In July 2022, a “Trip Planner” booked our house for July 17-October 1 for her client.
The guest checked in and stayed with no complaints until September 26 when I received a text from him that his windshield had been hit by a golf ball in our driveway, and it needed to be repaired. I was very sympathetic with him and told him I’d help how I could.
After speaking to our insurance agent regarding homeowner’s insurance, I was told that automobile incidents such as this are not on the homeowner’s insurance. I was told that he’d need to turn it in through his auto insurance to get the windshield replaced, but that he’d only pay the deductible and his rates would not increase due to a comprehensive claim. I relayed this information to him, and that I was willing to help cover his deductible. The guest became very defensive and said that he absolutely would not turn this into his insurance. My husband then contacted the guest to help him rationalise the situation. The guest hung up on my husband.
On September 28, after no interaction with the guest, I received a message from the “Trip Planner” that the guest had moved out, and would we be willing to cancel his upcoming October 1-29 stay. I responded that our cancellation policy was strict, and we’d provided the guest with everything that we’d agreed to in our terms, we’d attempted to resolve his windshield issue, but he was unreasonable with us, so we would not cancel his reservation and that he’d have to do so on his end of scheduling.
On September 29 the Trip Planner sent another message asking if we’d be willing to let the guest move back in, which I responded in saying that he was still booked to stay, and he was welcome to move back in. We wanted no hard feelings. She then said she’d let me know his decision.
On October 1 I happened to look at my Airbnb calendar and noticed that both of the guest’s July-October 1 and October 1-29 reservations had been cancelled by Airbnb with no penalties. In further observation I realised that the guest’s payout of $4,920.80 was to be deducted from my next payouts. I reached out to Airbnb support to find the reasoning behind the cancelation without anyone notifying me and furthermore the reason why I was made responsible. I was told that they’d perform a thorough investigation and get back with me. Keep in mind-I was never part of a thorough investigation prior to the guest’s reservation being cancelled within a matter of days. Over the next several days I made many attempts in phone calls and direct messages with Airbnb support in which I got vague, seemingly careless responses.
It is now October 8, and I still have not received any answers to my questions. I am left to believe that Airbnb is going to continue to hold my payouts hostage while I continue to have ongoing Airbnb guests stay at 2 of my 3 properties on their platform. If I didn’t care so deeply about treating people well, I’d be inclined to have these people leave today. I refuse to treat people badly though, especially when they’re simply caught in the gunfire between myself and Airbnb.
I have been on the Airbnb platform for 2 years, and 11 months, a majority of which I was recognized as a “Superhost”. I work tirelessly to maintain these properties, provide the best stay for guests, and be a great host. While I have had many good experiences with Airbnb guests, I cannot afford to continue to do business with a company with such absolute terrible customer service.
