Third party booking and 1st review - negative

[Monif0]

Good morning everyone!  We are new hosts on airbnb but have used airbnb for our own travels all over.  I love the platform and would like some advice.  We recently started listing a private room in our house and got our first booking about a week ago.  The person booked the day before and was only staying for one day because they wanted to be close to the airport.  When they arrived, it turned out the booking was not for the person who booked but for her cousin and his girlfriend.  I didn't know what to do and they didn't seem like they came with any bad energy and the booking was for one night.  They explained that the booking was a last minute situation and that they just needed to stay close to the airport before an early flight.  The cousin and girlfriend apparently don't have airbnb and asked the actual person who booked to book something for them. When they arrived they remarked on how clean and nice our house is and thanked us again for allowing them to stay. Fast forward, the booking was fine, no issues, quiet couple and no issues at all.  The day of checkout they thanked me for my hospitality and said they enjoyed the stay and were comfortable.  

So now its review time..at first I didn't know what to do because I'm not reviewing the person who booked but rather the couple who stayed so I wrote a review to that affect.  The person who booked on the other hand gave us a 2 star review and simply wrote "Thank You."

I have other businesses and am not easily upset about negative feedback or reviews but when I saw this I was like "the nerve...." Last minute booking, begs for them to be able to stay and then 2 star review for a house they all said was immaculate and comfortable.  Now it appears as though the negative review has caused us to appear much lower in the search results because in the last few days our views significantly decreased.  I believe we've gotten 3 views in the last 6 days and prior to that we were up to about 200 views and we haven't beeen on the platform more than a month.  

I've already contacted a case manager about this and I'm getting the run around.  I'm not sure if there's anything else I can do now other than know that future bookings will even it all out but would appreciate any advice.  At this point, I'm not even sure if my listing is getting visibility and when the next booking will come.

Thanks for your help.  

[Moira21]

@Monif0  Hi, I don't know if you have IB turned on, but if you want to avoid something like this to happen again then turn it off until you feel more comfortable. 

You can always ask more questions in advance without IB.

[Monif0]

Hi @Moira21, we have IB turned on but you have to meet the review/ID criteria.  I added no 3rd party bookings into my listing literally the day they showed up because I was like, I don't want this again.  I will also make sure that they tell me who is coming to stay so I know before they get there and can avoid situations like this again.  Thanks for your advice, I appreciate it.

[Helen3]

I am sorry to hear you had such a negative  experience with some of your first guests  @Monif0 

It's against Airbnb's T&Cs to accept third party bookings and you won't be covered by their guarantee if you accept them.

I always ask guests to confirm who is coming on the trip. If I found on arrival it was a third party booking, I would have asked Airbnb to cancel the booking for the guests to contact Airbnb, set up their own profile and see if the booking could be transfered. 

As a new host you get an artifical boost in the rankings which drops after a few weeks, so your views falling is most likely linked to that.

[Monif0]

@Helen3 Thanks for your response and thanks for the advice on how to handle if this happens again. I will definitely keep that in my back pocket.  And I didn't know about the artifical boost so we'll see what happens over time.  Thanks again!

[Robin4]

@Monif0 

So sorry you have struck this situation so early in your hosting career and please don't let it put you off.....most guests are wonderful.

In this instance, if your support person is not going to adhere to Airbnb's rules, very politely thank them for their time and ask them to close the ticket. Every case has a ticket number and as long as that ticket number remains open, each time you call, or make contact, you will be directed back to that same particular representative! At this point they are no doubt hoping you will just move on, but have not finalised the case!

There is no point in flogging a dead horse!

When the case is closed you will receive an email stating this and use another avenue of customer support. 

I believe (although I have never had to resort to it) that Twitter is a better contact option. I am lead to believe that the staff who man the Twitter feeds have a higher level of competence and decision making than is found in the phone pool!

Step 1: Log into Twitter

Step 2: Search for @Airbnbhelp and choose "Follow" them.

Step 3: Send a Direct Message (DM) explaining your issue and wait for their response.  They may ask for your personal details and information such as your listing but always provide it over DM so it is not public.

The reply time with Twitter is generally with 10-15 minutes and you may find you will get some positive action.

It is against Airbnb's rules for a user who made the scheduled booking but did not stay as part of the reservation to leave a review. 

Don't demand anything Monif....the quickest way to get a case closed is to 'bounce' support.....they get their heads ripped off by users all day long! Be pleasant, compliment them and ask how it is that a user who booked for others as a 3rd party booking is able to leave a review that was not a genuine experience. Say that yopu are new to Airbnb and are seeking their guidance! That will make them feel pretty good. Ask them to have a look and see if there is any way they can help you!

I hope this is of some help to you Monif.

Cheers......Rob

[Monif0]

@Robin4 Oh thanks so much for this strategy....The case manager I was speaking to did not seem at all interested in helping me.  I will try this and report back.  Much appreciation.

[Robin4]

@Monif0 

That's the great thing about the CC Monif, we are here to try and help. Spend as much time as you can going through posts here, this is where I learned what I did.

But in this instance, I have worked in Airbnb support and I (to a certain extent) understand how it works.

All the best Monif we look forward to hearing your outcome!

Cheers.....Rob

[Alon1]

@Monif0@Robin4

Last year I 'flogged a dead horse' and it miraculously recovered!

