Non payments by airbnb

[Tony2199]

Hi , we are looking for some help, from anyone, we run an air BnB in Ireland 

Our last 3 payments have not been paid 

It is a considerable amount of money 

And determines whether we continue to stay open or no, 

We have tried on each occasion to reach out to management but just keep getting the same old our team will be in contact, it is an AI generated email reply after the phone conversation,the thing is they have been paid in full by our clients, we went to the head office in Dublin Hanover quay, but is closed permanently and have pulled out of Ireland, they give us the run around, and are basically keeping our money which is due to us and help run the business, has anyone the same problem, or please can they put us in touch with an official who can, air BnB support is a waste of time, thanks in advance, T

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Tony2199 Just to check - Have the stays actually happened? If so then you may need to revert to the small claims court which will get Airbnb's attention. I assume you are fully verified and have provided all the KYC data?

[Tony2199]

Yes , and Airbnb have been paid in full 

[Joelle43]

Hello @Tony2199 

As well as @Mike-And-Jane0 advice, I would also go into your settings to check that the bank account showing is correct.

There is no listing under the profil you are using here.  Is your listing still active?  Any missing information - KYC details or missing legal obligations for STR's often result in payments being halted until all the necessary details have been submitted.  Any chance this could be the case?

[Tony2199]

Every thing is above board, they have been paying into our bank acc for the last year, no problems, but when we asked about the payments not coming through they said that we are not the owners if the air BnB, of which we are , the said our host is down as the owner, which she is not, and is gone over 7 months, when our host contacted them to say she was not owner over 4 times. And tried to remove herself from the app when leaving, but the app would not let her, the app is being mysteriously updated all of a sudden and won't let us in to see our account, this is the excuse they are using not to pay, even though said host has been gone from us over seven months, and they have paid recently up to the last 3 payments, which was four weeks ago, I seen some one on here is owed, 10 k what is going on, 

[Joelle43]

Hello @Tony2199 

When the listing was created, who was the primary host - you or this other person?  Conciergerie, other?  Were you co-hosts?  Did you take over/buy an existing listing maybe 7 months ago from the previous owner?  

[Tony2199]

Hi Joel, we are the owners of the listing, the girl who worked for us set up the listing putting herself down as the host as she would be managing the place we were down as co hosts, with payments going to our account, the girl then left, and tried on numerous occasions to take her name of the listing but to no avail, she even phoned to say on two occasions, they say they are with holding the payment as we are not the owners, which we explained we are , and our host did the same , but they won't listen, they are just using it as an excuse not to pay, 

Ps , recent update as of an hour ago, we had a phone call from a guy in Airbnb, Len, no surnames are given no matter how many times you ask, only first names, and we have many , not once have we talked with the same person, so far we have talked to 9 different reps all with Asian/ Indian background with not good English, anyway phoned us to say that the money had been released on the 5th, we checked our account , nothing we phoned back, and got surgeios  , who told the money had not been released, what a complete ****** show, to think we spent a year putting this together, only to be treated like this by the people who are  making millions from air BnB, I can only imagine what it's like for other people in the same situation, we have absolutely no problems with booking .com none what so ever , prompt payments and fantastic support, we will be taking this to the small claims court if not resolved soon, I would love to hear from others who have the same situation 

[Joelle43]

Hello @Tony2199 

Unfortunately your situation is something that far too many owners face when they stop their partnership with the person who runs their listing(s).  And all because that person set themselves up as the primary host and the owners as only co-hosts.  It should be the other way around for all the reasons you list above and more even as the reviews stay with the primary host and not the owners so they loose all the previous reviews.  

Is this listing still active Tony and receiving guests?  

I'm hoping other hosts will chime in but I'm going to tag @Joan2709 and @Helen3 who I hope will give you some ideas how to turn this situation around (if it's possible even?)

Here is a recent conversation that you might find interesting to read:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help-with-your-business/Setting-up-a-listing-as-a-cohost/m-p/211...

Your root problem is with the girl you employed who didn't set up the listing correctly as she is the one that Airbnb see as being the main account holder, not you and it is she who holds all the reigns.

Let's see what the others say Tony,
Joëlle

[Helen3]

Hi @Tony2199 

Unfortunately the woman you had cohosting for you has created this problem by setting herself up as the main host.

this means that she owns the listing 

she can't remove herself without the listing being deleted and you having to start from scratch .

she has also created the problems with your payments 

I really have no advice on how you can sort out the issues created by your cohost apart from taking Airbnb to small claims court if the payment hasn't come through

have you double checked on the listing it is still your payment details showing?

