Post by High Priestess on Oct 17, 2015 16:23:10 GMT
Ann shared Oct 16 2015
Extortion attempt by guest
Hi,
I just started with Airbnb, and this forum has been really helpful.
We own two cottages across a courtyard from each other in Savannah's historic district. It offers us the chance to rent them together or separately. Most guests have been really nice, and I've welcomed their input about details that could be improved.
I did get dinged on one review for "accuracy" (pretty sure he didn't read the info that explained we are a 10-15 minute walk from River Street and other popular attractions) but I'll get over it.
But here's my question: Does using instant booking really drive up the number of reservations significantly? I am thinking I would rather screen the guests well, even if it drives down the number of reservations.
I ask because I had a guest who left yesterday who booked through IB, then asked in her first message to be comped because she is a blogger. She said she would write nice things about my place if I let her stay for free. Of course I politely declined to give her free nights, and yes, my alarm bells were going off. I checked with her through Airbnb messaging partway through the stay, and she said everything was great. Then, on the morning of checkout, she called me directly, and angrily said, "You have fleas."
Then she dragged out checkout for over an hour past checkout time (if the fleas were so bad, why linger?). Weird.
Now, it's within the realm of possibility that there could be fleas. No matter how carefully you clean in a pet-friendly place, stuff can happen. And we have had an incredibly rainy summer here, which makes the fleas breed like, well...fleas.
She finally left and when I went inside, I couldn't find any evidence of fleas. I looked very carefully in the location where she said they were "everywhere," -- nothing. But I set off foggers, just to be on the safe side.
She called me again an hour or so later and asked to get back into the house to use the restroom. It was awkward because I was right there in the garden and she was on the other side of the gate where her car was still parked, so we could hear each other. I told her the cottage she had stayed in was off limits due to the foggers, but allowed her to use the restroom in the other cottage.
And of course she asked again to be comped, and told me again that she would write nice things about the place if I did. I nicely declined, but of course was thinking, "Grrrr..." Yes, I think she made up the flea thing to get a refund.
Lesson learned. Haven't seen the review yet...
Would love to hear the pros/cons of IB from people more experienced than me. I don't want to lose potential guests, but would like to somehow screen out folks who are trouble from the get-go.
Oh, and any insights you might have on my listings, please let me know.
Thanks,
Ann
Deborah
I am new too, but I am thinking you may want to contact Airbnb. There is a policy against extortion.
Rhonda
Thank you Deborah. Airbnb specifically sent me an email regarding threatening to post reviews with the intention of receiving refunds are true extortion. I was totally grateful for their advice; was told to cease communication with the guest and they will red-flag her and not allow her review to be posted. Which did happen. This case was a one night stand where her desire was to snorkel, apparently she felt she could not swim in the rain and accused my house of smelling of cigarette smoke which was her reason for choosing not to stay upon arrival. I offered her a 100% refund as I did not want my other guests to awaken to her unhappy behavior or share my food with such an ungrateful and untrue complaint. She refused to respond to my offer of refund and insisted I refund her through Paypal which I do not use. I received the reservation payment through Airbnb, luckily she did not stay, and all worked out splendidly. She was also unable to leave a review since it was her choice to not stay.
Ann
Thanks, Deborah,
I thought about that from the get-go, but she had already booked and I said no to the freebie, and she seemed okay (sort of like "never hurts to try..."). She touted herself as being a seasoned Airbnb user, but only has two reviews. Lesson learned, though. As I have learned, the ones who display high maintenance behavior usually turn out to be a problem. I did mention it on the part of the review that is only shared with Airbnb. Let's see what she says in her review. She left the house spotless, so that was a plus. Sigh.
Deborah
I think I would contact them before she has a chance to post a review.
Antonio
Document the dialogue on the site.
Even if she voiced it personally. Summarize and respond via the app or site. This way Airbnb has the dialogue and it gives you evidence.
