Unprofessional Airbnb Support Ambassadors, Check in Time Window and Airbnb Automatic Translation Error

[Kumsal1]

Hello,

I would like to share my terrible experience with Airbnb Support and some serious problems with their decisions. In short, they don't back the hosts who enforce check in times, cancel the reservations on hosts behalf with penalties and let the guests leave bad reviews.

On August 10th, a guest from China made a reservation for September 21-23. Their message, written in Chinese, was auto-translated by Airbnb as follows:

"Hello, I will be there after 12pm on the 21st."

Our check-in time is between 13:00 and 22:00, which is clearly stated on our Airbnb listing.

On the day the reservation was made, August 10th, I sent the guest a message reminding that our check-in hours are between 13:00 and 22:00. I also mentioned that while we would try to prepare the room early, if it wasn’t ready, they could leave their luggage before check-in. The guest read the message, but did not respond.

On September 20th, I sent another message providing directions from the airport to our home, but again, there was no response.

On September 21st, the check-in day, we prepared the room early. By 12:06 pm, they had not arrived, so I sent them the following message:

"Hello, your room is ready. You can check in when you arrive without needing to leave your luggage."

The guests replied with "thank you" and two hearts.

They did not show up, and as we had to leave the house, I sent another message at 16:37:

"Hello, As you had informed us before that you would arrive around 12:00, we were waiting for you at home until now, but we have to go out and won’t be at home for about next two hours. You may check in between 18:30-22:00 and please let us know beforehand."

Again, there was no response for a long time, so we assumed they would not arrive.

The next morning, I was shocked to wake up to several messages and misses calls from the guest and, more importantly, from Airbnb.

Around 20:50, they sent a few messages stating they would arrive late, that their flight will land at 23:00.

At 01:12, the guest messaged again saying they had arrived. At 04:22, they sent another message saying they were downstairs, waiting in front of the building.

The reason I’m bringing this issue to the community center is due to how Airbnb handled the case and the actions taken by the Airbnb support agent.

At 06:41 in the morning, an Airbnb employee named "Ti Sze" sent me a message requesting that I contact the guest in 30 minutes. The message began by stating that there were no English-speaking agents available and that they were writing in Chinese using a translation tool.

Then, at 7:14 am, I received another message. The agent had canceled the reservation on my behalf and fined me €45!

I woke up, saw the messages and immediately started replying around 7:30. However, before I could even finish my response, the agent closed the case after seeing I was typing.

To summarize:

Even if there was a error in Airbnb's translation of "12 pm," it’s not my responsibility as the host. The guest sees and accepts the check-in hours before booking. Furthermore, with Instant Booking, the check-in times are explicitly mentioned again in the pre-booking message.

The check-in times were clearly stated in the messages I sent to the guest and it is clear that we expect them to arrive around 12:00 at noon, as I explicitly mention early arrival and luggage drop. I don't think there could have been such a massive translation error to change the meaning of my messages.

The Airbnb employee not only did not speak English, but they made a completely arbitrary decision at a time when it was impossible for me to respond due to the time zone difference. And then, they closed the case while I was still typing my reply!

The reason I am posting here is that this is not the first time I’ve experienced something like this. On a previous occasion, a guest who made a 3-day reservation messaged one day prior to their arrival to request to check in late at night, which was not possible. They ended up checking in on the second day and had a pleasant stay with no issues. However, after the stay, they left a 3-star review. In the review, they mentioned the check-in issue as the reason for the low rating, despite also noting that everything else was great, clean and the location is good. Apart from this one review, all our other reviews were 5 stars!

When I asked for the review to be removed, as the low rating is only due to not accepting guest's request for late check in and the guest clearly states that in her review, the Airbnb ambassador replied, "Take a look at the bright side, you have many good reviews, and this is the only one that differs," and refused to remove it.

