Underpaid & Unfair Cancellation

[Kermit0]

Who is airbnb to decide how much they want to pay??? I decide the amount. It is my house, my facilities and my services. A guest reports the ac is down. I learnt it on the same day she discovered and told her i will have someone to check. It turned out to be a big issue and all the units and condensers have to be dismantled and fixed with new ones (coz previous guests switched on 24 hours and also these A.C. are old). As it's a pretty major fix, it cannot be done on the same day. The guest went ahead to cancel the booking. All the same time, she's still enjoying the facilities at my private condominium, 24 hour security, swimming, the full window forest views, nicely decorated house with expensive furniture and art collectibles, antiques etc. This is in Singapore where land is never cheap. I don't know how they or who came up with the amount but I was forcely underpaid SGD$20+/day!!! Usual rate is $75/day. Even cheaper than a 6-bunker hostel bedroom without air conditioning and dirty sheets. That is so insulting. It is not even enough to cover the cleaning and utilities bills lest to say monthly loan and management fees for the condominium facilities. I told the guest she could stay here and bear with non a.c. for a few days and give her discount. After that it will be per normal. She should not be allowed to go ahead with the cancellation.

[Sarah977]

If the guest cancelled her booking, she is now trespassing. Get her out.

[Kermit0]

I was still nice enough to let her stay until she found another place. If i was the bully she is, yes I would tried every tyrant methods to intimidate and drive her out!

[Fred13]

She cancelled and surely they left already (though still 'enjoying' it?), and now 'someone' at Airbnb feels you should get only $20 per day for the time she did or is staying because of the failure of the AC. Is that the upshot @Kermit0? Is she still there?

Btw, this immediately caught my inquisitive 'eye': "... she's still enjoying the facilities at my private condominium, 24 hour security, swimming, the full window forest views, nicely decorated house with expensive furniture and art collectibles, antiques etc."

 This for $72 a night, meaning perhaps low enough you may attract a very rough clientele, IF $72 a night is indeed too low. You are new. I wonder if you are believing the Host Guarantee Airbnb policy word for word and believe it will protect those 'expensive furniture and art collectibles, antiques'. Now that you gotten a glimpse how things are decided by 'Airbnb', it should give a warning  that you will encounter more host-guest-Airbnb battles, as things 'happen' (i.e. break some of those beautiful things shown in your pictures). 

Making a rental out of one's personal exquisitely-decorated place, has its inherent risks, unless you are equally very careful who end up renting to.  Perhaps a higher price is in order, or a stripping of some of those valuables, or both. Just a thought.

[Fred13]

Correction: Only $20 is being deducted from the $72. More than fair.

[Kermit0]

That's why I'm fighting with airbnb how they decide that rate but it seems it's a final decision! My god! They deducted whatever excess from the new guests payout. I dont even have a say. And this guest is so dirty i have to pick up her kitchen scraps off the floor everyday! Yes shes a rough one, typical of Italians! Makes me so mad! Prior to the check in, she would text me every other day for 3 months making new requests and new questions. It was draining but I'll still entertain her every single time. I don't deserve only SGD$20+! My rate is lower because it was suggested by airbnb for new hosts i.e. to earn reviews but I never envisioned Ill be only given $20!!! 

[Kermit0]

She cancelled it but she stayed until she found a backup. I was kind to let her do that since she would have nowhere else to go but not under the impression I'll only be paid $20/night! If so I'll never have agreed to it and would have chased her away! All the while, i still continue to give her advice where to visit in singapore etc. Felt so used and betrayed!!!

Whatever airbnb policy has is against the landlords. In singapore, our rental contract always protect the landlords! And we take deposits upfront, deposited into the landlord's account upon initiation of interest. It forces the person to take care of the property or have their deposit forfeited. No argument or approval needed. That is why this culture is shocking! 

It crossed my mind many times to take the listing off airbnb. It seems im making more losses than earning anything, that's not even counting in my services yet. 

[Sandra126]

I don't actually understand. She is threatening to cancel and you don't want her to? If a guest wants to cancel, it is the easiest thing to do. Nothing to stop her. And when certain facilities are advertised, they must be as stated. Not your fault the AC isn't working, but not the guest's fault either. I am surprised it is only 20 off the price when you consider how hot and humid Singapore is, and that she would have chosen your place because it has AC. But when you say 20 off doesn't cover the running costs I think you might be undercharging? It means you are counting on a flawless occupancy level, no margin of error, no breakdowns in equipment etc.

[Fred13]

"Usual rate is $75/day. Even cheaper than a 6-bunker hostel bedroom without air conditioning and dirty sheets." Which begs the question - Why?