BAD experience

Sorina2
Level 2
Atlanta, GA

BAD experience

So this guy books my place for  about a month and a half and he books it far in advance.

The day of check-in, he doesn't show up or answer my messages and calls. The next day, he texts me saying " i know this is unsual but i won't have to check in until next weekend" I said ok just let me know when because you reserved and paid for the condo.

Next Sunday, i go and freshen up the place and start to message him early to see when he plans to check in. He says he isn't checkinf in until " later" and doesn't give me a time. I go there and wait and wait...and no answer AGAIN. Finally, he answers his phone and says "of i fly in late and probably will just stay at a hotel at the airport and will check in the morning". This guy doesn't ask me if and when i'm available to check him in, he just CHANGES HIS DAYS AND TIMES AS HE PLEASES. So i said uhmm ok..in this case i will leave the key somewhere and leave directions because i live more than an hour away and already drove here twice and you didn't show up. He says "ok cool". 

So i leave the key and directions, finally the next day in the evenings, he texts me that he arrives and that he needs a more advanced tv package with more channels. Note  i had the 200 channels package. I said fine so i upgraded it right away from my phone so he can get the requested channels , the 360 channels.

Then, about an hour or so later he texts me saying that the vinyl on my balcony split open, he thinks from the wind. So i ask him to send me a picture. He sends a video that shows the vinyl had opened in one corner so a little air was coming in the condo. I ask, is it cold or is that something urgent? He says the temprature is fine. So i offered to go with a handyman the next day to fix it or told him that i have tape at the condo and he can tape it himself if he doesn't mind. Tape would have been sufficient and that's how the company i used told me to fix it, NO BIG DEAL. So, my guest says ok thats fine. Well guess what, in the middle of the night i get messages from AirBnb that i need to fix the issue ASAP or my guest will cancel the reservation. I called my guest and told him i will go the next day to fix but that he needs to be there because i need the fob to get in the building. He doesn't answer all day again then finally ansewrs and says oh it's no big deal. So i thought ok everything is good. Well guess what again!! He calls AirBnb and says i didn't fix the issue and that he wants to cancel the reservation. Airbnb NEVER called me to ask what happened, they canceled the reservation and REFUNDED THIS GUY EVERYTHING INCLUDING THE WEEK THAT HE DIDN'T SHOW UP to check in. I have tried and tried to call AirBnb to talk to a case manager and all i'm getting is " Someone will get back to you" and it's been almost a month and it seems like they closed the case, they even sent me an email to review customer service, yet NOBODY HAS CALLED ME STILL!!

THIS IS ABSOLUTELT UNNACEPTABLE!!! Now i'm showing a negative balance saying i owe a month's rent! 

How can i talk to someone with a higer job since customer service is totally ignoring me??? Anyone know how i can escalate this ??

32 Replies 32

check your inbox, i sent you a private message

Hi Sabina, I got it thank you.  I also responded to your private message.  Did you send an additional message?

 

Thank you


Tone

you're welcome, best of luck going forward!

 

I'm not seeing it 

Hi Sorina,

sorry i should have clarified, i meant @Tone0. I tried to send you a message but i can't, maybe because you took your listing off. have you stopped hosting altogether now?

I de activated my listing hoping that the issue would solve. I hosted and they kept taking all the funds so I just stopped . 

I agree that their customer service definitely changed. 

I stopped hosting because now it shows I owe them a new balance.  They just added other amount from 2004 that was already settled. 

I wonder if they plan on just scamming hosts or what's going on. For now, I'm done with them . 

I meant to write 2014 

I am not satisfied withe a rule of airbnb!

When I do not accept, do not deny and also do not want to make a new offer, cause I can't by the information I've got from the costumer, BUT I ANSWER AND ASK BY MYSELF to make a proper price - we have a huge court outside of BErlin , it would not be ok to ask for 5 people a daily price of 400 € , but for 12 it's to low.. this is just a simple example, there are mor detailled and difficult ones...

We can host up to 40 people! So it should be possible to talk first!

 

SO: I answer within 24 hours, but airbnb does not count that!

 

On the other hand, I have a travelling job and I am no slave to airbnb - the would not be able to pay me ;-))) -  I want more than 24 hours..

