Awaiting Payment Trap for Same Day Bookings

[Kristiina12]

I don’t agree with lots of AirBnb policies as I feel like the more time goes on the freedom of choosing your hosting style is taken away piece by piece to benefit paying guests or AirBnb or both, but this one, I’m about to discuss, I really don’t see who this policy really benefits besides crooks. After conducting a quick Google search and reviewing posts from this community, it has become apparent that hosts have been dissatisfied with Airbnb's "awaiting payment" feature since at least 2016, if not earlier. What's even more concerning is that the situation hasn't improved; in fact, it has worsened. Hosts are now unable to retract awaiting payment reservations, as specified in Airbnb's policy (https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2411).

Here's why this feature is problematic:

First and foremost, awaiting payment locks a host's calendar for a full 24 hours. While this might be manageable for bookings a few days in advance, it's far from ideal. However, for same-day bookings, it's utterly nonsensical.

As a host, I'm missing out on potential paying guests, and these guests have fewer options to choose from because my calendar is blocked by someone who hasn't paid yet and might not even intend to pay. It's a lose-lose situation, not only for hosts but also for Airbnb.

To exacerbate matters, guests with awaiting payment reservations gain access to your address, even when the settings specify that only confirmed bookings should receive the address 24 hours before their stay. I learned this the hard way through personal experience. These guests can show up at your doorstep at 2 A.M., and depending on your setup, they might even gain entry. This presents a significant security risk. Furthermore, if they don't pay within 24 hours, they essentially get a free night's stay, leaving the host without earnings, the protection plan, and causing Airbnb to lose its commission. This situation benefits no one except the guest who exploits the system.

In the past, hosts had the ability to contact Airbnb to retract their acceptance if the booking was awaiting payment, which was particularly useful for handling last-minute same-day requests. However, when I attempted to do the same today, I was informed that I couldn't cancel it anymore due to the new updated policy.

What I fail to comprehend is why the guest's payment problem has become a burden for hardworking hosts. Airbnb is removing the option for hosts to earn money while simultaneously hurting its own bottom line. Airbnb is permitting guests who are aware of the system's flaws to take advantage of it at the expense of diligent hosts. The lack of transparency in this process is highly questionable. Hosts should be informed of payment issues before accepting a booking, not after. It's unjust to punish a host for a guest who hasn't resolved their payment issues.

Altogether, awaiting payment reservations should not exist as they benefit absolutely no one and only cause harm. As a guest, I wouldn't be upset if I couldn't book a place due to a payment issue on my end. Nowhere do I receive goods or services before making the payment.

So why does Airbnb allow this? While Airbnb claims to value its hosts, I certainly don't feel valued. It's time for Airbnb to either eliminate this feature entirely or, at the very least, allow hosts to retract their acceptance if it's an awaiting payment reservation. Until that happens, I'll keep my same-day requests unavailable, resulting in no earnings for me or Airbnb and fewer options for last-minute guests.

How do you feel about the same-day awaiting payment that can't be retracted by the host no more? 

[Fred13]

If the facts are as you state, allowing a guest to actually move into my place without yet concluding  paying for it, I wouldn't ever opt for allowing such bookings by adjusting my host policy.

[Kristiina12]

Yes, adjusting the hosting policy is now the only option. I wasn't aware of that change because I had recently retracted an awaiting payment reservation about a month and a half ago, and I had done so a handful of times prior. Airbnb was helpful in accommodating these requests over the last year. Although it was a nuisance to call Airbnb, it happened rarely, but at least I had the option to cancel and not be stuck with such a reservation. Fortunately, yesterday's awaiting payment guest retracted themselves, so I really got lucky. And I've since then changed all my settings to disallow same-day bookings, as I'm not willing to go through the distress that comes with the awaiting payment limbo since Airbnb no longer allows such reservations to be retracted.

[Fred13]

Good going. You dodged a bullet. 🙂

[Joelle43]

Hello @Kristiina12 

For all of the reasons above that you mention, I have also ticked the box that guests cannot book less than 24 hours before check-in time.  With guests that do not live in my time zone and overseas banking hours, it can easily take up to 24 hours for the "awaiting payment" to become "reservation confirmed".  I would rather not take the risk especially as you rightly point out, our address is given out to these last minute guests even if they haven't paid for the reservation.

There have been a few posts about this issue recently and there was even one host who gave access to their guest who spent the night and left the next day and she never got paid either by the guest nor by Airbnb.

Like you, I would like to have the option of either waiting for that precious payment to come through or to be able to ask Airbnb to withdraw the reservation penalty free but that's not likely to happen.

Joëlle

[Kristiina12]

Hi Joelle43,

Thank you for your input. I have not thought of the overseas banking delays but I guess I see how Airbnb doesn't want to take that burden only upon themselves and force it onto the host with the policy. 

[Jonas278]

How is the address given out? I would like to understand more.... my thought was it is only on the confirmed reservation details and not visible before that.

[Jonas278]

I guess they have to "guess " based on your photos and a dot on the map? Or they should be acquainted to one of your precious guests who got the address already.