Unfair Refund Decision

Corinne198
Level 4
Canterbury, NH

Unfair Refund Decision

We feel totally dissed, disrespected and undervalued.  We are a host of one vacation rental property for 6 years and 66 "5 star" reviews.  Never had an incident before and WOW are we getting an education on how Airbnb support (or lack of) works.

12/1/17 - A couple checked-in on the first day of their 27 day stay costing $2700.  An hour later they asked if we would cancel their reservation as they decided not to stay as they did not know they were supposed to have a Rabies Vaccine for their dog which was clearly stated as a requirement on our apartment description.  I said we could work with that and they could either take the time to obtain the vaccine or keep their dog on a leash on the farm grounds.  They then started to make other excuses that she had PTSD and couldn't stay in an apartment with any other people living nearby. Our farmhouse is attached but totally seperate as described in the apt description.

Long story short: I refused to cancel their reservation for their reasons, they became hostile and left.

We have a MODERATE cancellation policy which states the guest must pay for the first day and 50% of remaining days, basically giving them a 50% refund.

I called Airbnb for advice/direction and was told a case manager would call us back.  No call, so I called back every 2 hours.  

6 hours later we get an email from the "Support Team mediator" that our guests had cancelled and received a FULL REFUND.  They never even consulted us and had discussed the situation with the guests ONLY.

Here we are 8 days later and have called the 888 326-5753 number 22 times to speak to a case manager or supervisor to get an explanation and appeal the decision.   We've gotten 22 promises that someone will call us back as "this does not seem fair or right".  NO call back, only another email TODAY stating that a final decision to fully refund the guest had been made and "thank you for being a great host".

Has anyone elso been treated like this???  The refund policy is a joke.  Airbnb is unethical and if I could afford it I would boycott them and use VRBO or HomeAway only.

It appears there no recourse, this is ethically not right to have a decision made without hearing our side of the story.

Any advice???

40 Replies 40
Marzena4
Level 10
Kraków, Poland

Register elsewhere asap, @Corinne198. For your own sanity's sake... You will not win with Airbnb, monopoly has never brought any profits to customers.

// "The only person you can trust is yourself"

Thank you Marzena, as we speak I am posting our vacation rental on Craigslist NH.  I plan to find other platforms as well.

 

Antionette3
Level 2
Pennsylvania, United States

Yes Airbnb nd their host r extremely fradulant and they r facing cilvil act law suits as we speak

@Corinne198   Try Twitter or FB some people have seen a reverse on a decision. btw: your experience is not uncommon as per posts on this forum.  I have always found that quoting Airbnb Policies back at them is a good start and it forces a response.

Good Advise, I will go on Twitter and FB.  The more of us that tell our stories, the more folks may not chose Air.

Finally I am able to respond.

I have been chasing my tail all morning to even speak to a Customer Service representative. I am immediately identified as a Super Host and then disappeared into some new automated system that:

1)hung up on me automatically after 5 mins on hold

2) Spent another 12 mins WAITING for anyone to pick up

3) FINALLY got someone on the phone by putting in a fake response that it was about a current reservation. Still took 3 tries. Then while waiting for 'Venus' to finally get back to me with an answer, we were disconnected. AND, the kicker, even tho' she asked me to verify my phone number in case we were disconnected,...SHE DID NOT CALL BACK!! Shocker!

I am livid!

This piss-poor set-up now doesn't even give you a way to contact them directly, via e-mail. No-one wants to sit on hold for half their day, and now, I probably won't even get an email to reply to despite me asking for an escalation.

I'd love to know how they can justify this new lack of service.

And, when you call in on the phone, they expect you to now reply to some text confirmation link.

What the hell is that about? It's a waste of your hosts time, energy and definitely, good will.

 

I am SO diappointed in this whole platform anymore.

No, they don't seem to give a rip about the hosts, they reward bad behavior by guests, and the only protection seems to be with those abusing the system!

 

And, I don't have another hour of my life to sit on the phone again!

I sure hope someone in CS bothers to read this.

I won't hold my breath tho'!

 

I'm SO there with you.  There are no words for the frustration and disrespect I feel.  I am absolutely blown away that they can do this to hosts, their "BREAD AND BUTTER", and get away with it!!!  RUDE and unappreciative.

Hopefully many many hosts will read our experiences and will:

1. increase their rental fees of their properties on Airbnb

2. decrease their rental fees on VRBO, HomeAway, etc

3. Get on as many other Vaca Rental sites as possible

4. Keep the rental time periods 1 week or less with Airbnb - to cut our losses. (I lost $2760 for a month stay when I could have rented to a visiting nurse but already had it booked.

 

So sorry to hear you have had to endure thier abuse.  I've lost a LOT of sleep over this and find solace in connecting with other hosts regarding this episode.  We are not alone and need to combine our efforts to make a change.

Airbnb has just gotten TOO BIG and unpersonal, providing NO customer support.  That is NOT acceptable.

Where on Twitter?

Hugh0
Level 10
Sydney, Australia

Unfortunately this is the reality of hosting with Airbnb. In the same breath as saving we value you as a host they close cases without consultation saying a final decision has been made. It is frustrating, infuriating and burns any goodwill a host feels towards Airbnb.

 

I understand that to mediate on even 1% of bookings would be cost prohibitive for Airbnb to continue operations. However, there must be a better way than simply burning hosts.

Stephanie365
Level 10
Fredericksburg, VA

I have found that once they say a situation is resolved they stop responding. Rather infuriating. 

I am updating my VRBO and HomeAway listing and decreasing the cost to get more bookings through them - hopefully!  

I am also advertising on Craigslist.  I wish more folks would do this, hit Air where it counts, their listings.

They are unappreciative and unethical!

Thanks,

Corinne

I stopped advertising on Craigslist years ago.  I don't know that I'd ever do that again.  Yes.. Yes... I know... I'm missing a few bookings every year by not advertsing there. But I'm also not dealing with an inbox filled with scam spam, and I don't have total strangers showing up on my doorstep (or wandering around out back)  unannounced, at all hours, asking to see an apartment.  (Oh... What's that?  You're fully booked?  That's OK... we just want to look inside... just show us an apartment while we're here... )

Good advice, things I had not thought about.  I may edit the amount of information I offer on the ad.

Thanks!

Corinne

Wow! I am new to ABB, but have used HA/VRBO for the past 6 years. I had no idea that ABB operates in the way described in this thread. Thinking of the control issues discussed I believe HA/VRBO definitely gives owners more control when compared to ABB. That seems to be changing though with the new software they are rolling out for managing your listing. Seriously thinking of pulling the plug before any loss is incurred.