Superhost Status revoked

[Jessica-and-Stacey0]

I have been hosting with Airbnb for over four years. Recently, I had to cancel a guest's reservation because I made an error in the booking. This is the first and only cancellation I've ever made but my super host status was revoked. This seems unfair! 

[Clare0]

@Catherine175 did you inform Airbnb of your illness when you cancelled? If your illness was such that it prevented you from hosting, it would have been considered an Extenuating Circumstance and the cancellation would not have counted against you or your Super Host status.  

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1320/what-is-airbnb-s-extenuating-circumstances-policy

[Linda108]

I see at least two cancellations, @Catherine175 which is why there is an automated "warning".  Your reviews are so positive, I would imagine you do not easily cancel.  Do you involve Air BNB in the cancellation process?  This has helped me. 

[Kamran2]

Yes... we talk to the AirBNB desk all the time.

They try to help every time.

But they have to be honest brokers of situations,

because their business model would absolutely

require that.

If they are biased in either direction,

they will destroy a beautiful business.

[Maddalena3]

I symptaise completely.... I was stripped from my SH badge back in july and felt gutted considering that I accepted the guest request to cancel their booking. Also in my area my performace is higher then all the other competitors which is even more frustrating 😞

[Paul154]

@Maddalena3,

You are in a very interesting position and I would like your viewpoint.

After being stripped of your SH badge, has your business suffered?

Did you have to reduce your rates?

Besides your pride, was your business hurt?

I am very curious about the value of the SH badge.

Thanks

[Maddalena3]

@Paul154 , although Airbnb swear that they do not have any ranking in place , hosts with SH badge do have first priority in the list of listing... I did notice a lack of booking compare to last year  and yes , airbnb help line suggested to lower the pice of my listing to be more visible , ( and my rental price is already very competitive) which I did 

[Kamran2]

Yeah, me too.

So far, so good.....

Let us see the medium-term effects.

[Jessica-and-Stacey0]

Hi - I never actually called Airbnb to talk to them about my Superhost status being revoked but apparently they monitor these forums because they did reinstate my Superhost status. Perhaps that's because I've hosted hundreds of guests for over 4 years and in that time I've never cancelled a reservation or had a bad review.

[Clare0]

Yes, @Jessica-and-Stacey0 there was actually a problem with this past assessment which Airbnb has now corrected.  This was pretty much system wide.  Glad you're still a part of the SH club!

[Fred13]

@Maddalena3Because of that inexplicable 'Request to Cancel' option that guests do have, giving all hosts at least one (1) penalty-free cancellation per year makes total sense. Many will use it that fell into that 'trap'. Airbnb is dead wrong on this one, perhaps being lazy or obtuse by not fixing this ridiculous feature. It is unlikely it is a matter of programming, for they already have a 'cancellation meter' in Instant Booking.

[Linda108]

@Jessica-and-Stacey0  Did you call Air BNB?  As we all know, the system is automated and if there is to be an exception the Air BNB staff can make that exception.  This applies to both guests and hosts.  Once I neglected to block a couple of dates on my calendar because of a family emergency and I was distracted.  When I got an IB reservation, I immediately contacted Air BNB for help cancelling the reservation.  The rep assisted me and no penalties were assessed.  I think she took into account my track record with Air BNB.  Perhaps that would work in your situation as well.  

[Fred13]

Linda, good point and a reminder that many moves by Airbnb are initially made by a program, and human intervention can reverse them. Yes, they definitely take into consideration one's track record.

[Allison2]

Airbnb messaging can fail, so you're not notified of an incoming IB guest the day of their arrival.

Airbnb payments can fail, so they don't actually have the money they were to release to you. You don't mind hosting for free, right?

Airbnb calendar can fail, so it opens dates you previously closed off. Ooops - our bad!

Airbnb customer service can fail, it's now 3 months past when Trust & Safety was supposed to get in touch about that tax issue.

Hosts fail? NEVER. Be perfect of be punished.

Thanks for being part of the Airbnb community! Happy Hosting!

[Peter71]

I had a guest instant book, then call me on the phone to tell me she was booking for a third party.  I told her I couldn't accept that, and cancelled the reservation.  She was obviously in violation of the Airbnb agreement.  I contacted Airbnb on Twitter to explain, but they bounced me from Superhost regardless.   

[Clare0]

@Peter71 oooh! That's not right!  Instant Book hosts can cancel third party penalty free!!  I'd get back in touch with Airbnb to restore your Super Host status.  The thing is that when you cancel an IB booking, you need to indicate that you are cancelling because you are  uncomfortable with the guest and explain that it is a third party booking.  Here's a list of all the acceptable IB cancellation reasons: 

• Violating amenities or predefined House Rules.
• No pets allowed, but guest requests pet.
• Number of guests requested exceeds listing maximum.
• Communication issues.
• Unresponsive.
• Rude.
• Unreasonable requests.
• Suspect party or disturbance.
• Safety concerns.
• Previous bad experience with guest.
• Incomplete profile.
• Profile photo not of face.
• Third party booking (in which the host was NOT aware of this before the booking was confirmed).

I'd challenge this!