All Forum Posts by: Kevin Lefeuvre

I do not trust airbnb's ID verification. I can tell it's just BS for having tested it. It's AI tech, no human verification. 

Moreover, when there is an issue they neither provide that info to you nor do they support you. I had read about airbnb taking the guest's side most often, but had to notice it bitterly in a recent case.

Having the guest's ID in hand will just make the guest more responsible. IMHO.

 I like it. Thanks Julie for sharing. I am sure this helps.

I have been asking for photo ID, it's written in House Rules, listing, everywhere... and when they refuse, I let them cancel within 24 hours with no penalty.

In a recent case, the guest complained to Airbnb, who backed them and after a few back n forth, here's what Airbnb wrote to me:

The request for a copy of ID is something that you require from guests but is not supported by Airbnb and will not be enforced. It is a prohibited activity listed in Airbnb's Terms of Service. If you choose to uphold this requirement on your listing please note, that if you elect to refuse a guest entry because they did not provide a physical ID it will be your responsibility to cancel the reservation. In these cases, all cancellation penalties will apply and your calendar will remain blocked. The reservation with xxx is a one time courtesy where penalties will be waived as I have provided information of our Terms of Service.

Who else is requiring ID ? What are the challenges you face doing so?

Question for experienced STR hosts: If you are a super-host on airbnb and a Premier Partner on VRBO, you certainly hate 4 star reviews like me. When there is an issue, you proactively communicate with the guest to avoid a negative review, that I am sure you all do.

But when all is good, from time to time, there is someone who just thinks your place deserved 4 not 5 stars and breaks your track record which ultimately could cost you your status and ranking. 

In the few cases of 4 stars I have received in the past couple years, there is absolutely no negative comment in the review, all positive and fantastic, worse they even want to come back (not me, lol) and then they rate 4 stars. When you asked them why 4 and not 5, they reply something in the lines: "4 is not bad, all was good... I maybe able to change it if it's  a big deal..."... and of course it's too late to explain.

Do you guys ask them for a good review before they leave? If so how do you articulate your request to avoid the reverse effect?

John I do like the advance payment and there are things that I like better with VRBO, that's why I am still with them.
Amazing coincidence today: Received a call from a VRBO rep to go over my listings and help improve the listings!! Wow. First call of this type initiated from VRBO after several years. He said they started calling Premier Partners this year. He was very nice and tried to give some tips on my listings (none that I was not aware or not applying, but still very nice). So Premier Partners have a dedicated customer support line and a dedicated rep. Cool. 

I did bring up this matter of course and he obviously didn't have much to say other than learning how other platforms handle this and that he'll report internally. 

 Yes Wendy cancellations is another example. 99% of time we are in agreement, but again it's the process which is unusual. You don't explicitly refund, instead, VRBO recaptures by their own. I don't want to make another comparison to airbnb or any other platform, but in any business, it should be up to you to trigger the refund, not someone else having their hands into your cash register.

 Consent? Sure? How did you give your consent? 

Thanks for the confirmation John: Yes they do send a notification email which does not require your approval. Even if you are available to call them immediately in case you disagree, they can't stop the process of recapturing when it's initiated, all they can do is to refund back, (takes a few days also), which they have done so far with no problem. Yet the process is incredibly shocking to have withdrawal power on our bank accounts. 

Sorry to read about the bad experiences. I have not been lucky either recently with some bad guests despite my strict screening at booking. Maybe VR has become mainstream and we'll have more of this, but that's another subject.

 Could be anything.

Just out of the blue they recaptured $300 and put it back after I called them. They apologized!
In another case where I have a $1000 security deposit. On a guest, in agreement with the guest, I retain $300 out of the $1000. So they have to deposit in $300. Instead, mistakenly they deposit $1000 and one day later they recapture $700.
Again I have not had any money taken away that they had not refunded back , and yes it's rare, but it's the principle of having them access to my bank account to recapture money at will which is unacceptable.