Why Don't Hosts Have Rights?

[Daniela1586]

Hello AirBnB Community -   Sadly, I have guests from down under in my home right now and I'm getting very little support from AirBnB.  The guests have violated house rules several times and I  reported them to AirBnB.  The guests complained to AirBnB stating I've harassed them and have made their stay very uncomfortable. 

The guests even sent me a message today telling me that I am NOT allowed to return to my home.  

All communication with guests have all been through AirBnB so they can see our conversations.  The guests told AirBnB today that they want out ASAP with a refund.  I told AirBnB I want them out by tomorrow11:00am,  and agreed to refund for the nights no longer staying, but want a cleaning fee, and fee for unregistered guest that is spending the night.   AirBnB called the guests and they refuse to pay the cleaning fee and refuse to move out tomorrow stating they work and cannot leave until the 22.  Really??!!  They were the ones who said they want out ASAP but yet they are not moving out for another 5 days.  AirBnB sent me a message and expects me to agree with this??  Wow, are you kidding me AirBnB???  Where are my rights as a host?  Why do we have house rules if AirBnB is not going to support our rules?  I also asked AirBnB if they would remove the negative review that I'm sure they will leave and I was told "no."

Very sad that AirBnB seems to have gone down hill ever since they went public.  Does anyone know if VRBO is any better?  Do they do a better job at vetting guests?  If this is the support hosts get from AirBnB then I want no part of it.    

[Emiel1]

@Daniela1586 

You can sent the guest a change of reservation (shortening it, using the "change option"). Please note you can change the calculated price also in the change form, to what you think is the right deal.

If they do not accept it, ask Airbnb to cancel the reservation.

Do not expect some serious support from Airbnb when it comes to "violating houserules".

Just manage the situation yourself in a professional way (polite, but strict).

[Daniela1586]

@Emiel1. - thank you for your reply.  I just tried that and was given a message that it was too late and to call AirBnB.  I have asked AirBnB to remove them today and the guests are refusing even thought they are the ones who said they wanted out ASAP.  They claim they have to work and Thursday is the soonest they can leave.  AirBnB said there is nothing they can do as both parties need to agree on departure date.  BUT I don't agree.  Thank you again.

[Dale711]

Hi @Daniela1586,

I am sorry to hear about your experience, and I understand that you’re frustrated.

I’ve got a similar experience as you, while Airbnb does not fully support removing the guest.

I have been forced to cancel the reservation to limit the risk of my home. I refund the remaining nights to the guest, apply the cancellation penalties, contact the local enforcement immediately, and proceed.

I am so sad and stressed hosting unwanted guests.

The ‘Resolution  Center’ may help you to apply the additional guest fee and extra charge. The guest has 72 hours to respond. After the guest leaves, you need to wait for a few days more to involve Airbnb, look into the case, and prosecution for the payment.

It's necessary to prove the unregistered guest evidence and the photos of your home after they leave. The resolution center of the unregistered guest and extra cleaning fee immediately, before next the guest arrives.

The links are below to help to understand more Airbnb policy and services,

What should I do if I uncomfortable hosting someone?

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/259/what-should-i-do-if-im-uncomfortable-hosting-someone#section...

What is a resolution center? 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/767/what-is-the-resolution-center

About the review?

It's out of our hands! I‘ve over a dozen of untrue and revenge reviews.

The review can be removed unless it violates the Airbnb housing standard.

How can I remove and respond to a review?

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/32/can-i-remove-or-respond-to-a-review-i-disagree-with

I hope you can resolve the issues and stay calm.

[Daniela1586]

@Dale711  - thank you for your detailed response and sorry this has happened to you.  The guests are currently in my home so I am not able to cancel their reservation at this time.  That is why I need to work with AirBnB to help get them out.  The guests said they wanted out ASAP and when I said today at 11, they told AirBnB no.  Thursday was the soonest because they work.  My response to AirBnB is for them to call in sick but that is not acceptable to them.  Is there something I'm missing?  How does a host take control of this situation?  Thank you again.

[Mary419]

Your questions are all valid. You may notice the answers others give you about what to do now are confusing. It is stomach churning for me to see this because I know exactly how you feel. If you get this on canceled status before those guests are gone that does not magically make these guests disappear from your property it just completely removes any protections you had (for whatever they are worth) from the Airbnb middleman system. Airbnb does not have clear or fair answers to your questions so I want to answer the one about how the other platforms work so the difference is clear.

