Our guest rebooking and refund policy explained

[Catherine-Powell]

Hi everyone, 

We value the feedback about the rebooking and refund policy that we’ve heard from Hosts in workshops, here in the Community Center, and across Host Clubs. 

From your feedback, we understand that many Hosts aren’t familiar with the policy, and our update raised more questions than answers. We also know that you need more details about how this policy works. 

As a result of your comments, we are doing the following: 

1. We’re removing the language about Hosts being responsible for rebooking costs from the policy. 
2. We’ve also answered some of your most frequently asked questions about the policy that we’ve heard over the past week. 

You can read more about these changes here.

We hope this will help give you peace of mind, so you can focus on what you do best—providing amazing hospitality to guests from all over the world. 

Thank you for being a Host. We want you to know that we listen to your feedback. Please continue to tell us what you think so we can make sure we’re helping you meet your hosting needs. 

Best wishes,
Catherine 

[Helen744]

@Mary419 Insulted is better than scammed from where I sit . I simply have lost faith in the system from all the stories I hear and I can see which way the wind is blowing so a shot over the bow on incoming is my first warning and pics are my evidence , none of us aint got time for it but the other option Is?H

[Gillian166]

@Mary419 

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@Mary419 wrote:

To time stamp it we would buy a newspaper and hold it up like a hostage??

🤣 hehe, that will make me laugh next time i have to do this. (I've done this twice when i got an odd feeling about the guest). "the hostage video" we shall call it.

but to be serious, the metadata on the phone should suffice. 

[Victoria-And-Todd0]

Not every owner lives on site. With current labor shortages I cannot impose or expect the clearing company to take detailed photos and videos of a 3 story 5 bd house before each stay., Airbnb does seem to think that they still operate in strictly in shared accommodation with host in the next room over or next door. But now Airbnb is IN the whole-house markets where host is not onsite and cannot video everything prior to each stay. 

[Cherie71]

We've decided to do a time-stamped video before checkin and at checkout.  The concern I would have is a video, while showing the unit was clean, appliances working (if Airbnb takes the light coming on in the video, etc..)...How do we guarantee Airbnb will look at it?

The concern is AIRBNB CS will immediately refund money or some other action without contacting the Host, giving that Host time to respond.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Catherine-Powell  thank you for your detailed explanation of the FAQ.

It sounds fair. On the paper.

But, we have heard about CS rep calling the host in the middle of the night and if the host doesn't answer the call, CS issues the refund immediately. The host wakes up in the morning and finds out the reservation is canceled and a refund is given while he was asleep. Airbnb CS reps should not only call the host but also try to reach him through the message or email and give him a chance to respond within at least 10 hours.

I just hope every CS rep will be educated about this VERY IMPORTANT new policy because we all know how often they tend to misinterpret Airbnb policies.

To stay on the safe side, all hosts should immediately bookmark this link https://www.airbnb.com/resources/hosting-homes/a/details-about-the-guest-rebooking-and-refund-policy... provided by @Catherine-Powell so they can present it to CS rep if needed.

AND ONE MORE, VERY IMPORTANT ISSUE

Why there are so many superhosts (!) with perfect ratings, lately often being suspended without any questions asked and without giving any explanation or timeframe of suspension?

Are you aware that every new guest, without previous reviews, and without ID verification can falsy accuse his host of basically anything, without any proof, and cause the host's suspension and cancelation of all future bookings?

It happens on the daily basis, @Catherine-Powell  just browse this CC.

[Property2]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 And while it's a brilliant idea to bookmark, all the CS rep will have to do is to point to the last line that states: "Information contained in this article may have changed since publication."  Typical Aibnb, there is always a way out...

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

Auch @Property2  I overlooked that 😕

[Catherine-Powell]

Hi @Branka-and-Silvia0 ,

Thank you for your message. 

I also want to thank you for your constructive feedback and continued engagement here in the Community Center. 

Your feedback here about Community Support (CS) and our new policy is well taken. With all changes we ensure our Community Support Ambassadors are informed and trained on the changes. We also run programs to ensure we are continuously improving the quality of your interactions. Please note we have invested additional resources in people and training to ensure understanding and fair enforcement of the policy.

With regards to your other comment on suspensions. We take Host suspensions very seriously and have a robust process for when and why that occurs. We capture all of the escalations in the Community Centre around suspension and endeavor to investigate each one. I am personally very involved in this as I understand how distressing a suspension can be.

Thank you for raising this
Catherine 

[Huma0]

@Catherine-Powell 

I am glad to hear that you are running programmes to ensure you are continuously improving the quality of our interactions with CS, but I have to say my interactions with CS have been, in general, deteriorating rather than improving over the past couple of years. Here's just one example:

Conversation with Airbnb Support

Hide details

Skip to Last Message (Ctrl-e)Skip to Typing Your Message (Ctrl-m)

 

Airbnb Support19:40

Hi Huma,

Thank you for escalating your concern.
This is Nadeem, the Support Ambassador from the Escalations team.

I am just going through your case, and I sincerely apologize for this experience and inconvenience throughout the resolution process.

I would like to let you know that your case has been escalated to the right department and I will make sure to assist you with the best of my abilities.

