Guest was able to book without paying

[Ben221]

I'm currently talking to Airbnb about what happened, but thought I'd drop a message here in case anyone has had experience with this before.

A guest checked in to my place on the 3rd and check out tomorrow (9th), and I haven't been paid yet.  I messaged Airbnb through their contact us form, and got no reply.  So I called yesterday, and they said my inquiry had been forwarded to payouts as it should have been paid already.  They said they'd call me back today, which they didn't, so I called back myself.  

This time they were cagey on details, but more or less said that they were contacting the guest to follow up on payment, as it hadn't gone through on their end.

This makes me wonder how a guest was able to confirm a booking without actually paying.  And does anyone know what happens if they refuse to pay, since they're due to check out tomorrow?  Do I just lose that income, or does Airbnb cover the loss?

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Ben221

Guests need to complete full payment to Airbnb for their reservation, in order for the reservation to be confirmed. Airbnb holds onto that money until check-in, and sends a payout notification letter titled "Payout of $00000 sent" the day after check-in. My chosen payout method is bank transfer and in my case, the money shows up in my account 3~5 days after recieving the payout notification e-mail. 

The payment methods are set up so that ALL money goes to/comes from Airbnb, there is no direct transfer of money from the guest to the host or vice versa. 

I hope you are able to resolve this quickly and recieve payment. Next time, after a guest checks-in, if you don't get the payout notification email the next day, contact Airbnb immediately instead of waiting and always make sure you check your "transaction history" the day after a new guest checks-in. 

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/425/when-will-i-get-my-payout?topic=234