What went wrong? Bidnychenko had a phone number with a Russian country code. And at the start of the war, Airbnb had suspended its operations in Russia and announced that the Russians no longer being able to make new reservations anywhere in the world. I asked Airbnb about its suspension and it lifted its ban.
But sometimes the reasons for Airbnb’s ban are a mystery. They were intended for Tamara Martin, a nurse from Bucyrus, Kansas, who received an unexpected email from Airbnb saying it had suspended her account.
“The explanation was that I’m associated with someone who got banned,” she says. “No details. I have never personally had a problem with the rentals I have used.”
After asking Airbnb about his suspension, he reinstated his account. But that wouldn’t tell me why it was taken down in the first place, “for privacy reasons.”
Airbnb is the world’s largest vacation rental platform, with 6 million active listings and, in 2019, 54 million active bookings. Last year, Airbnb has suspended more than 6,600 people of his platform for attempting to violate his party’s policy. Airbnb will not disclose the number of bans for reasons beyond the parties.
I asked Airbnb how to make sure you don’t get banned.
Removals from the platform most often result from violations of its community policies and standards, says Airbnb spokeswoman Ruthie Wabula. “We only take this type of action when necessary to protect our community,” she said.
Airbnb’s community policies are a long read, so here they are in a nutshell: Disrespecting the community, abusing the rental, tampering with security features, or accessing personal property other than your own are all grounds for termination. account. There are also technical issues that can get you banned.
“Often, for less serious issues that still represent violations of our policies, our team will issue warnings along with advice and education on how to better comply with the given policy in the future,” says Wabula. “If the user continues to violate the policy despite the warnings, the issue may escalate to further action, including possible account deletion.”
There are other reasons Airbnb may terminate a guest’s account. These include being convicted of a crime.
Airbnb says this suppression depends on the severity of the crime. “Less serious crimes”, such as disorderly conduct or possession of marijuana, “are not removable offences”. Other crimes, such as burglary, fraud, and property damage, may warrant further investigation or removal. Cases such as murder, terrorism, rape or pedophilia can lead to permanent expulsion.
The system is not always perfect. In September, a Pennsylvania city councilor was banned for a possession and DUI charge from nine years ago. She was later reinstated after her tweet went viral.
Airbnb contracts Inflection as one of the companies it uses to perform background checks on users. If it detects any issues, the service may deactivate your account. These background checks are typically done 10 days before guests arrive and when a host creates a listing. (It’s only in the US and India.)
In 2019, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky pledged to check all listings on Airbnb and talked about verifying all users on the platform during recent registration interviews his own house.
Airbnb will also go further and freeze the accounts of users associated with someone who has a criminal record. Those convicted of a crime could circumvent a ban by asking a friend or relative to make a reservation on their behalf.
Jannick Vielleuse, a physical therapist from Westford, Vermont, reached out to me for help in the spring after being banned by Airbnb. She had always followed the rules and had consistently received rave reviews from her hosts. It turns out that a friend of her husband’s had been convicted for his involvement in January 6, 2021, insurrection, and because Vielleuse and her husband’s friend had logged into an account from the same IP address, Airbnb connected them. When I asked Airbnb about terminating their account, they reinstated their account.
But how does Airbnb decide who is too close? In emails to people who were banned, Airbnb said it based its ban on factors including location and email address; Airbnb would not comment on exactly how it does this. If Airbnb thinks you are affiliated with someone who is banned, they can also remove you. And the company doesn’t give any details beyond that.
“As per our privacy policy, we cannot disclose any information about the account, location, or list that triggered this action,” it tells users whose accounts are deactivated.
How to Unban Airbnb
Is there a way to appeal a ban? Airbnb generally says.
“Users who are removed from the platform can usually respond to the removal email and request a call,” Wabula explains. “Appeal reviews vary over time depending on the severity of the issue and the complexity of the case.”
This is true up to a point. Many users have reported that calls to Airbnb end in another quick turndown, with no reason given. This is frustrating for users who spend time preparing a case that they believe proves their innocence and indicates that they would be responsible guests.
What if the answer is still no? Well there are a lot of other ways to rent a house for your next vacation.
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