Even when I see my guests often during their stay I send a note via the app or website to check in. I usually get a response on how great the space is and that they love it. This way if someone is trying to angel for a discount you have their initial response. Always respond and communicate via the site.
I had a guest say I had spiders. I kept responding via the app and she laid off. I never found spiders and all my past and guest since have not experienced any spiders. In short:
Check in with your guests via the site to see how things are going after check in.
If they ask something in person or have a concern on something, always follow up with a communication via the site to document you have heard their concern and addressed it.
When I did this with my spider women she stopped communicating on the app. but I kept documenting in case she complained later.
Ann
Thanks, I just did.
Ed & Hugh
Report the extortion attempt immediately. Be sure to report the extortion attempt in your review.
Ann
I've just reported it.
Ann
And I revised her review to reflect what happened. Hard to do that without sounding defensive (especially about the flea thing) but I'd rather give other hosts a heads-up. She posted photos of the property and glowing comments on the FB page connected to her blog.
Raymond & Elaine (elaine)
B E A U T I F U L. Just one thing I noticed. Refunds don't neccessarily depend on "10. HURRICANE OR STORM POLICY - No refunds will be given unless the National Weather Service orders a mandatory evacuation of Savannah." Airbnb could agree to a refund under their own 'exceptional circumstances" policy. One of your properties is on IB so check out other hosts' good and bad experiences with this on other threads as you are so new to hosting and it's an entire house.
Ann
Thank you. Here's why the IB is only activated on one listing: we have a long term rental in the back cottage for a few months, so the whole property isn't available until after the holidays. And thank you for telling me about house rule #10. My brother has two VRBO houses on the gulf coast of Florida, and he suggested I add that language. I need to re-read Airbnb's extenuating circumstances policy again anyway, and this is a good time to do it.
C C (CC)
Been there, done that. Guest stays 2 solid weeks, says fleas, wants all $ back. Airbnb loves to give their $ away, but not CC. I said NO. They got refunded anyway. What would keep any & every guest from saying, there weren't any steak knives--I want my $ back. The bed I slept in 3 nights was too hard, I want my $ back. I stayed in a room other than the one I thought I booked, I want my $ back. En oh.
Bekah and Brian
Ann, I live and host in a Southern Destination City, too and we're in a historic district AND we're about a 15 minute walk from the city's main attraction (this is to say: we have a lot of hosty things in common) and nothing on this earth could make me turn on Instant Book HOWEVER yes, you're supposed to get a bump in the search results by having it.
To me, it's not worth it. I need to screen my guests individually so I can sleep at night.
Raymond & Elaine (elaine)
B&B ; The only reason using ib gives you a bump in search results is because it increases your response rate. If you don't have ib but reply to any request quickly it will have the same effect . See blog.airbnb.com/how-search-makes-the-best-matches/ Your response rate and response time can impact how your listing appears in search, because they show how attentive you are to the requests you receive. The more consistently you respond to guests within 24 hours by accepting, declining, or sending a message, the better your listing can do in search. That’s why it’s better to decline a request or inquiry than to allow it to expire. If you have Instant Book turned on, your response rate will go up and your response time will go down. So by allowing guests to book immediately, you can make your listing more visible in search results.
Bekah and Brian
Hmmm...well that's good news because I always respond within minutes. However my lack of approving or declining inquiries is the only thing to which I can attribute my drop in the general search results.
Ann
Hi, Bekah and Brian,
I love your city. In fact, last time we were there (January) we stayed in your neighborhood. I will be sure to keep you in mind for next time.
Yes, I've decided to just turn off Instant Book. The visit I described just rankles, and (at her urging) I looked at her blog and its FB page, where she went on and and on about how fantastic the house was...no mention of six-legged biting critters. It's a learning curve, for sure. I had to laugh, though, because she does a food blog, and they hit every single tourist trap dining spot in town. Nice folks are arriving tonight, and next week, though. It really is true with Airbnb, as in life, that high maintenance people often show their colors from the get-go.
