Airbnb’s Catch-22: Cut Off Without Help

Airbnb revoked an already existing booking for a two-week stay just three days before departure, and never responded to any emails to correct it. Essentially I got a notice that my credit card refused to process an Airbnb payment request for a booking. I then cancelled that booking and tried another place. The same message appeared but allowed me to resubmit payment, which I did, using another card without any block. That cleared with both me and the host being given confirmation of the booking. About half an hour later I received emails from Airbnb telling me my account was disabled and my money was being returned for my confirmed booking because the original l payment was blocked. When I checked with the credit card company, the reason my bank didn’t honor the charge for the booking is because the credit card fraud unit considered Airbnb’s charge to be suspicious and would not pay without confirming it with me.

So it’s a beautiful catch-22 completely orchestrated by operating systems. The bank’s computer refuses to pay because Airbnb’s charge sends up a red flag, something that I cannot know will happen when using a valid card with plenty of available credit for the charge. Airbnb’s computer returns the favor by immediately flagging me for not paying my bill. Their computer, without human intervention, orders my account disabled while refunding the money and cancelling the reservation I made and paid for 30 minutes. Without an accessible Airbnb account, I cannot contact my host, contact the Airbnb help center, or get information of any kind how to resolve the problem. I have sent five emails to Airbnb in the last 24 hours. I have heard nothing back from a human being. I remain blocked from my account and have to rebook a reservation in three days outside of Airbnb under considerable stress.

Airbnb has the worst customer service system I have ever seen. They cause a problem, then give you no method to contact them whatsoever, except emails that no one ever responds to. Do not use them. They will screw up your plans for reasons beyond your control.