Goodbye, AirBNB!

[Danielle476]

After two years of successful hosting and over 300+ stays, I'm calling it quits.  I wish I could have hosted longer, but the lack of support and assistance is costing me dearly.  I've had AirBNB refund four reservations now that were completely ineligible; one of which they assured me in writing that they would not refund...then did the same day without any notification whatsoever.  No e-mail, nothing.  Thousands of dollars that were not covered by the EC clause refunded without my permission or knowledge.

Today I received a letter from my condo board's lawyers stating a guest I hosted on June 23rd threw a party, had guests acting belligerently in the lobby, harassing my concierge & being so disruptive that the police had to be called to remove my guest's friends.  This is a guest that I already have an open claim for as she smoked in my home and damaged some furniture.  (She had great reviews but I suppose that means nothing these days.)  Thankfully my building allows AirBNBs but I was still fined $900 for the disruption and noise bothering neighbours.  I had to call AirBNB three times today to have the $900 added to the existing claim, but I have zero hope that I will ever see that money or the money I requested originally.  I also feel terribly about putting my neighbours through any sort of trouble, they don't deserve to be disrupted in their own homes.

It's just not worth the trouble - it's costing me money to host now that I have no protection when it comes to guests who choose not to follow the rules.  I've enjoyed learning from all of you here and appreciate your advice & counsel over the last two years!  I wish you all the best in your hosting journeys.  I'd love to keep participating here as I enjoy helping newcomers, so I'm sure we'll see each other around.  🙂 Stay safe and healthy!

[Clara116]

@Danielle476  I am so sorry u are having to go this route....it doesn't seem fair at all and I wish I couymake it right for you. Seems the automatic algorithm does alot of damage and has ruined much as of late.keep us posted and know we have ur back if there was a way. Many blessings and peace, Clara

[Sarah977]

@Clara116   What Danielle is mentioning aren't issues having to do with automatic algorithms- refunding guests in full for ineligible reservations are decisions that are made by Airbnb staff. Assuring her in writing that she'd be paid for a reservation and then having that not be true is a human decision- algorithms don't lie-people do.

@Danielle476  Sorry you've had such an awful time. I hope you have other channels that will work for you to list on and get bookings. 

[Michelle53]

@Danielle476  So sorry to hear that !    I really enjoy reading your posts. I hope you'll stick around here, at least.    I've been hosting since 2016, and didn't really become a CC participant until recently.  Such a wealth of wise counsel here !

It's really sad that we get so little support as hosts. I feel like I have to work so hard to properly screen guests, and, these days, I turn many away. Even then, I don't always get it right. 

I had a couple of rough experiences with guest damage in my early days as a newbie host. It seems like a no-brainer to actually do something like take a real security deposit, for example, and have a system whereby a guest acknowledges they have read and accepted the house rules, and can't go on to book until they do that.  And after that, zero refund for breaking house rules. 

All the assets and the risk are on the host.

Anecdotally, I had someone request to book just a few days ago, in these days of Covid. I have several Covid-related questions that I ask guests to respond to. New guest, no profile, joined in July 2020. 

I got the request to book and wrote back immediately with my list of five follow-up questions. I got a one-liner response to question one.  Purpose of trip. Family visit.  Asked again about questions 2 - 5. Answer to number of travellers ? Two adults and one child after the guest booked for one (I have a per person fee). 

No answers at all to my Covid questions.  I don't accept children under 12 years old. 

I told her that and she started to tell me it wouldn't be a problem.  So, really, my rules for my house were apparently optional, and negotiable.   Declined with apologies. 

All that took about 4 hours, back and forth - time for which I earned zero. 

But probably better to spend the 4 hours up front, than deal with the rules-optional guests later. 

Wishing you the best,

Michelle

[Jennifer1351]

Hi @Michelle53 , what are the five questions you ask? If you don't mind. I would like to get more information from guests upfront. Do you do any instant booking at all? I'm thinking of doing only booking requests (I do have the requirement for reviews and verified identity). I always thought maybe it would affect me on the algorthim search not having IB, but I'm getting tired of feeling stressed with not knowing enough about guests. Thank you.

[Michelle53]

Hi @Jennifer1351     What I ask is somewhat dependent on how much information I get at the time of booking from the guest, whether they have any reviews, or whether they are new with zero profile. 

Assuming they are new, no profile, no reviews :-

Some kind of "Welcome to Airbnb" message with a suggestion to update their profile so hosts can get to know them a little. 

