Reviewing after damage we hope will be rectified by the responsible Guest

[Mary996]

I was in a situation where I now regret NOT reviewing a guest.

I wanted to say something along the lines that " these guests caused damage... at this point in time I am progressing a claim against them. If the matter is settled then I hope to be able to remove this review". Do you see where I'm coming from?

No-one wants to say negative things unjustifiably. They felt I was asking too much compensation. I invited them to make an offer but eventually had no response except for the threat of a £200,000 claim for 'racism'. In my opinion it would have been racist NOT to have claimed for the damage they caused!

I am considering a small claims court action.

Has anyone used this route?

[Mary996]

@Robin4 

Look Robin all I did was begin a discussion on here which was a bit of a ramble about reviewing as I haven't had a bad Guest in the way that these people were.

I'm not sure I will want to participate again if I have to deal with Hosts who just want to hit other Hosts in the teeth. All the likes awarded to each other shows a kind of 'gang' mentality that I haven't found helpful. If I had been  going to be an uneducated Host who just overlooked Guest abuse I wouldn't have come on here. The tone however of attack by yourselves is likely to put off other would be conscientious Hosts so I think you are describing yourselves really. And all I'm getting in reply to my feedback to you all is more appreciation of each other and how very right you all are. 

[Mark116]

@Mary996  I'm intrigued by how a guest could have been unaware they did sufficient damage that the host would need to claim it?  The only things ever damaged where it is possible that guests may not notice is those tiny bleach stains on towels and sheets that come from make-up/skin products.  Anyone would know if they broke a dish or damaged furniture or an appliance enough that it had to be replaced, wouldn't they?

[Mary996]

I'm sure they would. The prospect that someone may have broken something unknowingly is a theoretical possibility … my particular issue was closed a while back but from it I have found myself reflecting on the experience and how and in what way I would like to contribute to feeding back to Airbnb (our Agents) potential new ways of handling the tie up between Reviews and how these impact the negotiation process and the recovery of damages.

[Mark116]

@Mary996  Airbnb doesn't care about damages to host properties, if they did the security deposit would be a real thing that does not require guest approval.  They care about volume of guests and that means minimal barriers to entry.  They also care about bad PR, but that too is mostly from the guest side as the response to perceived discrimination was much more robust than the response to deadly parties. 

[Mary996]

So we need to organise a concerted strategy for change. There is a new broom in the house doubtless reading this and looking for the direction from us that she asserts she is seeking. 

So, I agree with you some security placed on a card at the time of booking whereby a clause such as 'booking with us implies acceptance of the terms' and then specifying the Hosts Reserve (that we have been invited to quantify) will appear and the Guest is effectively committing her/himself to an extraction from their card (almost by automation) if they cause damage.

In addition to the above point (which we are agreed upon???) I  would like to see some adjustment to the Review system which allows for an update post dispute.

[Sarah977]

@Mary996  There have been new brooms in the house before and they talked the talk but never walked the walk. There are so many things that hosts have made their voices loud and clear on, but Airbnb simply ignores it, or comes up with some watered down version that doesn't address the issue at all. 

The company has made it patently clear that they aren't interested in changing the things that hosts tell them need to be changed. 

They show zero respect for us, changing our hosting pages for no reason, removing features that are important to us, adding ones that are basically useless. We are never notified of changes until they are a done deal.

So if you have a proposal for how to make them accountable to hosts, by all means let us know. The only thing I can think of is if every host on the platform worldwide snoozed their listing for a week, so there was zero $ being generated, but that's never going to happen.

[Mary996]

@Sarah977

Love it!! Haha.... Worldwide Snooze for a week. You are inspiring.

Hey why did you end with "that's never going to happen"...?

I think we should keep our armoury at the ready and believe that we can get results. 

Collectively, just through our conversations on here (which surely are read??),  we do exert influence. I have seen a major change from one or two years ago when the quality of staff was so very bad indeed. Through the Feedback process I pushed repeatedly to the Company, our Agents, that it would be better to have slower more effective responses and higher quality staff than instantaneous complete rubbish reactions from the most ghastly clickey personnel that were operating then. You could almost visualise their back room chat "Oh I got rid of that one"...it seemed to be all about fielding the ball off the pitch for success. But now I find the staff seem to have a real interest, more competence and will pursue matters.

Am I just lucky or is this your experience too? 

[Mary996]

@Mark116 

Hi Mark, so the security deposit requires Guest approval at which point in the booking process may I ask? I'm sorry I don't know this stuff but I did think I had a deposit in place ...but received no pay out from the Guest.

I think the response below might have been intended for you from me. I'm afraid I'm yet to get efficient about tagging!!

Thanks so much for replying Mark. Very much appreciated and Greetings its lovely to meet you. 

[Sarah977]

@Mary996  I said it's ever going to happen because there are something like 2 million listings on Airbnb- do you really think that a total worldwide host strike would be doable? Even if all those hosts were contacted, there would be tons who wouldn't want to pause their listings because they are getting steady bookings.

FYI the Airbnb security deposit doesn't really exist. It is just there as a "you could be charged this if you cause damage". If the guest causes damage, you ask them to pay up and if they refuse (which is quite likely), then you have to escalate it to Airbnb, who may or may not get the guest to pay or pay it themselves.

[Mary996]

 I am someone who believes that minorities can have major influences in promoting change. Am having a bit of a problem with your tone especially as I was addressing myself to Mark. All the best to you

[Fred13 · Accepted solution]

@Mary996  It is not that complicated. What Airbnb has done is charge hosts a low fee (3%) to list with them and flood the market with their listings, and thus capture a huge percentage of the market. In turn, it became a bonanza for those listing with them: low hosts fee/tons of customers - happy days. Over time many hosts are demanding more and insisting  Airbnb do what they promise. The world is full of false promises, think of a used-car salesman.

    Examples: the Host Guarantee and Customer Service for hosts,  are just more bait in the hook.  Both can't really be supported economically by charging hosts only 3%. Still, in my book, Airbnb is a great deal, especially if you look at them as a great booking service for only a lousy 3%.

   And the money is not coming out of what the guest pays either, because they are keeping that smarting relatively low also - in the range of ~15% to guests. 

   In a nutshell: The day they really have to deliver on services hosts think they are entitled to is the day hosts will not be paying just 3%. 

   Btw, we are a friendly lot here and trying to help one another, including you, but hard to do when you continue to argue even with your own shadow. 

[Mary996]

@Fred13 

Hi Fred,

I agree with you about the perks of Airbnb and don't really have any complaints... except for the quality of this mutual help ...its really gone downhill with folk seeming to say what they feel like without connecting with the person raising an issue...it just seems to be (from the receiving end) a dialogue with each other. "Liking" whatever acerbic comments have been dealt out. As in your parting quip. Why on earth did you say that? How helpful is it really?  

[Fred13]

Ok omit the parting shot..the rest is the reality of Airbnb, trust it was helpful.

[Mary996]

Appreciated.

Anyway I am intrigued about the fact that you have an association with Belize. Wasn't this an Island that was irradiated by nuclear testing and the Islanders  left to starve? I heard a story about how the people were suffering with radiation sickness and mystery illnesses and some guy came to fill up the Coca Cola dispensaries and left again crushing the hopes of those in distress. Does this sound familiar to you from the annals of the Island's history?

[Sarah977]

@Mary996  Check out a map. Belize isn't an island. It's bordered on the northwest by Mexico and on the south and west by Guatemala.