Tag Archives: airbnb customer service fail

Airbnb Unable to Accommodate Non-Smartphone User

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We added a new gite (vacation home) to our existing Airbnb account. I reached the end of the process but was then thwarted by the verification process. I scanned and attached a passport (which I had not been asked to do on my first gite and although a message is now there the posting is still active without it) and then it said to take a selfie and post that. I do not have a phone that takes photos, it just texts and calls — I know, very old fashioned but it’s all I want or need. I have photos on the computer but there was no way to upload them.

I managed, eventually, to have a live chat, but it became obvious that the rep was a computer as she did not address my problem, just gave me company rules and regulations. I went onto chat again and (maybe) got a person. She also quoted rules and regulations to me. I explained that, in these hard COVID times maybe they had to be a little flexible, that they had my passport and surely an uploaded photo of me would be enough. Each time she responded she told me to use a certain ‘app’ or to do something only possible with a smart phone. Each time I explained I didn’t have one and had no ability on my computer to take photos.

This went on for a while and I tried to keep my temper in check. Eventually she said I could complain via a feedback form. I pointed out that these are not responded to individually and she said that despite that Airbnb would keep in mind what I had said — a big help. I sent three more messages asking for a supervisor or an email address where I could contact someone more senior. Eventually she said she would pass my messages on. I am going to lie down in a dark room now. My new gite is not published and, frankly, I am looking at other sites. This is just too bad.

Airbnb Guest Pays Double to Avoid Collections

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I have been using Airbnb for a while now and I rely on them for work. For three days I had been trying to book my next week’s stay. I got a message saying that I couldn’t and needed to call customer service.

A couple months ago, a payment method evidently didn’t go through so now Airbnb has me blocked from making reservations. I told them that I paid the host because the payment didn’t go through back then after trying and trying to make it work.

After three days of arguing with them I said the hell with it and paid Airbnb another $271.31 to get my account out of collections. My big problem is that no one can tell me when the problem will be fixed. They even have the balls to tell me that they have no way of contacting their own collections department.

Another question that they couldn’t or wouldn’t answer: if I owed them money, why hasn’t anyone called or emailed me? Basically I’m living in Airbnb’s and unable to make reservations, which means that I will be homeless in a couple days. They didn’t care about hearing this.

I’m 54 years old and this is my very worst experience with a customer-based service. I always thought McDonald’s was the worst.

Airbnb Needs to Offer More for Bad Hosts

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Our flight was delayed two hours so we eventually rocked up near our Airbnb apartment in Amsterdam at 23:30, cold, wet, and tired. We were in apartment #79. We found #77 without a problem but that’s where the numbers stopped: in place of #79, there was a restaurant. Unsurprisingly they wouldn’t accommodate us but suggested #79 was in the opposite corner of the square (it wasn’t).

No worries. We called the host (who had been s%$t with his communication anyway). There was no answer via phone, Airbnb, Messenger, fax, carrier pigeon, or two cans with a bit of string tied between them. With the assistance of some very helpful locals we decided the property was one of two things: non-existent or well hidden.

S$%t happens but the real issue was Airbnb’s response. We obviously rang, waited the obligatory 15 minutes, and got the helpful “we’ll ring you back.” Waited. 00:45 (in a strange town, twenty minutes outside the centre). Waited. 01:05. Called again. “Case manager has gone home.” 01:30 called again: “Please help”; “A case manager will call you shortly.”

We gave up and dragged our luggage for another half hour to the nearest hotel we could find that would let us in. Hotels are not cheap at 2:00 in the morning.

We we were lucky. It was a nice town with nice people, and we were old enough to be unfazed. Imagine being young, scared and lost in a less convivial place. Airbnb needs to offer better security if their hosts let you down. A call back in the morning and a refund just isn’t good enough.

No Payouts for Airbnb Owner for Two Months

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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.

Never Received Payment from Airbnb

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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.

Unauthorized Charge; I Don’t Use Airbnb

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I had a $1258 charge show up on my debt card for Airbnb. I don’t have an account with them nor has this card ever been used for an Airbnb purchase. I contacted Airbnb support and got this response:

Thank you for your patience as we looked into your question about a suspected, unauthorized charge on your credit card. We understand your concerns, but please rest assured that a full and thorough investigation has been carried out on the disputed charge.

As outlined in the previous message by my colleague, a refund cannot be issued in cases in which we believe a friend or family member who has access to your payment method has used it unintentionally. Unfortunately, we’re unable to release any information regarding the reservation or the user accounts involved without a formal request, such as a subpoena, from a government agency or law enforcement. If a government agency or law enforcement contact us regarding this issue, Airbnb will fully cooperate with their requests.

