Unprofessional conduct by Airbnb Customer Support, Haggling for "better deals" on behalf of guests

Cindy62
Level 3
California, United States

Unprofessional conduct by Airbnb Customer Support, Haggling for "better deals" on behalf of guests

I received this bizarre note from Airbnb Customer Support today:

Hi, 


My name is _____, a customer experience specialist from Airbnb. I am sending this message since your guest, _________, wanted to know if there's any way to get a better deal for your listing.

What happened was their original reservation was, unfortunately, cancelled by their host due to an ongoing renovation in their property, and they only have a few days left to find a new place to stay.

They're very interested with your listing, but they're having doubts because of the price. I already asked them to send you a message, but they also asked me to send you one.

Looking forward to your response.

Best regards,

_________

It was already a confirmed reservation and the check-in date is more than 3 weeks away. Airbnb customer support has really dropped their standards recently. Haggling on behalf of guests. And also begging me to accept reservations which I already declined on behalf of guests that I don't want to host.

I thought hosts were supposed to have the power to set the price and accept and control which guests they want to host? Airbnb is definitely going out of bounds here. They need to stop harassing hosts with these sort of mind games because eventually, they're going to be liable for false advertising if they keep this up.

37 Replies 37

@Linda-And-Richard0 Rules and policy are set up by Airbnb. I don't understand why they try to help the guests to break the rules. If they continue to do this, more and more guests will be encouraged to break more rules.

 

Definitely Airbnb should not be invovled when a guest is trying to break a rule including the strict cancellation rule. When there is conflict and nothing obviously breaking rules, Airbnb can help to resolve it.

My policy is do not host someone that asks for a discount to book or wants a discount after booking.. you will be sorry, people can stay anywhere.. however, soem folks want something for nothing.. nothing comes with a lower price tag.  Hotel rooms don't even charge the same price for rooms, some rooms come with views of the parking lot, some come with garden views, some come with ocean views.. all have different price tags.  ! I constantly get emails from AIRBNB to lower my rates.. my rates include the 14.42% hawaii taxes, others don't include the taxes and some hosts hand the guest an additional bill upon arrival ,  send a seperate bill 2 days before check in.. then the guest is surprised about the additional cost.  (a friend recently received that bill 2 days before checking into a condo, he thought he got a great deal on the condo, then got the additional $288 bill for taxes) AIRBNB recenly sent an email to everyone hosting in hawaii to email the state requesting AIRBNB to remit taxes directly to the State on our behalf.. how would they accomplish that without a seperate tax catagory? This is the only platform without a seperate tax catagory.. 

Diane428
Level 2
Orleans, MA

I had several  guests ask  for a "better" price from what was posted- I declined & stated that in fairness to other guest & fair market value I would not offer a lower price. 

I then put in the property description to please NOT ask for a rate other than what is listed...

Inna22
Level 10
Chicago, IL

@Diane428

When guests ask for that, I tell them to utilize price filter so only relevant properties come up

@Inna0 - that is brilliant. 

Thank you..  I'm going to borrow that idea! 

Although the price filter may not  solve the guests' needs, because it filters according to the price per night without including cleaning fees, taxes, and airbnb service fees.  All of which can vary greatly between properties and affect the bottom line for the guest. Ultimately, the guest will need to look at the pricing total, which is in sneaky small print.  Most novice guests don't seem to see it.






@Jim-and-Marcia0

I agree. But my point here is that they do not want for the relevant properties to come up. They want to find what they like and get a discount. Or they are the type that wants a discount no matter the starting price They want 10% off everything in life. If I priced same place at $20 or $200 they would have felt they were not getting a good deal until more came off. In fact, I said this to a guest just yesterday (about the filter) and she booked a few hours later at my full price.

@Inna22  Good observation about those who always want a discount on everything. There are entire cultures like this, not just individuals. In countries where haggling is a part of the culture, it's actually expected and a person would feel like a fool (and would be) if they didn't try to get something cheaper than the originally stated price. Mexican beach vendors will always name an initial price that's often a third or even twice more than they are willing to sell their wares for. They expect that you'll counter with a lower price, the two of you will haggle for a bit, then meet in the middle. Or you say right off the bat you're not interested, and they immediately drop the price significantly. (A friend of mine has a visor she wears when sitting on the beach that says "No, Gracias". When vendors approach her, she just points at the visor. They laugh and move on)

Ute42
Level 10
Germany

.

