Airbnb's refusal to provide an English version of a receipt and their unhelpful response

[Congyao0]

My receipt was automatically generated in a different language for unknown reasons, and Airbnb simply refused to provide an English version. Their response was incredibly arrogant:

"I am sorry to inform you that it is not possible to reissue the receipt in English because receipts are auto-generated in the language preferred at the time of booking."

While searching for similar cases, I realized that I am not the only one facing this issue—many others have had the same problem. Translating a receipt is arguably one of the easiest things Airbnb could do for its customers. Does anyone really believe Airbnb is willing to solve any real problems?

[Emilie]

Hi @Congyao0, 

I can understand this has been a frustrating experience, and I am very sorry to hear you were not getting the help you needed. Have you since heard anything further from the support teams? 

They are best placed to find a solution for you on this and it would be great to know if you've found a satisfactory solution since your post here. 

Thanks, 

Emilie 

[Peihong2]

I am experiencing the same issue. I am worried that my receipt in Chinese cannot be reimbursed by my university. Airbnb is arrogant: this issue has been present for many years but it never consider any change.

[Joan2709]

@Congyao0 & @Peihong2 

You can try changing the language you are viewing the Airbnb page to English. This is on a computer"

Click the Menu icon top right next to your photo

Click Languages & Currency

Change Language to English

[Peihong2]

It does not work. I tried this before. Whatever language I change, the receipt is still in Chinese.

[Joan2709]

@Peihong2 

Ok...then try

Account Settings

Languages & Currency

This may not work after the fact, as the original reservation ID was under a different language. You may have had to change this setting prior to booking.

[Peihong2]

Yes, this is the point: If you don't change langauge before booking, then once when booking is completed, the language of receipt cannot be changed anymore. Whatever language you choose in language setting, your new choice can only impact future booking. But past bookings and their receipts have been fixed. This is very disappointing. As a comparison: Booking.com allows users to change the language of receipt even after booking.

[Joan2709]

@Peihong2 

Ok...I see. That was what I thought. I'm guessing you already provided feedback to Airbnb regarding this.

Not sure what else you can do other than take a picture of the receipt and then copy the text of the receipt into Google translate and provide both the original receipt and the translated receipt to whomever needs to see it in English.

[Peihong2]

Ridiculous, right? This is why I accused of Airbnb as "arrogant." Similar issues have been for a long time (I found a complaint about this several years ago), but Airbnb never considers to adjust it.

[Peihong2]

Anyway, thank you for sharing your kindness here. 

[Joan2709]

@Peihong2 , @Congyao0 

I think I found a way for you to change the language on a receipt for a trip. Just tried it on my own account. You use the "Get a PDF for Visa Purposes" feature (which is just a receipt) on the reservation details and you can change the language of the receipt:

1. Go to your Trips Tab
2. Scroll down to Find Past Trips in Your Profile
3. Tap the Photo of the Trip (Twice)
4. Reservation Details Appear
5. Scroll Down to Get a PDF for Visa Purposes
6. Enter Your Name
7. Change the Preferred Language to whatever you want
8. Print Receipt 

You can also see the Reservation Detail in your messages to the Host.

[Peihong2]

Dear Joan,

Thanks for keeping this matter in your mind for such a long time.

You are right that I can get an English version of my booking proof. But unfortunately, it is a much more simplified than the original receipt, because it lacks many important details (such as breakdowns of payment and credit card information) in the original receipt.

My university told me that such a simplied proof cannot still replace the role of a receipt, so it does not work for my purpose.

[Joan2709]

@Peihong2 

So sorry...

Not sure if providing feedback to Airbnb will help but you can try. Since they have the functionality to change language (its on the View PDF for Visa purposes) then I don't see why they can't do that for the normal receipt?

The only only option I can think of is use the original receipt and then provide a translated version as well. 

What did you do in the end to provide what the University needed?