We again recommend getting in touch with anyone you may have given your credit card details to in the past. Additionally, we would suggest contacting any friends or relatives who have an Airbnb account that you have traveled with on Airbnb previously—if you added your payment credentials on another account and decided to save these credentials for future use, this could be what caused the unexpected charge. Best, Conn.

Fitting the message was signed “Conn”. I’m livid and will not stop until this is corrected.

Somebody in Airbnb Development should be Fired

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I am three days into a four-month trip to Peru. This is with three reservations via Airbnb of one, one, and two months. For whatever reason (I entered a wrong password, am trying to sign-in from Peru, am using my new laptop) the Airbnb site is asking in a pop-up to send me a verification code.

It offers just two options: in a text message to my phone or in a call to my phone. My phone does not work in Peru so I have no way to receive the verification code. I have called the toll-free number a couple times now. The wait time has been short and the person on the other end appears to be trying to be helpful but today I was told it was given to a case worker and there were none available. BS?

I suggested there was a bug in the website in that it was only showing those two unworkable options. She said there was no bug. BS? I suggested that if that was by design that a traveler was required to carry a US-working phone with them when traveling (and there was no way for the help center to intervene) then that was a very bad design and that designer should be fired.

Everybody I’ve talked to in the help center seems to agree this is stupid but nobody can do anything about it. Airbnb needs to get some better developers.

No Hell until you’ve Dealt with Airbnb Customer Service

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You have not been to hell until you’ve dealt with Airbnb customer service. My ongoing nightmare began on November 18th, 2019. It was a dark and stormy night. In a brick brownstone in Portsmouth, I started my fight with Airbnb over the new Massachusetts short-term rental law.

Under the new law there are a few exemptions, one being about bed ‘n breakfast and timeshares. Bonus, right? Well, what I thought would be easy became very stressful in nature. I contacted their wonderful support team, mentioning that I am tax exempt under the short-term rental law and asking them to please make all of my timeshare listings a zero exemption.

Thinking the elves in the Airbnb workshop would work some magic on my behalf, I waited patiently for a response. Airbnb sent an email stating every rental owner is required to sign up. The next morning I called the government to verify, that I am indeed, tax exempt. “Yes, you’re tax exempt and just a heads up – we had many meetings with Airbnb and they’re required to have a drop down menu for tax exemptions on the site.”

Great news. I called Airbnb back to see what the customer service elves could do. The next email I got from Airbnb stated this was a voluntary law and you will see below, the actual response from the Regulations Department at Airbnb.

I work on a specialized team here at Airbnb. Thanks for reaching out about our collection and remittance of local transient taxes in Massachusetts. I understand you would like your listing to be exempt from taxes during reservations on our platform, because it is a timeshare.

As you are aware, Airbnb entered into a voluntary collection agreement with the local tax collector. We will be filing one tax return per jurisdiction, with the total combined reservation revenue. This means that all hosts located in your area will be represented by one remitted amount, and we will not be providing your personal information on the return. Regrettably, hosts at this time are unable to opt-out of automatic tax collection (collection & remittance feature).

For more information, please review our Help Center article. Your local tax office can share more information about the Voluntary Collection Agreement with Airbnb and how this process may affect your tax reporting and/or collection. For example, some areas request that hosts fill out worksheets indicating the amount that has been paid on their behalf. If you have additional questions regarding policies in your area, we recommend reaching out to a local tax professional or your local tax authority.

In short, I will say, to this day, I continue to fight for myself and the others out there who are suffering from Airbnb Hell.

Cancellation Due to Failure of Second Payment

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I want to make a complaint about my booking. The reservation was cancelled as the second payment failed. This experience and the service quality of Airbnb were disappointing. First, Airbnb didn’t try their best to contact me about the failure of my second payment. I did change the payment method but it seems that Airbnb was willing to see the failure happen and then ask to change the payment method instead.

Anyway, Airbnb didn’t do everything they could to contact us about any emergency. The only way they can is by sending email, no matter how serious the case it is. They should call you or send an SMS. Second, I do hope that Airbnb will show some pleasant customer service as they collect commission from us. However, they won’t admit they have flaws and only reply about their policy.

Airbnb didn’t help me with anything on my trip. As for agents, they won’t help you find an alternative solution. All you can do is to talk to the host or find hotels on other platforms.

I was hoping that Airbnb would have admitted that they had not tried their best to contact me and would refund or compensate me for my loss. This was a very naive thought. They are not real travel agents. They earn profits on your mistakes, carelessness and misfortune. They earn commissions by just providing a platform, not service.

