Received warning for "encouraged guest to cancel"

Received warning for "encouraged guest to cancel"

I logged into the app last night and noticed that my listing was at risk because I "encouraged guest to cancel."   

 

It refers to my current reservation, a couple who checked in a few days ago and have not mentioned any issues, nor canceled.  Our only communication was a friendly message asking if an early check-in was possible, and my friendly reply that unfortunately no, the cleaner would be there until the normal check-in time.

 

The email telling me that I "encouraged guest to cancel" came 13 min after they messaged me about the early check-in, and before I replied.

 

This is totally out of the blue and I can't get anywhere with support. I really don't want to bother the guest with what seems to be a weird glitch.  Any advice for how this could have happened?

3 Replies 3

Also, any advice for getting a support person who will actually listen and assist?  I've tried contacting them by chat and phone... no matter what, they say they'll escalate the case, and then these are the replies I've gotten.

 

Reply 1:

 

"Thank you for your patience, Emily.

The Listing issues page provides insights about the reported issues (cleanliness, access, accuracy, communication, or Host cancellation) for listings with recent issues, which can help identify opportunities to improve.

If you’d like to check the reported issues for your listing, just go to your:

Hosting page > Insights tab > Listing issues page

—You will also receive email notifications about the reported issues
—Reported issues for a listing will not be removed from the Listing issues page as they provide a historical record of listing issues
—The listing issue notification on the Today tab will disappear after one month"

 

Reply 2:

 

"We are pleased to inform you that your appeal has been approved. You can now proceed with creating or managing your listings on our platform. We trust that you will provide exceptional experiences for our guests and adhere to our ground rules for Hosts. You can learn more about the ground rules for Hosts through our Help Center article...

If you’d like to provide feedback on Airbnb’s policies or your experience, you can do so any time at...

Since that is all sorted out, I wish that you've felt my good intention to assist you. We will consider this case closed but if you come across any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to let us know. Always remember that if you need something else, kindly contact our customer service number  or visit our Help center at.... Anyone from our excellent Customer Service Team would be happy to take care of you."

 

(she immediately closes case)

 

Support reply 3:


"As I could see from the screenshot that the message that you can see where it is written "encouraged Guest to cancel" showed up because the issues in the listed became the reason for the Guest to cancel the reservation.  It was not a comment left by the Guest but rather the listing issues led the Guest to cancel the reservation."

 

(I told him that the guests have not canceled, that they have not mentioned any issues, and that they hadn't even checked in yet when I got the email from Airbnb saying that I "encouraged guest to cancel.")

 

Support reply 4:


"As you can see in the messages that were exchanged between you and the Guest, there was a late response from your end which acted as an encouragement for the Guest to intend to cancel but later the Guest did not cancel.
So, the late reply was an encouragement for the Guest to intend to cancel though eventually the Guest did not cancel hence it shows as an encouragement to cancellation but not an actual cancellation."

 

(I explained that the email from Airbnb about "encouraging the guest to cancel" arrived 13 min after the guest asked for an early check-in.  So the timing of my reply - 1 hr after they messaged me - could not have had anything to do with it.)

Wow, that's crazy strictness on the robots. People can't be human anymore and take a little time to respond.

@Emily159. Emily, I thought this was funny until I read the rest of it and now its downright scary what AI Airbnb is interpreting in messages. Its a further push from the "flexible check in" part of reviews to get hosts to agree to a 24/7 check in and early check in especially.

 

AI is increasingly very strange. I got a booking request on Sunday that was 3 hours after a guest 11am check out, for Monday 2pm check in and I have a 1 day either side no booking block (clearly now being counted from usual check out time so late check out requests would have me in a pickle). Plus the request was from a person with no reviews and only 1 trip in 9 years. Within minutes I sent a quick couple of questions and within a few minutes more  AI popped up with a warning if I was uncomfortable with this request just advise them and it could be declined. Apparently they dont trust my judgement to ask more questions or allow 24 hours to respond either. 😞