In the last two weeks we have have a total of 3 bookings made by guests that were cancelled by AIRBNB with the below email:
"We closely monitor all bookings and user interactions on Airbnb. We noticed that the booking xxxzzzxxx does not appear to be lawful. As a result, we cancelled the booking and refunded the money. If you feel this was a mistake, please let us know. Otherwise we hope for your understanding - we do this to maintain the integrity of the marketplace. Many greetings, Your Airbnb team"
The first two were cancelled 6/7 days after receiving the reservation and both reservations were for dates 3 weeks in advance. The most recent reservation that was cancelled today was for a reservation starting tomorrow for 4 nights. The reservation was made 5 days ago.
A friend of ours in our area who also hosts on Airbnb received the same email and cancellation. She had contact with the guests via another messaging service and the guests came and stayed.
When contacting Airbnb as to WHY their reservation was cancelled, she received the reply that it was a "legal" issue and that no further details could be given.
As a host, if I cancel a reservation for a guest, I am fined, lose super-host status, etc. However, Airbnb can simply cancel any reservation that they wish while completely disregarding the host's cancellation policy, offering absolutely no recourse to the host for lost revenue (even for last minute bookings) and offer no explanation other than the above email asking for OUR understanding????
Are any of our future reservations reliable?? Is this a charge-back issue? Rather than fight a charge-back, simply cancel on the host? Is this a scam where guests are booking using stolen cards? As a host, I feel that some answers are needed in order to gain my "UNDERSTANDING".
