Hosts get Slow Paid

Whenever I transfer funds from my investment account to my checking account, I have access the next business day. Not so with Airbnb. Airbnb does a good job of “playing the float”. Even though they say they will pay hosts the day after the guests arrive, it usually takes several business days to actually receive the money in your account. Airbnb is making a fortune by holding hosts money and investing them for an extra 24-48 hours before release. Most of the times my guests were long gone before I ever saw a penny of my money. I cannot even begin to imagine how much of the hosts’ money Airbnb gets to play with by behaving this way. So yeah, hosts, you’re not only paying Airbnb for the “honor” of doing business with them, you’re also acting as uncompensated lender giving them an interest free loan. One host doesn’t amount to much, but think about hundreds of thousands of hosts acting as “Bank Airbnb”.

There is an alternative to AirBNB called Roomorama

I’ve been hosting for three years now, i’ve had tons of guests, most of them extremely happy and quite lovely, but you can’t get away from the occasional “hotel” guest and their equally unpleasant counterpart the “whinger” ultimately – sadly – AirBNB don’t give a shit about hosts – it’s a numbers game for them based on percentages and high volume transactions – their “super host” program is pointless and of no benefit whatsoever to the hosts themselves so when a pig treats your house like a hotel – or when someone too stupid to read your description slams you because there is building noise – AirBNB don’t give a shit – so relax and try to get over it And then register your house on Roomorama.

AIRBNB TREATS THEIR HOSTS LIKE CRAP!!!!!

I had the worst guest. All she did was complaing about he weather etc…She was an old hag! She was rude to the staff at the condo and then decided to cheek out 2 days early but before demanded we pay of her hotel and give her a refund for the 2 nights she was checking out. Of course we said no, then she wrote the nastiest review about us calling us bullies etc. We were so sweet to her and did everything she wanted! And she called us liars etc…when all along we had only 5 stars and all good reviews. Airbnb does not take the review down, and it is clear that she did it because we would not refund her, and she called us bully…Airbnb refused to do anything about it. They are useless!!! PLEAS SOMEONE OPEN A BETTER COMPANY THAN AIRBNB THEY SUCK!!!!!!!

Automated termination of service

Automated termination of service with no details or response to inquiries.
I have been a host for Airbnb for six months, all with
positive reviews. I have received no feedback that there was a problem of any kind. My account with Airbnb was terminated for no
apparent reason and with an automated email that explained only that I had “violated the terms of service.” The company
cancelled all reservations and informed the guests that the company would find them alternative arrangements. Several guests
complained to me directly and wanted to keep the reservations, which they eventually did. Several guests simply abandoned their
reservations. When I called to inquire as to what had occurred, the customer service representative stated that she didn’t know what the problem was and said, and I quote, “… I don’t know what the problem is and I would not tell you if I did know.” She refused to transfer me to a department that could provide me with an answer and stated that she would email them and they would contact me. A few days later I received the same automated email stating that I had violated the terms of service and my account has been deactivated. This one was signed Marcia B.
Again, I wrote back requesting information and asking for a way to resolve the problem and offered to pay any fees, fines or costs that the company had incurred, once I understood the problem. I received the same automated message and the company has not responded to my repeated requests to provide a specific response to my inquiry.
I view this as almost hostile; the company seems to cancel one’s ability to use the site on a whim; and then simply is non-responsive.
I’d be interested in others’ views on this subject.