Long story short, it took over a month and much determination. In the end not only the case in question, but two similar ones from the preceding year of undisclosed 3rd Party Bookings that all led to negative review and very low ratings.

Below is a copy of Case Manager confirmation of removal of the initial Review and basis on which I appealed to him to remove the other two, which he did in quick time. 

 'since I have the confirmation on our messaging system that the reservation was, in fact, a third-party booking, the review was removed from your listing. Damien was informed about it and regarding our Terms and Conditions.

I am very sorry about the whole situation. As explained previously, whenever you receive a booking from a user that will not be staying in the listing, you have the right to refuse to host them even if the reservation has already started.''

[Monif0]

@Alon1if you don't mind me asking, what is the "confirmation on our messaging system that the reservation was, in fact, a third-party booking"?  I'm curious how to prove that the person that stayed in the house is not who booked the airbnb.

[Alon1]

@Monif0 

The 'messaging system' is the normal means we communicate, Hosts & Guests, i.e. 'Inbox'.

It's not private, rather part of Airbnb website, and so can be monitored or checked at any time. It's also why Airbnb encourage both parties to communicate on their messaging system in case of any disputes.

------

In all 3 of my cases there was record of the 3rd Party infringement on the messaging system, which made it very easy for the Case Manager to take action.

------

In your case, I understand the Booker did not mention the other 2 at any time on the messaging system. 

If so, failing direct evidence, Airbnb can peruse the Reviews.

  From your comment here:  ' I'm not reviewing the person who booked but rather the couple who stayed so I wrote a review to that affect ' - I adduced that you clearly stated the people who stayed were other than the Booker. -

  However, you actually wrote: 'Quiet, clean and courteous guests. No issues, thanks for staying with us!' - It rather distinctly creates the impression the Booker was one of a plurality.

Consequently, it seems there is no written record of the 3rd Party Booking.

If that's the case, I can best suggest you write to the Booker a polite but firm message:

both explaining & spelling out the situation.

This was your first booking and she threw you off balance. Both of you should have been familiar with T&Cs, and more easily the notation in the  'HELP' facility.

   Type in  'Who can book trips on behalf of someone else?

    It stipulates two types: Business & Personal travel.

   The latter personal travel:  'We require Airbnb reservations booked for personal travel to be booked by the person who's going to stay at the listing.'

Consequently, kindly ask her to acknowledge that she had no intention to stay, and therefore should not have made the booking, and in turn not entitled to review.

Further explain the consequences of her action in respect of Reviews. 

  According to you, 2* does not chime with the experience of the two Guests.

  Moreover, you can spell out the problem such a low star review can generate from Airbnb. 

Summarily ask her politely to contact Airbnb to acknowledge her own infringement of T&Cs and so request the removal of her Review and Star Ratings.

  Best of course if she acknowledges and contacts Airbnb.

  Per chance she responds, and acknowledges the situation, but declines to contact Airbnb, you can then do so yourself citing her acknowledgement. 

If she does not respond, so that you continue not to have a written proof, you can at least ask Airbnb to contact her with your renewed account on the messaging system  to see if they can elicit a reply from her.

------

[Paul154]

@Monif0 

Poor ratings is a big reason not to accept 3rd party bookings.

Because so much is out of your control, the poor ratings may even be due!

You are at the mercy of the booker to correctly and diplomatically convey your information to 

the 3rd party guest. House Rules, address, phone number, checkin scheduling....

Think about how meticulously you present all this information to future guests. It's important and is lost in 3rd party bookings.

Part of the Airbnb guest experience is all the freedom it provides. 

You get to a new city, open your Airbnb reservation and press "directions"

You get to the house and then you check your pictures... is this the correct house?

Will my host be this smiling person on the app? What is the procedure for entry?

I find this all fun and thrilling.

Contrast this experience to the 3rd party booking. Instead of this pleasant experience, for info you have to call your controlling brother/mother/whomsoever. Because of the stress of travel, they're angry at you and don't pick up the phone....  AND they're dyslexic!

[Monif0]

@Paul154 you are absolutely correct and I realized that in the middle of the stay.  Who knows what she conveyed to the people actually staying and then they may be looking at me like I did something when it's in the house rules, etc.  Third party bookings are a definite no-go for me in the future.  Thanks again for your help.

[Patricia55]

@Monif0 

Hi Monif, sorry to hear this happened on your first experience of Airbnb hosting... but glad that you're not taking it to heart 🙂 When it comes to reviews, as you'll discover: “there's nowt so queer as folk!”

However, it did occur to me (if you're concerned about your statistics at this early stage), it might be better to cut your losses, ie remove this listing and set it up as a new one...? assuming one can do that, I'm not sure.

[Re third party bookings, as others have said, they're pretty much a no-no, for many reasons. Having said that, I do VERY occasionally make an exception (for family members) and they haven't yet bitten me on the bum. What I absolutely make sure of: to have a line of communication open. But, yes, as a general rule, best to be avoided.]

FWIW, I took a look at your listing and it looks beautiful - paradise, indeed!

Good luck!

[Monif0]

@Patricia55 thanks for the suggestions and the compliment on my house!  Thanks so much.  Anytime you're in Barbados come visit :-).

So if I delete the listing what will happen with the review?  Will it still show in my profile but have no attachment to a listing?