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Is this or has this happened to others? Put (3) properties on the Open Home program with Airbnb in the Nashville area. Trying to help all of these people displaced. Ended up housing people in all properties. Once that happened we turned off the Open Home selection just to find out their computer system somehow kept us live.
Long story short, we had to “decline” 40 plus people in 3-4 days. Guess what? Airbnb “paused” our account. One of which is a brand new listing just went live last week. They have effectively killed my business.
It sure doesn’t seem like an issue this forum can fix for you. I hope you have called Customer Service.
And good on you for opening up your other properties for the victims.
I have called CS twice in the last week and had very little wait times in spite of this virus issue.
I like to have some control over who comes in here. I don’t trust Air to negotiate this. But we have had women in peril here, and it worked out well. I contact local 12 step groups, women s advocacy, and so forth.
If I can’t rent properties because customers are unable to communicate with me since we are “pause“ the business is purely dead right now
I’m absolutely disgusted with Airbnb’s customer service
And the fact that they would hang me as a host out to dry for their computer malfunctions
I tried to sign up to Open Homes and I received a message saying Air would contact me “today” but that was weeks ago and I haven’t heard from them.
I don’t know how to check and find out if my place is listed on Open Homes or not.
Jaquo
I’ve been doing this long enough to know that there are two platforms VRBO and Airbnb. Each of which represents about 90% of our rentals in a specific area.
Our home in Hawaii is 90% Vrbo however our homes in Tennessee of which I have three are 90% Airbnb. I far prefer the Vrbo customers as they simply seem to be a higher caliber. The open home program is currently in Tennessee following the tornadoes. When Airbnb makes a computer error that causes my properties to shut down to any future bookings until the 10th of this month they have affectively put me out of business.
You have the contact details for all your forthcoming booked guests. Certainly there might be one or two who don’t want to deal with a host who has been delisted but that shouldn’t make a difference to most if you’ve told them why.
Sorry but I still don’t understand how not being on one advertising platform can kill your business.
Jaquo
This seems almost pointless now. If Airbnb is the only game in town. Then having them shut us down temporarily kills the business temporarily.
My end game is to never fall for any of their PR stunts like open home again.
It’s not being unable to communicate with already booked guests that is the OP’s issue. She is hosting people in the Open Homes program for a limited time. Her listing is no longer in search, meaning no one can book her place for the future, when her Open Homes guests will be gone.
And although she is listing on both Airbnb and VRBO, the Tennessee listing gets 90% of its guests through Airbnb, so no longer being visible there indeed kills her business at that listing.
Seemed pretty clear to me.
That’s clear to me too. For the sake of people who are reading though, it could be valuable to have more information, especially about how they have ‘killed her business’. She said that Airbnb doesn’t allow her to take any more bookings until March 10th.
So with her existing bookings, plus other ways of getting leads, I think it’s unclear (to me, anyway!) how it’s killed her business. It would be great to know more.
Geesh. Thank you “Muddy”. Beating a dead horse trying to get Jaquo to understand. The biggest bummer is the people of Nashville will be the ultimate losers. It might take some time. But I’ll get compensated from Airb. They won’t and I’ll terminate any future open home thoughts.
