Is this worth it? Struggling with remaining an Airbnb host

[Erika295]

I am struggling with whether I can stick with Airbnb as a host. Perspective is greatly appreciated.

I have a few concerns with the Airbnb model (as a renter, I recently had to clean a "superhost's" toilet, sinks and shower before I could use them), but the straw that's breaking this camel is how they treat hosts versus renters.

Two quick stories:

Back in May, I had 2 NYC renters show up at my country farmhouse, find some moths flying around, and leave, submitting a request to the resolution center for a refund. Mind you, it's an old house (1810) but renovated and we keep it *fastidiously clean*. I insist. But it is the country and there are bugs and some of them do get in. Airbnb was on the phone trying to reach me, the host, for resolution immediately. We had several rapid-fire phone calls. These renters were both lawyers so I opted to make this problem go away by giving them a full refund. They were happy, Airbnb was happy. 

By comparison, the experience when I, the host, am the one in need....

Fast forward to July when a renter burned a hole in my wall-to-wall, left the place a major mess, didn't leave on time (which prevented the massive cleaning from getting done on time, and kept the next renters from checking in for 3 extra hours), and had at least 3 to 5 additional people at the house without my knowledge/permission/charges. I was on the phone with Airbnb as soon as I got the dozen photos from my house cleaner, and was advised by them to submit a claim to the resolution center.

The advice I got was to submit for the damage first, and the extra services second.

> But when you submit one request for damages to the center, I soon discovered, you can't submit a second until the first one is resolved.

> BUT I only  have 14 days to submit ANY such request to the resolution center, and as of tonight it's been FIVE DAYS since Airbnb has had my first request and despite calling the help center 6 times, no one has contacted me. Those 14 days are now up.

> Meanwhile, a week later, the renter has finally decided to respond to my original matter-of-fact email to say the damage and mess I'm calling them out on were there when they arrived. And "do I really want to make this ugly?"

I care about doing right by my renters and try to go above and beyond. Most of us probably do; it's a point of pride. E.g., we're in the mountains of Vermont and don't have or generally need air conditioning, but at this same renter's last minute request, we purchased and installed a used window unit in her bedroom days prior to her stay.

But I also care about this house! I was there 3 hours before they arrived. I had been there for a week. There was no burnhole. There was no toddler poop on the bathmat... (My kids are 9-16, hers are in the potty training years, and she's accusing US of leaving the big smudge of human feces on the bath mat.) She's questioning what's wrong with leaving multiple food-crusted cooking pans ("the rental agreement didn't say anything about us doing a deep clean.") 

I just don't want this house at the mercy of people like this without a company that will be there when needed. 

Should I have faith that these Airbnb resolution center people are going to look at all this?

Is ignoring me all this time normal?

Will they weigh my record of conscientious hosting versus this person's complete lack of a record on Airbnb (no reviews)?

Are they going to look out for me here?

Or is this just not worth it for someone like me? I can't afford not to rent, but should I just put my energies into Homeaway (maybe a fluke, but so far, zero issues in 2 years)?

Many thanks for any insights,

Erika 

[Gillian19]

@Erika295 If you stay as an Airbnb host then use it for what it is. A booking platform. Make sure you have your own insurance and charge enough to cover additional cleaning and minor damage when required. If you don't expect Airbnb to be there when things go wrong, then it's fine. If you do, then get off it now. Trying to deal with their CS is not worth the stress.

[Erika295]

Mmm, this does seem like the bottom line. Thanks Gillian. Homeaway seems to be no better -- just a booking platform -- so I probably shouldn't expect better from them. But as yet, have not had to find out.

[Andrew216]

"Perspective is greatly appreciated."

Re-read all your positive reviews
Don't get into correspondence with complainers
Sometimes you may have to wash-up
Read some 1 star reviews of restaurants on tripadvisor and be grateful you don't have to spend Monday explaining what you did "wrong" to an area manager! 

Hospitality Companies will always side with customer. ~it's not personal, they are simply trying to secure future $$$'s from customer. 
🙂

[Erika295]

Excellent perspective, Andrew! Thanks. I struggle imagining them siding with the customer in this blatant instance, but am bracing myself. 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Erika295  Sorry to hear of your bad experiences. It is true, from all the stories I've read on these forums, that off-site hosts seem to have far more problems with bad guests than on-site hosts. None of us can say what the results of your dealings with the resolution center will be, and their attitude towards hosts certainly appears to be unreasonable and unnecessarily compicated, but calm, politeness, persistance, insistence, and patience appear to be key points to try to keep to. (pretty hard, I know, when you're being given the run-around)

I just hope I never have to deal with this kind of c**p. 

