AirBnB exposing hosts to potential fraud/scams

[Andrew890]

I've been a host for over a year and have a perfect guest review history (5 star average). I'm writing this post to warn of a loophole that guest are taking advantage of. Airbnb policy states that if a guest takes a picture of any condition of your home during their stay or even after they have stayed but prior to check out, they can take a picture of mess that they caused/created and airbnb will hold the host responsible if they (guest) makes a cleanliness complaint.

Airbnb will offer the guest between 50% to 100% refund, which means guests now know how to stay at your home for free. I'm considering litigating the matter based on principle even though i'd lose either way due to court cost.

Please also do NOT anger any of the resolution/ customer service agent that resolves disputes due to the fact that they are all powerful and can decide by themself to offer guest full refund without providing you with evidence of why this was done. What about escalating to a supervisor? well unlike most professional business where the supervisor or higher ups are independent of their subordinates, at Airbnb my experience has been very diffferent.

The precedent has been set and is well documented. Any guest can use your home, get it dirty and then take pictures and submit for a cleaniness claim, airbnb will then issue a 50%-100% refund to that guest.

Customer Service/ resolution agent name was ** and her supervisor was **.

Good Luck to my fellow Hosts.

Host for over 1 year.

**[Name hidden due to privacy concerns - Community Center Guidelines]

[Anna271]

Letti’s advice is similar to mine but even better. The telltale sign is the cash. There are many cautions issued by Airbnb about using cash. Airbnb will support you on this. Be firm with the guest but nice and, as Letti said, do it in writing.  If the guest approaches just let them know that in these types of requests Airbnb prefers that it all be done via the website so that’s why you both need to address this through the website. 

When you call Airbnb say the things you’ve said here about 4 years of hosting- most guests being so wonderful. It’s very honest and shows you’re not just someone who complains constantly. Im confident they will help you. 

[Anna271]

Stay watchful and regularly document (at least daily) through Airbnb. I believe you should call Airbnb right away, express your uneasiness with what’s happening and ask their advice about how to handle it. Document their advice and try to do it the way they suggest. 

Generally if your guests want ANY changes they need to request them through Airbnb’s change reservation function on the website. Otherwise the reservation time and charges remain as they currently stand with Airbnb and with YOU.  Tell them you cannot make changes unless it’s done in this manner. I have had some guests approach me just through the website message system asking for things that are either not allowed by my listing (e.g., asking to bring in another guest informally)  which if I said YES via message would have gone against the pricing and other limits within my listing. I always write back that they need to formally request the revision using the “change reservation function on the website”.   If they are consciously or unconsciously scammers they will understand you know what you’re doing and it won’t be easy to take advantage of you. 

When you speak to Airbnb or write them be sure to mention any good thing the guest has done or otherwise any thoughts you have that this may be just a misunderstanding. Airbnb deals with a lot of angry unreasonable people and if hosts come across as bullies it does not go as well as it could. Be very courteous in how you describe the guest and dont call them names or anything like that. Please also recognize that the first person you will talk to on the phone will not be the most experienced but once they realize the complexity of your questions they will move it up to a more senior person often called a case manager. This is a good thing. Be patient, hang in there and let them help you. 

I hope this is helpful. I feel for you. It sounds like kind of a creepy situation that you are in. Good luck!

[Melissa640]

Hi Maggie, how is it going? Are you okay?

Are their belongings still in your place? Have you had a resolution yet?

Has Airbnb helped?

Melissa

[Ned-And-Laura0]

One thing we need to keep in mind here is that to AirBnb, the guest is the customer and the host is the employee.  We are NOT the customer.  We are not the ones paying for their services, we are the ones being paid for the services we provide.  So many hosts feel that airbnb needs to treat us more like we are their customer but they are one the ones hiring us to do a job for them.  If we don't like the job or we don't like the employer, then we are free to quit and seek employment elsewhere.  Do I like it?  No.  Is it fair?  Yes, I have to say it is.  People say that without hosts airbnb would have no income, but without the guests that airbnb provides WE would have no income.  

