Ive hosted over 5000 guests over 5 listings in and without notice airbnb suspended all my listings based on a email that one guest said i had a camera in a room which was false.

[Paul661]

Recently i have found airbnb making arbitrary decisions without following their own processes.

1. A guest left a listing because they claimed it was riddled with mold (3 year old cottage there was no mold) and although i replied within minutes of them letting me know and offering another cottage they left regardless.

Airbnb subsequently gave them a full refund and i had to go to two case managers to get it reversed as 1. I proved there claim was false and 2. guests have to give hosts a hour to rectify any issues which i did offer to rectify within 5 minutes but they still left.

Atm(THIS ISSUE) i have 5 listings suspended with a email saying someone will back to me in 2 days or so to discuss the mater, note the complaint was made against one cottage only so 4 others in different parts of the country should not be suspended.

The only explanation i got was that one guest had claimed i had a camera facing a bedroom which is false they are outside facing driveway. This guest also asked for a free stay based on a minor 5 minute cleaning issue and subsequently punished me with all 1's my first ever and outrages review claiming all sorts of lies and nonsense inc i threatened them they were afraid in the home at night, etc etc which airbnb did not remove despite my appeal.

I rang the airbnb support number but they told me its a different team and that you cannot contact them directly and they will get back to you when they can.

Has anyone heard of this or can offer some advice, ideally a senior person hear could assist or someone connected to airbnb in this area.

I find that unless your a superhost you get substanded support despite the number of bookings i sit just below superhost status which im ok with but surely large volume hosts should also get decent support which im finding i don't. Oh i host in Australia

[Emilie]

Hi @Paul661, 

I'm really sorry to hear you've ran into some issues with a guest's claim. I've raised this on my end so when someone in the team follows-up with you they have all this info, and if I can find out anything else I will let you know! 

Thanks, 

Emilie

[Paul661]

Thanks Emilie my town also was devastated by fires,  black Saturday  Marysville if you look in up, after covid and a bad snow season many hosts are significantly in debt inc me and this suspension affecting all my listings seems like a huge mistake from airbnbs end we also don't make that much profit per stay certainly airbnb earns more that i do.

I have external security cameras which all hosts should have, i disclosed it and i find that it benefits airbnb to have them as i actually have not had to ask airbnb for money too often re a bad guest stay.

I do everything possible to be a good host inc replying to messages almost immediately 24 7 and am just finding that i wish airbnb would give superhost status to hosts who have massive number of stays despite getting 4.6 or 4.7 on average.

If i had superhost status im sure the new airbnb superhost team would provide better support but im just in the line with the casual hosts and im finding that support the worse ever in airbnb history.

The worst thing is my occupancy is normally booked out and i depend on that to make the few hundred dollars a week. 

[Paul661]

the issue is too that airbnb gave the guest any credit ie see below message(remove if its disclosing too much info but it only has first names) i actually had in a support case about how i was rung by the guest and threatened with a bad review if i didnt give him a decent amount of money despite this previous communication.

My response to his 1 review 

This guest was way over the top i've hosted over 1000 stays here in my cottages and responded within minutes of him letting me know of some cleaning issues, i offered to send someone around to put a locked bag under the bed empty the bin and remove some earplugs which would have taken 5 minutes he refused, i checked with him was everything else cleaned as we DID have someone attend to covid spray before etc he said yes. "Thanks in advance for your support in resolving these matters and ensuring both of us can leave this space satisfied and with 5 star reviews. Robbie Paul10:33 PM "Robbie i offered to send my cleaner around you said it was ok as the items you mentioned were from my estimate 5 minutes fixes, i asked if everything else was ok bathrooms floors you said yes" I did everything i could for this guest and for him to give 1 scores for everything as punishment for 5 minutes cleaning mishap and "not paying him money for a 5 star review" i urge all airbnb hosts to never host him. I found this review disappointing after the last message given "Thanks for the recommendations Paul, I think we’ll head to the pool today and stevenson falls afterwards I agree, let’s focus on the good things, the accommodation itself is great and besides the initial shock everything else is fine" For him to also say he was scared and would be kicked out is a complete lie the external security camera faces the driveway not bedroom. Guests as always are welcome to request its turned off or just point it in another direction till you leave.

[Maia29]

@Paul661  I'm really sorry you are going through this. I had the same situation in 2020.

It's not true that you can't speak to the Trust & Safety Dept. That's just their lame excuse so they don't have to talk to hosts. I've talked to them before. I was vigilant and I emailed and called everyday, multiple times a day for 5 days before the situation was rectified.

I disagree that Superhosts get better treatment from customer service though. The US-based customer service reps are really nice; however, I am NOT fond of the Philippines-based call center. They just read from a script and don't have the ability to use any kind of critical thinking or problem-solving skills.

Guests have been learning how to use and abuse the refund system. They will say anything or make things up just to receive a refund. 

[Helen744]

Helen@744 Sorry to hear that Paul, I know you guys up that way need all the bookings that you can get after the fires and covid . So do we here in Ballarat. Airbnb just has no direct support for people living in Australia . I have similar issues . A resolution of any issue is met with little assistance and no belief or respect. Good luck with getting back to normal but like you I think we are all doing it tough. Cheers Helen

[Paul661]

I did get them to call me for my side of things which least is a quick response however i still need to wait until they complete there investigation. What i don't like is how your guilty until you prove your innocence and they block all listings not just the one being referred too.  The fact that almost a month has past since thats guests stay makes it worse as there's some sort of automation occurring notto hosts benifit.

[Helen744]

helen@744 I think that as hosts our strong history does not reflect into Airbnbs eyes, and also, we do not contact Airbnb to assist us with problematic guests . That is our job and we take care of business, but we are the ones that lose rarely the guest. the guests get a bee in their bonnet and the first we hear of it is not from the guest but from Airbnb. Have you noticed a different style of traveller up your way . We certainly have here . Cheers H

[Paul661]

This year im finding more guests call me and ask for money for a 5 star review ive caught out about 3 so far to airbnb that made the mistake of mentioning it in chat or smsing me.  99% of guests are amazing as were not a party location but as i host over 300 ppl per month in about 100 stays you get that 1% every month or so and have to fight too hard with airbnb about there behaviour.

[Paul661]

My listings just got unsuspended i only knew as i got bookings pretty quick as we are mostly non profit i didn't get a call or a email it just happened.

[Helen744]

Helen@744 Thank goodness for good fairies . H

[Paul661]

thanks helen it was nice to get your support.

[Emilie]

@Paul661 I'm really glad to hear it's all been resolved in the end, but I will make sure to pass on your feedback on the lack of communication!