Hosts beware of “Mediation” – you have no say

We have been hosting with Airbnb for a couple of years. Our reviews were only 5 stars, with great feedback from guests. When people had problems or issues, we are always quick to react and resolve problems. We had the misfortune of hosting a couple of jerks who stayed in our rental apartment but treated it like a hotel. They reserved for 2 people for 3 weeks. They told us some extra family was coming after they arrived and asked us to bring around some more sheets and towels – we were miffed that we were not told beforehand but did so, and didn’t want to rock the boat. They told us 3 others were coming but in fact 6 others arrived for a total of 8 in an apartment with 1 toilet that sleeps 6 as advertised.
The extra people arrived on Friday, and on Sunday night we got a call saying the toilet was slow and had been since Friday. We asked if the toilet still flushed or was completely stopped up. We were told that no, it still went down but sometimes the water rose, but did not overflow. And we wondered why we were not told about it earlier – while businesses that do plumbing services were open !! We explained that on Sunday night, Father’s day in France for a non-emergency it was unlikely we could find anyone to come around that night (we knew it was in fact impossible unless an emergency as the very first thing the services as in France is whether the toilet is overflowing or blocked – if the answer is no, they send someone the next day). We said we’d call around and let them know more as soon as we had finished our dinner (we’d literally just sat down to dinner with our other Airbnb guest in our home). Before we were done with dinner, we received a text Airbnb message saying they’d resolved the issue by pouring hot water down the toilet and that it was “fine”. We called and told them we’d stop by the next morning to check on things.
We did stop by. To us the toilet was still slow though they said it was OK. They also said, oh and don’t worry about the hot water, it’s working again. We then realised they’d written in the middle of the night to complain about no hot water. We’d explained to them on arrival that the hot water heater was connected to the cheap rate electrics and that it operated only when that was on, hence to plan showers around this – which they did. They said they’d only run out when washing dishes after midnight. They were evasive when we asked how many showers they took – one said 5 showers and 1 bath, the other said 2 showers that were less than 5 minutes (we asked the couple separately). We explained that the hot water heater was working properly and they were using too much hot water during the day when the hot water heater was off – and also that for the number of people in the flat it was likely too much. We gave them instructions for how to set the switch to override to the hot water heater so that it could run during the day as well. For the slow toilet, we arranged with our neighbour to use the toilet of his office, which was in the hallway (the office was empty) as the service that we needed to use to clean the drains was unable to come immediately (they need to send a truck with a high pressure hose, as our old plumbing could not be fixed with a normal “snake” as there is a bend in the pipes that is less than 90 degrees so it won’t run). We told them to use the alternate toilet if the existing one developed more of a problem than slowness. They kept saying they thought this issue was caused by the building in front of ours, as they’d seen “workmen” there and a bad smell. We never in 4 visits were able to smell this supposed bad smell, and we also brought out the building manager of the other building. During the next 2 days we visited 4 times to investigate this “smell” which was not in our apartment, but they said in the hallway. The other building manager spoke to them and explained that no work had been done in that building and we tested all the pipes, and we assured them we simply had to wait a day for the drain clearing service to come out. They sent us a demand for a 50% refund for every day they’d experienced and would experience a “loss of service” starting with the day BEFORE they reported the issue to us. Their note contained a veiled threat to take further action against us if we did not agree to this. We refused on the grounds that they never had lost any service and in fact even had access to a 2nd toilet now. After this they called Airbnb and lied to their customer service. The “mediation” of Airbnb never spoke to us. They decided to allow the client to leave early and take away our rental fee for the unused days. We were able to get payment in the form of credit for some of the extra guests, but Airbnb refused to honour their rental contract. The drain clearing service came on Weds and cleared the drains but they’d left that AM and then they left a horrid review on Airbnb, claiming that there had been sewage flowing in the apartment, that we’d never called a plumber and many other lies such as claiming we had told them to use the public toilets as an alternate toilet and that they were without a working toilet in the apartment for 96 hours and were “forced” to leave it. Despite the fact that I sent in videos showing the toilet still functioning and flushing when they left and testimony from the other building manager also attesting to the toilet functioning as well as to the 2nd toilet they had access to, and despite the letters in the Airbnb system that clearly showed they were lying, the review was allowed on the site in the name of “free speech”. Additionally we were lied to and manipulated by the Customer Service – they briefly took down the review – and the minute we returned the security deposit of the guests, they put the bad review back up without notifying us and allowing even further lies now about our mental health on it ! We took down our listing as Airbnb refused to take down the libel. Disgusted with their customer service – and the “mediation” which is simply dictatorship.

After Harassment from Host, AirBnB Sides with the Host

AirBnB customer service does not protect its customers. My story is not the first nor will it be the last.

I stayed in an unacceptable hosting environment (there was no heat in sub-zero temperatures, in one of the coldest nights in history according to weather.com) and while AirBnB kindly refunded me, they also asked me to post a review of the host to “keep AirBnB honest.” I would post the host’s name, but this woman has acted like such a psycho that I’m scared of any retaliation.

I hesitated, as last time I posted a less-than-favorable review, the host retaliated and posted completely false and damaging things on my profile. I was able to get it removed by removing my original review, and I see the host continues to do the same things to anyone who makes any kind of complaint on her property. She writes slanderous and horrible things about ANYONE who writes anything even slightly negative– for example, one woman literally wrote a super nice review and then just said “I didn’t realize there’d be someone sleeping in the living room…” and the girl WENT OFF on her. So AirBnB won’t take any action against a host who does this REPEATEDLY.