Thanks, everyone, for the support. I really do like honest feedback, but this guest pushed all my buttons.
Ann
I just heard back from Airbnb. They took down the reviews and flagged her under their extortion policy.
Raymond & Elaine (elaine)
What a relief for you, so glad it as all worked out so well.
Rhonda
Congrats!!! I totally love it when Airbnb sticks up for us hosts and am SO happy they did for you. Now you can carry on with your head held high and forget this little nasty right quick!
Bekah and Brian (beeandbee)
Terrific! I'm glad they came through for you.
Deborah (High Priestess)
I also had the very same thing -- two guests, a couple young women who were friends, staying at the same time, in two different rooms, who INSISTED that BOTH their rooms were full of fleas. It was ridiculous, because: (1) I don't have pets and do not allow pets in my house. No animals have been in my house for 10 years, since I bought the house. (2)The guests staying in these rooms BEFORE these two wacky ladies, did not mention anything about fleas or bites. (3) I did not do any extra cleaning or fogging for fleas after the wacky scamming gals left, (4) The guests staying in the same rooms AFTER these deluded ladies, did not say anything about fleas or bites.
The two women INSISTED on getting their money back. I did not give them a full refund, but I ended up giving each a "slight" refund, approximately the amount of a large cleaning fee, and that only because I was not actually at my house for most of the time when these women were there -- the day after they arrived, I went on vacation, and only returned on the day they were to leave. So I was unable to look into their complaints as soon as they arose.
Which just went to prove my theory that it's only when hosts try to go on vacation that everything falls apart.
Glad to year that you got the review removed. From what you describe, this woman did sound like a scammer. As CC mentioned, any guest can make up any fictional tale about what they aren't getting or what is missing, the inadequacies of the bed, or what type of vermin are crawling all over the place. Airbnb needs to have a way to sort out the baldfaced lies.
See Airbnb's extortion policy here:
www.airbnb.com/help/article/548/extortion-policy
Extortion attempt by guest
Hi,
I just started with Airbnb, and this forum has been really helpful.
We own two cottages across a courtyard from each other in Savannah's historic district. It offers us the chance to rent them together or separately. Most guests have been really nice, and I've welcomed their input about details that could be improved.
I did get dinged on one review for "accuracy" (pretty sure he didn't read the info that explained we are a 10-15 minute walk from River Street and other popular attractions) but I'll get over it.
But here's my question: Does using instant booking really drive up the number of reservations significantly? I am thinking I would rather screen the guests well, even if it drives down the number of reservations.
I ask because I had a guest who left yesterday who booked through IB, then asked in her first message to be comped because she is a blogger. She said she would write nice things about my place if I let her stay for free. Of course I politely declined to give her free nights, and yes, my alarm bells were going off. I checked with her through Airbnb messaging partway through the stay, and she said everything was great. Then, on the morning of checkout, she called me directly, and angrily said, "You have fleas."
Then she dragged out checkout for over an hour past checkout time (if the fleas were so bad, why linger?). Weird.
Now, it's within the realm of possibility that there could be fleas. No matter how carefully you clean in a pet-friendly place, stuff can happen. And we have had an incredibly rainy summer here, which makes the fleas breed like, well...fleas.
She finally left and when I went inside, I couldn't find any evidence of fleas. I looked very carefully in the location where she said they were "everywhere," -- nothing. But I set off foggers, just to be on the safe side.
She called me again an hour or so later and asked to get back into the house to use the restroom. It was awkward because I was right there in the garden and she was on the other side of the gate where her car was still parked, so we could hear each other. I told her the cottage she had stayed in was off limits due to the foggers, but allowed her to use the restroom in the other cottage.
And of course she asked again to be comped, and told me again that she would write nice things about the place if I did. I nicely declined, but of course was thinking, "Grrrr..." Yes, I think she made up the flea thing to get a refund.