1. Clarify how many guests are travelling. Example - if guest booked for one person, I ask to clarify how many guests are travelling. 

2. Clarify that they have read through the listing information, and ask if they have any questions about specifics, such as amenities.

3. Find out mode of travel and expected arrival time (in case they are wanting early access, parking etc)

4. Mention Chicago's current Covid regulations and ask if they are completely comfortable with social distancing, mask wearking and avoiding crowds for guest and host safety (I stress the safety aspect)

5.  Confirm state of residence, and mention the current quarantine for certain states.

It's somewhat variable, depending on the sense I get from the guest. It isn't always the same 5 things, and isn't always exactly 5 things.  But it's related to issues I've experienced in the past that now I like to clarify up front, so no "misunderstandings" later.

[Yadira22]

@Danielle476 wishing you all the best! Good luck and stay safe 🙂

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Danielle476 

Thousands of dollars that were not covered by the EC clause refunded without my permission or knowledge.

If I was a judge - I would find in your favour. 

Good luck for the future.

[Suzanne302]

@Danielle476  I feel your frustration. I've been hosting for 3 years and always tried to take things in stride but after a perfect storm of mishaps with CS combined with the stress of the pandemic I decided it was best that I step away from Airbnb and have snoozed my listing indefinitely. Best of luck to you.

[Huma0]

@Danielle476 

So sorry to hear of the problems you have been facing and that they have made it impossible for you to host.

I had similar problems with automatic refunds being granted to guests who fell outside of the EC policy, CS reps saying they would do one thing and then doing another, payouts not processed for no logical reason. I understand that with CS being inundated and overstaffed in these difficult times, mistakes get made, but what was most frustrating was the times I was told that, even though CS had wrongly refunded the guest, there was nothing they could do about it and it was up to ME to try to get that money back from the guest!

If I were you, I would fight for that money. I did eventually get everything I was owed (I am talking only about reservations NOT covered by Airbnb's own EC policy. I did not challenge any cancellations that fell within the parameters of the policy) but it wasn't easy. Each one took me about a month of constant phone calls and messages to CS, being passed from one rep to another, either being fobbed off or given contradictory answers, so it was very time consuming and stressful. You may feel that it's just not worth it but, will all the cancellations and lost income, I really needed that money and also felt out of principle that Airbnb must pay me what I was rightfully owed, so I persisted.

I totally understand if you choose not to, but I wanted to let you know that, just because CS tell you that they can't do anything about it, that doesn't mean it's true. At first, I was trying to explain to each new rep I was passed on to the ins and outs of the numerous mistakes that had been made with the transactions/refunds, but what I found most effective in the end was to just keep repeating their own policy back to them, over and over, so that they had no excuses to come back with.

[Danielle476]

I 100% plan on fighting it to the best of my abilities!  I'm not holding my breath on a quick resolution but that  money is owed to me and I'll do what I can to get it.  Sorry you had to deal with similar issues!

[Ian-And-Anne-Marie0]

@Danielle476 

Perhaps here starts the revolution!

[Stephanie365]

I will happily join you in your fight. They just did the same thing to me, and more than 48 hours later I'm STILL waiting to hear from AirBNB. I've contacted them on Twitter, Facebook and through the Help Message Center directly.  My guest was promptly refunded $1000 after cancelling for non-COVID reasons with my strict cancellation policy AFTER they checked in.  I have still yet to hear from them.

This is both a Breach of Contract and Failure to Perform.

[Donata12]

@Danielle476 i am so sorry for what happened to you. But like you said, there is no hope. They have started a great company, made it big, too big. Hired a bunch of idiots who are barely literate, then Covid hit and that was it. A solid business would have had its plan in place and would have been able to stay behind guests and hosts. Thankfully, most of the big COs did.

I am also a host in Toronto, but haven't hosted here since January. Still debating... Where you at MLS? It is one of the few buildings where STR are still allowed provided that the host qualifies.

What are you going  to do moving forward? If you would like to chat please feel free to PM me!

All the best!

Donata

[Michelle1648]

I am confused about the EC clause.  I have had all my reservations cancel for June and July that booked last year and it said those stays are not eligible for any payment to me! Only until May 31st? What nonsense is this?   I thought there was some insurance for hosts or am I completely wrong here?  I thought I read something about insurance for our bookings made before the state of emergency that end up cancelling?