Glad you are feeling a bit more positive. Apologies for the long delay in responding - the different time zone plays a part in that.
Out of curiosity, in the correspondence that you received did it say your listings are “suspended” or have they been completely “cancelled”? Suspension would seem to indicate a fixed or undetermined period of time while they investigate further or may just be intended as a temporary punishment of sorts. Cancelling would have a more final connotation.
I tried to google to see if they differentiate between these terms and it seems maybe they do. Cancelled accounts seem to also have the bookings revoked.
I would personally not re-list without any communications or permission - even through another party. There was a post here some months ago from a host who had multiple apartments and he was suspended / cancelled. He had friends create profiles and list the properties for him. They were all down again within a very short period of time.
It would be my opinion that any small hope of a functioning partnership from that point on would be lost. At this stage, I would be cautious about how this action would be interpreted. It certainly would not be seen as conciliatory or compliant. If the roles were reversed would you stay in business with someone who went against a direct order of this magnitude? In what could be a temporary situation? I probably wouldn’t.
You raise a good point about other owners and investors. Technically, I would think they are suspended as well because they have appointed you to act on their behalf. Ultimately, I believe they are accountable for your actions as you should have been acting under their direction. You never know, they could be awarded some level of consideration and this would definitely be a point to expand on.
Your circumstances are probably only applicable to a handful of people on the planet so it is a bit hard to offer uninformed and unprofessional feedback especially never having lived in the US. This should really just be considered as one point of view and something to ignite your own decision making process.
In any case, if it was me personally in these circumstances, I would leave it alone for a couple of weeks. Let things die down a bit. If I did not hear from AirBnB, I would try to make an appointment at their offices and fly there to speak with someone. This would certainly convey the message that they are important to you and you are serious about finding a way to make this work. You have a lot on the line with so many others dependant on you.
I would approach them with a promise to remove yourself entirely from the AirBnB listing activity starting with an offer of a 3-month suspension and indicate to them that this would involve a substantial financial penalty to you as well. I would not go there expecting to get off penalty free. My main worry would be those who are affected by what is ultimately my responsibility to fix and what I can do for them.
Let AirBnB know that you have assigned existing bookings to another agent to comply with the suspension. Ask if the nominated agent can act as the AirBnB host with your listings in consideration of all the investors and owners that you represent. You deeply regret any actions that may have played a part in this unfortunate event and you are very motivated to see that the listing owners are not punished for your transgression especially since they were not party to the decision making process. (Yes, I would just accept the blame because you are better off not putting your energy into arguing with them). Make them aware of the circumstances if possible.
If I had no luck on the phone, I would send a registered letter requesting an appointment and stating how much you value working with them. http://www.ceoemail.com/s.php?id=ceo-9901 There is also the possibility that you will not be able to reach anyone who can help you. If this is the case, I would mail a letter to the address listed and hope that it gets read by a staff member who believes in the ethos of AirBnB and decides to help you.
As for the other listing sites, you may have to choose between booking com and Expedia if you do not have a channel manager. I would imagine that needing an account for each property would make this a less viable proposition. Globally booking.com is #1 and it brings us the most bookings. Expedia in the USA is worth looking into as they have affiliation with hotels.com, orbitz, egencia, travelocity, trivago and hotwire. Find out if your listings will be on all these sites and managed by one extranet. booking.com is affiliated with agoda, priceline and villas.com. I believe you need a channel manager to be listed on each site but it is worth asking.
It would be best to do away with the perception that guests from one site may be different from guests that book on another one. Most guests are great no matter which site they come from. They are still just people excited to be on holiday and likely to appreciate what you offer. The ones who know you have their credit card number may be even better guests! I have a few tips that I can share for listings on booking.com if you decide to go that way.
If you do get to speak with someone that can actually help you, I would also be inclined to mention at the end of the conversation that if they lifted the ban on your rentals you would go back to dealing exclusively with AirBnB if / because that is how you are happiest to operate.
Ultimately you have to do what you feel is best and perhaps even collaborate a bit with those whose income is on the line. Once you make a move, there is going to be a reaction and they may want to have a say in what that move is going to be.
I find it is prudent to focus on a win win in negotiations. I think it is to your advantage that you are a host in good standing. This will afford AirBnB a bit of a win if they are able to accept a compromise that will see your listings back up on the site and a win for you too on being reinstated. You have the ingredients for a positive outcome.
I certainly do wish you well with this undertaking, Lisa