Guest Canceled on Day 18 of 72-day stay... Airbnb has not paid

Guest Canceled on Day 18 of 72-day stay... Airbnb has not paid

Guest canceled on Day 18 of 72 day stay after she dropped out of a summer internship. I was paid for first 30 days. Guest is obligated to pay for days 31-48 according to long term policy requiring 30-day notice. Airbnb said they tried to collect payment from guest but unsuccessful. I rebooked only 2 of those days. Payment of $406 shows pending from guest, but Airbnb says they will not pay me unless they collect from guest. I don't understand. If Airbnb has an automatic long term policy, why did they not collect the money to enforce that policy beforehand?

17 Replies 17
Jim472
Level 10
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Wow, that's scary. I've got a 90 stay coming up and a strict policy as well. Keep us informed! Good luck. 

Yes, it's a slippery slope.  It's great to have long, solid bookings, but if they cancel it's difficult to rebook unpaid days in a short time.  I had several inquiries for that room in the days leading up to her stay... but in my area, people generally book a month to 6 months in advance.

 

Thanks for your kind reply!

@Pamela619  What happens is: at the point when the guest places a long-term booking,  Airbnb only collects the first 30 days upfront. After that, the payments are scheduled on a monthly basis. 

 

So the problem here is that at the time the guest placed the booking, Airbnb does not require the funds to be available in their account for more than 30 nights' booking charge. Even if the guest doesn't cancel early, it's possible that on Day 31 you receive notice that Airbnb was unable to collect payment for days 31 to 60  - at which point you're permitted to terminate the booking but you don't get your payout. * And that right there is the no. 1 reason I don't think Airbnb is a valuable service for long-term bookings. It is very easy for the host to get screwed, and since you can't hold a deposit you don't have much recourse aside from suing the guest for breach of contract.

 

The problem could actually be something as simple as the guest needing to manually authorize a charge on her bank card or change the selected payment method in her Airbnb account. It's also possible that she's attempting an Extenuating Circumstances cancellation, and Airbnb is putting the payout on hold while investigating. A third possibility is that the next payment is scheduled for the 30th day of the booking and the cancellation hasn't triggered it to be updated. And finally, it could be just what Airbnb said it was - for whatever reason (no funds in the account, etc) the guest's payment method could not release funds to Airbnb.

 

 * One hack that might work for those considering long-term stays:  if you want to bypass this issue, you can require that the guest break their stay up into blocks of 27 days, thereby reverting to your normal Cancellation Policy. This could mean you're entitled to less compensation in the event of an early cancellation, but on the other hand it would ensure that Airbnb has collected the payment before the booking begins.

Thank you!  Great information!

@Anonymous 

 

The flaw in this hack means that an available monthly discount rate won't be applied for 27 day blocks.

True, there are a lot of flaws in it! But on the other hand, i can't imagine a host in their right mind would accept a booking above 27 days without some prior discussion with the guest...during which a Special Offer could be applied. 

 

(And indeed, why subject both parties to all the added Airbnb fees when an independent lease agreement and deposit would be far more practical)

Paul154
Level 10
Seattle, WA

@Pamela619 

If I understand correctly, you got paid for 31 days but guest only stayed for 18 days. 

You were allowed to "double-dip for the 19th - 31st day....

You also are now allowed to rerent your place for the 2 now unpaid months, with a 2 week notice. However, you could only rent 2 of these days out of the 2 months available.

 

Sorry Airbnb is not letting you double dip for those 2 extra months. Do you think your guest failed her internship just to be mean to you?

If I were you, I would be more concerned with my inability to rent only 2 days out of 2 months.

Solve this problem and you will be happier.

Good luck

@Paul154, that's not at all what I'm saying an don't appreciate your moronic reply and biting tone!  

 

I was paid for days 1-30.

Guest canceled on Day 18, which means she is obligated to pay (according to Airbnb's own long term cancellation policy), through Day 48.

 

So, you clearly misunderstood... and that misunderstanding causes you to be harsh and judgmental?  Is there anywhere in my post where I took issue with the guest's intentions?  No, quite the opposite.  I take issue with Airbnb's unenforceable cancellation policy.

 

At no point was there 'double-dipping', as you put it, since I have not been paid for days 31-48.  I was able to book only two of those 18 days (not two months), so essentially I'm out 16 days. 

 

Read carefully before you assume someone is being an arse, and before you behave like one yourself!!

Are you saying days 19 - 31, your calendar was blocked for booking, even though guest shortened her stay on day 18?

Even though your guest left, your listing stood empty? With no possibility to get bookings? 

That is interesting. I did not know that airbnb would do that. 

No, sir.  That’s not at all what I’m saying.  Have a good day!

Yvonne191
Level 10
New Brunswick, Canada

@Paul154  I don't see it stated that guest failed her internship but that she dropped out??  That shouldn't affect how Airbnb should gurantee that the funds are available for an extended stay of  72 days more or less.

Besr Regards,

Yvonne

Mika8
Level 10
Zürich, Switzerland

 

It would make more sense when airbnb collects the amount of month 2 at the beginning of month 1 (and for month 3 at the beginning of month 2 etc.).  If the payment is not successful, airbnb could inform the host early.  If the guest then cancels airbnb could refund the guest according to this 30 days policy.

@Mika8  That would be an improvement for sure. Also, Airbnb could give the long-term host leeway to determine how many months' worth of payment is required up front, basically replicating a deposit structure. Airbnb could still pay out the host on the monthly basis, but at least the host has a guarantee that funds are available to prevent non-payment or cover damage.

@Mika8 If Airbnb could do this, that will be helpful. Otherwise, the long-term booking over one month has greater risk on hosts. Long-term booking normally has larger discount. This risks are due to

 

(1) To attract long-term booking, larger monthly discount is usually applied by hosts

(2) Long-term bookings normally are confirmed a few months before. That means that the dates are blocked for much longer time.

(3) Long-term guests may have more issues with payment due to credit card expiration, account closed, overdraft etc.

 

Airbnb should consider a change in the way they collect payment for long-term guests. I have had the issue as described by @Anonymous. The payment could not be collected at the begining of second 30 day period. And I received email from Airbnb that I could cancel the guest stay to free up blocked dates without penalty. Fortunately I was able to tell the guest and asked him to have the payment issue resolved. Otherwise, I would have lost all the money when I canceled the guest's stay.