Lesson learned. Haven't seen the review yet...
Would love to hear the pros/cons of IB from people more experienced than me. I don't want to lose potential guests, but would like to somehow screen out folks who are trouble from the get-go.
Oh, and any insights you might have on my listings, please let me know.
Thanks,
Ann
Deborah
I am new too, but I am thinking you may want to contact Airbnb. There is a policy against extortion.
Rhonda
Thank you Deborah. Airbnb specifically sent me an email regarding threatening to post reviews with the intention of receiving refunds are true extortion. I was totally grateful for their advice; was told to cease communication with the guest and they will red-flag her and not allow her review to be posted. Which did happen. This case was a one night stand where her desire was to snorkel, apparently she felt she could not swim in the rain and accused my house of smelling of cigarette smoke which was her reason for choosing not to stay upon arrival. I offered her a 100% refund as I did not want my other guests to awaken to her unhappy behavior or share my food with such an ungrateful and untrue complaint. She refused to respond to my offer of refund and insisted I refund her through Paypal which I do not use. I received the reservation payment through Airbnb, luckily she did not stay, and all worked out splendidly. She was also unable to leave a review since it was her choice to not stay.
Ann
Thanks, Deborah,
I thought about that from the get-go, but she had already booked and I said no to the freebie, and she seemed okay (sort of like "never hurts to try..."). She touted herself as being a seasoned Airbnb user, but only has two reviews. Lesson learned, though. As I have learned, the ones who display high maintenance behavior usually turn out to be a problem. I did mention it on the part of the review that is only shared with Airbnb. Let's see what she says in her review. She left the house spotless, so that was a plus. Sigh.
Deborah
I think I would contact them before she has a chance to post a review.
Antonio
Document the dialogue on the site.
Even if she voiced it personally. Summarize and respond via the app or site. This way Airbnb has the dialogue and it gives you evidence.
Even when I see my guests often during their stay I send a note via the app or website to check in. I usually get a response on how great the space is and that they love it. This way if someone is trying to angel for a discount you have their initial response. Always respond and communicate via the site.
I had a guest say I had spiders. I kept responding via the app and she laid off. I never found spiders and all my past and guest since have not experienced any spiders. In short:
Check in with your guests via the site to see how things are going after check in.
If they ask something in person or have a concern on something, always follow up with a communication via the site to document you have heard their concern and addressed it.
When I did this with my spider women she stopped communicating on the app. but I kept documenting in case she complained later.
Ann
Thanks, I just did.
Ed & Hugh
Report the extortion attempt immediately. Be sure to report the extortion attempt in your review.
Ann
I've just reported it.
Ann
And I revised her review to reflect what happened. Hard to do that without sounding defensive (especially about the flea thing) but I'd rather give other hosts a heads-up. She posted photos of the property and glowing comments on the FB page connected to her blog.
Raymond & Elaine (elaine)
B E A U T I F U L. Just one thing I noticed. Refunds don't neccessarily depend on "10. HURRICANE OR STORM POLICY - No refunds will be given unless the National Weather Service orders a mandatory evacuation of Savannah." Airbnb could agree to a refund under their own 'exceptional circumstances" policy. One of your properties is on IB so check out other hosts' good and bad experiences with this on other threads as you are so new to hosting and it's an entire house.
Ann
Thank you. Here's why the IB is only activated on one listing: we have a long term rental in the back cottage for a few months, so the whole property isn't available until after the holidays. And thank you for telling me about house rule #10. My brother has two VRBO houses on the gulf coast of Florida, and he suggested I add that language. I need to re-read Airbnb's extenuating circumstances policy again anyway, and this is a good time to do it.
C C (CC)
Been there, done that. Guest stays 2 solid weeks, says fleas, wants all $ back. Airbnb loves to give their $ away, but not CC. I said NO. They got refunded anyway. What would keep any & every guest from saying, there weren't any steak knives--I want my $ back. The bed I slept in 3 nights was too hard, I want my $ back. I stayed in a room other than the one I thought I booked, I want my $ back. En oh.
