Tag Archives: airbnb check in policy

Six-hour drive and no property access in due time

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Let me begin first by saying that I sincerely value what the Airbnb company provides and the opportunities it offers for people to choose their home away from home. Airbnb is my go-to choice when I want to find a unique and personal accommodation when I’m not home. The additional welcoming hospitality from the hosts makes my stays even more memorable. However, that is not always the case and sometime the host fails to deliver.

Unfortunately, this is what happened during my last trip. This complaint is against Airbnb for not vetting their hosts sufficiently enough and not being able to resolve an issue knowing that a host was unprofessional and unable to provide the access for a guest to check in. This complaint is also against Airbnb for assigning a resolutions specialist who deliberately used pivot tactics to misconstrue presented facts and avoided providing the answers, who demonstrated a lack of action and unwillingness to comply with the Airbnb Guest Refund policy, and who were not able to manage a host and act as a mediator to enforce the company policy and the terms of agreement between the host and the client.

This complaint is also against Airbnb for their unwillingness to accept the corporate responsibility and not resolving the matter in due time, consequentially causing an additional cost to its client in a form of two calendar days of vacation until the matter had to be escalated to a banking institution. Finally, the complaint is against Airbnb for not providing me a full refund for services not delivered. I strongly advised the case manager to resolve this matter amicably before I have to contact the bank. The case manager was also advised that further escalation could also lead to respective requests and reviews on BBB, CFPB, FTC, other affiliated agencies, Yelp, FB and other social media platforms.

My wife, our dog and I were returning back to our home from our ten-day vacation. Our dog is subject to anxiety attacks and has to take his calming medication during travelling. Our last stop was going to be a one-night stay in Dallas on August 29-30, 2019. The drive to Dallas was approximately six hours to reach our Airbnb destination. The reservation was paid in full on August 4th and all required documentation submitted and approved in advance.

The terms of agreement explicitly stated the check-in was at 4:00 PM onwards as our normal check-in time. That means the access should have been readily available any time after 4:00 PM. There was no additional agreement outside of the confirmed reservation. I complied with the terms of the agreement. The host did not.

The host also requested a minimum of 45-minute advance notice in order to meet us at the property when we arrive. I complied. The host did not. I sent the host a text message at 13:54 with a precise ETA between 18:30 and 19:00. This advance notice was sent well before the 45-minute requirement set by the host. They had plenty of time to prepare and provide access. Please note that the original terms of agreement did not include a provision for a delay. Late check-in was not discussed in advance. Late check-in would have been declined and a different host would have been chosen instead. However, a 10-15 minute delay would have been tolerated.

We arrived at 18:25. That was only five minutes earlier than the advised ETA of 18:30. The key wasn’t available. The host representative was also not present. We advised in advance our arrival time as requested by the host. The host was not ready. The access was not available.

This is a clear discrepancy and a deviation from the original terms of the agreement. The host demonstrated a gross negligence and lack of professionalism. The failure to provide the key in due time is a clear violation of terms of agreement. The provided ETA was within five minutes after six hours of driving. This is precise and more than sufficient to enable prompt access as per terms of agreement. The key was initially provided and placed in the lock box.

This situation and the delay would not have happened if the key was not removed by the host for an unknown reason. The key was removed from the lockbox without notifying me in advance. The delay was not advised in advance.

I immediately called the host once the key was found to be missing. A host representative promised the key would be delivered within 15 minutes. This was already the breach of terms of agreement, but I agreed to wait. By this time our dog started to exhibit the first signs of the anxiety attack after the six-hour drive.

I called back 15 minutes later and was told by the host it would be another additional 15 minutes. Her statement had no merit based on her first promised time of delivery. By that time my dog’s anxiety attack was fully developed and we had to leave. This was a wise decision also because otherwise the total delay time would have been 47 minutes.

The host representative did not supply the key until 7:13 PM. By that time we were long gone. We had to find accommodations elsewhere. We could not wait because we were on the road for six hours and our dog had an anxiety attack. The dog takes anti-anxiety medication. Staying to wait for the key would have jeopardized the safety and the well-being of our dog. A 47-minute delay is unacceptable.

