Airbnb refunded a con artist....

[Ariel945]

I just had 27,000 dollars taken from my account because a guest made a myriad of false claims. Apparently there was an investigation with the “safety department” at Airbnb. They still haven’t told me what he claimed to justify a full refund. If they had ‘investigated’ this case truly they would have seen he made multiple accusations/claims a few days prior to which he was unsuccessful in getting his money back. I’m appalled at Airbnb’s lack of foresight and mostly the extent of communication they had with me regarding this issue. They have essentially trashed everything I’ve worked so hard to achieve the past year. Ie, 60 plus five star reviews etc. if you ever encounter a guest  Tim Collins or  “Emma” with the “safety team” I am so sorry for you. As Emma let me down and opened my eyes to how unfair, irresponsible, and disrespectful Airbnb can be to the hosts that have gone above and beyond to sustain not only happy guests but a relationship with Airbnb as whole. Believe it or not, I am not so concerned With the money as I am with the principle of this situation as a whole. (Even though this reservation was gonna pull us outa the COVID hole sorta speak. )The people involved should be ashamed of themselves. I’m sorry Airbnb, but there are some HUGE improvements that need to be made to protect your hosts. You have lost a host that could’ve made you an exceptional amount of revenue. 

[Huma0]

@Ariel945 

$27,000 seems like a huge payment. What kind of length of stay, number of people and size/type of  listing was this that it cost so much and do you feel like you vetted the guest as best you could on booking? You say that you are not so worried about the money, but that kind of loss would be devastating to a small time host like me...

[Ariel945]

It was for a whole month 30 days. For 2 ppl. At 970 per night. It is devastating. Trust me. However, it’s even more devastating that I’ve worked for the past year to gain 5 star reviews along with all the work I did for the guest and Airbnb didn’t even think twice. Just gave him what he wanted at my expense with no explanation. 

[Huma0]

 Ok, I see your listings are quite something.

What on earth did the guest claim in order to get that sort of refund and did they stay for part or the whole duration of the booking?

[Ariel945]

That’s the thing- is I still don’t know what the claim was for. It was filed with the “safety team” and they couldn’t disclose what happened due to privacy policy’s? So they took the money told me notes have been made on my account regarding the dates incident and if it ever happens again- they will remove me from the community. However, I still do not know what it is that he claimed happened. 

[Ariel945]

He stayed for a total 3 nights and four days. Left without a word. In fact after multiple attempts of contacting him with no answer from him. I was about to call the authorities I contacted Airbnb. They told me they were able to get a hold of him and that they were in fact safe. To which I had to contact the guest again and see if he was returning to the house. They simply said no. That’s it. So strange. Then two weeks later the myriad of claims come in. 

[Ann72]

@Ariel945  Terrible.  The only upside is he didn’t stay the full 28 days and if the stay was canceled you might have been able to rebook some of the dates.  I hope you can get clarity some day, though - it’s frightening they can hold this sword over your head and not tell you what it’s about.

[Mark116]

@Ariel945  For such a sum it may be worth either going to Airbnb's arbitration option or suing both Airbnb and the guest in small claims court. 

[Ariel945]

What is Airbnb’s arbitration option???? 

[Mark116]

@Ariel945  You'd have to look it up, I've never done it, but a couple of people who post here said they won their case, and someone else said they went to court and Airbnb didn't send a representative so they won by default, but I don't know if you could count on that.

[Lisa723]

@Ariel945 see section 19:

https://www.airbnb.com/terms

@Mark116 this amount is probably too large for small claims.