being hacked.

im also not finding any mention of its implementation anywhere in the community center or my emails from Airbnb, which isn’t surprising because there are all kinds of unannounced “rollouts” making a system hack easy for anyone with that aptitude, including inside the organization.

can you get into your account without doing all that?  Is there any message stating it’s a new security measure?

if it were me, I’d tweet, write and call Airbnb, speak with a manager, and in light of numerous hacks, demand to know if this is a new policy or another hack.

Based on Airbnb’s perennial corporate communication style of not informing us, and that they’ll want no bad press with the impending IPO, please DO keep us posted about your experience so we can know what’s happening and stay safe.

[Susan1028]

@Jennifer0in Peterborough

To answer your questions about what we can do;

Within this platform:

1- Feedback (which is never responded to directly and rarely otherwise, but allegedly is read and considered)

2- Calls and messages to "support" and in particular, management.  document everything.

3- Keep positing here; maybe someone in management will read it and respond in some way

Otherwise:

a- there are many blogs and pages about airbnb that include guests, hosts, and communities available to read and participate in

b- there are other listing platforms to learn about.  airbnb happens to be the only one I know of where hosts can leave guest feedback

c- in the US, the FCC is a resource for any issues of communications and fraud

d- your bank/credit/debit card support staff are equipped to address any specific incidents of fraud and unauthorized charges

e- legal counsel is the best resource to learn your rights and how to proceed in exercising them

f- there have been rumors of efforts outside this forum to address chronic problems but I do not have any information

I hope this is helpful in answering your questions and keeping everyone safe

[Jennifer1421]

Hi @Susan1028 

Thanks for your replies and the helpful info.

I didn't mean to imply that I was complianing about the recent, unannounced, two-factor authentication. It's a touch annoying, but I could certainly change it myself if I stopped deleting cookies at logout. I did pop in to my settings to see if they've listed 2F as a choice (I wouldn't change it anyway, as I prefer some sort of security). They have not, though I see the layout of the settings page has been changed at some point since the last time I was in there (also unannounced). It's my understanding though, that using SMS for 2F is the least secure route they could've chosen. Go figure.

[Basha0]

For the first 3 months of this year I wondered why there were no bookings for the summer. I went on the site and my listing was gone. After much discussion and no explanation, I managed to get it relisted. Boom! Just like that  got numerous guest requests. Made me wonder how many I lost. 

[Susan1028]

@Basha0 in Penngrove, CA

Please be sure to check your settings, payout, and profile info to be sure your account was not hacked.

[Basha0]

Thank you.Good to check often