Host referral fee

[Saskia-and-Peter0]

Fellow AirBnB fans can you correct me if I'm wrong please? You may have read this post in other forums as I try and get to the bottom of it.

I constantly get this reminder on the platform to invite other hosts and get $100 in credit. I recently did that and after not getting any credit spent some time with support trying to work out why. The lady said the referral is connected to my account and it was all done correctly. I later read some fine print somwhere that said well you get the 100 if the referred space receives over 100 AND if it's their first booking.

That surprised me as I've found AirBnB to be really good and upfront. But that seemed like a real trick to me and honestly I don't experience AirBnB as being tricky like that normally.

So am I imagining things? Do you really only get the advertised 100 in credit if the person you refer gets over 100 for their first booking? I get that they want a decent indication that the referred host will continue to host and eventually cover the referral through AirBnB fees but making it the first booking and that it be over 100 seems like a way to dodge paying out as much as possible.

The main reason I'm looking into this is as part of a different job I do, I recommend and help people set up AirBnB to get themselves out of financial hot water. And I want to know if I'll get a credit or just a nice pat on the back. I will still recommend as an alternative income stream but won't spend my time helping them get started. Alas most who are struggling don't actually just take action and list, they need a lot of nudging and helping along the way and I don't want to spend that extra time if my time is not rewarded.

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Saskia-and-Peter0

Hi guys...I guess look at it this way, what benefit does AirBnB receive if you get all your friends to sign up to be a host, but none of them actually ever take a booking. It would just be a money making racket for you. In brief, $100 for every email address you can find and persuade to upload a photo.

We would all have a very nice income if the scheme worked that way.

You will only get paid if they are active and bring in at least $100 for their first reservation - seems pretty fair to me I have to say. You wouldn't run a business any other way - why pay out $100 for a booking that only earns you a few bucks. They are trying to avoid being scammed is my view and I think that's quite ok.

[Saskia-and-Peter0]

Ok thanks.

[Tommy1]

How do you refer another host?  I can't seem to find that page.

[Saskia-and-Peter0]

Hi Tommy. On the website on the right along the top where it says Trips, Messages and help you should see "Host" (to the left of the others).  Mouse over that menu and part way down you'll see the link to refer new hosts.

However note that whilst they advertise that you get $100 for referring new hosts the fine print says ONLY if they rent their space for over $100 per night and ONLY if that happens on the first night's booking.  

Best

[Zohar0]

not accurate - only if the first BOOKING is for 100$ (doesn't have to be 100$ a night)

[Zohar0]

No, it's not fair because a- it's not something that should be in the fine print. it's a significant term.

b- why 100$ in ONE booking? what if the area here and the prices don't go that high? if you want to make sure that the referred host creates income, you can demand 100$ in the first month, for example. it's not ok and doesnt make any sense to apply this to a specific booking. really not ok this whole thing.

[Saskia-and-Peter0]

Hi Zohar, yes I've recently learned that it's not the first night but the first booking. So if your room is 30pn then the first booking has to be 4 or more nights.  

Most of the people I've been working with to set up AirBnB are in less well off areas and it's usually a room not their whole space so none ever cross the threshold.  

[Mariam19]

@Gerry-And-Rashid0 If you know this is only about 100$ about the first booking or it accumulated the booking until 100$ and than gives you the money?

Also I got notification from Airbnb that I received host referal payout 100$, as they told me it would need 31 days to get on my account. It is more than 31 days and I still didn't get any code for the money. Do you have any idea, when will I get the money? Or where are the codes?

Thank you for your help. 

Mariam

[Jessica375]

Hi, thanks for that, I  referred 8 friends, and 1 hosted their first guest awhile ago and I was paid out then another friend started her Airbnb and has hosted several guests - I have not been paid out and now another friend has started and has had her 1st guest and again not paid out. I started my Airbnb in Jan 2017, sent out my referrals in Feb 2017, so March was when 1st host credit paid, since then 2nd galfriend started in March and latest has started in June. Looking back on the Airbnb List - these invites says 'INVITE EXPIRED'  Didnt know there was time limit and its only been a couple of months!!! 

[Holly16]

I also referred new hosts back in July. They met the $100 limit. I was supposed to get $360 payment. I received emails saying that I would. On my profile it says I have been paid, but no payment yet. It has been over 60 days. I have made numerous calls to Airbnb support only to be told that there is a bug in the system and that I won't get paid until it is fixed. No estimate of when that will be. I asked for a supervisor who could authorize my payment anyway and was told that they were in a meeting and would call me afterwards. That was three days ago. I've been told several times by support that someone would call and no one ever does. I feel scammed and have zero motivation to continue to refer hosts. Has anyone else had a similar experience this summer? Has anyone received their referral fee this summer? I'm ready to go to the Better Business Bureau and file a complaint. Airbnb has not kept up its end of the deal and I get nothing but the runaround when I call or email. Extremely frustrating and disappointing.

[Monika225]

I'm having kind of the same experience, it says that I am paid out, but I'm not. *Reading about your experience, I guess I'll never get the money. Wouldn't have believed airbnb is actually able to do this.