airbnb support has gone down hill

[Raquel24]

After a guest cancelled and I refunded too much (the amount suggested for a full refund does not take into account the fee airbnb removes for a cancelled listing) I asked Airbnb support several times over 3 days to look into if I was charged the difference.  And also if the guest accepted the charge I sent for the difference.  If a guest cancels and I decide to refund the full amount I should not be out money because the refunded amount is more than what I would have received for the reservation.  After multiple emails I still do not have a clear answer on what I have been charged or refunded.  But the airbnb support did try calling me at 1:30 am.  Unacceptable.  They keep calling but wont answer my basic questions in the messages we are sending back and forth.  All the information about what was refunded or paid out is missing from my payouts page and I am not even sure I will get my full payment for my next booking.  And no one from airbnb support has answered my questions.  All I get is lipservice and a standard "we hope we have helped you".  It's like talking to a wall.  This is unacceptable. 

[David-and-Trang0]

That's funny I am dealing with AirBnB support on occupancy tax they should have collected but did not because their customer service rep changed the reservation without my approval and didn't add in the 10% occupancy tax which is over $250. I've spent hours on the phone and emailing them and even after multiple esclalations all I get are canned responses where they send a link to "What is Occupancy Tax for Beginners" and "Please Contact your CPA for tax advice". It's like they are not even reading what the issue is and yes.. I even said to myself the same as you--- IT'S LIKE TALKING TO A WALL. At this point I am going to have to assume AirBnB IS going to screw me and it's just a cost of doing business. The next time someone requests a refund after canceling their NON-REFUNDABLE reservation I am going to say "Sorry, but this is my AirBnB rainy day fund for when they screw me." 

[Susan17]

@Raquel24

As you've discovered, trying to get a straight answer or fair resolution from Airbnb is a futile, infuriating exercise. What you need to do is nform them that if they don't give you a clear and definitive answer to your questions - in writing - within 24 hours, that you'll be reporting them to the Competition Bureau of Canada, the Canadian Consumer Protection Centre and  the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, under the Unfair and Deceptive Business Practices laws. That will usually do the trick. 

Airbnb CX will always call you rather than admit to anything in writing in when they know they're in the wrong. (Deliberately calling when they know you'll be sleeping is another favourite ploy) Then they'll either stonewall you or mess you around until they wear you down and you finally throw in the towel and give up. It's their tried and tested MO,  Don't let this go. Too many people do, and that's exactly how they continue to get away with their deceptive and shady practices. 

http://www.consumerhandbook.ca/en/topics/consumer-protection/unfair-or-deceptive-business-practices

[Alon1]

@Susan17

I don't wish to comment on this particular case you're responding to re. Raquel.

Only to say that your account and / or experience with CX re financial matters, does not chime with mine.  

  Anytime I've contacted CX re financial issue, (which isn't often; and only once to my dissatisfaction at the outcome), nevertheless, in all cases, I managed to obtain written confirmation of the phone conversation. Indeed, it wasn't difficult but standard practised norm.

  All I ever did is request a follow up email,  and CS replies: 'Yes, I will send confirmation'.

  The confirmation follows a few minutes later, either to my Airbnb Inbox or my private email. 

[Susan17]

@Alon1

Good to hear you've had positive experiences with CX, but there are thousands of posts on this very CC from hosts who haven't been quite so fortunate. As for getting written confirmation following a phone call to CX - that, in itself, never used to be so much of an issue (even if the "confirmation" sometimes bore scant relation to the content of the conversation that had just taken place). However, have you had a discussion with a CX agent in the Philippines call centre recently on an even slightly complicated issue, and managed to get written confirmation afterwards that made the slightest bit of sense? 

[Alon1]

@Susan17

I've just checked my archives in order to answer as accurately as possible.

The financial issues were certainly not dealt with from Philippines.

I think the only issue which was Philippina was rather related to a dubious profile photo.

I wrote it about it in detail on another post and I think you'll recall the case of 'Lorenzo':

frontispiece white middle aged man, 2nd photo backup 3 young black guys; former turns out to be Director of Digital Archives at The National Archives, Kew, London. 

CS Anna who dealt with the case sounded Philippina. 

She checked the profile and agreed with me it violates T&Cs should be deleted, and reported as suspect fraud. Indeed,. she sent an Inbox confirmation that she's reported it to Safety & Security and was assured it would be dealt with asap. -- When it wasn't and I sent a chaser, Anna replied very honestyl 'my hands are tied'. She had done all she could in reporting the matter. 

However, following the original conversation, when Anna called back she went on a bit of a digression which I found quite amusing. Anna began to encourage me to do all I can to achieve Super Host status. She'd noted I've never been one, but was 'over qualified' having taken 90 bookings in the past  year, and my score had been static at 4.7 for a number of quarters. 'You're almost there, you must try to get there.' -- I replied that I have never had any aspirations to be SH, and unlikely to ever achieve it given various factors and circumstances.

In short, I told Anna that I'm just happy to Host as per original ideal of Airbnb, without all the frills, and ignoring all the confectionaries Airbnb have dabbled in during their politely stated evolution last few years.

So no, I haven't yet experienced sPacific nonsense.

[Susan17]

It's to your credit that you found the SH conversation with Anna amusing @Alon1, but I'd imagine that many experienced, accomplished hosts would find it rather upsetting, insulting, and more than a little inappropriate, for an Airbnb CX rep to be lecturing them on how they "must try to get there". That's overstepping the boundaries, to my mind anyway. 

Did you ever get to the bottom of that profile pic mystery? I think you mentioned a while back that you were considering letting the gentleman at the National Archives know about it? Has the profile been removed now? 

[Alon1]

@Susan17

No, mystery remains at present. 

I keep this profile of 'Lorenzo' in my Inbox (rather than Archive) so it's at the forefront of my mind. Though as mentioned I can still only see the Capital Letter (without the photos) because there's still no reviews showing. The account was activated in August 2016.

Consequently, I can only assume that either S&S investigated and decided there was nothing wrong, or they haven't dealt with it. I haven't bothered with another chaser.

I have had to delay my visit to TNA because I've been waiting for some material to be declassified. (It's a series of 192,000 German Index Cards for British & Allied POWs, that is being declassified gradually in alphabetical order. The current batch that I've been waiting for has been delayed a month, and now not due till end of Feb.)

I've got the file ready for Mr Sheridan which I will take with me in a couple of weeks time.

It's better to hand it to him in person than email via TNA system. 

--------

Ps. I wasn't upset with Anna because it didn't feel like she was lecturing, just a bit naive and enthusiastic. 

[Raquel24]

Until this experience I have had very good experiences but in the last few months I have noticed a serious disfunctional change in treatment of hosts.  It is not conducive to good business.  We are the backbone of this system. 

[Tony134]

Hi everyone !  Please check and post in the following thread. I would like to have one thread start alive that addresses all these complaints, and I think I catch most of them nicely here. You will also see at the end that my final conclusion is we need to start begging the justice department for help. Please see the following thread and weigh in, thanks.

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/How-to-Start-Fixing-Airbnb-CS-and-Many-Common-Issues/m-p...

[Lizzie]

Hello @Raquel24,

Good to meet you. I'm sorry to hear that you have been having a few difficulties resolving this. 

I just wanted to check if you have managed to get this sorted?

Thanks,

Lizzie