Comments on: Loyal Host Jaded: The Horror Stories are True

By: Tina Jones

Tina Jones — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 05:21:02 +0000

So, as an Airbnb host I have a strict cancellation policy. Which means a guest can cancel 2 weeks prior with full refund. My place is in San Francisco & fairly expensive. I can never re-rent it in less than 2 weeks. I have never cancelled a reservation, but I’ve had multiple guests cancel with a full refund.

I feel the pain. But have never made someone feel it. Read reviews. There are Airbnb “autopost” messages if a host has previously cancelled a reservation.

By: Baxter

Baxter — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 13:11:09 +0000

I so agree that airbnb can only do so much; they are very limited in what they can do, and in what they are willing to do, when guests are placed in desperate situations like this, or when hosts’ places are trashed etc. As a result I don’t think I would rely on them again. For a couple of nights with a host you’ve used before and can trust, sure. For a big family holiday where a cancellation would be a disaster, as in this story; I just would not risk it. There are companies like HomeAway for that. Added to that there is always the possibility of renting an illegal let through Airbnb, especially in NYC. As we discovered. Unlikely to happen through a legitimate holiday accommodation company.

By: David Aaron

David Aaron — Sun, 25 Feb 2018 10:52:17 +0000

It wasn’t a mistake. It was a bad host. Unfortunately there are bad hosts and bad guests. AirBnb can only do so much.

By: Scott

Scott — Sat, 24 Feb 2018 20:39:25 +0000

I can relate, from personal experience, why I, as a host canceled my last five reservations. I bought a condominium and rented it through AirBnB for one year. Throughout that year I lost about $15,000 in the venture. These losses were real dollar losses, my expenses were $15,000 greater than my income. I decided that there was no point in continuing, since the unit was newly renovated I canceled those last five reservations so that the unit would be offered for sale in like-new condition and it would be vacant for showing.

The canceled reservations were from one-week to three months after the cancelation date, I felt bad canceling on people, but I would feel even worse losing more money by keeping those reservations and having the unit deminised so it would need even more money for reconditioning before being sold.