What's the deal with the resolution centre?

[Nadia472]

Hi everyone! I'm Nadia, SuperHost from Thunder Bay, with 12 properties. One of my homes is a shared space.  On Sunday September 29th, I received a message from one of my guests that there was vomit in the toilet, on the bathroom floor, in the bathtub, and on the bathroom walls. In addition, there were two people sleeping on the couches in the common area. 

The guest took a few photos, but only after she had cleaned the mess herself. 

I dispatched the cleaning staff, at double time on a Sunday morning to finish the job. The staff reported to me that there was vomit in the toilet, and they evicted the guest and the unregistered occupants.

I refunded guest #1's fee and also e-transfered her $100. I then payed my cleaning staff $120.

The offending guest and I went back and forth through airbnb messages and settled on $205.  However, by this point, the resolution centre was involved.  I was asked to send receipts and proof of payment, which I did. I sent a handwritten note from guest #1, and the invoice from the cleaning crew, along with copies of the e-transfer confirmations and a screenshot of the agreed $205.

This morning, my claim was denied. My question is, what the heck? How is this even possible?  Am I not at least entitled to pay for the extra guests? Why do they seem so slanted in favour of the guests and not the hosts?

[ONERüF0]

We've hosted for about 20 months.  We've noted that Airbnb has a penchant for denying obvious claims as well.  As a host its a bit disheartening when you feel like you do everything required only to have them decline a claim with zero recourse.  You ask to escalate and there is no one to escalate to...they then send you a link to a feedback form to provide your gripe.  That is great but never any followup, apology, notta.  

I get that without guests there are no hosts but from the hosts perspective without hosts there are NO places for guests to stay.  

The key to this entire thing is Airbnb's lack of customer service to the Host side...

[Anonymous]

@Nadia472 So the guest informally agreed to the $205 charge but refused it online?

[Nadia472]

Correct. I had requested through the app $250, but she refused it so it got escalated to the resolution centre. In the mean time, through the messages, the guest and I negotiated to $205. I thought this would be an no-brainer. Imagine my shock today when I was told there was no compensation coming my way.

[Allison2]

CALL again and tell the agent Airbnb screwed up. Tell them that the guest already agreed to an amount in the messaging thread. Ask them to review the discussion. Be patient but persistent. 

[Nadia472]

@Allison2 thank you for the advice! I was able to find a senior agent who resolved the whole thing for me, and I received my $205 today!

[Allison2]

I'm so glad it worked out for you!

It seems many of the frontline CS staff are overworked and under trained. You have to lay evidence right in front of them and tell them where to find it in the message thread. Many times they don't do a thorough review of messaging/evidence before making a decision.