We did not stay also because the host demonstrated gross negligence and did not comply with the terms of agreement. Frankly speaking, we could not stay because the host did not provide access as promised and explicitly stated in the terms of the agreement. Additionally, the host representative chose to send additional information via text messaging while I was driving. This could have been done in advance to avoid unnecessary safety hazards.

The barrage of text messages carried a significant risk. They disrupted my Google maps and my driving safety. This is unacceptable. This is a clear pattern of behavior that can get your clients killed while driving. Also, the host representatives were clearly not aligned between themselves on the proof of identification. Hence, they ensued in a conversation in a group text message while I was driving. This demonstrated a blatant lack of professionalism and communication between the host representatives.

After my two attempts to contact the host and remedy the situation amicably in due time I immediately contacted Airbnb on August 29 at 19:08 CST and had the dispute case started to investigate this matter. The case was assigned to the case manager. I asked him to read through all the communication between the host and myself to get a sense of what really happened. I provided him with all the call history and the screenshots for reference. He got involved and called the host.

Unfortunately, the host offered to refund only 20% of the reservation cost. It is reasonable to presume that the offered 20% from the host proves the host accepted the liability for not following through with the original terms of the agreement. I’d like to think that the case manager’s role is not to simply accept what’s offered, but to see if the terms of agreement were fulfilled. I’d like to think that the role of an Airbnb case manager is to enforce the compliance and also demonstrate the ownership of the corporate responsibility when it is needed.

Unfortunately, during the course of the case investigation the Airbnb case manager failed to execute his task with due diligence by making false claims, omitting important details, deliberately avoiding to respond to presented facts and arguments, choosing not to comply with the Airbnb Guest Refund policy, and refusing to accept the corporate responsibility in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

The offered 20% is insignificant compared to incurred costs to compensate for lost time, emotional stress, and an additional opportunity cost in a form of two calendar days of vacation. Frankly speaking, in large companies a breach of contract carries an additional penalty cost over the 100% of the initial baseline agreement cost.

I sincerely hope that Airbnb will review the validity of the license agreement with the host and suspend it to avoid other similar situations in the future. All of this clearly shows beyond the reasonable doubt the failure of the host to comply with the terms of the agreement, a violation of basic safety rules, and Airbnb company communication policy.

Awful Airbnb Experience, Terrible Customer Service

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I recently had a nightmare experience dealing with a unresponsive host and entirely unhelpful Airbnb customer service. I booked a four-night stay at an apparent Airbnb in Cincinnati (here is the link to the listing – be aware this host has a number of listings) which advertised free parking on site

When we arrived, my friend had to go up to the unit to check in to get the fob for the garage so we could park; I was circling the block when he said the code to get in the unit was wrong. I tried to call the host and her phone went to voicemail after one ring. I messaged her on the app and didn’t get a quick response, so I called the emergency number which was a third-party answering service that could not figure out why we couldn’t get in.

The lady at the answering service finally said to try a shot in the dark with using a different code and it worked. This was worrisome because obviously the codes are constantly reused so the unit could potentially be accessed by any past guests. My friend then said there was no key fob for the garage so I finally found a street spot and parked and went up to help look for it.

This is when I realized the lack of garage fob was the least of our worries. The place was absolutely trashed. I would guess there was a bachelor party or something before us and it had not been cleaned at all. The floor was sticky, there was liquid running down the walls, there were multiple holes in the wall, none of the lamps had light bulbs, there were wooden chairs stacked against the wall but no table to go with them, there were crusty nasty stains on the carpet, hair all over the “clean” towels, no sheets on the bed and nasty white stains on the couch.

Since I still hadn’t heard back from the host, I called Airbnb and said we could not stay there. This is where the hours-long saga of us trying to find a place to sleep began. Meanwhile, this was at 9:00 PM and I didn’t find a bed – finally at a hotel – which I paid for out of pocket – until after 2:00 AM. I sat on hold with Airbnb for a while when they told me they needed to give the host a chance to respond before moving forward.

