Ack! I solved the payout mystery…and I’m sooo frustrated!!!
(Sorry, this may be a bit of a rant, but I have to vent. Feel free to ignore.)
I had “newbie” Airbnb guests on Friday…who were inconsiderate by not telling me they changed their plans and instead of checking in at 2, didn’t show up until 8:30. When they did show up, I went out to greet them, and before even a, “hi,” the first words out of her mouth were, "Isn’t this an entire house? Didn’t we get an entire house to ourselves!!? I told them they get the whole house, but I move to the basement when I have guests…just like it says in my listing. They, or actually the woman, was very unhappy, and then they heard my dogs. “You have dogs?” I told them the dogs are prominent in my listing too…didn’t they read it? No. No they didn’t. They looked at the photos, that was it. Gaaa!!
Then she proceeded to tell me how they wanted a private getaway to do/make all the noise they wanted…ick! I looked at her and wanted to say, “You know this is my home, you’re talking about, don’t you?”
Right then and there I should have refunded and sent them packing, but the people-pleaser in me spoke up and offered to stay at my friend’s next door for the night. I knew that was wrong…especially as I flip/flopped, and stewed on the couch all night about what a dumbass I was, and how I was not going to be chased out of my own home the next night.
When I have guests, they are here basically to sleep, and are gone sightseeing most of the time. These guests never left the house except for maybe 30 minutes last evening. Had I known my house was going to be a love nest for two days, I never would have agreed. Needless to say, I spent a lot of time away from my home yesterday…but with earplugs, I did sleep in my own bed.
Back to the payout snafu…because they were so unhappy at their mistake, and she alluded to “that’s how bad reviews get left,” I called Airbnb for advice. Big mistake. Even though I made it clear to the agent that the guests had made the mistake, and that I was going above and beyond to accommodate them, apparently she decided to put a hold on the funds. Without telling me. And I have to wonder if I hadn’t contacted Airbnb tonight looking for the money, if and when were they going to tell me? I am SO frustrated and disappointed in Airbnb’s customer service. I now have to wait another 24 hours before payout. Ridiculous.
Lessons learned:
- Maybe rethink taking “newbies” on Airbnb
- Always ask if the prospective guest has read and understood the listing!!! (I usually ask their plans, don’t know why I didn’t …maybe because the were excited to visit Portland. Ha! They never saw it!)
- Stand my ground when guests are in the wrong…not my job to fix it.
- Never call Airbnb unless it’s an emergency.
The guests did leave the house in good shape, and there was nothing gross found when cleaning…but you can bet everything got an extra scrubbing!
Thanks for letting me vent!!