Super(DISAPPOINTED)host

I am EXTREMELY upset to have my Superhost status withdrawn and not to be able to talk or correspond with a real person about this!!! I worked extremely hard to earn this status and to have it revoked by an ‘automated system’ without any chance of explaining or reasoning with a human being is VERY cruel and unfair!

Due to a calendar synchronisation issue beyond my control, a self-confessed 1st-time AirBnB user obtained dates that were booked on another web platform just minutes before. They accepted my explanation and chose other dates but refused to reschedule on the AirBnB site, insisting that I must block the new dates on my side until they received a full refund from AirBnB (despite me offering to pay them any cancellation charges).

On their request, I spent hours researching and suggesting nearby hosts for the days before their rescheduled visit. Their expectations were very specific, demanding and unrealistic (to be the only guests on a large property with stunning mountain views and 24/7 host support, between our location and the nearest airport). After ignoring two messages asking if they got their refund from you, they acknowledged that they did.

Then over 3 weeks they ignored messages suggesting other places to visit before coming to our place and asking if they were ready to book the rescheduled dates on your site - meantime I kept their dates blocked on our system, declined direct requests and lost several potential bookings. Now they finally replied that they will not take up the rescheduled dates, for unrelated reasons of their own. I can prove all the above with the WhatsApp correspondence between us.

Today I get notified that I lost ‘superhost’ status.
What makes matters worse is that we only host one group at a time (we are not a resort, but a ‘retreat’ as the name of our lodge implies).

Up to now I was proud to be associated with AirBnB and had only good things to say to anyone who cares to listen. But does AirBnB care to listen? I hope they surprise me by engaging in this matter on a human level…
Until they do, I can not in good conscience continue to recommend AirBnB as a hosting platform.

Are the difficult guests and your loss of Superhost status related? Who cancelled the booking, the guests or you?

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Yes, related. The guests insisted that I must cancel on my side after agreeing to rescheduled dates right away. They said they would only rebook the new dates after getting their full refund.

And you rang the Super Ho phone late me to discuss you Situation with a CS and you communicated only thru the Airbnb app so you could prove what you had offered to your disappointing guests?

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I am in South Africa, there is no phone number to call. I replied to the e-mail telling me that I lost Superhost status and it bounced back. I then went to the help section and wrote the message as paraphrased above

On the app I communicated with the guests it shows that they chose and accepted alternate dates. They did not respond so I further communicated on WhatsApp

I don’t think it matters who she called or what she can prove. Bottom line is, she cancelled a guest without an extenuating circumstance, the result of which is loss of Superhost status for a year.

OP, I do understand how infuriating and disappointing this is, but, quite simply, the rule is the rule. There is a lot to learn with hosting on Airbnb. I have not read all the updated terms and conditions myself, and on occasion I’ve learned of a rule the hard way.

Try not to worry about it too much. Having the Superhost badge is not the end all be all. Keep doing what you’re doing, because it’s making you money, learn to separate yourself emotionally from Airbnb, because they don’t care about you, and before you know it a year will have passed and you’lll be a Superhost again. At which point, you’ll probably no longer care. :smile:

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I firmly believe that this one, supposedly isolated, incident was enough to take the OP out of Superhost status. There must have been other issues as well. One SNAFU is not normally enough to drop a host below Superhost.

@chrisatakasha:
There always has been a Customer Service number (or two or six) that you can call from anywhere in the world – even South Africa. I know hosts in your country who have had to call CS.

WhatsApp conversations between you and a guest probably would not be accepted as ‘evidence’ to prove or disprove anything – that is NOT the Airbnb Messaging System.

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Just because ‘a rule is a rule’ doesn’t mean that it does not SUCK. Emotional divorce - if anything, my post is the serving of emotional divorce papers, doing ABnB the courtesy of taking note just in case anyone there cares. I am a professional host by choice and not motivated by money - willingly swimming upstream in the modern world where everything is about filthy $$$

Cancel a guest without an extenuating circumstance, lose SH status for a year. Am I wrong?

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If you know if a number to call in South Africa, please pray tell as it is not to be found on Google. Overseas calls are prohibitively expensive for us. I am not motivated by money but not inclined to waste it, either. After reading forum posts about losing Superhost status it is obvious that there is close to zero chance of reasonable dialogue or reversal. Outcome - guests will now have lowered expectations and I will no longer promote AirBnB as our platform of choice nor use it when travelling. If they want to delist me that’s also fine.

@chrisatakasha, I’m not sure you’re aware, but this forum is not an official part of Airbnb. It’s possible that someone affiliated with Airbnb reads it on occasion, but for most part, nothing you post here is going to be seen, read or acted upon by Airbnb.

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The extenuating circumstance is that the booking came through less than 5 minutes after the one from another platform, whose only mode is like ‘instant booking.’ Calendars are linked but do not synchronise instantaneously. We do not have fibre optic cables and superfast connections that are nowadays taken for granted elsewhere in the world. You are right, that’s the rule - point is, it is a stupid rule that panders to the overprivileged I WANT IT ALL, RIGHT NOW me me me pushbutton culture - it’s disgusting.

I agree with you. The insanity and injustice we all put up with on a daily basis is mind boggling.

Unfortunately, Airbnb doesn’t consider linked calendars that don’t synchronize instantly an extenuating circumstance. Right or wrong, its their sandbox. They’ve concluded that a guest that makes a reservation and then has a host cancel that reservation is bad for their business. So, they’ve put harsh measures in place to make it less likely this will happen.

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Thanks for pointing that out. Hopefully then this empty echo chamber resonates with others who are in a position to influence ABnB to grow a heart

Are you being ironic? Would not call it ‘injustice’ but insane, definitely!

Sorry Ken, you assume wrongly. Only glowing reviews and full scores since day one, not a single sour note until the booker insisted that I cancel on my side after agreeing on rescheduled dates.

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If I were being anything, it would have been sarcastic rather than ironic. But no, I meant what I said, and I do feel for you and your situation. As I mentioned earlier, it is infuriating and upsetting.

If you decide to stick around this forum, you will find a lot of really great advice from many seasoned hosts. It might not always be what you want to hear, and some of it will be presented in a very matter of fact, devoid of much sympathy manner, so you’ll need to take it for what it is and try not to be offended. But for the most part, this is a friendly place where you can vent, get advice and perhaps find new perspectives and new ways to frame an issue.

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Same on SafariNow - all full mark ratings for 4 years. Our Booking.com rating is now 9.5 (was 9.8 after 32 reviews, until the inevitable troll came along and complained about a virtual non-issue covered in our listing).

I get your upset but this is rude & uncalled for. There are many professional hosts on this forum and their desire to do a good job and provide a good Airbnb experience for guests is not negated by their need or desire for money to feed themselves or get ahead in life. Money is not filthy but some people can be corrupted by it. Being in South Africa you’d be familiar with the effects of this and it’s not a modern phenomenons.

From Airbnb perspective this is in your control- you can just use their site.

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