Anyway, back to my current situation. The host seemed relatively nice/stable so I posted a fair but honest review of my experience. The host went nuts, calling me (as well as my friend who stayed with me) twice a day, harassing us to take the review down, and when I asked her to stop calling me, she sent me multiple messages via AirBnB, and even after AirBnB asked her to stop calling me, she continued to harass me.

She then went the extra mile and wrote a false, damaging, and defaming review on my profile. I contacted AirBnB and asked them to take action, or at least to remove the review on my page.

A customer service representative named “Frankie G.” responded in a fairly sarcastic way, saying that while they were removing parts of MY review because it referenced some of the actions of the AirBnB staff (such as the fact that they gave me a refund), they would not remove any parts of the host’s review. He even said “It looks like your response clears things up.” Uh, I still don’t want a slanderous review on my profile! Frankie G. informed me they were they taking no further action about the fact that this woman was harassing me– so I’m guessing she will have free reign in the future to harass customers who don’t completely agree with the substandard conditions of her property. They ended the email with a snarky “I’m sure you’ll get great reviews in the future” and basically put the blame on my friend and I.

The fact that I am being harassed because I posted a fair and balanced review outlining the facts of a host that offered an unacceptable hosting situation and AirBnB chooses to protect the host tells you all you need to know. Sure, if you are in a good situation with AirBnB, you’ll be fine, but the minute you need protection, you are screwed. Don’t bother. It is not worth the headache or money saved. I strongly recommend against using this service and will be sure to let everyone I know how unsafe this service is. You are putting yourself at a GREAT risk if you use this service.

Hosts who behave like this should have action taken against them, if they are not removed completely, then they should at least have some kind of suspension period. But no, AirBnB is happy to let erratic and unstable hosts continue to harass and bully anyone who doesn’t toe the line.

Airbnb SCAM!

I’ve hosted several dozen guests via Airbnb without a single complaint or bad review… until I got hit by some total scam artists and airbnb didn’t do a thing about it!

This past month I had a seemingly nice couple staying with me in my condo… I saw the couple almost every day, talked with them, even drove them to the grocery store a few times! They NEVER had even the tiniest complaint about anything having to do with me or my condo. Well guess what, the day after they moved out I got a notice from Airbnb stating that the couple claimed they saw a MOUSE in the condo and that that Airbnb policy was to give them 50% of their money back FOR THE ENTIRE 4 WEEK STAY!!! Apparently the couple sent airbnb a picture of a mouse… which I actually FOUND using a reverse search and google! I sent airbnb customer service numerous messages explaining that the incident was a huge lie and I even showed them the picture of the dead mouse the couple “saw” on another site that was posted over a year earlier! Airbnb took over a week to reply with a standard form email that simply said there policy was to supply a 50% refund. HOLY CRAP was a retarded service! See if I EVER host another airbnb guest in any of my properties as long as I live!!!

Disgusted

After being a host on AirBNB for 3 years with fantastic reviews I’ve got to say I am truly disgusted with the way my complaint about my last guests was handled.

I came home to find all the batteries taken out of my smoke detectors and a huge burn mark in the center of my lounge room – like they had lit a campfire inside the house!
I took multiple photos and emailed them to AirBNB for evidence but since I don’t have receipts for my carpet they won’t do a damn thing.

This company doesn’t give a toss about their loyal hosts – they’ve lost me!

AirBNB Hosting NIGHTMARE!

I’ve hosted many rooms on AirBNB for almost 2 years and always had a 100% perfect rating, but then I caught two of my guests sneaking in their friend and having him stay with them without telling me. I was annoyed but I very reasonably said that he could just pay $10 per night for the 3 nights he stayed, and we would call it even. They agreed to my face, but secretly they made up a story about mice and bugs being in the condo and filed not one but two complaints directly with airbnb! I thought, wow that’s annoying, so I promptly responded to the claims with lengthy explanations about what REALLY happened, expecting that airbnb would naturally see through the lies of these two young kids. Instead, Airbnb gave the kids HALF of their money back for the three week long reservation even though they had already stayed 18 of the 21 days before making a complaint! Even better than that, the kids damaged both of their rooms, stole money, wine glasses, and other kitchen items, yet when I filed security deposit claims against both of them including photos and witnesses, airbnb literally ignored the claims without so much as a response and refunded the kids 100% of their security deposits!

Long story short, I’ve had enough of terrible service by large companies that just don’t feel like they need to give a crap about their customers, even a long-term host with a perfect rating.