Guests qualifying for discounts and then part cancelling

[Eamon-and-Tomás0]

We had two guests check-in on Tuesday for 14 nights. They took advantage of the 12% discount we offer for stays of 7 nights or more and so qualified for a 12% discount. We operate a flexible cancellation policy which means that the guests were entitled to a refund for any nights remaining 24 hours after the cancellation, meaning we got paid for six nights. I expected Airbnb to charge the nightly rate that would have applied to a normal booking for a six-night stay. But instead they divided the payment due to us by 14  and approved us for 6 nights (at the nightly rate that applied to longer discounted stays) and repaid 8 nights to the guests.  Meaning we were short-changed by 12% and the guests saved 12%. I am furious. 

[Pat271]

This is not the first time I’ve heard of guests pulling this, nor is it the first time I’ve seen this type of resolution by Airbnb.  That’s one of the reasons I don’t offer long stay discounts.

[Robin4]

@Eamon-and-Tomás0 

Oh dear, why does this not surprise me!

For some really obscure reason Airbnb are going out of their way to make sure hosts are precluded from making what is their rightful and agreed to reward for fulfilling their part of the deal! 

You are a superhost so you will have a fast contact option, provided you use the phone that is registered with Airbnb....the one you receive alerts on, get onto them and point out that the rental amount agreed by you and Airbnb for a 6 night stay (which is what occurred) is 12% more than the amount you received.

It won't do you any good because they will give you some double-speak about payouts and payments being automated and not something they have any control over. So at that point tell them to remove any discount offers that may be applicable to your listing!

These calls do get analysed, they are recorded and sooner or later someone in there will realise that this does need to be corrected.....a 6 night stay cannot take place at a 12 night rate. 

Bad luck guys but, as I said, doesn't surprise me, in fact I wouldn't  have expected anything different from Airbnb!

Cheers......Rob

[Colleen253]

@Eamon-and-Tomás0 Do you think the guests engineered this on purpose? Either way you could file a request for the 12% they owe you through the resolution center and if that goes nowhere, file a claim with Airbnb anyway (even though they are complicit) and take it to social media at the same time. Get noisy about it. This is ridiculous and just more proof that Airbnb is all about stealing from hosts. From with holding payouts to granting bogus refunds to this kind of thing, it's quite plain.

[Linda108]

Have you spoken with a human being?  I am not sure the program system is very smart.  I can imagine the system logic being different than any human would come up with.  Certainly if this is the outcome of discounts and a human upholds this calculation, I would get rid of discounts as suggested by @Pat271 

No system is perfect and I love that the host community helps others minimize the negative effect of that.

[Robin4]

@Eamon-and-Tomás0 

Thank you so much for alerting me to this 'issue'  of yours. On the strength of your experience I have removed my discount offers from my listing and have inserted this clause into my listing description.

This is the great thing about the CC, we all learn something from it every day.

I never thought I would have to query Airbnb's basic maths capability but you have proved me wrong.......I do! Thanks for the heads-up!

Cheers......Rob

[Joan2165]

I am a Superhost and just had the same thing happen to me. Booked for 1 week with discount I offered, guests gave notice and cancelled after 4 nights. ABB took out the discount for the 4 nights for my payout, they kept it and I list 15%.

Love your suggestion above. Will take note and do the same!

Thanks,

Joan

[Jennifer1773]

I wonder if you can talk a guest into a "reservation change request" instead of a "cancellation," if that might have different results... and more to the host's benefit. Of course that would only be possible if the guest discusses this with you before ending the reservation... what are the chances of that?