SECURITY RISK of Listing Has been Temporarily Paused -- Hosts Beware

[Farrell0]

Airbnb causes a SECURITY RISK for hosts when they "pause" your listing. YOU CANNOT access anything about your listing when it is paused.

I have a 4.3 rating on my listing (great for any hotel) and they paused my listing because a guest was not happy about how many plates were in the cupboard and there was dust behind all the electronic equipment. This guest did not even contact me about ANY problems they were having. Although I give my guests 3 contact numbers and there is a built in message thread on airbnb.

When the listing is paused, of course no other people can book, BUT WORSE -- you cannot access the information about guest who are currently booked during the time the listing is paused. I had a guest call to let me know she couldn't find the DOOR ACCESS code for the digital lock and asked me to give it to her over the phone.

When I have a guest call for an access code -- FOR SECURITY REASONS -- I log into my airbnb account and see if the number they are calling me from matches the number they registered with Airbnb. If it matches I give them the door code. If not I ask them for the number they have registered to airbnb. If they cannot give me the number, of course, I am not going to give them the code. This keeps all the guests safe.

When your account is "PAUSED" . Which I think is completely silly unless there are truly serious problems (which a computer algorithm could flag - but certainly shouldn't decide like airbnb computer does) -- not only do you not get bookings -- YOU CANNOT VERIFY THE IDENTITY OF THE PEOPLE THAT ARE STAYING IN YOUR HOME during the "paused" period. ALSO you cannot address any of their concerns because you cannot see your message thread.

SO -- Not only does Airbnb PUNISH HOSTS for guests who don't reach out to their hosts for help and leave bad reviews; They cut off contact with the guests during the "paused" period -- So that you can potentially get more bad reviews.... And worse than that -- You can't check the identity of people that want to get into your house!!!

What a bad security problem for AIRBNB.

Hopefully they will fix it or a better Airbnb will come along. 

[Marzena4]

Honestly, @Farrell0, if it happened to me NOT to have access to the host panel and all the info there, I would not honour any reservation due to security concerns. Besides, diversification of hosting portfolio is a must. Monopoly is to be avoided.

[Farrell0]

Unfortunately Marzena,  Because airbnb doesn't allow you to access your account -  you are stuck with it operating itself untiluntil they remove the restriction.   It is a poor Airbnb Policy.   But how do you fight the big monopoly.   The power of monoploy!!!

[Deborah135]

Airbnb is really against hosts in a big way, especially good hosts who are doing their best to provide impeccable conditions for their guests. There are some horrible people out there who make it a career to come into your home, make a mess of it, damage and steal your property and then give you a bad review. Even when you show from the message thread that the guest is the one at fautl, the attendants at Airbnb do not care. They stand by the guests' negative reviews and penalize you. In the long run, it only ends up hurting other guests. The day will come when a better platform will be created for good hosts to extend hospitality for guests. Then we can happily bid Airbnb goodbye. I dream of that day. I've just about had it with Airbnb for the hostility they show to their good hosts.

[J89]

I'm facing the same problem.  The quality of guests that Airbnb sends me has dramatically declined over the last year and I'm the one stuck with rude ungrateful guests who make a mess of my house then leave a negative review which causes my listing to be paused.  90% of guests still are respectful and grateful but for some reason Airbnb chose to let these 10% of idiots ruin it for everybody else.

[Deborah135]

I tell Airbnb all the time that I truly believe they are deliberately sending those evil guests. They do it especially when you have superhost status and it is near the time for the next evaluation. Why does Airbnb despise hosts so much? It's really unfair because we work so hard to make guests comfortable. It's really a shame.

[Farrell0]

I just had a guest stay that gave me 5 stars on everything.  Except for Overall she gave me 4 Stars.  This is the rating that everyone sees....  It put my listing on "watch" for being paused again.  I asked the lady why she gave me a 5 on everything and then a 4 overall.. She said she only gives 5's for absolutely perfect places.  I'm assuming she never gives 5 stars.  She said that I needed to provide beach chairs that she could take to the beach and stock the kitchen better.  I have a coffee machine, Toaster, Microwave, Crock Pot....Pots, Pans, Dinnerware, Silverware....hmmmmm......

The Bigger Airbnb gets... the more picky customers we will have...  AND really... They don't understand how the rating system works...

[Adriana100]

I got a guy who gave me 3 * review for sleeping in my office sofa bed. The description was accurate, there were tons of pics yet he gave me 3* and no review. Just a "." For $20 per night what was he expecting? The Ritz? I asked him what was wrong in order to improve. No answer.

The second time I got the notification he booked me automatically I messaged him ahead of time explaining how he hurt my ratings and actually how the rating system works. If he had booked me it wasnt that he hated my place, after all. I still didnt get any reply from him, but he didnt rate me.

Yeah, there are some people out there who really feel entitled.

[Farrell0]

People do give a low rating and then book the same place again.   I blame AirBnB for poor education of the guests!  Their rating system is nothing like the star ratings that the hotels use.  Guests do not realize that they are to be rating us based on our description of the condition of our properties - and not the quality and service levels.  Some people think that they are doing everyone  a favor with a low rating.   If people are renting a sofa bed in your office for $20 per night and that is exactly what they get.... you should have 5 stars!

[Sarah977]

@Farrell0   And also guests have no clue at all that hosts get their listings paused or delisted as punishment for what they thought was an okay review to leave.

[Shawna33]

Part of the appeal of AirBnB to people is that they can get a property to fit their need on any given trip. If they want a luxery apartment with lots of amenities, it is available. Also available are economical options with less luxery but still a clean comfortable place. Unfortunately, the way reviews works is not with any relative comparison it is just a guests opinion. And when they have a bad trip for reasons outside of our control, it will taint their opinion of the entire trip.  Air BnB hosts are leaving at astounding rates. I have seen the number of available properties drop by 80% in my town. If AirBnB does not find a way to respect the host, they will lose the base of their entire system.

[Inna22]

@Farrell0  thank you for posting this. When I saw your  original post sometime ago, I started to copy the guest name and phone number onto my own calendar where I keep track of reservations. Just in case. 

[Farrell0]

That is a very smart thing to do.  I have also done the same.  If you have a guest who destroys your things... Airbnb is not much help.  You will then have the contact info to go after them legally if you need to.  There is a reason that hotels take our drivers license #, home address and phone number.  If they need to sue us... they have to be able to find us.  Just try to get Airbnb to release any of that info to you if a guest does you wrong....... They never will..... You have to protect yourself.

[Guy9]

This is mid-June 2020, I agree with most that was said in this thread, and want to say I’ve gotten screwed as a host more then I care to note and as a guest not so much, it’s funny that in the 6+ years now of hosting it’s only now dawning on me this discrepancy has occurred even in my own case, guess I thought I was the only host being abused and that I was all alone. Maybe too many hosts have left and decided not to leave behind notes or complaints about these experiences like now no one has commented about this here since 2018!

[Sarah977]

@Guy9  There have been countless posts about this since 2018, you just happened to resurrect an old thread on the topic.

Lately there have been a barrage of posts about Airbnb suspending listings for reasons they often won't even disclose to the host.