Two hours later, Airbnb finally called me back just to say they couldn’t get in touch with the host and there was nothing they could do yet, but they assured me they would fix this for me. The host finally reached out hours later to let me know she had another unit we could stay in. We went to look at it and it also was not clean, was unlocked, had a huge glass door that was open – again scarily insecure – smelled like weed, and had dirty towels on the floor (including one balled up against the door to keep the smoke smell out of the hallway).

Since it was around 11:00 PM we were desperate and said if it was cleaned we could stay there. The host said she would try to get a cleaner out there to get it ready. An hour later I still had not heard back from the host so I reached out and all she said was she had not heard back from the cleaner. Then all she said was she could not accommodate us.

This was about 12:30 at night now and we were just stranded: nowhere to sleep and no help from the host or Airbnb. I started looking for hotels. Meanwhile I had been talking to Airbnb through the app which was not helpful. The first person I talked to ended her shift and didn’t bother to pass this case on to anyone. I had to call back, sit on hold for over an hour again, and start the whole process over.

Needless to say I was frustrated at this point. After hours on the phone with Airbnb, no help from them or the host, we went to three hotels before I could find a room and finally had a place to sleep at 2:30 AM – already having paid almost $1000 for a room I couldn’t sleep in. I then had to shell out another almost $300 for a room. Airbnb promised me they would reimburse me $200 for the room and give me a $150 credit towards another booking, neither of which I have seen – shocking.

I have also been continually reaching out on the app messenger with no reply for days now. I am appalled at the fact that the host was at fault for having a place unfit for humans to stay and yet I am the one that has paid for it through hours of my vacation and money out of my pocket. I have never dealt with a company that cared about their customers less than Airbnb.

The host has never reached out to explain or help or apologize and couldn’t have cared less. Not to mention I had told her I was pregnant before we left and she couldn’t have cared less about being stranded with no options besides sitting at a bar – the only place open – until I found a place to sleep. I included pictures of the apartment as well as screenshots from the Airbnb messenger showing the payments I was promised that have not been received.

No Confusion about Check-in Time, Only Excuses

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The day we were leaving we received an email from one of the people who ran the Airbnb wanting to know when we planned to arrive. Check-in time was 3:00 PM; I estimated between 4:00 and 5:00 and sent her that information.

We arrived in town and decided to do a couple of things before check in. We arrived at 5:15 PM and the room was not ready. None of the rooms were ready. Somebody was cleaning and she said that she would call us when the room was ready. The off-street parking was not available and that was one of the primary reasons I chose this property.

We went off to a restaurant and waited to hear. After hearing nothing, we started texting the owner who said he was “sorry for the confusion”. What is the confusion? I said we would appear and we did. The room was not ready. That’s simple; not confusing.

We are elderly and we look for things such as off-street parking and we care about the check-in times. We obey house rules. I’d like to leave a negative review, but fear that the host will ruin our reputation by reviewing us negatively.

Lost Over $7,000 Due to Airbnb Check In Policies

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My experience with Airbnb has been unfavorable to say the least. For starters, I had helped some work associates book a property as they had to be in Los Angeles to work on a construction project. Since these are close personal associates, I offered to book through my account since the guys had never used Airbnb before. These men are also aware that I am a licensed realtor, so they trusted that I was more than capable to set us up with something that was safe and secure. Since I hadn’t been there at the time the guys showed up, and the owner decided to drop in, the situation turned ugly. Frank Grande, who is by far the biggest scammer I’ve come across, kicked everyone out, and reported the incident to Airbnb. Considering that I was going to be joining the men during the duration of their trip, it should have been noted and considered when it came to Airbnb’s terms and conditions, which clearly indicate that you must be present at the booking. However since I wasn’t there at the very same moment, I was penalized and lost over $7,000 due to Airbnb’s “judgement” on the situation.

