listing suspended for exterior cameras that have always been disclosed

[Jurell0]

I recently reported a guest who was trying to throw a party in my property to airbnb safety team. While investigating my claim against the guest my calendar is suddenly suspended for cameras. The problem is that my exterior cameras are and have always been disclosed in my listing(I do not have any interior cameras). It seems the guest  is trying to retaliate against me. I thought airbnb recently updated their policy to avoid things like this from happening? My issue is that the "investigation" has been going on for a week now and I have missed out on multiple bookings during this process. I have supplied the safety team with all the information they have asked for yet my calendar is still suspended with no timetable for when it will be completed. I do not believe my listing should have been suspended in the first place because as mentioned my exterior cameras have always been disclosed but the fact that the investigation is taking so much time for something that should be straight forward is problematic. The other issue is that the safety  team only contacts me between  1am and 5am when I am not available and cant respond immediately. Therefore all responses and replies take 24 hrs to be addressed. I see communit managers monitor these forums. I would appreciate if someone can possibly look into this situation so it can be resolved.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Jurell0 You go on my list of Superhosts reported to @Catherine-Powell for having their listings suspended prior to any investigation. Of course with cameras already disclosed the investigation should take less than 5 minutes but it doesn't seem to work that way in Airbnb land.

I hope one day Airbnb create a method of triaging complaints so that only the truly dangerous cause listings to be suspended immediately.

[Jurell0]

Yes. While browsing these forums I've noticed this is quite common. Another reason I feel it shouldn't take that long to "investigate" is because this happened immediately after I made a claim against the guest for trying to throw a party. It's clear that this would fall under being "retaliatory" . So seemingly host get punished for not only protecting their homes but also helping to enforce Airbnb's own policy of no parties.

[Edmund99]

@Jurell0 @Mike-And-Jane0 

I think a triaging system is a great idea - comes with a substantial training implication, but would remove the 'instant axe' effect that we currently live in fear of!

(See post in Hosting Circle)

Edmund

[Johnny378]

@Jurell0 I am a fellow Superhost in the midst of literally the EXACT same scenario you mentioned in your original post. Word for word, we're dealing with the same thing and there is no end in sight while our account is suspended. I'm hopeful you were able to get your account restored? It's been truly maddening that we're being penalized because of a clear "retaliatory" action from a guest who broke a variety of our house rules.

[Jurell0]

@Johnny378 Sorry to hear about you going through this. I know all too well how it feels. I eventually did get the account reinstated after a few weeks of airbnb representatives giving me the run around while they "investigated". Just make sure in your description you mention each camera, where they are located and whether or not they continuously record. 

[Patrick2357]

a few weeks? that is so frustrating. I just had this happen to me. I reported a guest for having more than the people they said and showed the camera footage (disclosed exterior camera ) they did this in retaliation and it has been 3 days.

any tips on how to get help faster than a few weeks ?

[Patrick2357]

I had my listing suspended after a guest snuck more people than the booked for in and I showed them my disclosed outside camera footage. I am so frustrated. how long did this take for you to get resolved ?

[Jenny]

Hi @Jurell0 

I'm so sorry to hear about this.

I just wanted to let you know that I've elevated your concerns to the relevant team, mentioning the time difference issue as well, and asked that they investigate.

Once the team have looked into your concerns they will contact you.  If I hear anything back from them that might be helpful, I'll be sure to let you know.

Jenny

[Jurell0]

Thank you Jenny. I appreciate you responding to my post and elevating it to the proper team. Hope to be able to speak with someone soon.

[Patrick2357]

I am having the exact issue. I reported a guest for sneaking someone in, my camera is outside and he in retaliation reported my cameras and now nobody can help me. I am so desperate as it is high tourist time.

[Fred13]

This is a very common sequence: If an issue arises with a guest > a retaliatory review follows that includes the mention of cameras if they are there > then suspension follows because there has to be an investigation that because there is one Airbnb can't talk about it > loss of income etc etc.

Reality check...

1. Do your best to resolve issues with guests without getting Airbnb involved.

2. Cameras per se are a very sore subject with guests, and Airbnb will in all likelihood come up with tighter guidelines about them soon.

3. Think of ways to bypass the use of cameras altogether.

Good luck.

[Helen427]

Good morning from New Zealand @Jurell0 and others.

@Jurell0Did ABB send you an email message to advise you your listing would be suspended?

Or was it automatically 'suspended' when both of your reviews were published?

It would be prudent to go through your Account Activity Hosting log where you can see exactly when your listing was 'Deactivate' from showing up in the listings.

Check if there's a name alongside it or if it simply says 'System'.

If it says 'System' it's highly probable it's the same timeframe and Timeline as when your Reviews were both published.

What overall 'Star Rating' did you receive?

They too trigger a bot.

Go into your account and find the section where it says you can Reactivate your account - you should have received an Email notification to do this.

From recall it's one of those one's that has a Link within that email.

Sadly when a Guest retaliates or has issues of their own they will take it out on others.

I have great empathy for you because I have been through this problem and gone around and around in circles with Customer Services and Trust and Safety who have failed miserably with comprehending how and where my Payments were Paused - The guest spoke minimal English and copy and pasted and used information in previous Guest's reviews and blatantly misled ABB as a result of my diplomatically advising her not to film in my home (she did this immediately upon entry) and asked if she could film herself in my kitchen cooking amongst other areas.

She had also breached other basic common Laws and courtesies which triggered an ongoing nightmare. 

This has been a case of the Guest impacting on my own rights to Personal Safety.

Other local Hosts encountered  a spike of people who were going through their own Mental Health challenges of lockdowns when New Zealand reopened it's borders last year.

Thankfully I have had other Super/Hosts who are locals that I mix and mingle with who have been their to converse with who raised these concerns about similar issues prior to my encountering this.

There is far too much reliance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) bots and use of Predictive text to ascertain if a listing is suspended and how their Trust and Safety address matters.

Hope this helps and gives you some comfort.

All the best and have a great day/ night.

[Patrick2357]

I am trying to find where to get into Airbnb activity. I got some sort of message about the cameras, but I can't find it now. I have no clue how long this will take.

[Helen427]

In addition @Jurell0 , write to your Guests who had bookings that you had cancelled as a result of your listing been 'Suspended'  and ask if they were sent any notification of their reservations been cancelled or an explanation why.

Those Guests won't have been able to find your listing and will book elsewhere and be disappointed.

The sad and unfortunate thing is the Guests who do cause us Hosts these problems are generally not likely to use ABB again anyway.

Why also should the Host be penalized for Guests unacceptable behaviours inside our homes where we have the right to Personal Safety of ourselves and assets?