Hi Annette and Curtis,
Great question! We are fairly new hosts via AirBnB. We were handling all of our transactions ourselves and after much study decided to transition to AirBnB. This guest was someone who we were in conversation with just at the transition point and we directed him to handle the transaction thru airbnb for a long term booking with us.
So, the cost of the reservation ($4500) is for a long term booking and we "imported" him to our airbnb business. However, we believe that he may have already been an airbnb member. So, we hope that answers your question.
The concept of "punishment" vs inquiry and resolution( if Airbnb has a concern) is distressing. They never asked us about anything related to this and we would be happy to share documentation with them.
The listing is for a large(2500sq.ft.) English Basement Apartment that easily sleeps 6, in a primier DC neighborhood a few blocks from the National Zoo on direct transit lines to the National Mall (15 min.) and walking distance to some of the most active areas of the city.
Here is the link for that listing: https://airbnb.com/rooms/12588712?