Requesting you if you can give some more details to us regarding your concern so that I can investigate your concern and get back to you with a resolution.

Appreciate your understanding !

Huma20:20

Hi Nadeem, thank you for your message. Can I just double check, are you referring to my query RE the Superhost bonus or something else. As I haven't heard from Airbnb support in a few weeks, I'm not 100% sure. Many thanks, Huma

Airbnb Support20:54

We usually work to reply all inquiries within a day, however, the recent influx of inquiries pose a little challenge to us due to COVID-19. Please be assured that we are working very hard to help everyone now, and we thank you for your patience and understanding.

I sincerely apologize for the delayed responses from Airbnb, and really appreciate your patience !

You can share your issues with me, I will be more than happy to answer them and resolved them for you.

Airbnb Support03:56

Just a friendly reminder, I’ll be on leaves for next 4 days.

I’ll get back to you once I join office, please be assured of it.

For an immediate assistance, you can always call our 24-hour international support number at +1-415-800-5959 (or +1-855-424-7262) and one of our specialists will be just as happy to take care of you.

Wish you a great week ahead and thank you so much for your understanding and cooperation with this.

Best Regards,

Huma16:17

Hi Nadeem, thanks for the update, but I am still not sure which issue you are contacting me about. I have had to make several contacts to CS over the past months but your message is not part of those other threads. Could you please clarify if it is about the Superhost bonus or about a booking or something else? If you can let me know, I can certainly provide you with more information.

Many thanks,

Huma

Airbnb Support07:36

Hi Huma,

I would request you to share all your queries, as I am not contacting you for any specific issue.

You can share the information related to the any issue you are facing.

Response Awaited !

 

Huma11:29

Hi Nadeem, sorry I am confused because your original message said you were contacting me about a case that I escalated? Do you know when this case was escalated? That would help me to identify what it was and let you know if it has been resolved or not. Many thanks, Huma

Airbnb Support20:11

Well, I see that you were not happy with a resolution that was provided to you.

To be honest and transparent with you, as a Support Ambassador I would really like to help you with any query you would like to discuss.

Please feel free to share your thoughts for any issue that you facing.

Response Awaited !

 

Airbnb Support22:39

This is the follow-up response to the last message to know that you have received our response to your query.

 

Huma01:44

Thank you for reaching out to me but I am still at a loss as to which case you contacted me about. I understand that you have said you are interested in hearing about any issues I may have, but you initially said you contacted me about a case I escalated and it is not clear what that case is. I cannot provide further information unless you clarify. Please answer my question as to which case you are referring to. I asked already if it was related to my last query to CS, which was to do with my Superhost bonuses not appearing on the system, but got no answer to that. I would be most grateful if you could clarify the reason I have been contacted and which case it was related to. Many thanks, Huma

 

Airbnb Support10:22

There is no specific case Huma, I am right here to assist you with any concerns you are facing.

Requesting you to please elaborate the issue related to the Superhost Bonus so that I can assist you further.

Also, I apologize for the previous experience you had with our customer service team, I will be more than happy to assist you.

Response Awaited !

 

Airbnb Support05:02

I just wanted to follow up and make sure you received my reply to your inquiry.

I hope all is well!

We haven't heard anything back from you.

Please let us know whether we can still be of help, I will be more than happy to assist you.

 

Airbnb Support06:13

For now, I will be putting a closure on this message thread on no response from your end.

Please feel free to let us know if there is anything else we can look into for you.

Rest assured, you can always reach out to us anytime for any queries, we are here for you whenever you need us at www.airbnb.com/help

Thank you once again for making Airbnb your platform of choice. We are truly glad to have you around this community!

[Huma0]

@Catherine-Powell 

Eventually I just gave up and stopped responding because what else was I supposed to do? How much time should I have wasted on this nonsense? Meanwhile, other host with really serious issues and often in very urgent, time sensitive, potentially even dangerous situations,  are getting no responses/contact whatsoever...

[Kristina46]

oh dear me....

[Stephanie]

Hi @Huma0 ,

How frustrating, so sorry to see you dealing with that! 😱 We are, as always, collecting all of this feedback on CS, and all other Airbnb services, and sharing directly with that team. 

Thanks,

Steph

[Cherie71]

If you'd like more examples of this type of non-customer service support, let me know. I'll screenshot a few for you.

[Huma0]

PS, re the conversation I posted above, note the UK time when the rep followed up - 5am. I am not awake at that time. He then closed the case just over an hour later.

I said I gave up and stopped responding, but actually that's not true. I forgot that I did respond and got the rep to deal with the issue about not being able to use my Superhost bonus.

However, I never found out what he was contacting me about in the first place, and I doubt that it was the bonus thing as that's unlikely to be something that I escalated and made a fuss about. More likely it was a more serious issues but from a long, long time back. I don't know why he was so cloak and dagger about it. Baffling.

[Dawn796]

Most of my stays are 2 or 3 night stays. I can tell you right now that the first unsubstantiated claim against the stay and money is refunded will be the last for me as I will move hosting to another platform besides AIRBNB. I am not here to give out free vacations.