Purchased an Airbnb with future bookings

[Stacey169]

I purchased a property last week with a healthy amount of future bookings last week. The seller told me it would be an easy transition to transfer the current bookings from that account to mine. Turns out it's not so easy! Airbnb has been of little to NO help in this area. I get conflicting responses on the issue depending on whom I talk with in case management. I thought it would behoove them to make this a seamless transition so they can keep the service fees on these bookings. But they are making it frustratingly difficult. I am astounded, because the seller made me an authorized administrator on the original account. I HAVE all the phone numbers of the current booked guests and could presumably call each and every one of them and book them on my own, separately. You would think Airbnb would want to honor these existing reservations at the pricing system they were booked at from the beginning. But I'm hitting brick walls trying to make this happen. Anyone have a similar experience and advice?? 

[Sarah977]

@Stacey169  The seller lied to you. A person can't sell an Airbnb. What they are selling is the house, and what the buyer decides to do with that house, live in it themselves, use it as an Airbnb, rent it out to long term tenant, is up to them. 

It was the seller's responsibility to contact all the booked guests, inform them of the sale, and ask if they would like to retain their booking, under the understanding that there was a sale and a new host. He should also have informed Airbnb that he was selling and either get them to cancel the booked reservations, or find out how he could get those transferred to your new listing for those guests who wanted to keep the reservation. 

I'm not sure what to advise you at this point- hopefully some other hosts have experience or knowledge about this.

[Helen3]

Hi @Stacey169 

@Sarah977  is right the host selling the property lied to you.

Quite rightly Airbnb won't automatically transfer a listing from one host to another as the listing has built up goodwill based on how an individual hosts. There is no guarantee that the new host, hosts in the same way. It would be false advertising.

You need to set up your own profile and listing ASAP so you can start to take bookings.

Ask the current host to work with Airbnb and offer her guests the options of rebooking with you or cancelling - whatever suits them better.

This is not down to Airbnb, this is down to a host who either lied to you or didn't bother to check what was possible.

[Robin4]

@Stacey169

Hi Stacey, If you paid a premium for the property based on the vendors assertions that the Airbnb business was transferable you would have legitimate grounds to take action against that person for misrepresentation. Although in any purchase agreement we are subject to 'buyer beware' the vendor does have a legal obligation to correctly state any of the potential assetts, and if this vendor had a considerable number of reviews and future bookings they would have been entirely aware that the profile and the business stays with the profile owner, not the property.

This may be a case where you need to engage a solicitor. The vendor may have titled you an authorized administrator but that just means he/she gave you access to his/her account.

Stacey, Airbnb have been misrepresented here and their hands are tied. The vendor needs to cancel all their existing reservations and Airbnb can help you in having those cancelled bookings offered to you, and if the guests concerned are happy to deal with someone other than the person they booked with, then those bookings will become yours.

Stacey, it is the person who holds the Airbnb profile that retains the business....not the property and a solicitor in your corner might just prod the vendor in cooperating with both you and Airbnb.

Sorry that you have been hoodwinked like this Stacey but please understand it is the vendor who is the problem here, not Airbnb....If you can get this sorted out you will find Airbnb good to deal with just like countless thousands of us hosts! 

Cheers......Rob