I've been blocked for 3 months

[Mrs-G0]

Hi. I'm new to Airbnb. 

A man booked my house for 3 months and the app gave him 40% off which would put me in the negative.  No profit at all $61 per night for a 3 bedroom house.

I called Airbnb and let them know the smart pricing screwed me and that at that price, especially during winter, it wasn't financially prudent. 

Mortgage and utilities wouldn't be fully covered. I  canceled , so now the 3 months are blocked off. 

Can I appeal it?

I have changed the monthly discount to 10% instead of 40%. 

[Emiel1 · Accepted solution]

@Mrs-G0 

You are responsible for the prices and discounts you set in the listing. Smart Pricing can not "screw" you, as it is you who is setting the minimum / maximum price.

As a new host better not start with "long term stays" (so set maximum stay to 27 nights).

Did you ask Airbnb to cancel the reservation penalty free ? ("I am a new host and made a mistake" sometimes will convince them to do so)

Did you ask the guest to cancel the reservation within 48 hours after booking ? (then guest would receive full refund)

Only Airbnb can make the dates available, maybe contact them again, as 3 months blocked on your calender is a severe penalty for a new host !

[Katrina79]

@Mrs-G0 I see you are a new host and your listing has only a handful of reviews. If all else fails, maybe you could just deactivate your current listing and set up a new one. 

[M199]

@Mrs-G0 

Sorry to hear that.  Airbnb is a paid service that connects host and guests.  It is the hosts responsibility to understand the process, pricing, subtleities and contracts. Hosts need to do their due diligence.

@Katrina79I highly doubt that delisting and setting up a new account would be helpful in this situation.

[Katrina79]

@M199 @I disagree it would be helpful in this situation to set up a new listing as her calendar is now blocked for three months. I have empathy for @Mrs-G0  we all make mistakes as new hosts and learn from them. 

[Helen3]

No it wouldn't . You can get banned from the platform for setting up duplicate listings. 

[Sarah977]

@Mrs-G0  The app didn't give the guest 40% off and smart pricing didn't screw you- it's up to you to make sure to set the pricing parameters to your liking. Or set your own prices manually rather than depending on some algorithm.

Sorry this happened to you, but unless there's some Airbnb tech glitch, the host is responsible to make sure the pricing is right. And you could also turn off Instant Book, which is actually a good idea for new hosts until they get familiar with how everything works, so if something seems amiss, you can decline, rather than have to cancel a confirmed booking.

[Dave1074]

Start over with a new listing.  Before you do it, take a few days to figure out how to avoid these mistakes and many others that often result from just jumping in without any preparation. 

[Deborah350]

Do you have weekly / monthly discounts? 
These all get applied to a longer booking!

[Mrs-G0]

I did ask the guest within 5 hours to cancel. He said because it was a 3 month rental Airbnb, he had a cancel fee of $2100.  I reached out to Airbnb about 10 times on Friday and they removed the block. What happened is when setting up Aitbnb, it suggested discounts to first 3 bookings. So the first 3 bookings discount plus the monthly discount made the house $60 a night. I sat down and did the math for mortgage and utilities, then added to  it  for a profit. I also lowered the weekly and monthly discount to 10% & 12%.  I have learned and am ignoring all.the suggestions on the app. Thank you everyone