Airbnb Host Account Hacked, Locked Out

Posted on February 18, 2020

I have been successfully renting my lovely townhouse since August 2019. I still love in it but move out approximately two weeks per month to rent it through Airbnb. This has been assisting my income.

Last week I received an email saying the phone number on my account had been changed. I immediately went onto my profile and deleted the new number and changed my password. Since then its been havoc. I was logged out of my account, half my future bookings for my place were cancelled by Airbnb and guests are emailing me asking why their bookings have been cancelled.

I cannot reply to them as I cannot log in. When I receive a reset password link it says it has expired. I have tried to call and email Airbnb so many times with absolutely no success; they do not even bother replying. All I want to do now is delete my account but if I cannot log in I cannot delete it. I have even spoken to an IT expert and asked for help but there is nothing they can do to help me. Only Airbnb can help but they ignore me.

Need Support after Getting Robbed of over $2000 by Airbnb

Posted on February 17, 2020

I have been a host in Kobe, Japan for several years with Airbnb and as a Superhost, I had many satisfied guests and enjoyed very decent reviews. Around mid-January this year, Airbnb sent me a notice to do a verification of my account, threatening to block payouts if I did not complete it before February 4th.

I immediately sought out help from Airbnb support staff who walked me through the entire process and helped me fill in the form until the support staff himself was 100% satisfied that everything was in perfect order. He also confirmed clearly that any payout would not be blocked as the verification process was successful.

Below is proof of that chat where he congratulated me and confirmed that the payouts would not be blocked at all. I received a booking for 220,000 Japanese yen for check-in on February 11 and check-out on February 27th (a 17-day booking) with a specified payout date to me for February 13th. Today is February 17th and the nightmare I am facing is already four days into the process of dealing with the most incompetent so-called case managers and support staff.

The experience I am having in trying to collect my money is abusive, and nothing short of real torture as they are all behaving like thugs sitting on my money illegally and giving me the royal run around while whistling Sweet Dixie. No host should ever have to be subjected to this kind of torture I am facing just to try and collect what is rightfully due to me.

This kind of behavior from Airbnb usually comes as a prelude to bankruptcy. I am alerting all hosts to please be cautious because the tactics Airbnb are using here to rob me of my money are nothing short of gangster ones. I have no idea when I will see my money, I have no idea when my nightmare for chasing for my payout will stop, and I have no idea of what options I have.

I am reaching out to all the hosts reading this to please share your experiences with me if it can help me get what is due to me from these thugs. The guest from this payout is still staying in my property and Airbnb is threatening that if I use the option I suggest, i.e. ask the guest to cancel her reservation with Airbnb and demand a refund as I will waive all cancellation fees, to pay me directly, then they will penalize me for trying to deal directly with the guest and bypassing them.

The guest is still staying in the property until February 27th. I do have time to seek some sort of agreement with her but I don’t want to do anything to pay a hefty price later. Any advice on this matter would be highly appreciated. I just want to warn all hosts now and in the future to be totally aware of these gangster tactics by Airbnb to sit on your money whenever they feel like it, as if they have a right to take your funds. This is tantamount to stealing. Please be careful not to get trapped as I have been.

Right now I don’t know what more torture I have to endure from these thugs and their team of the most incompetent staff on the planet. I keep banging my head against the wall trying to recover my money from them. Any advice or helpful comments would be highly appreciated.

Robbed as an Airbnb Host, No Payment Coming

Posted on February 9, 2020

I have been hosting on Airbnb for quite some time now and I had a reservation for January 22nd-26th. My transactions say that I was supposed to receive a payout of 1600 USD on the 23rd. It is now February 8th and I still have no idea when or if I am going to receive my payment. I have had at least a dozen incompetent case managers that have different stories on why I did not receive my payment and how they are going to help me. No one knows how long it takes for them to process my payment because it is a “technical” issue and that is a department only they have access to.

What should I do… call a lawyer?