Best Jan

Hi Jan

When people request bookings they are required to state for how many guests or the booking request won't come through...at least I think that's true.  So if you know the number you should be able to send an offer based on that.   Add in your pricing something for extra guests.  If extra guests show up and you tell airbnb by filing a dispute, they most likely would look at your house rules and terms of condition.  If you have a price set for extra people the money should be automatically deducted from the guest account.  I think the guests only comeback would be to dispute the fact that extra were there.

 

As for notice.  I don't accept instant bookings.  My requests state at least 24 hour notice.  If a guest wants to come in straight away they can not send a request for booking, only an enquiry.  If I am capable of accepting this guest I can then send an offer which they can accept or not.

 

Not sure if this is helpful, but that's how I interpreted your concern.

Dave

Andrea9
Level 10
Amsterdam, Netherlands

@Sorina2

This isn't going to help you now, but in future keep your exchanges on the booking message page, so Airbnb has a record them.

By texting and calling him off the platform it's as if they didn't happen, so he could concoct any story he wanted.

If necessary, reiterate phone call conversations, because that is pretty much the only paper trail that counts.

 

When he kept asking more and more and you quietly complied, he realized that he had the upper hand.

Don't let guests turn you into a doormat in the future.

 

Some community posts are full of stories of such awful guests and tips on how to handle the situation. Its probably worth it for you on going forward to take a few hours to peruse the posts and see what tricks guests come up with!

 

I don't have any experience with long-term bookings, but you should normally have gotten a payout for a month, and since Airbnb has already paid it out, the refund will now be  taken out of future payments.

 

Posting Airbnb their Facebook page or Twitter seems to get their direct attention. 

Well he was smart enough to message me on airbbb website when it was to show that he has a complaint but when I would try fix it he would just disappear . 

Also what's shocking to me is that they refunded him everything including the week that he hasn't showed up to check in! I can't believe Airbnb literally refunded him everything without getting in touch with me

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Sorina2    This is the terrible side of hosting Sorina....it's a small side but growing, because ABB will tend to side with a guest rather than a host! @Andrea9 is totally correct with her suggestions but Sorina, in future use a bit of animal cunning! 

It is been irrefutably shown on this forum that since it's inception, guests who wish to in some way change the terms of the booking or negotiate a booking with a host turn out to be the worst guests. They are not like a fine wine, they do not improve with age and things, in general, will only get worse and their demands more strident!

It has not happened to me yet but if a reservation enquiry or booking came to me with requests for alteration I would decline it in an instant! There are plenty of guests out there who will accept what they are booking without further demand and Sorina, the moment you start to accommodate their requests, you are no longer in control of your listing.

Be the mouse....not the cheese!

Cheers....Rob

I understand what you're saying and I've dealt with a couple people trying to alter or change the reservation for ridiculous reasons but Airbnb always backed me up. This time was completely different. They only listed to his side of the story, fully refunded him and then sent me an email saying "your request to alter the reservation has been approved". I never requested anything so the whole thing was very sketchy plus the case manager never called 

Robin4
Level 10
Mount Barker, Australia

@Sorina2....Your statement from ABB is a novel one if you did not receive a formal request to alter!   "your request to alter the reservation has been approved" Best to contact on Twitter @Airbnbhelp. The people who answer via Twitter or Facebook are further up the chain than the call centre staff and are more attuned to decision making rather than passing the buck!!

 

But on another vein, this is a trap we are starting to see quite a lot more of Sorina! A guest may want to cancel a booking for some reason or other!

Airbnb will send you an innocent looking email that will say........

Untitled 3.png

  

 

What happens next is, you think Airbnb have been the good guys here and sorted it all out for both the guest and the host!  But in reality Airbnb have told the guest that the only way they can have their money returned is to get the host to cancel the reservation, hence the reason you have received this message! The crux of this email is the sentence "the reservation will be cancelled on your behalf if we don’t hear back" You think it is all sweet and don't have to do anything but, as far as Airbnb is concerned YOU have now accepted responsibility for the cancelling of this booking, the guest has got their money back and you are the one that will be penalised! Don't ever accept responsibility for a cancellation!

This may not have been your scenario Sorina but when you receive a statement from ABB that says "your request to alter the reservation has been approved", it brought this to mind.....

cheers.....Rob