All we need to know is to pay extra attention when using such a platform. They are irresponsible. Although there are many hosts doing great, many travelers have a terrible experience there. Airbnb won’t admit anything or improve upon it.

False Review and Guest’s Lies Lead to Listings Removed

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I have been the owner and host for two Airbnb properties for the past two years, garnering positive reviews and mostly problem-free until now. On October 17th, a young male guest (24-25) with positive reviews arrived. His booking was for three days. During this time he left messages about how much he liked everything about the property and extended his stay by one day.

Meanwhile, my maintenance man encountered him and after a brief interaction texted me with concern that he appeared to be on drugs or intoxicated: he acted “amped up” and paranoid. A day or two later he saw and talked with him again and confirmed the same behavior.

After the guest vacated the property my co-host entered to clean it. She found that one bedroom lampshade had been crushed, as if someone fell on it. She brought this to my and the guest’s attention and said that she would contact the Resolution Center to handle it, the standard procedure. Little did I know that my life was going to explode in all directions thanks to this $10 lampshade.

These Airbnb messages between my co-host and guest reveal why:

“I noticed that one of the lamp shades in the bedroom was broken. I talked to the owner of the property and she advised me to file a claim with Airbnb to be reimbursed for the cost of the matching lamp shades.”

“Feel free to. I’m actually filing a complaint for the peep hole I found in the shower. I’m sorry you feel that way. I discovered the peep hole on my last night of the stay. I did however report the suspicious behavior on the premises prior to that. Facts are facts. I was not intoxicated. All my reviews pre and post my stay here are stellar. You are running a dirty scam, invading others privacy. How dare you. You will not be receiving any money from me. In fact, I have taken this matter straight to Airbnb Corporate with evidence of your intrusive misuse of hosting this home. My hope is that they resolve this matter accordingly, stripping your right to host any more illegal activity, reimburse me for this invasion of my privacy, and follow through with the apology I deserve. Shame on you.”

“Peep hole, illegal activity and dirty scam” were then red flagged by the Airbnb computers. What a surprise to learn that I’m accused of this at age 71. No such things or activities are associated with me or on my properties as established by the positive comments he made after staying there four days. What I also didn’t know at that time is that my Airbnb listings had been immediately shut down so I would not have any future bookings, depriving me of these income sources.

Meanwhile an Airbnb investigator was assigned to me. In the eyes of her and Airbnb I was guilty until proven innocent. She lectured that I had broken the “trust” of Airbnb with my actions. She then gave me 72 hours to provide evidence that I didn’t have a peephole and that people were not walking around on the roof at night (the guest stated that he had heard noises like this, confirming my maintenance man’s assessment).

The roof is totally covered with solar panels; water lines and swamp coolers = dangerous tripping hazards at night. Yes, photographs were submitted as evidence. Also in question is why the guest waited two weeks before submitting a scathing and accusatory review on November 5th. I have also asked Airbnb what evidence the guest provided to support his accusations and told that this information could not be divulged to me. I doubt that he took photos of the peephole before he vacated.

The maintenance man videotaped and narrated a “tour of the bathroom walls” to prove there was no shower peephole. I then sent the videotape to Airbnb after confirming their email, Airbnb.com/help. The email was rejected with “incomplete address” every time. I was now calling Airbnb every day to speak someone who could give me additional support or updates.

I reached someone who was shocked to learn how this case had been mistreated for so many weeks (she had access to my original “ticket” and opened up another to better defend me). She commented that it was blatantly obvious that the guest was lying and fabricating stories and that I was being vilified unfairly. When asked why the video was rejected she said that videos are unacceptable because they may have a virus. Then the original agent said all forms of media are acceptable but I couldn’t send her the video. This had become a Kafka nightmare.

Every professional, honorable company provides standard protocols and procedures to follow for every type of action that may occur. Airbnb does not. At no time did Airbnb send a notification to alert and explain an impending investigation. This is a simple, professional courtesy. Airbnb never provided me with information as to what steps I would need to protect my rights during this investigation. Airbnb never provided information as to collecting specific evidence (recordings, videos, photos) or a timeline to furnish them. The investigators failed to provide this.

Airbnb never informed me that my Airbnb listings were removed and when. Airbnb has yet to inform me how I will recoup my lost booking income since my listings remain inactive. Will Airbnb ever apologize to me for all my lost current and future booking money while my investigation was underway? Will Airbnb ban this guest for eternity? All the evidence supports that I was intentionally maligned.