Should massive changes to listing be allowed if it has booked stays?

Inna22
Level 10
Chicago, IL

Should massive changes to listing be allowed if it has booked stays?

I booked an airbnb for myself sometime ago and recently wanted to check on some details for the upcoming travel. The host changed a whole house three bedroom listing to a room in her house. After some back and forth she is honoring the original reservation. I am thinking airbnb should not allow a massive change like this when there are reservations for the original listing in place. You should either not be able to scale down (whole house to shared room, fewer bedrooms or bathrooms etc) or there should be an auto-email to booked guests asking to acknowledge the change. Obviously adding amenities or small changes should be ok but not something this dramatic. Even though the host agreed to honor the original reservation, I can't even see any of the details myself and have to ask her for every details and she has either not been honest or does not remember herself. For example, I asked her if there is a per person charge- I am now bringing one more family member. She said there was, I asked to pay, she told me she still needs to add it to the listing. I called airbnb and was told she never had a per person fee. Therefore, even if she is adding it going forward I should not have to pay it. I am now at her mercy as far as parking, check in times, available amenities, etc or have to call airbnb for everything. These are the situations that give Airbnb a bad rep. 

18 Replies 18
Ann783
Level 10
New York, NY

Not sure I would want to stay with someone who is so dishonest.

I went from Cable to Hulu+Live TV+Roku+Netflix and was so worried about my guests I communicated with them during the transition. It was no big deal to them but I wanted to be transparent.

@Ann783 unfortunately any other place at this point is not only double the price but also double the distance from where we need to be. It is a small town, not many choices 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Inna22  So this woman deleted an entire listing while she still had reservations pending on it and wasn't planning on honoring the reservations? Or shove 6 people in one private room? What on earth was she thinking? That's outrageous. 

It's too bad you say it's not possible to find something else suitable at this point- this is exactly the kind of host that outta be reported and delisted.

Too bad you asked about the extra person fee- but being the responsible host you are, of course you did, only for her to take advantage. I have a hard time believing she can't remember if she charged a fee for extra guests, unless she has a lot of listings.

@Sarah977 I did not want to get there with my mom, step dad, kids and all and for her to announce that I only booked for x many people and the rest should leave or pay some crazy amount. They way things were going, I thought I needed everything documented through messages

Unbelievable. I could not even imagine offering something other than what my guests had booked.  I changed a bedspread once and made sure the guest knew that it would be different than the one pictured in the photo. Too bad you feel you must stay there due to lack of available rentals - I would want to cancel my stay and demand a full refund; I'd also report the host for violating TOS. At the very least, I'd be demanding a huge discount for the loss of space I originally expected and paid for when booking.

Suzanne302
Level 10
Wilmington, NC

@Inna22 That is crazy and I can't believe a host would do that and think it's okay?? It sounds like you're stuck with the rez due to limited options but definitely report her listing to Airbnb.

 

Doesn't Airbnb track changes and so they should be able to go back and see the listing as it was? I swear I read another thread about that...

@Suzanne302 that is why they were able to tell me that it is free for the extra person even if she adds the fee later. And I don't know what I would be reporting. I do not think she technically did anything wrong. She made the changes that system allowed her to make and she is honoring what I booked (or close to it as of course I can not remember all the details)

@Inna22 Okay, I guess I don't know what you're asking then. Do you think she would have honored the original booking had you not contacted her about it? I guess there's nothing for you to do then as it sounds like you worked it all out before posting here.

@Suzanne302 I was hoping to open up a general discussion on the subject matter rather than looking for help personally.

@Inna22 @Suzanne302  This whole thing with making changes and having booked guests in the future can be tricky..............Last year I changed my check out time.....and the good part for me is I always print out each booking.............and it shows those kinda things, so when i had changed to a hour earlier I could see that this guests still gets the later check out  time because I had booked that. This is why I always print out the reservation for every guest. And I add any details I have messaged with them and so my folder is complete with what I need to know before they arrive...without having to even look at my computer/phone. I prefer having a folder with all my stuff that I can go to, read, add to right in my office without phone/computer technology. Works for me..............I hate you got a host that might be dishonest - hopefully they will be super great with you and your family. Best

@Clara116 of course you should not have to create a new listing if you changed check out time. I usually make a note of the date I made the change so I can tell by the date the reservation was made what those guests are expecting. Although as a traveler I would not remember such details unless when I was choosing the place it was one of the considerations and would rely on what is currently in the listing. 

@Inna22  Wow, how very kind of the host to honor the reservation that she charged you for, as if it's a special favor!

 

Does the host's profile at least have reviews referencing the property as an entire 3-bedroom house? If it were an unreviewed listing I'd have concerns about whether it exists at all.

 

It seems to me that the property type should be fixed just like the address at the time the listing is created. Canges from Entire House to Private Room or vice versa should require a separate listing since the reviews for one are not applicable to the other. 

Ricardo85
Level 10
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

@Anonymous 

 

Airbnb takes a screenshot of the listing when the reservation is confirmed.

 

Ricardo

 

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@Anonymous Yes, there were whole house reviews but to make it even more concerning, she cancelled her last three guests (auto reviews for that)