Customer Support for Hosts

[Jason1536]

Hello, 

I'm a new host to this community and so far am loving it. Very impressed with how streamlined the process is, and am learning more every day. I know challenges lie ahead, and I'd like to know how to contact customer support as a host. Seems impossible to locate a phone number or chat box. Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Jason

[Emiel1]

@Jason1536 

The default way to contact Airbnb CS is using : Airbnb Help: contact

The menu's will guide you through the process and depending on the issue (and ignoring the "bots") you can sent a message, have a live chat or even a phone number is displayed.

[Jason1536]

Thanks Emiel, this is very helpful. I just want to know how to find a human person who can provide responses to specific questions, and it seems anything but straightforward...

[Colleen253]

@Jason1536 What Emiel said. But, what you really need to know, is the truth of Airbnb CS. The front line are outsourced call center workers who are ill trained, and are rarely even familiar with policy. They will promise to 'escalate' your issue to someone who (may) be able to help you, but it could take a month of Sunday's so prepare to settle in and wait for awhile. There is a skeleton crew behind the scenes, and if you're very, very lucky, you'll get one who is competent and can help you. If not, you'll get something like this:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Hosting/Airbnb-Host-Desperately-Need-Help/m-p/1404383#M334277

Become super familiar with every Airbnb policy yourself. Dedicate some time to reading everything in the help pages, so you can rely on your own knowledge. Then spend some time here in the forum, to gain some hosting street smarts. Will be invaluable. Just keep everything in perspective though, because of course negative posts will tend to outweigh positive.

[Jason1536]

Thanks Colleen. This is the type of feedback I need - from actual hosts who have been there, done that.

So far I've been delighted with how streamlined the process of using airbnb is, and I'm very happy. But I know things will arise and ideally they have a customer service line but clearly they don't have the resources for that, or it's just way too expensive.

My biggest question is regarding insurance. I know most hosts just have standard homeowners, which to my knowledge doesn't cover short term renter issues, and is why I got a policy for that (which was not only hard to find, but significantly more expensive). So my broader question is, is there a gap between the host airbnb coverage (assuming you make the claim within the permitted time frame) and a standard homeowners policy, where a host could be severely exposed? 

[Lorna170]

@Jason1536   If you are concerned about a gap in insurance coverage, discuss it with the agent for your separate short term rental policy.  I have had short term rental coverage on multiple properties for years.  The amount of the "Per Rental" deductible is the liability that you should be concerned about.  Most incidental guest damages don't exceed my policy deductible, and I have been fortunate in having guests who admit to damage and reimburse me for it without applying to the OTA policy.

As the many many posts about it will tell you, Air's  host protection is not very reliable and does not pay out, even when you follow their very stringent rules.   My recommendation is  that you understand the coverage of your personal policy and not ever rely on payment for damages from the OTA.

[Sarah977]

@Jason1536  Colleen has given you spot-on advice. Sad but true, you can't rely on Airbnb customer service to have your back, or even give you accurate information. As a new host, it's good to be aware of this, as most of us assumed we had a customer service that would be helpful to us, and in fact, it used to be.

Your aim should be to actually never need to contact them, although sometimes it's necessary if there's a payout or tech issue other hosts here can't help out with. But for a lot of stuff, you'll  get better advice, more accurate knowledge of Airbnb policies, and simpler explanations of basic issues or how to do something in your hosting pages from other hosts here than you will from Airbnb CS.

[Jason1536]

Thanks Sarah, very informative!