Airbnb constantly puts a lot of pressure on their hosts to answer promptly and send documentation within very short deadlines, otherwise, they’re very quick to impose fees / various punishments or just close the case forever.
Some examples:
A guest recently sent us a text they had stranded in London due to a flight cancellation and would not make it to our flat. Based on this information we made other plans that day and I went to work. Later that day, I discovered a recent missed call from Airbnb and a message the reservation had been cancelled by the host (me). I immediately called Airbnb who told me the guest had arrived to our property and could not get in. Airbnb had called me ONCE , but since I didn’t pic up the phone they had canceled the reservation on my behalf (which also involves a fee, loss of superhost status, a bad review etc etc). I explained them the guest had informed us they would not arrive and referred to the text message, but as this communication was outside the Airbnb platform and I didn’t pick up the phone (it didnt help I returned the call 10 minutes later) they had cancelled the reservation on my behalf. End of discussion. Case closed!
Another example:
A guest recently broke several things and made a lot of scratches on the floor in one of my apartments. I reported the incidents and was given 24 and 48-hour deadlines to send in the documentation, including advanced cost estimates on repairing floors and walls. I reported the incident on a Friday and they expected me to have an estimate from a professional ready by Sunday. Impossible !
On the other hand, when a host needs something from Airbnb, they have all the time in the world, some more examples:
It’s now been more than 3 weeks since I sent in all the documentation on the scratches on the floors and the other broken things, but I’ve still not heard anything from Airbnb.
I’ve also experienced a lot of trouble with my Airbnb calendars and a lot of potential guests have not been able to book due to a technical error. I reported the error more than 2 months ago!!! and I’ve followed up several times, but Airbnb just doesn’t seem to care…
I’m just sick and tired of their double standards when it comes to prompt communication and problem solving…