I am not speaking about the specific scam some guests are trying as described in the original post.  I haven't experienced it myself and so I don't know who is right or wrong.  I'm sure it happens.  Just like people go into a coffee shop or restaurant and complain about a nonexistent problem with an employee doing something they never actually did in order to get free stuff.  Everybody is looking to get something for nothing.  What is the manager to do in that situation?  Tell the customer to "F" off?  Not likely.  It's better to err on the side of the customer even if it upsets your employee.  I'm sure we would all love it if Airbnb took our side every time, deleted every bad review, charged the guests every time we request it, and never allowed the guests to complain, but word would quickly spread on social media that guests were getting ripped off (even if they weren't always) and then Airbnb would really go down in flames.

[Ava30]

@Ned-And-Laura0, I am going to have to disagree here. Hosts are not employed by AirBnB, we are employing them. We pay a fee as well for their services, granted not as much as the guest, but we pay nonetheless. We are hiring them as a booking agent. Like a travel agent, they take their fees from both sides. If they are also going to arbitrate disputes from guests, they, in my opinion, need to send it to an outside agency that will not profit by often siding with one side vs the other. AirBnB profits by siding with guests because they collect a higher fee from them. I feel the fee should be exactly the same from both. That would make them more neutral. 

Hosts can, and are in many cases, use other platforms. At this time, it seems that the other platforms are not so guest- centric. I believe both sides should be represented equally. At this time, it does not appear that AirBnB is following that protocol. Maybe they got too big too soon. 

[Valeri9]

This is a perfect response, and after a year and a half of hosting 5-star stays FOR THE BENEFIT Airbnb, I couldn't agree more.

[Cassandra22]

Hmm,

They take money off me/us for every booking so in effect i am a customer too and my problems with their service should be treated the same as their other customers, the exact same, no matter how much money they take from either party.

[Anna271]

Wow!  What you are saying here really worries me. I’ve been hosting almost three years, am a SuperHost and really enjoy this part of my life. I have had 3 or 4 things come up over this time and have found Airbnb to, in the end, be very fair. I’ve only had one guest, to my knowledge, steal something, but I have had some difficult guests. The story you are telling doesn’t sound like Airbnb to me. Can you share where or how you learned this information?  Is it in our Agreements or on a Policy page?  There are a couple of policies I don’t agree with - particularly the policy that children under 2 years of age need not be disclosed to the host and guest charges do not apply to them. I understand why Airbnb is doing this but there are better ways to comply with the US Fair Housing Act. Why on earth would Airbnb have the policy you described- particularly when they are constantly trying to recruit new hosts?  

I would love love to know exactly which policy section you found this in since it sounds like it hasn’t happened to you at this point. I think I’d better photograph my unit immediately prior to guest checkin. 

[Jeannette45]

I worry as I would like to continue to develop my hosting.  One bad review hits hard and it is your home that is being attacked. Feels so personal.

[Ned-And-Laura0]

So what you are saying is somebody can walk into a clean space, crumple up the bed, use the toilet and not flush and make a quick mess in the kitchen, take a photo and complain to airbnb, get a full refund and STILL stay in the space for the remainder of their stay?  And this is airbnb policy??  I can understand if they want to leave and request airbnb find them a new place to stay.  But to get to remain in the space after they got the refund seems crazy.  Has this actually happend or is it just a potential loophole based on the refund policy as it reads?

[Virgil8]

THIS HAS ACTUALLY HAPPENED TO ME TWICE IN THE LAST @ MONTHS!

[Keoma1]

Thanks for the heads up God bless

[Su19]

Isn't a simple resolution to this problem to get guests to sign a document with small print that they choose to read (but most likely not) saying that you have showed them the property, given them the keys and are satisfied with the condition. A signature and date and done. And any claim afterwards about cleanliness to airbnb can be countered with a signed document saying they were happy with what they got at the start.

[Rachael-and-Pavel0]

I think recording the check in process is going a little too far, but having a guest look around and sign something that says when they arrived that everything was in order, before they can use the premises, is probably a little more reasonable. The same way apartment complexes do...what do they call it- a "walk-thru"? That way, if they sign it, and later complain, you've got your proof. And I recommend making the thing they are signing, very specific.

[Eileen462]

@Rachael-and-Pavel0   Bravo!  Best answer!