The arbitration fee is substantial, $1,700.
THIS IS NOT A REQUEST.
NO IT IS NOT.
That is if you hire a service to do it for you.
Cost of arbitration — so what is it that you’re going to have to pay in order to arbitrate? The terms of service indicate an initial filing fee capped at $200 and that Airbnb has to pick up the rest of the tab for arbitration.
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I don’t see that. $200 is the arbitration fee for a consumer. $1,700 is the AAA arbitration fee for a business.
23.8 of TOS says “Your arbitration fees and your share of arbitrator compensation shall be governed by the AAA Rules.”
Then the AAA site (https://www.adr.org/sites/default/files/Consumer_Fee_Schedule.pdf) says:
So, what am I missing? Note that arbitration compensation is additional.
The bottom line is that if the OP follows the procedure below (23.3) the OP’s situation [I assume but don’t know that OP is a non-European user] will very likely be resolved at no cost. If not, the OP could go to arbitration but I do not think that will be necessary.
Note that before you start arbitration you must first try to resolve the dispute with AAA customer service as provided below:
EDIT to ADD; Whether you are a European user or not, the procedure outlined in 23.3 applies. Since it appears that Airbnb is sometimes not responding to you at all if the chat transcript above is complete, I suggest that you try again with the more specific message I drafted above AND also to send a letter too Airbnb in CA, making sure that your letter is very specific, identifying you, the property , the transactions for which you were not paid, and the name of your financial institution and identifying numbers.
Maybe before you do all this, go to your payout account on Airbnb just to make sure that it is accurate and complete, and check your transaction history : Adding a payout method - Airbnb Help Center
Where are you located?
I ask because the dispute procedures vary by location.
- So are you saying that these are the complete transcripts?
- If the answer is ‘yes,’ I suggest that your message be more specific.
Perhaps you could write something like: I am the Host of property ID [these are the numbers after ‘rooms/’ in the URL of your listing. I have not received payments for [insert number] of bookings, with check-in dates of [specify dates]. These payments are to be made to [specify financial institution, name on account] Could you please tell me how we can correct this situation?
IT IS $200 for arbitration against AirBnb. ( at least in usa it is. )
TELL ME ABOUT MY ARBITRATION RIGHTS
Cost of arbitration — so what is it that you’re going to have to pay in order to arbitrate? The terms of service indicate an initial filing fee capped at $200 and that Airbnb has to pick up the rest of the tab for arbitration. So one of the things that we believe is that, if we can get enough hosts to act in arbitration, it may make more economic sense for Airbnb to simply pay the additional loss to cover all the arbitration costs of hosts beyond your $200. And believe me, arbitration is going to cost significantly more than $200. Someone has to pay the hourly rate of the arbitrator in the case. All right. You and Airbnb agree that Airbnb will be responsible for the payment of the balance of initial filing fees capped at $200 if your claim is $75,000 or less. And you may be entitled to an award of your attorney’s fees and expenses if you prevail in arbitration. The reverse is not necessarily true. This is a typ — the way it’s drafted — a one-way provision where you have an avenue to get your attorney’s fees. It’s not impossible that there could be a claim against you, but it’s very unlikely. And it’s not provided for in the terms of service.
"…you’re going to go through a very special form of arbitration that is consumer arbitration rules. And the consumer arbitration rules are a special set of rules that are going to apply to — under the terms — everyone’s arbitration no matter where you’re located in the world. "
Hi there!
First, before you get to arbitration you need to send a letter to Airbnb in CA and try to resolve the matter.
As a practical matter, I wonder when @Arona checks the setup of the payout method and the status under the transaction history whether this will be quickly resolved.
If not, I’d still try a detailed (as described above) text message.
Second, the question is what is the filing fee and what is the arbitrator compensation if a Host goes to arbitration AFTER going through the 23.3 TOS procedure.
I’ve cited references within Airbnb TOS and the fee schedule under the consumer arbitration rules at the American Arbitration Association, which the TOS references.
You’ve cited a non-Airbnb site – a law firm that in 2020 referenced the procedure for Hosts to pursue arbitration regarding Airbnb’s change in EC policy, arbitration UNDER SECTION 19 of the TOS. I believe that the TOS have changed since 2020 because Section 19 is now about Limitations of Liability, nothing about arbitration, which is now under Section 23.
So, I believe that the terms of service, specifically the arbitration provisions, have changed since that law firm made their video and wrote their analysis.
→ If the OP really wishes to go forward with arbitration, we can look for that old section 19, compare it to today’s section 23, and see what the effective date of the changes to the arbitration and other changes to the terms of service is/are.
But you should know that generally the fees for the Host are as I described (unless I’m missing something), which are substantial costs (not $200 but $1,700 + $750). An exception that could apply is an effective date exception as a result of a transition from the old arbitration agreement to the current one.
It’s also important to guide anyone seeking arbitration to FIRST try to resolve the matter with the CA letter per TOS 23.3
I believe that this issue will be moot because the matter will be resolved for the OP by examining transaction history, by the specific text, or finally the letter to Airbnb in CA.
Yes, this 2020 statement is still accurate.
However, some European users may have additional ways to assert their claims, specifically the European Commission’s online dispute resolution platform.
I am not filing arbitration. I really dont care. I was providing info to OP. Again, it is $200. Over and out. You are missing something. Airbnb pays anything over $200.
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Maybe so, but I think you’re focused on the TOS before they were changed. It definitely used to be just as you say. Anyway, I think it will be moot for the OP.
