Help! Advice Needed for Bizarre Phone Call

[Danielle476]

I just received a phone call from AirBNB customer service regarding a guest I am currently hosting for their second night.  She instant-booked, and it wasn't until after the booking that I noticed she has a 2.5 star rating - a previous host mentioned she threw a party and left the home in disarray upon checkout.  I've hosted worse, and as we know times are trying so I figured I'd take my chances.

The CS rep confirmed that the guest was still in my condo, and then said she was cancelling her reservation effective immediately due to 'an investigation that is currently ongoing'.  She wouldn't give me any details about what it was about.  I asked how the payout would work if the reservation was being cancelled, and she said she couldn't even confirm I'd get paid at all!!  I said I was concerned about my home being damaged because they were kicking her out, and she didn't really have anything to say about that.  She just said 'if I can't reach her directly after this phone call, we'll be asking you to help assist us in making sure she's left your property.'

So now I'm expected to evict this person with my own bare hands and potentially not see a dime for this reservation?!  Has anyone else dealt with anything like this?  I'm at a loss, and more than a little worried about how she's going to leave my home.  I have someone checking in tomorrow for a week.  Advice appreciated.

[Marit-Anne0]

@Danielle476 if the reservation is still intact, there is some hope that you will get paid. She may have booked with a stolen card though and the reason why airbnb indicated you might not get paid. 

And running away with your key does not sound very reassuring and may cause you extra expenses to boot.

My hunch is that this guest has done something or other that is illegal and has somehow come to the attention of airbnb.

Rather than close your calendar, perhaps just alter your booking settings so that you can better vet your guests before accepting and simply decline if there is any doubt.

[Danielle476]

Thank you, I’ll be doing that as soon as I get home from work! 

[Maxine33]

I am sorry you are having to deal with this hassle. Hopefully the guest is gone and your house was not damaged.  Like @Marit-Anne0  says, since the reservation is still showing as intact hopefully you will still be paid.  

[Mary419]

@Danielle476 sorry to see so many un-helpful replies scolding you as if that was the point here. You are not to blame and this policy/treatment could happen outside of Covid 19 world. I do not have a solution but I have more sympathy, which you deserve.

This is a major issue with general protocol, even if they did give you the payout this time you should not have had that ulcer-moment worrying that you were at $0 and no support with this disaster.

Once Airbnb gives a guest access to your home they should never feel free to withdraw from responsibility of paying you and covering damages. 

I have had moments like what you just went through. They have been eclipsed by the sheer volume of normal business so I never complained on the board. But now crickets are chirping and we are all able to notice and discuss the negatives. The most similar issue I have had repeatedly has been the "Trust and Safety" cancelation which rips the payout out from under you. This sounds like a protective measure . But in far too many cases it was within 24 hours of check in and the guest had all access info and I was left completely alone to deal with ensuring I did not have someone in the house for $0. Usually if I found out the real reason for the cancelation there was no good reason for trust and safety not sorting it out directly like getting the proper billing address for their credit card. Sometimes it would just be the the wife used the husband's card. These are things that a normal business owner can sort out easily. Sometimes the guest had been on the calendar for days or weeks before  the 'you get no payout this is canceled' message came from Airbnb, other times they had just been confirmed long enough to  prevent all other bookings AND get all the information like address code etc before canceled by trust and safety. And nobody at Airbnb seems to see the problem, they say trust and safety department decision is basically sacred and they cannot help me after their decision is made even if the person was literally checking in (even showing on the Airbnb message system as such) within 12 hours of the notice that AIrbnb is pulling the payout.

[Danielle476]

@Mary419 Thank you for your kind words, and sorry to hear that similar things have happened to you.  What I found frustrating was when I checked back with the CS agent who called me, she said 'I tried e-mailing her but haven't heard back.  As such, you'll have to ask her to leave and let us know when she's gone.'

This investigation was so pressing that they were able to phone me at 8 p.m. saying my guest's reservation was being cancelled immediately, but could only muster the energy to e-mail the guest?  Very bizarre.  I've since had to file a claim for the stolen property, so fingers crossed that at the very least, I'm compensated for that.

All the best, stay well!