[Tony2199]

Hi Helen , your are quite right she has created the problem and we were not to know, but we were being paid all along until this 4weeks ago, they been pretty prompt with payments too, and then nothing , if it was a small amount we would just let it lie,  but is a substantial amount of money, well to us anyway, the thing is we cannot get in to our account anymore as it just says it's being updated, the girl that set herself up as host has been on to Airbnb to explain what she did , but air BnB are just playing tennis with us both now , saying she is the owner and we are the host , and visa versa when it suits them , we are just going to stick with booking .com , we can see we are not going to get no joy from Airbnb, would not recommend them to anyone either , the point being they got paid in full by our guests, and they are not releasing the money, I just know we are not the only ones that this has happened too, 

[Joan2709]

@Tony2199 

So sorry this has happened, but many unsuspecting Hosts fall prey to this as they are not knowledgable about the dangers of allowing someone to set themselves as "owner" to manage a listing, when in reality they are a Co Host/manager NOT an owner. Sometimes the person themselves doing it (your manager) doesn't understand the issues. As @Joelle43 & @Helen3 have stated already,  the Co Host's mismanagement of creating the listing has led to all these issues.

Sometimes it is a large property managment company that sells an owner a song and dance about how they will do a great job handling your listing for only 10% and you just have to sit back and collect the money..."if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is". These companies (and other unscrupulous or misinformed persons) don't tell the owner they "own" the account if they are listed as "owner" (not you) when creating it as far as Airbnb is concerned. All kinds of misadventure can follow unfortunately, as Airbnb only knows your Co Host as "owner" and you as the potential "fraudster".

Why Payments Are Suspended

Not sure what is to be done with the held-up payments, as Airbnb sees your Co Host's name as "owner", but the money is going to an account under your name. This puts them in a bind with (in the US at least) the "Know Your Customer" (KYC) tax regulations and it can get very messy as @Mike-And-Jane0 mention. To Airbnb, your Co Host is the "owner" and they think shenanigans are going on as her money is going to your bank account and you are not the "owner" per their records (even though you say you are). 

Create a New Listing

Moving forward, you probably will have to create a new listing with yourself as "owner" obviously. All the reviews on the existing account will go to your Co Host and you will have to start over.  The co host will have to block the calendar/unlist to prevent new bookings and eventually the account will need to be permanently deleted. Your new listing could run into problems as long as the old one exists (even if unlisted) as Airbnb will see your new listing as a "duplicate" and suspend your new listing potentially for that reason (see their Circumvention policy). If the current listing is permanently deleted however, you will lose access to all the financial information on any bookings.

Suspended Payments

This could be a loooong process. Legally Airbnb is in a bind. To them, your co host (pseudo owner) calls all the shots on the listing. Most likely they will require some sort of letter from her stating this account was setup in error and she is not the legal owner of the property and all funds belong to you. You will probably have to provide some sort of proof of ownership (deed in your name) and they will probably require a letter from you stating that you are owner. Both letters will probably be required to be notarized (not sure what the equivalent of notorized is in your country) to prevent a fraudulent letter from being offered up as legitimate to Airbnb.

Taxes

No idea what the tax situation is in Ireland, but that is gonna be a mess. As mentioned, it depends on who the Co Host identified as the person responsbile for the taxes. If it is your tax information, you will have to pay taxes on the income (if bookings were accepted), even though Airbnb has suspended the payments to your bank account. If your Co Host used her tax identification, she is in for a real issue come tax time, as she would owe taxes on the income.

[Tony2199]

Thank you Joan for explaining, you have  made the most sense to us so far , however it is unlikely we will receive our money, as the person who set up the account exactly as you said, is playing hard ball , they have contacted airbnb on numerous occasions to explain what happened, and is basically sick of be called by us and them and is gone quite, won't answer texts or calls, 

Air BnB ring us every now and again , usually an Asian/Indian person with little English, but very mannerly, saying the same old stuff, Never the same person, we have 12 different names now , get this , no one will give their surname, ever , this says. A lot about what we are dealing with, we are after cancelling all our listings with Airbnb, and just going to run with booking .com ,never any issues with them , very disappointed 😞 

[Elisa]

Hi @Tony2199 😊, 

I’m sorry about this situation!

Have you been able to check your settings as suggested by our hosts to see if everything looks fine?

What did Customer Support tell you about this?

[Tony2199]

@Elisa Customer support won't give any answers, except our tech team is looking into the situation and will be InTouch with you to resolve the matter, no why the money is being withheld  no explanation, nothing, just being fobbed off , even if nwe could talk to someone in charge, that could enlighten us, oh and no one wants to give their name when you phone, very shy about it , especially when asking for their surname,