Cancellation appearing on my profile

Claire253
Level 1
Bristol, United Kingdom

Cancellation appearing on my profile

I've had an automated posting about a cancelation statin 'The host canceled this reservation 42 days before arrival. This is an automated posting.' in the reviews on my listing.

Whilst I did make the cancellation I did so on the guests behalf so I don't think it's fair that it is appearing in my reviews. Basically the guest didn't realise we had a dog, and although it is a hypoallergenic breed, one of the party is allergic and wasn't comfortable spending time in a flat where there was a dog.

As it was the guest who wanted to cancel, is there anyway of deleting this off my profile?

 

Claire

11 Replies 11
Cynthia-and-Chris1
Level 10
Vancouver, WA

Unfortunately you are learning the hard way about the PENALTIES for host-initiated cancellations - one of this is the automated review on your profile.  Click that link to see the other penalties.  Hosts should NEVER cancel a reservation, even at the guest's request.  Always instruct your guest to initiate the cancellation.  And if you receive an email from Airbnb saying your guest wants to cancel and asking if you accept or decline - always choose DECLINE, as this is a clever way for Airbnb to again put the penalty on the host.

 

Since you are new, you can try Contacting Airbnb to plead your case for an exception to this penalty.

You say contact AIrbnb to appeal but I do not think this is possible now.  The closest I could find from the instructions/suggestions in this discussion was an option to plead "mitigating circumstances" - eg you or your guest died!   If you genuinely know of a way to bring an issue to Airbnb's attention, please tell me!

 

In our case we had a guest book and when we were discussing his arrival details he decided that he no longer thought it would be convenient to stay with us this time but would come back to us should he need to in the future.  I replied saying sorry you won't be coming but hope to see you next time - it all seemed amicable at that stage and we heard no more about it until recently I noticed the automatic statement on our reviews and some warning in the notification messages saying we were at risk of something.

 

I am certain that we didn't cancel - why would we, we want guests and look forward to meeting new people!?

 

I am left considerably offended by this glitch and the fact that we seem unable to challenge it.   We've been with AIrbnb for more nearly two years and this is the first bad experience we've had but I feel we've been scammed by Airbnb.  The automated review says that we cancelled the reservation - this is simply not true!   I'd be grateful if anyone can help suggest how we may sort this out.

@Angela339  Did you happen to receive an email from Airbnb regarding this guest asking if you Approve or Decline their cancellation?  This is a sneaky tactic Airbnb uses in order to put the blame on the host instead of the guest.  If you do encounter this email, always decline it as it put the cancellation ownership on the guest.  I would Contact Airbnb and have them review your situation.

 would love to "contact airbnb" but it looks like Airbnb have disabled/mangled our ability to do so - as per my previous opening remarks!  I would be so grateful if you know how to do this!

 

So far I have followed the link you quote "Contact Airbnb":

https://community.airbnb.com/t5/Community-Help/Contact-Airbnb-A-Community-Help-Guide/m-p/16165/highl...

 

This takes me to a Guide which suggests we have to go through "Community Experts", which starts:

Step 1: Visit https://www.airbnb.ca/help/contact_us

 ... this takes me to a Help page titled "Contact your host" which is obviously the wrong page since the next step fails

Step 2: From the bottom of the screen, choose either "My question is about something else" or "I have a different issue"

 ... there is nothing like that on this page, which seems to be about travelling, not hostsing!

 

So we think that the "contact_us" link is broken - have I misunderstood anything up to this point?

 

PS - thanks very much for responding!

@Angela339  If you keep scrolling down, you'll see there's also information on contacting Airbnb via Twitter (usually get the fastest response) and a list of phone numbers to call them.  Give one of those two methods a shot.

We have found that message but can neither remember acting on it, so I assume(d) that Airbnb had enacted it for us automatically (the message gives you 24 hours to decline after which it is assumed you don't object!).

 

That kind-of scares me, given the ease with which ISPs are now classifying email as spam and rejecting it at the server if the sender details aren't valid (automated messages from web sites are infamous for having an invalid sender) ... I digress.

 

Anyway, I had another go at getting through the prompts in their web help pages and suddenly found myself in a live chat with an understanding lady who helped me out and gave me some positive advice. 🙂

 

Thank you  for your advice too, I was prepared to brave the telephone helpline if necessary but my hearing's not good and I find typing easier so gave the menus one more try.  Best wishes to you both.

@Angela339  Glad to help and that you got your problem solved! 🙂

David126
Level 10
Como, CO

@Claire253You can not cancel for a guest, a guest can cancel for a guest. In doing so you triggered various penalties including the review, contact AirBnb and see what they will do. Pleading ignorance has worked in the past.

 

David

is there a place to communicate to AirBnB in public vs just emailing them or a number I can call. I had a guest request a cancelation and from what I read and understood I could accept, decline or not do anything and AirBnB would cancel it on my behalf. I work hard to have the rep I have...its been great over the last month or so...I just started with this around mid Jan...I want to build a base and figured working with a guest would possibly have them consider me in the future vs never using me again or telling their friends not to either. BUT instead now my communication % has dropped and I am unable to hit Superhost come April 1st. NOT HAPPY AT ALL with how sly AirBnB is with this lack of communication in the email. if this continues I will go else where but I am hoping they will comminicate with me...as they have not replied to either email I have sent...vs remaining to be sly this way (this is how I feel they acting)...not professional at all as far as I am concerned!!! I read someone else who had the same issue and once they talked to someone on the phone things got fixed...but I cant find a number to call them on ... I am in Canada. ALSO it seems that this weekend was blocked from anyone else being able to book the weekend. I use this to help pay my mortgage...and now if I am not able to book enough to cover the rental I allowed to cancel I wont have the funds! I am on disability and this sure doesnt help with my stress level!!! ANYWAY any help would be greatly appriciated.

The contact details are listed in the sticky in this Community Help forum.

 

Your options were to cancel or continue with the booking.

 

If you cancel a guest rather than let them cancel no doubt they would be happy as they get all their money back and a bonus for the inconvenience. Not good however for you.

 

Not sure how you contacted them by email, there is no way I know of emailing them.

 

The usual suggestion is to snooze your listing and work out how AirBnb operates. You do not want to make expensive mistakes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

David
Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

@Cj11  You need to call Airbnb and see if you can straighten it out. If the guest asked you to cancel Airbnb will be able to see this through the messaging system. All the ways of contacting Airbnb are listed at the top of the Community Help forum or you can just Google the number. I am not sure how you emailed them as they don't have an email address.

 

Guests who cancel rarely book with a host again. Never cancel on behalf of a guest.

 

I would never rely on something like Airbnb to pay a mortgage - the income can be too variable. If you need a steady income you would be better renting out long term.

 

Don't worry about Superhost status - not terribly meaningful.

 

And remember new hosts get a boost so you will naturally get a drop in bookings when this boost expires.