Short story: I have an issue with my reservation that I raised with the host. After a few messages back and forth this issue was not addressed. I then received a phone call from a man who was not my host or co-host. They were being quite aggressive and confrontational on the call. They said they were the owner of the company that manages the listing. They were not on the listing as a host or co host. They still did not address my issue. I now feel unsafe and uncomfortable staying at the listing and want to cancel and get a refund but I am afraid I will lose any money I have paid. I have reported this to airbnb support but I am not sure they will support me- the host has accused me of bullying when all I have done is ask legitimate questions about the listing. What else can I do?
My issue: The rental company has a website which displays the super host logo and says all hosts are superhosts. They link straight to airbnb. This is how I found the listing and booked. After I booked I realised the hosts are in fact NOT super hosts. When I raised this issue with the host they did not address it and thats when I received the phone call from the owner.
Long story:
I had an issue with my reservation and was attempting to seek clarification on It with my host. After a few messages the host had not clarified my issue and I then received a phone call from someone who is not the host or co-host. This person claimed to speak on behalf of the host/cohost and in the call they were being confrontational and intimidating. I felt uncomfortable and asked to only be contacted through Airbnb.
My first fear was that the host has given out my number out to a third party without my permission.
The person then messaged me through the hosts Airbnb not their own Airbnb profile. Apparently they own the rental company that the host works for and are a contact for all the Airbnb listings run by this person. I did not see a mention of them or their profile on the listing or hosts Page
Before the call I had not heard of this person- they weren’t a host or co-host of the listing. I was a) unaware someone other than an official host or co host could access my contact information and b) I never expected a phone call (let alone a confrontational one) from a host in a non-emergency situation.
The phone number that came up on my phone is the phone number for the company- I was not aware that hosts actually got my contact number. I assumed that if you use the call function on Airbnb a security feature would hide the number. I feel uncomfortable by the fact they have my number
I now feel extremely uncomfortable and unsafe staying at this listing and want to cancel however I’m scared if I cancel I will not get any money back. I don’t know what to do?
My issue that I had:
I had found the listing through a website (I am not sure if I can say the name on this forum but happily will if I am allowed) which displayed the superhost logo on their site and claims all their listings are run by super hosts. (I have since found out it is against terms and conditions to use this logo for marketing and on third party websites.)
A link on the website takes me directly the air bnb profile of the host. In the bio the host says they are an employee of the rental company. This is how I made my booking for the listing. the website and the fact that the host works for the company strongly suggests that the host is a superhost and would provide a high quality stay. someone that doesn’t book very often with Airbnb would probably also assume this. I made the booking under this assumption. But neither The host or co hosts are superhosts. When I brought up this issue (along with other queries) with the host they never addressed it and I was accused of bullying it was after this that I received the phone call