The entire situation was ridiculous. I lost thousands to the owner who kept all of the money, and Airbnb who pocketed their share. Considering this, how can Airbnb be considered a neutral party to pass judgement on the situation? Isn’t it fair to say that since they stand to profit off my loss it would have been an easy decision for them in spite of my reasoning? Wouldn’t it be fair so say that a licensed realtor would never want to compromise their license over a booking for strangers? Considering the fact that I explained the entire situation to them and received no remorse and no compromise, I’d say their scales are highly tipped toward everyone’s pockets being filled versus moral ethics and compromise considered by a neutral party that doesn’t profit.

I have recently come to discover that someone had recently placed a listing on my account, allowing people to request and book through my account. I received no verification, emails, or any kind of authorization for the creation of this listing, the acceptance of bookings, and any notice until after the fact. How is this even possible? When I called Airbnb, I had to wait 25 minutes to speak to someone who merely apologized and told me they would have someone contact me. Here was their response: Change your password (in a nutshell) and then close the report. What kind of service is this? I will forever discourage people from using the site and being very careful about any bookings they place and payment sent considering this was easily done and Airbnb has done nothing about it… what a pitiful company.

Host Refuses Early Check In, No Refund

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We reserved and paid 502 USD for three nights’ lodging and the cleaning fee in September 2016 for lodging from September 16th to December 19th, 2016. Prior to December we requested to store our luggage the morning of the 16th because we were arriving on the Holland American cruise ship that morning. We had reserved a slot for two people for the 12:05 PM Sydney Bridge Climb which lasted until 3:30 PM. The host said we could not check in prior to that afternoon, so we stored our two suitcases at the dock’s storage rental. We had also booked a performance at the Sydney Opera House for 7:00 PM on the evening of the 16th. So at 3:40 PM we retrieved our luggage and got a taxi to the lodging we booked in Surry Hills.

Arriving at approximately 4:15 PM, we found an iron gate covering the door of the Airbnb lodging. No one answered our knocking on the window beside the locked gate. It was also raining and there was no overhang above the front locked gate. Our cellphones weren’t working so I remained with the two suitcases while my husband walked two blocks and found a restaurant. The owner was kind and made some calls for us. She was not able to get an answer at the number the host had listed on their posting. We found out two or three days ago they had sent a message to our email they had to go out for a couple of hours between 4:30 and 6:30 PM. They were not available when we arrived and they didn’t intend to be home until 6:30 PM. Since we needed a room to shower and dress for our 7:00 PM performance we had to get a cab and find a hotel. Since the host had been paid for three nights, I determined they had cancelled our lodging paid three months prior because they did not uphold the mid-afternoon check in request. Now we find out Airbnb is handling our request for a refund of the cleaning fee and two nights’ lodging. Instead they presented us with an Airbnb voucher for $200 to be used at one of their locations prior to January 2018. I have no use for this Airbnb voucher since we will never use their company again. When paid in advance, hotels will have someone available to check us in upon arrival even if we arrive at 11:00 PM on the day of the reservation.

Host only Obligated to Meet at Exact Check-in Time?

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My elderly mother was due to arrive in Strasbourg this evening at 6:30 PM. The host told me he could not meet her until 8:30 PM. I rang Airbnb customer service to ask for general advice on how to deal with the situation – while I was walking – and they refused to give me any information until I was verified. Because of a glitch – an old and expired visa card was listed as the default – they would not verify me and hence refused to give me any advice. I then stopped in the street, set up a personal hotspot to use my computer, and verified the card. This was on my way to work where I would be in meetings all day. Now verified, Airbnb told me that as the host had listed his check in time as 2:00 PM, he was under no obligation to meet my mother at all after that time. Firstly, that’s a risk I think all customers should know about. Secondly, this meant my elderly mother, who does not speak French, would have to stand in the cold, with her heavy bags until the host felt like meeting her, if indeed he did at all. I then had no choice but to cancel and make alternative arrangements. In followup emails, the same patronising bureaucrat told me I didn’t have to cancel; Airbnb could have called the host to help you. He could have told me this before forcing me to stop in the street and verify myself. I have had to book a hotel at huge cost as well as pay for the Airbnb. I am stunned at how appalling they are at customer service.