This forum is dedicated to connecting hosts with other hosts. Sign up to get the latest updates and news just for AirBnb hosts! Note that we are not affiliated with Airbnb - we are just passionate hosts!
Guest booked on 4th Jan same day check-in, saying only Hola, I wrote back with welcome message, explaining the check in process, and no reply.
Guest didn’t arrive that day and next day5th Jan I got the cancellation from the guest, no message again from guest, only email from airbnb that the payment was sent to me.
On 6th Jan, I got a message from the guests claiming that her account was hacked or someone illegally used her credit card, I don’t remember exactly since I can’t see the message anymore, the account is currently removed from airbnb. I only told her to contact airbnb cs, and that was last of that.
Today on 11 Jan I accidently saw in the upcoming payments a minus payment for this reservation, that means that they are going to deduct the full amount of this reservation that they already paid me from the next reservations.
I never received any message from airbnb, any explanation or anything about this, I only see under the reservation now that it says it was canceled penalty free by airbnb.
Do the hosts really have to bear the burden of scams like this, what is the purpose of aircover, and how can they just deduct a payment without any given information or explanation to the host.
Yes, unfortunately this is how it works. if a guest’s payment falls through, but Airbnb has already paid you, they will take it out of future payouts. Aircover is for damages, not loss of income.
Unless last minute reservations are a majority of your bookings, as it might be for hosts whose listings are close to an airport, or a stop-off point for road trippers, it’s best to set advance notice to 1 or 2 days, so a guest’s payment has a chance to be confirmed, or if it isn’t, at least your calendar will be opened for another booking. Same-day bookings can be problematic both as far as payments, and that while there can be legitimate reasons for a guest to book last-minute, it can also indicate a poor planner or someone who just got evicted from the last place they were staying. Neither of which are good guest prospects.
If Airbnb cared about hosts, their system would confirm a guest’s payment method before they were allowed to book anything instead of giving them 24 hrs for payment to be confirmed. Or at least require immediate payment validation on short-notice bookings.
I sent a message to CS demanding explanation for this, I didn’t get any explanation but an apology and the deduction is removed now, so all good. It was a pretty big amount so feel relieved.
Good to hear you were dealt with fairly. It’s too bad that Airbnb tries to get away with this stuff in the first place. As the entity that handles payments, they should be a lot more responsible when it comes to ensuring that guests can’t book without a solvent, verified payment method. Bookings should never shown as confirmed, blocking the calendar, until the payment goes through.