Airbnb Guest from Hell Blackmails Host to Not Pay Damages

Posted on February 7, 2020

I was a host for five years and didn’t have a singe issue with tenants, but still, a guest from hell arrived to rent a room in my beautiful apartment. He violated all the rules of my home immediately. He smoked cigarettes and then weed day and night. He slammed the doors 24/7. He was extremely dirty and the apartment had a horrible smell.

Then he claimed he had a medical prescription to smoke weed. He informed me that he arrived in my city to see a psychiatrist, as he was ‘crazy’. He showed me other medicine he was taking. The man was very tall and huge, triple my size, and he was screaming and shouting. He was throwing his things against the wall.

I thought I was in a horror movie. I was absolutely terrified and scared for my life as a single female being in the house with him. I contacted Airbnb and they told me that they were cancelling this reservation. However, they couldn’t “reach” the tenant and it was I who had to inform him, evict him, and to involve police. They washed their hands of it, leaving me by myself with an aggressive man who was threatening me and refusing to leave.

That was not the end of it. Airbnb sent me two emails informing me about their Million Dollar Guarantee, probably expecting me to claim a lot (fortunately, nothing was damaged). At the same time, in a third email Airbnb immediately accused me – instead of apologizing for their total lack of help to evict this tenant from hell – by issuing me a warning that my email to the customer service was discriminating.

Just to clarity, in my email I simply asked them how they ensured the safety of hosts because people who have mental issues of such proportions get on the platform. What policy is there in place to protect the hosts? Apparently hosts cannot ask valid questions like that, or they are shut down immediately as it is deemed “discrimination” by Airbnb. They even sent me a link to anti-discrimination policy.

What a scam. They lie in all their communications. They abuse and effectively blackmail hosts – preemptively – to ensure no claims for damages are filed, and so they don’t pay. When I asked what action they did take against the tenant, they didn’t give me any details; as per their policy, it’s an “internal” matter. They do what they want and how they want, as long as these guests from hell pay them commissions.

Airbnb really scams hosts because they provide no guarantees for safety and security for our homes. Even if Airbnb covertly turns our homes effectively into asylums for mentally ill people, it’s okay because Airbnb can still make some money off it. They don’t care about hosts, just use and abuse us to make commissions. I really can’t wait till they file for IPO as then all their scams and abuses will explode right in their face, and the market will punish their abuse immediately. Airbnb won’t be able to avoid class action lawsuits at that point.

Solution to Airbnb Guests Damaging Properties

Posted on February 1, 2020

To hosts or those who are thinking of opening their own Airbnb. I have been hosting for over three years with 67 properties, and had over 50,000 guests stay with me. I met many other hosts and the biggest issues they all run into are with negligent guests. In my units alone I have had over 10% (5,000) of my guests violate my house rules.

Airbnb is based on trust. A guest, AKA a stranger, is entering your home and you have no idea who they are or their intentions. When violations occur, you must be able to prove them, and Airbnb always sides with guests. How do you prove smell over the phone? It’s rare, but few times, I was able to prove that a guest violated my house rules, threw a party, and thanks for my live notification system – AKA neighbors – I was able to keep the $250 damage deposit, remove the guest, and reopen my calendar for new bookings. I realized that I just made $600 of a violation.

Three major common and costly issues I face on daily basis along with other hosts:

Indoor cigarette and marijuana smoking – causes smoke to get into the walls and ventilation making it hard to remove. This cost me cancellations or horrible guest reviews.

Theft – There is new scam going around. Airbnb guests used fake IDs to book my unit for three days, and while you are gone they list all your valuables on Craigslist, etc., and basically have a garage sale in your unit without you being aware. By the time my cleaners got to the room, the only thing that was left was the lock and forks. It cost me about $5K to replace everything and a $500 cancellation. Airbnb ignored the claim.

Parties – Some of our properties are in Florida, AKA party towns. We have guests who threw parties, smoked, drank, caused major damages to the furniture and walls, and destroyed neighbors’ pools… the list is long. Which again, cost me time and money and many police reports.

