Air B&B host requesting deposit outside of air b and b system

Mistermeaner

hi, would appreciate peoples experiences.

Long story short booked a may half term stay at an air b and b for me and family. Paid for the rental at the air b and b price through air b and b no problems.

Listing did advise host would want extra fee for hot tub and security deposit a week before stay which is fine we have done similar before

host contacted me yesterday providing bank details asking for £600 to be transferred directly to him, £200 for hot tub £400 refundable for security desposit

I was surprised by this as have paid for extra through the air b&b platform in the past through the resolution centre

I queried this with host and he said he doesn't do it through air B&B as takes too long. I checked with air B&B customer service and they said not to pay him dircetly and that he shouldnt be asking for a security desposit. he asked me if we could discuss direct on the phone but i said no i wanted all comms on air b and b

Host threatened to cancel the booking, I refused to pay him directly, not that it matters really but he was very rude called me a few names and told me i am not getting the keys now, depsite having paid for everything through Air B&B

I've obviously escalated this with air b&b and theyre looking into it now but our holiday is planned for next week....

So we're now in situation of having paid in full to stay at property, host is saying he won't give us the keys and hasn't (yet) cancelled us. regardless really dont want to stay there now anyway given how host has behaved.

I'm sure we will get the money back eventually but dont want to book anything else until air b and b confirm that this will be the case, at the moment it is with their escalation team

Does anyone have any advice or similar experience

I am confident i did the right thing by not paying and escalating to air b and b but expect this may now take some time to resolve, but we have a holiday to take - i have enough cash to fund booking somewhere else but as stated dont want to until air b and b confirm i am geting my money back

If i cancel the booking i lose all the money so cant do that

Thanks

mebu60

I would have done the same as you. I would suggest asking Airbnb to expedite full refund asap in the circumstances given the host's malpractice so that you can make alternative arrangements at short notice. 

Mistermeaner

in case of interest to anyone air b and b got in touch, all monies refunded (or processed for refund anyway it will take up to 10 days to clear back into my account) and i have managed to book somewhere else.

would suggest anyone faced with the same dont pay any money directly or message outside of the air b and b system

it was probably nothing dodgy just someone trying to shortcut / circumvent the air b and b process whilst using the platform for advertising and exposure but better safe than sorry. Hopefully he will be de-listed by air b and b now

Bigphil1474

OP, you did right. I would say in defence of some hosts, Air BnB can be very slow in paying the money they have on to the hosts, and if they need it to pay the mortgage or other bills they have it can obviously cause them issues. They still shouldn't try and circumvent the platform though. 

Jemma01

Sounds like you would have paid twice if you paid him and have already paid the air BnB. He might be dodging the tax system or the air BnB fees.

twopenny

Yes these organisations take time to pay but you need to factor that in if you're selling something - and that's not reason to get nasty with a customer, it's hardly going to make the situation work........I think that's when I decided there was something fishy going on and I would be surprised if you saw that security deposit again.

You did well