VRBO allows you to charge all or a portion of the security deposit you listed in that field, and you may do so unilaterally without begging or arguing with the guest or the company. You may also cancel or shorten a booking unilaterally if needed. The very minor rare downside with them is the guest doing a chargeback if they do not like you enforcing your refund policy... but the processor uses the information on the dashboard to defend you as the merchant and most chargebacks are resolved in the property's favor. 

With Booking dot com there is no security deposit option however the company allows you to request it outside their system. They imagine that you might be like a hotel front desk collecting ID and card on file at check in. As long as they get their commission (which they invoice you for separately in a very clunky fashion) they are happy for you to control your risk level with a deposit or card on file. So the downside there is the manual nature of it, and the fact that most guests assume their card is "on file" and are taken aback if you ask for anything outside the system. With them you cannot cancel or unilaterally shorten a booking, you must contact them or have the guest cancel. 

Lastly Airbnb does NOT allow you to simply collect on your noted deposit. You have to ask the guest and they usually decline to pay. Begging and negotiating with Airbnb host guarantee system may result in a partial or zero payment for your request. If you attempt to arrange protections for yourself directly with guests (such as meeting them to ask for ID and card on file) then you are violating Airbnb TOS.  

[Daniela1586]

@Mary419  Thank you very much, Mary.  Much appreciate your feedback.  

[Dale711]

Hi @Mary419 ,

Thank you very much for your input, much appreciated.

It's good to know others platform works systems.

[Elaine701]

@Mary419 

I'm confused about the Airbnb TOS prohibiting asking the guest for ID. 

Under Spanish law, we are >required< to file the IDs of >every< guest. If we fail to do so, we could be fined and lose our licence.

It's news to me that it's against Airbnb TOS. If so, perhaps our Airbnb listing could be removed... for adhering to local law. And that means that Airbnb will need to cancel all Spanish listings, not just ours, and that could become rather expensive for them 😉 

[Lisa723]

@Mary419 @Elaine701 requiring guests' IDs at check-in is not a violation of TOS. Asking them to send you a copy in advance is.

[Mary419]

Actually there is a provision allowing for getting the guest  ID if you could show your HOA or local law required it. If I find it I’ll post it. 

But let’s face it you can’t charge an ID and it’s definitely against TOS to get their credit card on file directly to charge if there’s a problem. Only having both combined would give some sort of protection like an innkeeper might have. Vrbo used to have a best practices list that recommended checking that ID and credit card match before giving access especially for last minute stays. That may still be on the vacation rent payment (Yapstone) website under best practices for merchants. But we aren’t the merchant here. 

[Mary419]

I wanted to add this angle, since the recommendation to cancel the problematic booking is so often dispensed here. Canceling comes with loss of income. So you lose your normal rent that you would have deserved from a well behaved group then on top of that you’re more stressed and working harder to deal with the bad guest and in the end you’re earning less than if you had a normal booking. Maybe even absolutely zero. Here’s a recent post from someone else so everyone knows I’m not just talking about myself 

 

 

[Daniela1586]

@Mary419   Wow!  How sad is that.  I just don't understand.  My case has changed yet again to another AirBnB representative.  At this point, I am not making anything on this booking.  The housecleaning fee, extras provided for them, and all the time spect trying to battle this - I am loosing money.  My heart goes out to you for what you are going through and every AirBnB host who has gone through something similar.  I know as hosts we take a gamble and sometimes we get lucky with guests and sometimes we don't.  It's a risk we all take.  Thank you very much, Mary for your posts.  

[Jillian115]

I am so sorry you are going through this. In a recent post, someone said to me that I should only look at Airbnb as a booking service. There is some truth to that.

Airbnb no longer offers host support. They always take the guests' side these days, even when the guests break Airbnb's posted rules.

After their colossal layoff' they stopped supporting hosts.

I recently updated my pre booking message to read: Reservations booked must be booked by the person staying. Entertaining of any kind is not allowed.

[Mark-and-Gabriela0]

It is incredible the lack of help to hosts !

we have a crazy problematic guest who got drunk and lost my bike, according to security employees in my apartment in Tulum. She claimed that my bike was stolen from Mexican people in a truck to his Peruvian boyfriend. Now!!!! Airbnb is asking ME to make a police report!!!! 
House manual and rules states very clear if the bike is stolen, lost or broken there is a fee of 500 dollars.

how crazy is it??