I figured out a way to fix these issues, using technology, by building it myself. I want to protect all 680,000 hosts, and that’s why I have built and developed a patented, smart smoke detector designed to protect and prove violations. It is federally illegal to tamper with, and has a built-in tamper-proof sensor. But it does so much more: it has a real-time notification system that monitors your guests for violations, from the moment the guest enters to the moment they leave.

It’s able to detect and notify live:

• Indoor Smoking (Cigarette and Marijuana Detection)

• Fire and Carbon Monoxide

• Unauthorized Guests

• Break Ins

• Theft

• Excessive noise levels

• Humidity level (Mold Detection)

• Air Quality

• Bluetooth and Z-Wave Compatible with Smart Locks and Security Systems

• Guest Check-In Notification

As as bonus, it also comes with a built-in Property Management System that syncs with Airbnb, VRBO, Expedia, Booking.com, TripAdvisor and many others. This system is non invasive, has no cameras, and even mandatory in some cities. It’s plug and play, all you have to do is swap it with your existing smoke detector. I would love to hear your comments and questions.

No Payouts for Airbnb Owner for Two Months

Posted on January 30, 2020

One of my owners has been waiting since December 2019 for his payouts. I have contacted Airbnb numerous times, sent emails, rang local Airbnb offices, sent messages through Facebook… all to no avail. Initially they said the issue was there was not enough information on this particular listing, so whilst they were on the phone I did it again, submitted it and waited. Nothing. Rang again. Redid the information again. Re-submitted it. Nothing. Rang again.

I have done this on repeat half a dozen times now, and made more phone calls. Not one person at this organization has done anything. They have very basic skills that are limited to basic knowledge. I have emailed Chesky, I have called the head office and waited on hold forever. I am at my wit’s end now. This poor owner has thousands waiting to be released but these idiots cannot work out the issue.

Guests and Airbnb Stealing from Good Hosts

Posted on January 27, 2020

I am keeping this short: I have had more than ten people come to my place saying it was great when they arrived, only to complain when they left, telling lies about my place being dirty, or messy. It is one of the most beautiful houses in the neighborhood. Truly outstanding.

Then Airbnb punished us hosts with penalties, account blocks and permanent suspensions as well as sometimes even giving back the money to the lying guests. I do not know who is more of a thief, Airbnb or the guests.

What is worse, they block accounts for no apparent reason, and don’t give you solutions or answers. Authoritative is not even descriptive of their unprofessionalism. I mean, if hundreds of guests are happy with my service and suddenly some of them say they want their money back… then they believe that? That’s outright stupid. Way to go, Airbnb.

All the money and effort we have put improving the house to be able to have sustainable self employment went down the drain. Thanks to Airbnb for being unhelpful, unprofessional and basically, robbers.

Airbnb must protect the host. We hosts are the ones risking our properties and even our safety. It is as stupid as it gets to protect a -5 feedback guest against a positive +200 Superhost. It’s not even a smart way to make money. Airbnb prefers quick, easy, dirty money. They really need some eyes on them to control such a dictatorial, abusive company.

Airbnb Zero Tolerance and Account Suspension

Posted on January 23, 2020

Looking or thinking of setting up Airbnb as a host? You need to be careful, as your account and profile can be deleted within one second by an Airbnb case manager even if a guest lied about you. Thinking of the amount of time, money and resources you have invested in setting up an account as a Airbnb host, you can be taken granted and may not count as a valuable member of the community within a second.

Let me give you an example of my hosting experience as a case study. As a host with over one year’s hosting experience and also a Superhost, I received a call from Airbnb customer service about my availability for hosting a guest at the last minute. Please think twice before you accept any reservation over the phone from Airbnb as your safety and well being is not as important as getting a customer a place to stay.

In my own case, I confirmed the reservation and advised the guest to check in within two hours as I noticed they were already available on standby to check in within ten minutes of booking. After accepting the reservation over the phone, I notified the Airbnb customer service person to confirm the reservation with the guest and make sure the number of people on the reservation was the same at the time of check in. She said yes and also advised me she would inform the guest.