I hope you get a successful outcome.

[Erika295]

Sarah, Thanks for weighing in. Yes, my new mantra: "be calm, be polite, be patient...".  It normally comes naturally! I'm sure my posting sounds a bit naiive, but it's so helpful to touch base with other hosts and get some views. Sounds like this run-around is pretty normal. I hope you never have to deal with this stuff either! And thanks for your good wishes.

[Sarah977]

@Natasha0  It didn't sound naive at all. I think all hosts assume that airbnb will have their back, after all, that's the line they put out, making it sound like they're there to assist and be super helpful, and how would we know it was BS except by reading on these forums about how all those promises actually stack up against reality.

[Natasha0]

we are finding this in a hard way now with our house as well have been damaged by guests and airbnb doesn't give a **bleep** about it https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Host-guarantee-bull-bleep-when-guests-damage-your-proper...

[Christine615]

Okay - here's my take.

The guests "fouled" your house. I make it clear that people are renting my house. Not a hotel. Not a bed and breakfast. They are renting MY HOUSE. I also make it clear that if they rent my house they are liable for damages at "replacement" cost (i.e. not the depreciated costs). 

I've had relatively good experiences so far. And the two people who were high maintenance were still not as bad as what you're describing.

I think the Superhost designation is designed to keep hosts from rocking the boat or being scared of bad reviews  that could cause us to lose the designation. But what the heck is Superhost supposed to mean if Airbnbn doesn't stand behind it's million dollar insurance to cover damages?

At some point there's going to be a class action suit from hosts that can't get reimbursed for damages. I'm lucky - the one guest I billed did pay promptly.

But the key is - send photos of the damage to the guest as soon as you get them - and before someone else checks in. Take periodic photos of your place because the meta-data will time stamp the photos. That way these slobs can't claim they didn't do the damage.

Keep fighting to get Airbnb to make things right for you. There is NO excuse for the sloppy customer service.

[Christine615]

Erika. I can't find your listing in your profile. Did you quit?

[Erika295]

@Christine615, Wow, your input is really appreciated. Thank you.

Yes, I can see that I should have sent the guest the photos immediately. I was, surprise, surprise, worried about her getting out ahead of me with a terrible review to shelter herself from the claim. Since I don't take all reservation requests, I don't have Superhost status, and feel like I'm walking on eggshells just to remain somewhere visible in the Airbnbn search returns. But that approach landed me here.

Regarding my listing, Airbnb suspended it this morning. The renter has decided to submit a retaliatory claim, which they took at face value. I'm kind of stunned. They didn't even ask questions first.

I flagged for them that I have outstanding 2-week old claims with their Resolution Center and shouldn't those be addressed as a starting point? But they have been swift and decisive in their support for her.  I did both things they asked for by 10 a.m. this morning and figure my listing should be re-activated by now, but it's not. 

I will say that the renter's complaint, while retaliatory (she told me so via email), did need to be addressed by me. We installed a fake plastic security camera on our porch after a rash of theft in the area last fall. I forgot to tell the renter prior to or during her stay that it's fake. So that's a violation of Airbnb's Community Standards regarding privacy and security, whether it's real or not. Stupid of me. Which she's now making the most of.  

The good news is that others at Airbnb finally responded today regarding my original claims, so we'll see. 

Anyway, thanks for reading, I haven't quit, and I really appreciate the guidance!

Erika

[Christine615]

Awesome. Just remember the guest can’t see your review until after they post their own. And once both are in they can’t be altered. If she posts something negative you can write a public rebuttal the future guests can see. The guest cannot rebuttal yours. So be accurate but constructive. 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Erika295 Make sure Airbnb looks at the email she sent you telling you her complaint was retaliatory. That's something Airbnb doesn't usually take lightly. That you failed to mention the fake security camera was definitely an oversight on your part, but guests aren't allowed to file complaints for the purpose of being retaliatory (and you say she explicitly said she was). So she wasn't actually distressed about the fake camera, she is just using that as an excuse to file a complaint and told you exactly that- Airbnb probably won't approve of that and may stop defending her.

By the way, I wouldn't tell guests that the camera is fake- disclose the camera, but it defeats the whole purpose for them to KNOW it's fake. let them think the exterior of the house is being watched- will cut down on those trying to sneak in unregistered guests, dogs, etc.

[Pete28]

It you can't meet the guests in person the risk goes way up. sadly most insurance will have $5k and up deductible so that's not really the answer. Even if you can't be around, I would make the listing say you live a few blocks away just to keep the crazies away.