Super Host Suspended - No reason given - 4 listings impacted

[Andrea6785]

We have been a super host consistently for 3 years.  We have returning guests. This morning I went online to update our calendars and found that we were suspended.  I called the Superhost line and they had no information.  About an hour later we received a message from the Airbnb Safety team stating our account was suspended, but NO reason was provided.  The message went on to say that they could cancel all of our reservations.  I called support again and they could not give me a reason and simply stated that someone from Safety would contact me.   We have 4 listings and they suspended all 4. 

 We had a guest last week that Airbnb canceled the reservation, with no penalties to us.  The guest made false claims about the property.  It took several conversations with support and hours of our time to get the issue resolved and closed - and as I stated the reservation was  canceled by Airbnb without penalty to us.  Without any explanation from Airbnb we can only guess that the suspension of all 4 listings is related to this guest.  

Any help will be appreciated.  We are coming into the time when guests begin booking for the Phoenix season.  It is so disheartening to work so hard and have no control over what Airbnb can do to your business.  

[Andrea6785]

Update:  Airbnb finally gave me a reason,  with zero details.  They said a recent, previous guest claimed they experienced "inappropriate language".  So evidently anyone can make an invalid claim against you and Airbnb will shut you down before investigating.  How it is possible to have Super Host status,  all recent reviews have been positive and be accused of inappropriate language from a recent guest is beyond me.  In almost all of our reviews the guest talk about how nice my husband and I are.   This is so upsetting. 

[Andrea6785 · Accepted solution]

Update - Airbnb lifted the suspension -  BUT,  I was given "in full transparency" a warning that if it ever happens again they will remove my listings.  It would be nice to know what it is we are accused of beyond "inappropriate language".  With the exception of the guest who made false claims about the property and Airbnb canceled the reservation with no penalty against us -  we are at a loss as to what we were accused of.  "Full transparency" evidently means for them to know,  not the host.   Nonetheless,  it appears to be over for now.  It was all very very stressful.  

[Inta3]

I always find it a bit concerning when Airbnb quickly suspends a host without fully ascertaining or asking the host for information.  It feels like there is little attempt to make a good-faith effort to evaluate facts.  But what is very difficult to swallow is the lack of specific examples or information that the platform gives the host.  I have read of several hosts being suspended and it take them days, if not weeks, to get a discussion with facts being presented (and sometimes, such as this thread, there are zero specifics given).  Knowing how many hosts rely on bookings to make month-to-month payments to vendors or services, this has a disruptive ripple effect. 

[Andrea6785]

I agree with you 100%.  I feel fortunate that this was resolved relatively quickly compared to other posts I've read.  One never knows how many bookings and $ are lost when your listings are taken down.

[Andrea6785]

Well I thought it was over -  today Airbnb, after closing the case and releasing the suspension sent a new message stating they were only paying us for a small portion of the guests stay - in other words they took almost $2000 out of our account.  

To top it off, the guest will still be able to leave a review - and it was the guest that tried one excuse after another in an attempt to obtain a refund.  After losing to two false acquisitions she move to accusing us of "inappropriate language".   So you know we will be getting all "1s".  

Airbnb needs to do a better job of protecting its hosts and stop penalizing its hosts from false acquisitions. 

[Zheng49]

It is unfortunate that this happened to you. I also encounter guests like this who will try every single trick in the book to try to get their refund. If they try hard enough they can get their refund and we're powerless to stop them.  

[Thomas1382]

I have been a super host for 5 years with nearly 600 perfect reviews on my listings. I am experiencing this as we speak. I had a 19 year old request to book. I typically have an age restriction but he had many stellar reviews so I gave him a chance. The moment of check in I saw on my ring they were attempting to hide a third guest. We charge an extra fee for such. I asked him to please update the reservation, but did not hear back from him. Upon reviewing the video feed the following day I saw what appeared to be an even younger person accompanying the 19 year old dragging some bed sheets across the dirty ground outside. I then as per my terms in house rules terminated the reservation. I saw the car leave from my video feed and a staff member of the management company I use was in the area. When she arrived one person a female was still on the property. We asked her politely to leave and gather her things. She began to argue and my staff to avoid escalation went to sit in her car. The police were called and in the interm the guest baricaded herself in the home saying she had no where to stay. She disabled my digital locks with water. I asked the person on staff to record the interaction if she had the ability to safely do so. When she finally got inside the property she was pushed to the ground. She sent over recording of the guest slamming my doors and threatening her life. The primary booker got his girlfriend to finally leave as he was at work during the incident. After I submitted a resolution center request for damages in retaliation the guest appears to have claimed she was assaulted and suffered injuries. The videos I have the guest has zero injuries, and this is clearly a false claim. My account has been suspended upon review and zero support specialists are able to help me with information during review... how can one malicious person have the power to do this ?

[Mar125]

@Andrea6785 

what language did you use that led to the “inappropriate” call? 

was it violent, sexually offensive, or cursing? 

[Andrea6785]

I have no idea -  neither my husband or I use any violent, sexually offensive or curse words - so what the guest claims we said is a mystery because Airbnb will not tell us.  Airbnb simply said "inappropriate" .  And they did not say if it was a call (we rarely speak to guests by phone) or if it was a text or in person.  We rarely see our guests in person and most communication is through Airbnb - so its all a mystery as to who we are accused of saying something to.  

[Yon663]

Hello!  My wife is a superhost and I am her CoHost.  We are having a similar issue.  My wife's account has been suspended.  We have not been told why.  Everytime we call, we are told the matter will be sent to a "specialized team" and we will get a call back.  We never get a call back, but we get an email that says that no change will be made at this time and the account will remain restricted.  We have called multiple times over the last 4 days.  Same reference to a "specialized team". Same email.  No call back.  No opportunity to plead our case.  Is there anything you did that helped?

[Lorina14]

Hi @Yon663,

I’ve heard similar stories about this happening and not being able to find out. I would have thought that being a superhost with the superhost dedicated line they would assist you more promptly. 

I will ask the community host managers @Bhumika @Paula @Rebecca can you please help him with flagging his concern to the correct team to be addressed?  Thank you!

[Bhumika]

Hi @Lorina14 , Thank you for tagging us.

Hi @Yon663 , I am really sorry to hear about the listings. Did you happen to encounter any situation with guest? There is an article that might help to give some brief about : What happens if a listing is suspended or removed under ground rules for Hosts? 

From your comment, it does seem like the Support team would be looking into the situation already, but I will make sure to share your concerns with them as well. 

[Charlotte1358]

Dear @Yon663 - I hope you don't mind me reaching out to you. I am in a similar situation.

I have done airbnb previously for a non hosted apartment and for the last month or so I have hosted my top floor room in my home. All was going well until this week when I have a guest who was breaking house rules despite asking her politely not too and wanting to change check in check out times which I was uncomfortable with because she was not respecting my home.

I was not being fussy, most guests break a few rules and a few things happen and I just ignore it and move on - people make mistakes. I just felt very uncomfortable with this guest.

When I declined her request for a late check out I now have a suspended listing for 4 days and airbnb say a specialised team will respond. No one has responded and no issues are on my listing page so I do not know what to resolve.

The listing isnt 'amazing', but I price accordingly and make sure everything is honest in the listing. 

I would like assistance to know how I resolve the issue...I have been reading all the Airbnb terms and guides and updating my listing in case it's an issue there.

thank you in advance for any assistance.

Charlotte