Warning: App Feature that lets guest request that the host cancels!

Jiw0
Level 10
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Warning: App Feature that lets guest request that the host cancels!

I'm co-host for a person who I recommended AirBnB to and helped her get listed, and explained everything to the best of my ability. I was happy to see that she gained Superhose status as soon as she was eligible!

 

However that fell apart last week:

 

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She did not want to cancel as I told her many times that hosts should never ever cancel, or else you get penalties and lose superhost status.  So.. she did not accept the cancelleation. But also didn't indicate anything else. Upon expiration the reservation came up as Cancelled anyway, and with the HOST as the part who canclled!!   So that means full loss of income, penalty fees, and loss of Superhost status: 

 

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I think her message to AirBnB says it best:

 

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Dear Support,

 

After check-in my guest needed to cancel, however as he wanted a refund he was able to use a feature to request *ME* to cancel, I think because he didn't want to lose (part of) his booking fee.

 

However I did not want to cancel because it was a confirmed booking, and I know that if I cancel then I will lose Superhost status.

 

So I did not respond to this cancellation request.

 

However I then later found out that his booking was cancelled anyway, and -worse- it showed that *I* was the one who cancelled!

However I never cancelled. So not only did I lose the income from this reservation, I have now also lost Superhost status.

I do not agree with this, I never wanted to cancel, it was the guest who wanted to cancel. I don't like this new feature and I don't like that it's being pushed on me in this way, and I also don't think any of this was explained properly in the message/request.

 

I think the income can be considered lost and there may not be much that you can do about this. However I want you do reconsider removing me as a Superhost. I should not be to blame for a guest who wants to cancel himself.

 

I can provide detailed screenshots and more information if required.

 

Thank you for looking into this.

13 Replies 13
Jiw0
Level 10
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Additinal thought:   

 

This particular use case of a guest-initiated cancel request should NOT EVER be considered the same as a host cancelling and leaving a guest with a problem. 

 

It really isn't the same thing, but the AirBnB system considers a guest-initiated cancellation request to be fully punishable as a negative to the host.   

 

If anything the host can be considered to be SUPER CONSIDERATE to allow a full refund.. and then they get penalized and lose Superhost status.

 

 

That’s terrible. I hope they change your status so glad you posted the story. 

Marit-Anne0
Level 10
Bergen, Norway

@Jiw0

Totally agree, it is a silly and misleading feature, but it is not something new and it has been discussed time and time again on the forum.  There are warnings before you hit agree/submit.

@Jiw0

Join the club~~ also from what I understand, not responding to "Guest requests that you cancel" is considered the same as accepting once the deadline is passed. Instead of not responding you should have clicked on "keep reservation". 

 

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/BEWARE-of-quot-Guest-requests-that-you-cancel-quot/m-p/4...

Thank you!   

 

I'm reading through that entire topic.  It got a bit diluted though with hosts commenting with things like messing up their available/blocked dated and then having to cancel.     

 

That's WAY different from AirBnB penalizing a host for actually ACOMMODATING a guest, who wants to cancel himself.   (Fair enough to penalize a shoddy host who cancels on guests, but NOT one who's being nice to a guest who needs to cancel and accommodates him.) 

 

This really is broken at a business process level. 

@Jiw0  I think you give Air BNB more credit than it deserves to know what is going on in your particular circumstances.  As an automated system that does not know of your situation of accommodating a guest, it is your responsibility to alert a human rep that is what happened.  You keep charging Air BNB with penalizing a good host.  Not so.  Just contact a rep.

Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

@Jiw0  It is clearly stated in the message that the host must do something within 48 hours...cancel or keep reservation.  Not doing anything results in Air BNB cancelling on the host's behalf, which is also stated in the message.  I think the many, many, many posts about this feature have supported that the host not accept the cancellation but never to ignore the message.  Automated systems hate to be ignored 😛

Jiw0
Level 10
Chiang Mai, Thailand

The point though of penalizing the host is when the host inconveniences a guest for cancelling on the guest.   

 

That simply does not happen in this case, it's the guest who initiates the cancellation and is not inconvenienced.  So why the penalty?

@Jiw0

It's just one more way of Airbnb tricking unassuming hosts into taking the blame. Airbnb is just a platform and as a host, if you don't know the rules of the game and don't know how to use them to your advantage, then you loose out. I like hosting and personally haven't had any serious problems, and I think Airbnb is great conceptually, but in terms of implementation,  things could be set up better. 

Oh well~~~ nothing's perfect 🙂 

Bob39
Level 10
Goldfield, NV

They should eliminate that feature as all it does is harm the host.

Jiw0
Level 10
Chiang Mai, Thailand

Yes, or phrase the message in a way that's consistent with the intended use by the guest: 

 

For example: "Your guest has indicated that you as the host want to cancel his reservation.    Is it true that you want to cancel, and have asked the guest to cancel his booking [ Yes ]  [ No ]."    Not the current vagueness.

 

And then if it turns out that the guest is being disingenuous then penalize the guest by charging the full booking fee, cancelling and re-opening the calendar dates. 

Clara116
Level 10
Pensacola, FL

@Jiw0 hello - I read alot on CC and am often surprised that the downfall of so many situations and events is JUST MAYBE - everyone seems to only turn to media/ typing messages/ and so often folks aren't aware that all this is AUTOMATED - SO, the easy answer to me is Pick up that phone and put it to use. CALL and talk to a real person and find out, ask questions and let us all continue to work together - I don't think Airbnb is intentionally trying to get us to work against ourselves -and to do poorly, I am sure they ARE NOT trying to do that.  I think the platform has options and when it is automated - it is Black and White - and from my experience all this hosting is very many shades of grey. So take a breath, make a phone call and follow that call with an email/ and message on twitter confirming what the conversation was with the human. We can help ourselves by being proactive - take pictures, document - and DO NOT just ignore stuff - cause it will not go away if it is automated - the clock runs and so find out quickly and respond.  Rather than just guessing what to do or even listening to 2 people on here - ALWAYS call Airbnb also - chances are that will prove benefical. That's what I'm thinking..............hope it is understood and taken with kindness - because I want all of US as Host to do great and have wonderful hosting experiences and opportunites. Happy Hosting, Clara B.

Deidre1
Level 4
Nashville, TN

So what happens if you "keep" the reservation?