@Cindy62 

 

Why doesn't airbnb call the host who couldn't get his renovation done and ask him to throw in some money. He's the reason for the inconvenience, not You.

 

 

@Ute42 Leave it to you to get right to the heart of the matter.  🙂

Dev4
Level 10
Toronto, Canada

@Cindy62 

Have never received such a request but would hate to get one. I never compromise on price. I would just ignore the comment, practising the quote "ignorance is bliss". 

 

Many hosts have made some great points about how the company has evolved and what the future holds. 

I've had CS contact me about additional refunds - which I said "I have no intention of discussing a refund with Airbnb CS. Airbnb clearly states that HOSTS are responsible for setting prices and refund policies so you need to respect my decisions and follow your own rules." 

 

I've also had guests try to haggle with my rates to which I always say "I'm sure there are other places more suited to your budget. We have no intention of adjusting our rates which are already quite reasonable compared to what we provide. Good luck finding a place that better meets your needs - if you look at places with shared bathrooms or a guest house with multiple guest rooms, I'm sure there will be plenty of options within your budget." 

 

 

Wow........ just when you think Airbnb CS can't get any worse.................

Annie649
Level 1
London, United Kingdom

Well, after reading all of your posts I can add to the story!

 

My email to Airbnb pretty much sums it up (enjoy the read) - (they've come back and basically said "no, F**k off" but they certainly like taking my money from all my other properties!):

 

I am absolutely furious to find that you have gone ahead and made a unilateral decision to cancel this booking without any payout to me. I have behaved nothing but honorably throughout this entire process and I believe that you have treated me unfairly as the owner of the property and the person who has ALL of the liability here. I had offered this £750,000 property to this guest at a HEAVILY reduced rate because my partner offered a property in Golders Green to them and then realised he wasn't ready to host their stay. I have now bent over backwards, had lengthy conversations with them (sometimes they phoned me at 2am in the morning!!!!! NOT OKAY), received and responded to a plethora of emails, been asked to accommodate their every need only to find that, because it appears they 'made a mistake in pricing their booking' I am now in a position whereby a) my property has not been available for bookings while they have totally messed me around and b) that I now have one week WITHOUT the payment owed to me due to my cancellation policy all because airbnb have allowed this guest to get away with it. I am part of one of the biggest Serviced Accommodation groups in the UK (around 200,000 strong) and I shall be sharing this on our platforms to make sure that everyone is aware that, despite airbnb charging US for their service, they have no interest in treating US fairly and instead side with the guest - who, in this instance has clearly been a nightmare and behaved appallingly. I am looking to take legal advice and action regarding this matter because my policy is clear and it has NOT been honoured. Therefore, the only reason I will NOT take action will be due to the follow: either you reimburse me the FULL amount as I am owed or you make sure that my listing is pushed right up the ranks and MAKE SURE that you get me bookings for that period of time to make sure that I do not lose this money with only one week now to find a guest. If neither of these happens , expect to hear from my legal team who will be looking to turn every stone to find out the legitimacy of this cancellation as it all seems just a little bit too convenient for this unruly guest to get away with this sort of behaviour - which YOU have facilitated. I would also like assurances that this guest is no longer entitled to use airbnb as I wouldn't want other providers to be affected by her outrageous behaviour - or, indeed, yours! And, for what it is worth, I am happy for ANYONE to come and view my properties to verify that ALL of my properties advertised on your site are of the highest quality and are truly represented in my listings as such. I expect a proper outcome to thisituationon and I expect it with immediate effect. Regards Annie

@Annie649  I don't quite understand the situation - was it that your partner cancelled a confirmed booking in one of your properties and then the guest rebooked in another of your properties?

Isabelle623
Level 3
Overijse, Belgium

@Cindy

 

Maybe there is another explanation to this whole thing. A couple of months I booked a listing which turned out to be a scam. ABB cancelled it and offered me a coupon of XXX€ and assured me that if I find another listing at a much higher price, they would bear the cost difference. Maybe its a similar case here and the CS rep was trying to find a listing for the guest with no impact to ABB?