I have been a hosting on Airbnb for a long time, and this is the first time I’m taking these issues on the forum because both of these situations are very serious. Experienced hosts like myself are already aware that some Airbnb staff can be unprofessional, but this is starting to go too far. Recently, an Airbnb employee even suggested that we accept a third-party booking, although it is against Airbnb's own terms. Can you believe that?

Back to the issue at hand: If check-in times are not going to be respected, what is the point of having them?

If Airbnb continues to make decisions like this without considering hosts and their policies, hosts like me will leave the platform, and Airbnb will eventually be filled only with company-owned properties. It may sound like easy money to Airbnb’s CEO right now, but no country will allow such unchecked operations go through for a long time without any form of regulation, safety, or identity verification.

[Guy991]

Hello @Kumsal1 ,

In my opinion, you experienced a series of unfortunate events, and these things happen.

I once had a guest who refused to tell me when she would arrive and then, at 10:00 PM, way after my in-person check-in window had close, she messaged me saying she would arrive at 2:00 AM. She added that if I didn’t like it, I could cancel her reservation and she would go to a nearby hotel. I preferred to meet her at 2:00 AM to complete the check-in rather than involve customer service. Their day shift is usually better than the night shift, as is the case in many businesses, including hospitality.

The difference between your situation and mine is that in my case, the guest exploited a loophole intentionally. In your case, a single letter caused confusion, but I don’t think your guest had bad intentions. The lack of communication just led to an unfortunate outcome.

Airbnb’s translation service isn’t always the best option. When dealing with critical information, consider running the original text through another online translator if you’re unsure. I’ve been surprised by how different the translations can be, saving me a lot of trouble.

Also, consider using really simple English with no slang. That way, when the guest uses a translation tool, there’s a better chance they’ll understand you.

In addition, consider repeating the information the guest provided, like the check-in time, just to make sure you got it right.

Just out of curiosity, could you send me the text in Chinese? I can run it through another translator and we’ll see what we get. Maybe it will still say 12 PM, or maybe not.

[Kumsal1]

Hi @Guy991 ,

Thank you for your message. There might be a translation problem of Airbnb, however the main issue here is that Airbnb cancelled the reservation on my behalf without even contacting me at reasonable hours with additional consequences, although the guest made an instant booking by accepting our check in time window, and didn't mention that they will be coming late despite several messages from me clearly indicating check in times.

This is more than a series of unfortunate events in my opinion, as I am unfairly getting punished for something I am not responsible of.

I would normally receive quick responses from Airbnb Support Ambassadors, however I am still waiting for their response after 6 hours.

The original message of the guest was "您好，我将于21号晚上12点之后到达"

[Guy991]

Hi @Kumsal1 ,

12:00 AM is a tricky time because it confuses many people. In your case, some might not even know whether 12:00 AM on the 21st refers to the night between the 20th and 21st, or between the 21st and 22nd. Airlines avoid scheduling flights at 12:00 AM to prevent this confusion, which is why you often see flights at 11:55 PM or 12:05 AM instead. In your case, the guest meant the night between the 21st and 22nd.

I owe you an answer. My expectation, based on previous experience, didn’t fail. Better translators have confirmed that the correct time was 12:00 AM, not 12:00 PM.

[Kumsal1]

Thanks for insights @Guy991 , but I think you are missing the main point and getting off the topic here. Yes, Airbnb's mistranslation played a part in it, but it is not the whole story.

The guest accepts our check in time window by completing a reservation. In addition to being visible on the listing, it was an instant booking and my pre-booking message reminds the guests the check in times and that they accept them by proceeding with the reservation. I have never agreed to accommodate a late check in outside that times and repeatedly specified the check in time window in my messages.

It is not my fault that the guest decided to ignore all this messages and arrived at 1 AM without my knowledge, and decided to sit at the entrance for a long time. I would expect that both Airbnb and a fellow host like you would agree that I have right to enforce my check in times and that I could not be held responsible for the situation.