Booked but have 24 hours to pay, calendar blocked (If group 4 days to pay)

[Ed51]

In the past if a booking was accepted but no payment the calendar stayed open untill payment was received, now it's v/v so my calendar is blocked with no payment, if I do get paid (about 50% chance) air bnb don't inform me in a way that comes up as a sms so I have to constantly check my computer (for 24 hours)

As 1 of the sites I use is auto booking & a booking comes in, I will need to cancel airbnb but if in the process, air bnb pays, I'll have to cancel them & be penalised & loose my super host for the year.

The only obvious way round this is to cancel most unpaid bookings & let them re book if they require BUT air bnb will give me grief foe cancelling although not paid & calendar blocked.

PS if it's a group booking, as I discovered recently, they have 4 days to pay, a group consists of 4+ people, I have a couple booking but had 4 ays to pay, I called air bnb who said 2 people isn't 4 & a group is 4+, so how can 2 people have 4 days to pay, I didn't get a useful answer...

Ed

[Letti0]

@Ed51  I had a group booking recently. They did not pay in the 4 days. 3 hours after it expired/cancelled out they rebooked it as a group pay again thus another 4 more days to block my calendar. I called AirBnB on this one they finally got her to pay after 2 1/2 days into the second group booking. Then the next night 9 days before the stay she cancelled. It was for a lone Saturday, so she blocked my whole weekend for all this time. Being able to book it once is annoying, but the fact that they can rebook it again when it expires/cancels out is just totally unfair to the hosts. 

[Fred13]

@Ed51 This was the subject of a few lively threads on this forum when this was first instituded this last Spring.  Sure enough, it happened. If you are with Airbnb, many of its rules will come into conflict with the rules of other booking agencies, especially if you have  Instant Booking with any of the others.

[Carlos1002]

1) Got a booking request (which is weird because I am on instant booking, but that is another topic of conversation). I accepted it.

2) After I accepted it, I get told on airbnb that they are waiting payment. They have 24 hours to pay!!!!

3) In the meantime they block my calendar for 24 hours! Until guest pays or doesn't!!!

4) I am not sure if the guest will pay? or not.... If he doesn't pay, then I lost those dates for 24 hours.

5) I had a customer inquiring about those dates and I couldn't rent it because it was on "Awaiting Payment" status.

6) Bottom line: Why does airbnb lock my dates when they don't get a payment? 24 hours is too long!!!

7) I am surprised I don't hear about this more often, and why people don't complain more??? This is a big issue that affects every host...

😎 I called airbnb and they released the hold on those dates... But by the time this happened, my customer rented somewhere else..

I lost a sale because my dates were locked...

Does anyone have the same problem? Is this totally unfair for the host?

Any advise?

Thanks

[Ed51]

Most of air bnb's policies are unfair to the host, they just want loads of money. I have pointed out many times to air bnb, no host no air bnb.

I have had a few booking who will pay up to 24 hours or groups 4 days, I had a group of 2 doing this when I phoned air bnb they said a group is 4, so how can 2 hold off paying for 4 days not 1, no answer.

Most people who will pay later in fact don't, they have 24 poured a few places & then choose, mean time we have dates blocked off, no there company will do this. Please remember air bnb (bed, not bed & breakfast) was a sofa surfing site...

They keep changing their policies & site, this implies they keep getting it wrong, if it was good the site would not need to change.

I had the joy of using the original owners direct, wow they were good, honest, fairly priced & completely help full, they sold on to a big multi national & are terrible... enough said.

If your unhappy with air bnb, tell them but lay it on, in the earlier days they changed policies I had informed them about (Irish call centre) now they don't seem interested &/or don't understand, the call centre is no longer in Ireland...

However I've been doing this for years & I have a few sites up my sleeve + some new independent site are appearing for the reasons I mention above.