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Just been in a battle with Airbnb CS. A booking for the end of this month was cancelled and the guest account has disappeared. I can’t contact the guest any longer and CS said that their account was cancelled for a reason they will not disclose for privacy reasons. But they were working with the guest to help them wiht their account.
I said this was a non-refundable booking and it seems that they are not going to honour this. They are hiding behind this:
This reservation is already being handled by our Case Manager. There was a technical difficulty on your guest side and it was deemed necessary to provide him a full refund for this booking. Due to our privacy policy, I am unable to provide you with any further information.
As per our Terms Of Service, Section 9.5: In certain circumstances, Airbnb may decide, in its sole discretion, that it is necessary to cancel a pending or confirmed booking and initiate corresponding refunds and payouts.
I have said that it is great they are helping the guest but who is helping me fill the gap left behind by the booking cancellation? They said, they are sure we will get a booking to cover these dates and I shouldn’t worry about it. I felt that was a little dismissive.
I’m wondering if guest had issues with his/her credit card because Airbnb told you it was a technical error. Perhaps the payment did not come through. Can’t think of any other technical issues. Hopefully, you’ll get another guest for that spot on your calendar.
This is one reason to put the guests phone number in another place when booked, on a scrap of paper, in your phone or a spreadsheet. This way you can reach out to the guest and maybe figure out a solution. I would book direct if the guest was still willing to book.
Well yes and no I guess. I do not even require they “verify” ID or anything else with Air because it is meaningless as a host. They do not share it so what’s the point? I do require ID to be uploaded or texted to me directly, thankfully my local jurisdiction requires it so Air has to deal with it, they cannot make me disobey the regulations.
IMHO if Airbnb cancels a reservation due to an issue and the account has been removed I count my lucky stars. The account could fraudulent, stolen credit card or a host of other issues. i.e. I had a guest stay 2 days thought everything was fine, they rebooked 2 weeks later and I recvd a similar msg. As it turned out they were using stolen credit cards. If they are using stolen credit cards what else could they have stolen?
I am no interested in getting the guest back - I think I dodged a bullet here.
My point was that it was a non-refundable booking. Shouldn’t they pay this out anyway?
What is the point of having a non-refundable policy if Airbnb are just going to override it.
They have made a ton of money out of me over the years.
I had a booking for 4 nights starting yesterday that was reserved 6 mos ago. I had msg the guest the day before but never got a reply. Yesterday afternoon she said she wasnt coming and that she was still in her home state. I directed her to contact Airbnb for cancellation. She didnt. I called ABB last night to have them read my messages. If she wasnt coming I wanted my calendar opened for other guests. They contacted her and within 5 mins I saw the cxl and that she was refunded in full. Cs called me and said she had EC and therefore was refunded. I get nothing- not even the one night covered even though there was no way I’d rebook at the late hour. Incredibly frustrating. Air should start their own travel insurance company because I do not like acting as their coverage with my income.
