After investing a considerable amount of time reviewing the terms and conditions of host agreements with Airbnb I invested even more time in listing two vacation rental properties with them that I have rented for years through VRVO and vacation rentals. At first, I thought I was the problem because I was accustomed to direct control of the terms and conditions of the rental, especially the payment and cancellation policies.
1. They did not disclose that no payouts are possible until $2,000 is accrued in earned payments. There are no details on what happens to your $1,999 if you end your relationship with them.
2. In the preview of the host agreement (before signing up) they gave the impression that payment is immediately forwarded to the owner. In fact, it is not credited to the owner’s account until AFTER the guest has checked in.
3. Their built-in software overrides and alters the owner’s choices or doesn’t give owners the option to choose, then sets a non-disclosed policy.
4. They kept changing my “strict cancellation” to flexible, and they kept turning off or modifying my minimums. They also advertised at different rates than I specified.
5. I found navigating their software and their self-help pages tedious and time consuming. Owners: stick with vacation rentals, vacation home rentals, and VRBO. Control the terms and conditions with which people occupy your valuable property.
Airbnb may be great for travelers (I haven’t read the guest horror stories yet) but it is effectively victimization and exploitation of homeowners who assume all the risk and pay a handsome fee to Airbnb for every booking. Before accepting ANY booking through Airbnb, read the fine print!
Just found out that Airbnb ran a credit and criminal record check on me without my permission
I booked a room for 47 nights on 5-june-2019. I paid 70% of the rental in advance. Yesterday ( 23 sept-19) I booked air tickets ( non refundable for the onward journey on 20-dec & today without any reason AirBnb canceled my booking.
Refund doesn’t help. I’ve lost a LOT of money in travel bookings. AirBnB does not have a similarly priced property in the same area. What do I do?
I feel your pain! I am the property owner of a 4-unit apartment rental. Its a family friendly area, so I do have families with kids aged 4 and up. A new tenant Anna Gentile moved in 6 weeks ago. She declared only her and her son of 18 would live there. Three days ago, I find the apartment is being offered on AIRBNB, One night min stay, $136-$171 per night. When I asked her to remove the listing because the clause in her lease (we are located in Quebec with a rental board and a whole section of the civil code of Quebec dedicated to residential dwellings) clearly states if the box is not checked off that a tenant cannot exploit the premises for commercial activity. AIRBNB needs to validate what the F@#K they are putting on their site.
This person can give front door keys to anyone staying one night! She does not see a problem with that. She is ‘careful’ of who she accepts. I am sure she was born a dumb blonde!
I have no recourse but to file a complaint at the rental board $$, get my lawyer to draft a letter with that $$$ and serve her by bailiff $$$$.
Hope AIRBNB chokes on thier popularity.