BTW – this is an aside – I just looked in the Community Center and I found that some people who went to arbitration were told by Airbnb that they would need to file a claim in small claims court. AirBnB denied arbitration - Airbnb Community
TOS 23.2 You and Airbnb each retain the right to seek resolution of the dispute in small claims court as an alternative to arbitration.
The person writing in the Community Center hypothesized that Airbnb didn’t want to pay the arbitration fees (presumably its own Arbitration fees).
@Arona There is a situation similar to yours in the Community Center. Apparently the payouts stopped after they changed the payout method, which needed to be verified. No luck there so far. Airbnb NOT releasing payouts for months! NO expla... - Airbnb Community
Actually there are several complaints similar to that of the OP. In all I saw except one the payments stopped after the payout method was changed. So, apparently making such a change can take a long time for Airbnb to process, ‘verify.’
@HostAirbnbVRBO Arona said her payments stopped when using the same bank acct. her payouts had been going to for years. Her payout issue has nothing to do with changing the payout method. She only tried changing it after getting the payout runaround for a long time.
There are so many hosts on other forums saying Airbnb hasn’t sent then payouts for months, they must be sitting on millions of dollars that belongs to hosts. Nice way to collect interest and show their shareholders how much $ they supposedly have.
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I didn’t say it did.
That’s why the situation I cited was ‘similar’ and not the 'same.
But I thought it worth pointing out for others that some Hosts have had delays with payouts after changing the payout method. No one is saying that this is the exclusive connection.
Plus, once the OP did change payout methods, twice, it’s possible that this further complicated/delayed the situation. [Not blaming, just saying.]
Im located to africa. Sorry i was on business travel those last day.
My payment was stop because i take time to put information about there kyc request information. Once i fill my card i received a message that the payment are no longer stopped. But it is still stopped. I did not change my paiment mehhod before that. But still the issue begin i tryed paypal and an other account but the issue remain the same.
Sorry for my bad english my prefered language is french.
What disturbs me the most in this story is the fact that the support does not even answer my messages. I find this very incorrect and contemptuous. This is the first time I’ve seen this attitude from a customer relations center.
I don’t know the solution to the problem of Airbnb not promptly sending you the cash it owes you.
Some Hosts have made the same complaint, while other Hosts have had no problem.
If I were you I would do the following:
-
I would not change the payment method again because every change needs to be ‘verified’ by Airbnb and I believe that every change will likely cause you further delays.
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Create a document stating your email address associated with your Airbnb account and the method of payment to you (PayPal, bank Name, etc.) with your listing number [see here above: Collective to sue airbnb - #13 by HostAirbnbVRBO] AND stating that you have not been paid for the following reservations:
listing each reservation number, reservation date and amount. See below, #7 -
Then go to the Community Center with Airbnb and state that you are a host who has not received payments on x number of reservations and asking if someone can help you. [I’ve seen Airbnb reps their help.] When the Airbnb rep at the Community Center offers to direct message you for more information, copy and paste the completed information listed in #7 below (without the preface language about arbitration). See if they can help, but don’t just wait for a response. Or, if you do choose to wait until you take the next step, wait just a few days and then go to #4.
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Then, at the same time as you go to the Community Center, I would write the letter discussed above, requesting payment for the specific unpaid amounts as the relief sought, sending it by mail to Airbnb in Sacramento CA. This is the 30-day pre-arbitration letter. It’s essential that you really provide all the specific information. It’s not enough to say "I want my money.’ You should receive an email from Airbnb acknowledging its notice of the dispute.
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I believe that either the Airbnb Community Center will help you resolve this, or that Airbnb will within the 30 day period go through arbitration (unlikely), make the delinquent payment to you, or ask that you go to small claims court to pursue your claim. [If they suggest small claims, come back here to discuss.]
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I suggest that you make your correspondence clear and SPECIFIC.
It is, for example, sometimes difficult for me to understand you. You refer above to a ‘card’ but you don’t say what kind of card it is (don’t bother telling me now; it’s just an example). Some of your text messages to Airbnb say, so far as I can tell: “I want my money,” While I think Airbnb reps should ask questions to pull the relevant data from you, it’s not happening. When you write to Airbnb in CA you might need to get someone who knows English well to review it and make sure also that it has the specific information I outlined.
- In your letter don’t dwell on your disappointment with the Airbnb reps. You might say
“I have made repeated attempts to ask your service representatives for help in determining the status of your payments to me but I literally received no response to my requests.” That’s the most I would say on Airbnb’s non-responsiveness and then move to:
"I seek this legal relief: payment by Airbnb to me for these x transactions, adding up to $XXX. I am writing to provide you written notice under the Terms of Service of this matter in a good faith attempt to resolve it.
If we do not resolve it within 30 days I request arbitration under the Terms of Service.
Here is the information regarding my account and the reservations unpaid by Airbnb:
Host Name:
Host Email:
Host Listing Number:
Host Payee Financial Institution:
Reservations Unpaid by Airbnb, numbered, Date, Reservation Number, Amount
[List]
Add up “Total Amount Airbnb Has Failed to Pay Me”
Sign and date, with your name (Host) printed out below signature, your full mailing address and phone
- I am hopeful that you will get this resolved before the 30 days is up, but we’ll see.
ALL: How would you edit what I’m suggesting?
Hello
Thank you, I already had to do this up to step 3 with all the info, the captures I sent are just the last exchanges without response.
I will now go to step 4, I will let you know what happens next.
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