Hi Hosts,
Any advice out there?
I have a guest who has booked on behalf of a couple attending a course she offers.
She has now informed us her counselling/practice space is unavailable and is asking if she can come and run sessions in the house.
Weâre uncomfortable. A change like this bodes ill in my book but can I just cancel?
Does she have a business account set up? If not she shouldnât be booking on behalf of other guests, as this is a third party bookings, against Airbnbâs rules. Accepting such a booking makes you vulnerable if there are any problems with the guests or damage to your house, as you wouldnât be covered by Airbnbâs guarantee.
Just say no, to her request to run her business from your house, If you like, use the get out that your insurance wouldnât cover such activity in your space.
She is being incredibly cheeky.
Talk to Airbnb about cancelling. How long ago did she book. You really should have cancelled at the time she booked when you realised it was a third party booking. I think you get a free cancellation you could use, if they donât cancel it as a third party booking.
You donât cancel or youâll be penalised. Call Airbnb, report this as a third party booking (strictly prohibited) & get them to cancel. Albeit, I doubt youâll get any $ as you shouldnât have accepted the booking. If she booked via instant book, insist Airbnb cancel and compensate you. If it wasnât instant book and you want to proceed then just say ânoâ. Simple and get your money for the stay but donât allow any extras. Another option of course, if you donât live onsite and donât care is to ask how many people will be attending each day and how much she is willing to pay, get $ from her upfront (at a premium rateâŚsmall counselling rooms are minimum $100 a day) and charge it through the resolution centre. Iâd also get a bond via direct deposit or cash.
You are at fault for accepting a third party booking to start with.
All the corporations that booked from me are 3rd party bookers since mannager never stays at the house . Sometimes realtors book from me through Airbnb .
I made lots of money with these 3rd party bookings. Mute best part is when they leave you good review you keep it, but when they donât you call Airbnb and remove itđ.
Is it a separate house they booked? If yes and you are not going to be effected directly by it with people in and out then why not .
Thanks all. You have all been very helpful. It wasnât clear from her initial inquiry that she was making a third-party booking, once she had used âinstant-bookingâ (which I wish theyâd remove) it was too late and the story began to change and the third-party nature was clear.
What worried me in particular is she is some sort of tantric sex and sexologist worker. Alarm bells (or the imagination) began to ring when she wanted to use the house to run her business.
After seeking your advice I rang Airbnb, explained the circumstances and they cancelled so no penalty! Phew.
Another one to chalk up to experience KenH!
Thanks again you wonderful people.
You canât remove this yourself?
Yes we can, but Airbnb insist itâs in our favour to keep it on. I think it improves our visibility in searches.
And she was bizzarly open about it. She didnât have to tell
You all the details . There is nothing wrong in being sex therapist but itâs not something that you just voluntarily share.
Also donât really listen to what Airbnb insists . They insists on many things to put money in their pockets . This is their job , our job is to filter through their suggestions and put money in our pockets first. Also itâs our homes we share so we know better whatâs best for us
Thanks Yana,
Good point about the reviews. What I did ask is that she provide contact details for those she had booked for. One was a published author so that gave me some peace of mind, but nonetheless something didnât feel right.
For sure ! If it doesnât feel right then itâs not right. I learned to trust my intuition .
Precisely. Unfortunately they give the impression that we must all accept each other for what we are, but if that becomes uncomfortable we are somehow in the wrong. Iâm all for inclusivity, but itâs a two way street. If Iâm uncomfortable then surely thatâs permitted. Sigh.
You should see my first post on a Christmas booking that went very wrong! Listen to your gut! Good advice to live by.
Oh yes, absolutely. I much prefer it however and wouldnât want them to remove it. I was confused and thought you didnât realize you could turn it off.
Can you send a link? I was at the other end of the world so was skipping a lot.
One more thought about Airbnbâs " insistence". I am grateful what these guys did for me and my family , I will always remember that. I heard many happy stories from all 50 countries I went and stayed at Airbnb rooms and its really a great company that changed many peopleâs lives. They are evolving now and as it happens with many big companies not to the better for us hosts. I guess its the part of the game but in noway we have to follow them like lambs and do what they want us to do. We are the other part of the equation and a VERY IMPORTANT part.
All 3: Air, us and guestâs are part of this equation . Itâs like a puzzle if one piece is out there is no complete puzzle anymore .
So if they are going to side with guestâs all the time and put rules on us that we canât handle , they will piss off and loose a lot of hosts. .
Thereâs going to be a lot they INSIST on that you shall be ignoring. I would turn it off until you are more experienced.
Tantric sex conferences indeed.
I wish it were true. But for every host they piss off and lose, a million more will take their place before the sun sets tonight. They donât need us. They did at the beginning. Now they need more guests and will try anything at any cost to us to get more guests. And they will tell us it will be good for us! Here, drink this poison, it will be good for you!
Enjoy
Will it be filmed?
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