Airbnb host referral program - who has been paid & who has been denied?

Question

Hey all, I'm looking for some ammo. I'm looking for hosts who have received a referral bonus, please tell me the dates & amounts if you are okay with that. If you've been denied, please tell me when & the reason Airbnb gave you for the denial.

Background story:

Airbnb continues to advertise the host referral program every day & everywhere. I just referred a host who went through all of the proper protocols & then was told at first, "this person is not eligible to become a host". False, they are an Airbnb host & now have 4 documented stays under their profile fully meeting the referral payout criteria.

Next, support told me they "temporarily discontinued" the referral program. They then sent me a link to the referral program terms of service.

I'm stubborn & can read, so I read the terms of service. It states that "Airbnb reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify the program at any time by POSTING AN UPDATE ON THIS PAGE. "I also see that the terms of service are dated January 22, 2020. Hence, I don't see any proof of them officially updating or discontinuing the program.

Andrew Millett · Answer

Hi Daniel! I just ran into a similar issue with AirBNB. I referred a host through a referral link I provided, and they created their listing and had multiple bookings. The issue, AirBNB claims, is that the host I referred, after creating his listing, made the mistake of connecting his new listing to a property management software, and because it is 'API connected', it renders the referral as ineligible for a payout. I spoke with multiple representatives and "supervisors", but they claim they don't have the ability to overturn their system's decision.

Ryan Moyer · Answer

I referred someone around last August I believe. A few months later I hadn't gotten the bonus, so I kept pestering them about it. They kept dodging the question, until eventually the bonus showed up in one of my payouts. It was grouped with a payout for a stay (IE I had a payout of $XXXX on whatever date, and I had to dig down to the itemized payout to see that $720 of that payout was the referral fee lumped in), so it wasn't immediately obvious I had gotten it.

Daniel Murphy · Answer

Would you be willing to check your referral page and let me know what it says?

Brooklyn McCarty · Answer

Referred someone a long time ago and honestly forgot about it until now. 😅 But I never got my referral fee either.

Daniel Murphy · Answer

Click on your picture in the upper right, then "refer a host" and you can see your progress. If someone used your referral code, you'll see progress there.
The funky part is that everything worked as you would expect.

My friend used my referral code, I saw him in the referral page. Then a progress bar as he created his listing & had his first stay. Then a "wait while we review" stage, and then suddenly "referral isn't eligible because this person is not eligible to be a host."

So by all indications, the system is advertised, functioning and has processes in place. But in my case (and many others), they then suddenly just deny the referral payout with zero proof. Only words.

Carolyn Fuller · Answer

Interesting... I referred someone and then never heard back. I just assumed my friend decided against being a host but now I wonder...

Trish Mccoy · Answer

Good for you. Airbnb always pulls funky crap like this. I wish I would help you.

Airbnb host referral program - who has been paid & who has been denied?

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