I love Airbnb. Whenever I visit a new area, I try to stay at an Airbnb. However, once in a while, I face one problem quite often. Airbnb host does not respond to questions. One time, I went to my Airbnb rental, but there was no host, no house key, nothing. On top of that, the host was not responding at all. That was a very frustrating situation.
However, During all these years, I found a straightforward technique to resolve this problem. If Airbnb host does not respond to your request, immediately contact Airbnb support center for further assistance. Airbnb support center people are amazing.
Pre-Booking Host Not Responding:
You can contact any host before reserving an Airbnb. Hosts have 24 hours to respond without getting penalized from Airbnb. According to the Airbnb superhost policy, A superhost will lose his status if his/her response rate drops below 90%. It means that the superhost failed to respond to a guest inquiry within 24 hours. So, wait at least 24 hours for your host reply. If the host does not respond, then move to the next Airbnb property for reservation.
If you sent an Airbnb booking request, but the host has not responded within 24 hours to your reservation request, it means the host is not interested in you. In this case, you should move on to reserve alternative Airbnb rentals.
After Booking But Pre-Checkin Host Not Responding:
If you already booked a place, but the host is not responding to your questions, give the host enough time to respond. Most hosts are great people and do care about their ratings. Many hosts have regular jobs too. They could be busy, but when they become free, they will reply to your query.
Unexpected incidents happen to all of us. The host must have a legitimate reason for not responding to you because it is their best interest not to ignore you after you have booked their Airbnb.
However, if 24 hours passes and your Airbnb host does not answer back, immediately contact Airbnb and let them know of the situation and your concern.
Don’t book another place. Never cancel a booking. Give your host a fair amount of time. But if the host willingly ignores you, call the Airbnb support center. Notify them about your situation. Airbnb will try to contact the host on your behalf. If Airbnb fails to contact the host, they will cancel the reservation on your behalf.
During Checkin Host Not Responding:
Assuming everything went smoothly with your host previously, and now you are standing in front of the Airbnb rental property you booked, but your host is not responding to you. You need a key to enter the rental property, but you don’t have one because your host is not answering your call or your messages.
Try to contact your host by all possible means — Airbnb message, email, and call. But always contact your host through the Airbnb app. This way, if your host does not respond, you have proof of your host’s unresponsiveness. You can show those messages to the Airbnb resolution center for any possible dispute.
Immediately call Airbnb customer center. Let them know that you are waiting in front of the Airbnb rental property, but the host is not there and has not given you any key.
Airbnb’s customer center will contact your host. If they fail to contact your host, they will cancel your reservation and refund you. In most scenarios, they will manage another Airbnb rental for you. Moreover, Airbnb will give you a 10% credit, which you can use for your future Airbnb rental.
Never cancel your Airbnb by yourself. You could lose all of your booking money depending on the hosts’ cancellation policy. Instead, contact the Airbnb support center and let them know about your circumstances and request a cancellation.
In emergencies, call Airbnb customer service instead of emailing. Contact Airbnb urgent line. If there is an “emergency Airbnb local number” in your country, call that number.
How to Contact Airbnb?
Here are the Airbnb customer service phone numbers. Please, only call these numbers if there is an emergency for your Airbnb rentals.
| United States and Canada | +1-415-800-5959 +1-855-424-7262 (toll-free) |
| Argentina | +54 11 53 52 78 88 |
| Australia | +61 2 8520 3333 |
| Austria | +43 72 08 83 800 |
| Brazil | +55 21 3958-5800 |
| Chile | +56229380777 |
| China | +86 10 5904 5310 400 890 0309 (shared-cost) |
| Denmark | +45 89 88 20 00 |
| France | +33 1 84 88 40 00 |
| Germany | +49 30 30 80 83 80 |
| Greece | +30 211 1989888 |
| Hong Kong | +852 5808 8888 |
| India | 000 800 4405 103 (toll-free) |
| Ireland | +353 1 697 1831 |
| Israel | +972 3 939 9977 |
| Italy | +39-06-99366533 |
| Japan | +81 3 4580 0999 +81 800 100 1008 (toll-free) |
| Mexico | +52 55 41 70 43 33 |
| Netherlands | +31 20 52 22 333 |
| New Zealand | +64 4 4880 888 |
| Norway | +47 21 61 16 88 |
| Peru | +51 1 7089777 |
| Poland | +48 22 30 72 000 |
| Portugal | +351 30 880 3888 |
| Puerto Rico | +1 787 919-0880 |
| Russia | +74954658090 88003017104 (toll-free) |
| South Korea | +82 2 6022 2499 +82 808 220 230 (toll-free) |
| Spain | +34 91 123 45 67 |
| Sweden | +46 844 68 12 34 |
| Switzerland | +41 43 50 84 900 |
| United Kingdom | +44 203 318 1111 |
How to avoid this “Host not responding” scenario?
In my experience, I faced a problem whenever I booked a cheap place with non-Superhost. Superhost cares deeply about their ratings and status on the Airbnb platform. So, always try to book a Superhost’s Airbnb rental if available in an area. Moreover, you can also book a place with many positive reviews. This way, you know, like others, you will get an enjoyable experience during your Airbnb stay and not face any problems such as “host not responding to your inquiries.”
Airbnb Contact Tips: Twitter.
Airbnb is very sensitive about bad public image or impression. If you contact Airbnb through email or message, but the Airbnb support center is taking too much time or not responding, send a tweet @airbnb on twitter. We found that Airbnb responds to a public callout on twitter very fast. If you send a tweet describing your problem on Twitter, they will immediately take action on your case and try to solve it.
Don’t Do These If Host Does Not Respond:
Don’t message him/her through any other platform (such as WhatsApp) other than the Airbnb platform. Its because Airbnb has access to the app message board and can see whats going on.
Conclusion:
There could be two scenarios after all of these dramas. One, After trying hard, your host responded to you, and all issues resolved. Two, Your host did not respond at all; you had to cancel with the help of the Airbnb support center.
For the first scenario, you must leave a review on Airbnb about your experience with this host, especially in the “communication” section. Let every future Airbnb guest know about your poor experience and what you went through. This way, other guests will be mentally prepared if they decide to book this host’s place.