Surprisingly at the time of check in, two guests were booked on the reservation, while four guests showed up. This was not a problem at all, as it could be corrected by the next day. The major problem was as follows.

Within an hour of checking in, three unauthorized men came in and out of the apartment at 15-minute intervals. Within two hours, I was able to count about ten different men coming in and out of the unit. After investigating, it was confirmed that the guests had been using the unit for business with men and also smoking drugs which could easily be smelt in the entire house due to the central heating and cooling system.

Evidence showed all of the above and the case was reported to Airbnb. The guest needed to vacate the unit due to this reason and considering infants were also in the upper unit whose health could have been risked because of the smell and odor of drugs used.

Can you believe that Airbnb suspended my account due to this reason, claiming zero tolerance and health safety issues, while the guest in question still has an active account?

Well, as a host or someone planning to be an Airbnb host in the future, you need to be very careful. You can be treated as a nobody, may not have access to any of your profile information which you have worked hard to build, and may not even be able to use an Airbnb account for any other hosting purposes. If you think you are currently doing good on Airbnb as a host and you want to expand and add more units or spend more to invest on the business based on your current outcome, you need to be careful as you can be taken for granted within seconds.

To my surprise, I do not expect any resolution and treatment from Airbnb, as it was shocking. A guest can ruin you in half a second and nothing will be done to you. I do not see any host protection at all as anything can be said against you and so shall it be via Airbnb.

If you are a host and reading this, you need to ask why you were not considered a part of the community as well, and that there is zero tolerance against the damage of reputation against hosts in their own home. With all this, is it worth having to set up an Airbnb?

Never Received Payment from Airbnb

Posted on January 22, 2020

I am hearing many other hosts have experienced this issue. I had guests stay at my Airbnb in mid-December, 2019. Their total was $500.52, which guests paid on time per policy. I should have been paid around the same time, but sadly it is now six weeks later and I still have not been paid.

I have spoken with customer service at least eight times in the past month. It’s always the same response: there’s a technical glitch around the time of booking that is preventing payment; IT is looking into it; a case manager has been assigned; will hopefully have that resolved for you soon.

I’ve tried to escalate, but they tell me there’s no one to escalate to. I’ve begged, pleaded, threatened to take legal action… nothing helps. I can only pray that some lawyer sees this and starts lining up hosts for a class action lawsuit. In the meantime I’m getting ready to dial customer service for the ninth time to hear the exact same BS they told me eight times previous.

Stealing + Worst Customer Service = Lose Loyal Customers

Posted on January 16, 2020

I have been waiting three weeks for Airbnb to pay me AUD 1,338.33 owed to me as a host for two reservations. Airbnb has confirmed the guests have paid them but they have not paid me due to a “computer glitch” with “no timeframe” for a resolution.

My messages to Airbnb support get no replies. During calls to them I repeat the story over again, get told they will “investigate”, and no one follows up. When I requested an escalation, I was told no managers were available. I have also tried Twitter and get nothing but platitudes off them, saying there is an “open case” on my account; the case is marked as closed within the app.

The cherry on top is my current guest lied to me and has sublet my place to total strangers without my permission. I reported this user to Airbnb and have had no follow-up from them.

I have used Airbnb since 2013 as both a guest and host with a total of 47 reservations. After this horrendous customer service experience, never again. Airbnb has clearly overexpanded with all the ridiculous ‘experiences’ and has forgotten to look after its original customer base. The trust culture and sharing economy values it was founded on no longer apply.

You are not too big to fail, Airbnb. Word of mouth built you up and will tear you back down again. Fix your shoddy app full of glitches; I thought you were supposed to be a shining example of Silicon Valley disruptive tech?

It’s totally outrageous that Airbnb expects me to wait while they fix their crappy tech when they could just pay me instantly; they already have money belonging to me. A painful realisation that there is nowhere to turn to when the s$%t hits the fan with this company, one that will drive me back to hotels and real bed and breakfasts as a guest. I will never host again.