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I have but I told her I cannot guarantee that Air will refund their portion. Which I can’t.
And the last agent (again!) told me I cannot cancel without the guests approval. I think much of this is a language barrier issue but I can’t confirm that. I have two emails saying all I need to do is call in and they’ll approve it but they’re not.
I’m just about ready to take all the hits and try and address it later. It’s wearing me slap out.
Usually, you can get Airbnb to agree to a full refund, to refund their part of it too, if you’re willing to give the guest a full refund. I understand that “usually” is pretty much out the window but I’d still try to present that option to CS.
Try eliminating the whole service dog vs ESA issue but just going with, “she’s going to break my house rules.” It’s true and maybe easier to get through to whatever bottom-tier team you got assigned to.
How much was the service fee for the guest? I have no idea how long the stay is or how much it cost but is low enough that it might be worth paying it out of pocket to get the guest to cancel? Is it cheaper than losing superhost? I don’t know if it’s worth it but it makes sense to ask yourself the question.
What kind of animal is she trying to bring? Is it a dog or something else?
I eliminated ESA as an issue early on. I’ve told every CSR that I am uncomfortable with the guest as they’ve indicated they will break my house rules.
I simply cannot guarantee her that Air will reimburse their portion and have told her that. And I honestly cannot understand enough of what the foreign CSRs are saying to know if they are agreeing that they will.
It is a one night booking. Time involved is way beyond anything I would have made. Lol Probably 80% of my bookings are one nighters if they’re through Airbnb. I am one of very few superhosts left here who allow them, but they are my bread and butter so I can’t give them up.
Common sense tells me to just offer to reimburse her directly but then there will be the review she will be allowed to leave and I can only imagine how that will go.
I am probably standing my ground so firmly because I do not think bullying guests should be rewarded for their nasty behavior. They will just move on to another unsuspecting host and do the same thing. Again, remember I have spoken to support, agreed to cancel and offer a full refund but CS said I cannot cancel without the guest’s approval.
I have enough of a direct booking business that I can close my Air account and not be hurting. But I truly enjoy hosting and have made some lifelong friends over the years.
Up until this summer, I have not had issues that weren’t resolved with a phone call. And my issues really haven’t been gray areas, they are spelled out clearly in the guidelines.
Thank you for fighting this fight. I haven’t had to do it yet but what a clusterfvcl<.
I understand. I’d be there too. I’m sorry you’re dealing with it but there’s no reasoning with this kind of crazy. It’s just not worth it.
Her nasty behavior was rewarded 100% but she’s off my calendar. Airbnb finally cancelled the booking but refunded her fully.
They waited long enough to resolve it that I will not be able to recoup my losses on the final busy tourist weekend of the year.
Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions. I’m going to have happy hour with the pugs.
Uh oh, you’re in Air hell! Time to escalate to @bchesky on Twitter, citing all of his misinformed reps & their ignorance of TOS. I feel your pain, & hopefully you’ll get this straightened out sooner rather than later. What a mess! 
if you’re like me, we find it easiest to fill a Fri/saturday, even last minute but especially during holidays. 
sending you good vibes.
It actually booked overnight. Yay!
I have a homeshare and AIrbnb has told me that I can reject both service and ES dogs because I am allergic to them. Now if someone has some other kind of service animal I have a different issue.
@Christine_Shirtcliff
That is the reason they told me they are “letting” me cancel, they told the guest I have allergies. However, I have 3 dogs living here that I have to disclose so people know that pets are on site. So it kind of doesn’t work in my case.
The fact that they have written in their guidelines (since February) that hosts can refuse ESAs and me telling them I was uncomfortable with the guest as she attempted to extort a refund with a threat of discrimination (in the message thread), should have been more than enough for me to cancel an IB. It should never have taken this long nor should I have been receiving penalty threats. And ultimately the bullying guest got her way in a full refund she was not entitled to.
From what I can tell, it doesn’t appear that they told the guest that ESAs are no longer protected and should be disclosed and they are not treated the same as service animals. Failure to educate guests when they’re in the wrong encourages them to continue acting badly and creates issues for future hosts.
I had a good feeling it would all work out.
I’m happy you got booked. I’ve always been able to get booked last minute on holidays. Is it a longer booking? Regardless, it doesn’t make up for Airbnb’s incompetence.
I’m not sure that communication within Airbnb is very strong so the chances of you having pets listed and some other CS acknowledging your “allergy” putting these facts together is remote. I have never been asked for any documentation which is good since my allergy test is VERY old.
@kkc, it is another one night booking. I had both nights booked on either side already. Lovely guests today, expecting the same from tomorrow’s new booking.
At least in the US, I’m fairly certain that dogs are the only animals trained to be service animals. ESAs on the other hand can supposedly be any beast that can calm down its owner.
My ESA right now all happen to be human, but they don’t sport vests.