As a Superhost of 8 years I was v disappointed in the way I was treated by Airbnb, when due to a cold suddenly develiping into a serious chest infection - I had to call 111 and a doctor came round and put me on strong antibiotics. Due to age and a variety of long term health issues I'm in a vulnerable category. I was certainly not well enough to deal with a guest (due that day) and it would not have been good for them to be with someone having coughing fits and constant nose blowing and so on ... So in the morning, I rang Airbnb 'Superhost support' and asked them to contact guest (due after 5 that day) and find them alternative accomodation ...this is London so abundant alternatives around.
Imagine my shock, when I checked later to find highly critical messages telling me off for cancelling a reservation and telling me how I will be penalised!. A £40 fine is the first thing but I was most shocked by the negative critical language on how bad for GUESTS a cancellation is. As this was my one and only cancellation in 8 years and I'd cancelled for essential reasons it seemed very unfair to be spoken to in that way. I complained and received a very qualified apology with fulsome praise for being a superhost, but told I have to get a doctor's certificate for the fine to be removed. I explained how long (in the current state of the NHS) it takes to get through to make a GP appointment, get a letter etc When you do get through its often a week bf an appointment can happen and my GP practise doesn't give certificates unless you've been ill for a week or more anyway.
Besides all that, you'd think that Airbnb would look at the facts /history of the host ... many many glowing 5* reviews and no other cancellations and so on. Surely there's a case for trusting your host? I'm NOT a keypad host, I take guests into my own home, give them a light breakfast, what to see advice, travel advice... my foreign guests really appreciate that.
I want everyone to know how I was treated. If you have any sort of emergency folks ...this is the kind of 'host support' you receive.
My feeling is largely disappointment that having had an emergency due to suddenly becoming ill, Airbnb 's response was critical, unsupportive and penalising.
