05/08/2026
PART 2 of my Airbnb drama from yesterday… 😅
So after getting woken up at 3 AM, being told the guest was leaving, and then receiving an email saying Airbnb would “pay me in full,” imagine my surprise when I realized they only meant paying me for the ONE night the guest stayed — not the full seven-night reservation she booked.
And honestly, that did not sit right with me.
I didn’t break any rules. I followed the procedures I was supposed to follow as a host. The guest booked a full week and then because of one tiny bug — which, by the way, could’ve literally come in on her own suitcase for all anyone knows — the reservation was just canceled like that.
What frustrated me most was that Airbnb’s own policies and procedures were not followed. Guests are supposed to communicate with the host and allow the host the opportunity to correct issues. She did send me a picture of a tiny bug, but then instead of continuing communication with me, she called Airbnb and reported that the toilet wasn’t working. That was the first time I even heard about a toilet issue — during a 3 AM phone call from Airbnb.
When they asked if I could get there immediately, I explained I was an hour away and could be there first thing in the morning, which was only about 5–6 hours away. At that point they basically told me, “Well, since she doesn’t have a working toilet, we’re going to refund her.”
I spoke with THREE different Airbnb representatives who all kept telling me the same thing:
“The decision has been made. The case is closed.”
But I knew something about this wasn’t right.
So I pushed back.
I asked for the case to be escalated. One representative even told me:
“You can escalate it, but you’re going to get the same result.”
And you know what? I escalated it anyway.
Thankfully, I finally reached someone higher up who actually reviewed what happened and admitted that Airbnb had mishandled the situation and that their own policies and procedures had not been followed correctly. They apologized and agreed to pay me for the full seven-night reservation.
And honestly? That changed everything for me.
Because we’ve ALL had situations in life where we followed the rules, did what we were supposed to do, and still got completely screwed over. It’s frustrating. It makes you lose faith in companies and systems you normally trust.
But Airbnb owned the mistake.
They admitted they were wrong.
And they made it right.
That meant a lot to me.
So this is your reminder not to immediately give up if you truly believe something wasn’t handled correctly. Be respectful. Be calm. But advocate for yourself. If I had just accepted the first answer, I would’ve lost six nights of revenue for absolutely no reason.
But in the end, it made me love Airbnb even more.
