Chicago registration - PENDING

Chad138
Level 1
Chicago, IL

Chicago registration - PENDING

Anyone else having trouble getting a registration number for your city of Chicago listing.  Listing says pending, but it has said that since July.  I have been trying to work with AIRBNB as the city advises it has to be requested via AIRBNB.  I have called AIRBNB atleast 4 times and nobody seems to be able to assist.  It was esculated to a case manager 3+ weeks ago but nobody is returning my calls or emails.   Received email from city today saying I need to cancel my listings for failure to register and if I dont I could be fined.

 

Is it just me or has the customer serivce provided by AIRBNB gone from a perfect 10 to a 3 at best?

 

Concerned super host.

10 Replies 10
Alex893
Level 10
Chicago, IL

 Chad, Airbnb has nothing to do with you Chicago registration. Have you called BACP? Maurice is the guy to talk to

Chad138
Level 1
Chicago, IL

Thank you.  I will reach out to them on Monday and see if they can be of any assistance.

 

 I do disagree that AIRBNB has nothing to do with this,  if nothing else the case managers should know what is going on.  They escalated my issue to them 3+ weeks ago and I can’t talk them and they have not reached out via email.  I am just told I have to wait, but we are not sure why it is taking so long.  Yesterday’s email from the city advises I need to cancel my listings or be in voilation.   I can’t wait any longer.

 

Hope we can get this worked out, as I  have really enjoyed all them AIRBNB guests over the past 3+ years.  Most of which as a super host. 

 

Thanks again for taking the time to reply. 

 

Chad

 

 

Hi all. Same problem here. I received a letter (dated 10/19/18) from the city stating the same.  At this point I have to de-list since the city can fine me, I belive $1500 per day. Total blame is on Airbnb since ONLY THEY CAN CONTACT THE CITY,  and their lack of customer, in my case Superhost - ha! -support.

 

They have had my information for over 2 months and obviously do not feel the need to help it's clients - also their revenue stream, how ironic. Maybe HomeAway/VRBO is a better platform to explore. Any help will be much appreciated.

 

(You were recently notified that your shared housing registration for the above referenced property, which was originally submitted on your behalf by a short term residential rental intermediary company, required renewal.

You failed to respond to the renewal notification requests. As a result, your shared housing registration has expired. You may not legally rent your unit without a current registration.

Please remove your listing from the platform. Failure to remove your listing is a violation of the municipal code and may result in the issuance of citations and the imposition of fines.)

 

*10/5 - Spoke to Janine, the "Superhost" customer service rep,  and emailed the "Action Required: Renew Shared Housing Registration*" letter from the city along with all information and back up per her request.  She would get back to me in 24 hours...... Never heard again. 

 

10/15 - Spoke to Kayla who is a "Superhost" customer service rep. Stated she would get back to me on Thursday 10/18 bewtween 1pm and 3pm....Never heard again.

 

 

 *The Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection (BACP) CANNOT assist with the host renewal process. Shared housing hosts must renew their host registration through the licensed Shared Housing Intermediary a.k.a. internet platform(s). This interaction is strictly between the licensed internet platform and the shared housing host. Therefore, host must contact their licensed internet platform directly with any questions regarding this process.

 

Bruce

I am in the same boat. The city sends these nasty letters. Airbnb sends me links that have no usable information. One link suggests hiring a lawyer. Really?!

-Mary

Wendi25
Level 2
Chicago, IL

I had the same problem with AirBnb support! Everything says you CAN'T contact the City directly. Apparently I listed the wrong unit # initially but AirBnb was no help in fixing it. I will try to find this Maurice guy.

Swishers0
Level 2
Chicago, IL

Can anyone update me on what happened with your registration? Mine has been pending for a few months. I did have a registration number for a year but it has definitely expired by now. I can get no help from the city or Air BNB. Worried my business will go up in smoke. Air BNB customer service told me to wait. City gave me the # for Air BNB. Sigh.

I am also on a similar boat. Not sure how we should deal with this? BACP denied my application and says that the listing unit address is incomplete. I asked Airbnb to change the registration status from pending to not started. I also asked airbnb to change my address to include the apartment number. I resubmitted, and got another BACP denial. Did anyone successfully get in touch with Maurice from BACP? 

Caitlin90
Level 2
Chicago, IL

I am struggling with this exact thing- and am getting the same ring around the rosie of people "not able to help" on both sides. How did you get this rectified??

Caitlin

This is what i have just done. I went to registration, the hit the edit button and even though it showed that I had a registration number or in another case it said "pending" I clicked apply for registration number. It then said your registration is pending but you can continue to rent. Perhaps that's all you have to do. I will find out. NO ONE at airbnb after many conversations has any clue.

I am going through this same nonsense too with Airbnb and the city.  I gave up on Airbnb's customer service and went to City Hall. I met with Greg in the Dept of BusinessAffairs and Consumer Protection.  

Backstory: We bought a building from people who were Airbnb hosts.  When we applied for our registration to be hosts with Chicago, we were denied because the previous owner's name was still connected to our address in Chicago's system.  Airbnb refused to help resolve our issue unless I got the previous owner to contact them and give Airbnb permission to write a letter with his name and our address.  Airbnb even refused to write a letter that stated that we were the only active listing at our address.  The previous owner changed his phone number and left town (not in a sketchy way, he moved and got a local number)and though I wrote him on Linkedin, he was not responsive.  I am not sure why it was my responsibility to contact the stranger who used to own my house, but that's just how Airbnb rolls.  After I went to City Hall with my deed and some other documents, Chicago removed the previous owner from their system.  Now I need Airbnb to resend my registration.  They told me it would take a week to figure out how to proceed.  VRBO took less than 2 minutes to resend the registration to Chicago.  Whatever you do, don't let Airbnb escalate your complaint, because once you escalate your case with AIrbnb, the front line customer service people can no longer help you and you are not permitted to speak to the person who is handling your case.  I have lost a week of my life dealing with this nightmare but I am almost through it.  Airbnb needs to figure their stuff out.