Bekah and Brian
Ann, I live and host in a Southern Destination City, too and we're in a historic district AND we're about a 15 minute walk from the city's main attraction (this is to say: we have a lot of hosty things in common) and nothing on this earth could make me turn on Instant Book HOWEVER yes, you're supposed to get a bump in the search results by having it.
To me, it's not worth it. I need to screen my guests individually so I can sleep at night.
Raymond & Elaine (elaine)
B&B ; The only reason using ib gives you a bump in search results is because it increases your response rate. If you don't have ib but reply to any request quickly it will have the same effect . See blog.airbnb.com/how-search-makes-the-best-matches/ Your response rate and response time can impact how your listing appears in search, because they show how attentive you are to the requests you receive. The more consistently you respond to guests within 24 hours by accepting, declining, or sending a message, the better your listing can do in search. That’s why it’s better to decline a request or inquiry than to allow it to expire. If you have Instant Book turned on, your response rate will go up and your response time will go down. So by allowing guests to book immediately, you can make your listing more visible in search results.
Bekah and Brian
Hmmm...well that's good news because I always respond within minutes. However my lack of approving or declining inquiries is the only thing to which I can attribute my drop in the general search results.
Ann
Hi, Bekah and Brian,
I love your city. In fact, last time we were there (January) we stayed in your neighborhood. I will be sure to keep you in mind for next time.
Yes, I've decided to just turn off Instant Book. The visit I described just rankles, and (at her urging) I looked at her blog and its FB page, where she went on and and on about how fantastic the house was...no mention of six-legged biting critters. It's a learning curve, for sure. I had to laugh, though, because she does a food blog, and they hit every single tourist trap dining spot in town. Nice folks are arriving tonight, and next week, though. It really is true with Airbnb, as in life, that high maintenance people often show their colors from the get-go.
Thanks, everyone, for the support. I really do like honest feedback, but this guest pushed all my buttons.
Ann
I just heard back from Airbnb. They took down the reviews and flagged her under their extortion policy.
Raymond & Elaine (elaine)
What a relief for you, so glad it as all worked out so well.
Rhonda
Congrats!!! I totally love it when Airbnb sticks up for us hosts and am SO happy they did for you. Now you can carry on with your head held high and forget this little nasty right quick!
Bekah and Brian (beeandbee)
Terrific! I'm glad they came through for you.
Deborah (High Priestess)
I also had the very same thing -- two guests, a couple young women who were friends, staying at the same time, in two different rooms, who INSISTED that BOTH their rooms were full of fleas. It was ridiculous, because: (1) I don't have pets and do not allow pets in my house. No animals have been in my house for 10 years, since I bought the house. (2)The guests staying in these rooms BEFORE these two wacky ladies, did not mention anything about fleas or bites. (3) I did not do any extra cleaning or fogging for fleas after the wacky scamming gals left, (4) The guests staying in the same rooms AFTER these deluded ladies, did not say anything about fleas or bites.
The two women INSISTED on getting their money back. I did not give them a full refund, but I ended up giving each a "slight" refund, approximately the amount of a large cleaning fee, and that only because I was not actually at my house for most of the time when these women were there -- the day after they arrived, I went on vacation, and only returned on the day they were to leave. So I was unable to look into their complaints as soon as they arose.
Which just went to prove my theory that it's only when hosts try to go on vacation that everything falls apart.
Glad to year that you got the review removed. From what you describe, this woman did sound like a scammer. As CC mentioned, any guest can make up any fictional tale about what they aren't getting or what is missing, the inadequacies of the bed, or what type of vermin are crawling all over the place. Airbnb needs to have a way to sort out the baldfaced lies.
See Airbnb's extortion policy here:
www.airbnb.com/help/article/548/extortion-policy