From what I can tell reps do not take reviews into consideration at all. There does not seem to be much guidance on their end. i think it really comes down to how much the guest complains.
THAT WAS YOUR MISTAKE. Keep ALL communication with guests on the Air platform so that their reps can see it. They WILL ignore text messages because they can be faked. If the guest complains off platform answer there that all messaging has to be on the Air platform, and your reply will be there, which will signal a savvy rep that the guest is trying to keep info off platform.
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@alex4 If a guest phones or texts, always follow that conversation up with an Airbnb message recapping. Some guests will phone or text even if you tell them to only use the Airbnb messaging.
So, âHi XX, just to confirm what you said this morning on the phone- you have an issue with the cleaning that was done before your arrival, but you donât want the cleaner to come back and attend to whatever you have issue with?â
Or screenshot your phone. However, it does seem that you could look for more efficient ways to run your business.
Are you 100% certain that the properties really are cleaned to Airbnb standards every time? It sounds as though you are relying on your managers to run the business?
We all get some loopy guests once in a while who wants to claim refunds and we budget for it. But youâre not protecting yourself when messages are not on the platform. Iâm a bit surprised that your managers didnât warn you against this.
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Thatâs probably why the Airbnb rep wasnât helpful. They only review messages on their platform.
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I have made some changes. If any guest has a complaint they get a template answer on the Airbnb message thread to the guest from my co-hosts and then can continue to try to resolve it on another form of communication.
Am I 100% certain. Lol no. Do I have every guest sign a letter stating the home was clean at check-in. Yes. What else can I do?
I informed my co-hosts that any complaint needs to be replied with a template on Airbnb message center.
The point is the Rep is not interested in a letter with the guests signature because they are not investigating the incident. They are paying them off and moving on.
I hvae them sign the letter to avoid the guest trying to get a discount in the first place.
Hi Muddy. yes I just added that to my Co-Host expectations. Thank you.
As others have said on this thread, ALL communication with a guest must be on the Airbnb platform, if you want some assurance that Airbnb customer service will pay any attention to it.
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Hello Alex4, i have had the same issues with AirBnB lately: their customer service always leans towards the guest (no matter how many reviews the guest of hosts have). My strategy has been not to get aggravated (given that i have no input in their decision), i take if as a extra cost of doing business with AirBNB and will factor it in my prices. I have had good results with Booking.com. Best of luck!
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You might consider sending them a message after checkin through the platform. They usually respond that everything is great. I send them something like âjust checking in to see if the home meets your expectations. If there is anything you might need, please let me know.â About 90% will respond and about 10% just ignore it.
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As we do. Not only on Airbnb, but BDC and VRBO as well.
JF
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No, Alex, you arenât getting it. When there is an issue, you need to have all of the communication stay on the messaging platform. If the guest makes a complaint, for example that the place isnât clean, just receives a template answer, and then your manager calls them to say the cleaner will come back and the guest says no, they donât want that, you need the messaging stream to verify that the guest refused. Otherwise it us just the guestâs word against yours that you offered to correct the issue right away and the guest said no.
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I get it. If the guest replies on the message link then yes the co-hots will reply there. if the guest doesnât reply on the message link we cannot force the reply. I see your point though.
No, the point is that just about every business I can think of has to give refunds, credit notes or some sort of freebie at some time. Often these issues are beyond their control.
For instance, I have a regular guest and on his first stay, the AC stopped working. The problem was fixed for him but I refunded the one night that he had to be without AC.
Restaurants might have to give a free bottle of wine to patrons because their appetizers didnât arrive on time or whatever. Retail outlets always have an amount built into their budget to allow for shrinkage. Service industries might have to give a client a free service because of issues beyond their control that inconvenience the client. Business 101.
Hospitality businesses are the same. When youâre doing your annual costings you have to remember to include an amount for contingencies (such as refunds), for your STR insurance deductible (which might or might not happen), for unexpected repairs and maintenance. The occasional refund must be costed in.
Do you really get your guests to sign a âletterâ on arrival? This is getting surreal.
What is surreal about it? Of course I allow for refunds when there is an issue with the listing. 50% for 4 nights affected from a cleaning issue is not my idea of the cost of doing business.
If a guest went 1 day without AC I would have done the same. I do not agree with a repâs decision to refund 4 nights for a cleaning issue. If you suggest thatâs a reasonable cost of doing business then honestly you might want to consider your position as Moderator. You perhaps do not understand how to run a business.
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Hey thanks for the recommendation. I signed up for VRBO the same day this happened. I will look at Bookings as well. Honestly I just need rules so I know how to run my business. Airbnb feels to subjective in there rulings.
Being a moderator has nothing to do with their viewpoints as a poster. Moderators are responsible for making sure posters follow forum rules.
Whether their ideas about running a business are different from yours is totally irrelevant to the job of moderating.
So sick of these members who more often than not just sign up to get help and then think because someone dares to tell them something that they donât want to hear that they can try to demean that member by saying things like:
Jacquo has probably been in the short term rental business longer than you have but even if not, demeaning people who are trying to help you is just as out of line as name calling.
[quote=âalex4, post:37, topic:45579â]
Honestly I just need rules so I know how to run my business.
You really have a lot of nerve. But I can point this out without name calling and Iâll be careful to do so should you continue to post here.
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I agree with you and most on here that you had a bad rep and should have escalated the matter.
Iâm with @muddy the more you can do on platform the easier it will be to communicate your concerns with AirBNB.
If the guest doesnât respond, then at least you have documentation that shows your regard for the guestsâ comfort and the customer service you are providing. Itâs on the guest for not communicating with you or allowing you to correct any deficiencies (if they even existed).
I send a message, typically the morning after checkin. In the instances where a guest texts me, I capture it as a screen print and respond with the screen print in the messaging tool, as well as in the return text.
I had an issue a couple of years ago. All the positive messages, let alone the 5 
review left for me, was enough to show AirBNB that the post stay claims were in retaliation for a bad review I had left for him.
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