I am a double-lung transplant recipient. I go to Duke Hospital in Durham every six months for a check-up. I decided to try Airbnb, since my stays are only one night, and I could save $30-40. This host had all 4-5 star reviews. After arriving at the airport and taking my rental car to her house, she was not at home. I gave her the benefit of the doubt and texted her. No reply. I was forced to scramble to find a hotel for $30 more. While I was communicating with Airbnb, I got a text saying the host had canceled the reservation, which I was about to do. They quickly refunded my money, but really should have reimbursed for my more expensive hotel. When I went to write a bad review about the host, I discovered I was not able to do that. I called today to ask why (after jumping through hoops to find Airbnb’s actual phone number), and was told it was because the reservation was canceled. That’s not what the text I received said, and before I was able to cancel. I feel I was deprived of the chance to leave a bad review, in an effort to protect the host. None of it is acceptable. I await their return phone call, which I’m very skeptical about getting.
This just happened to me in October! Not cool that we can’t warn others about these hosts with a review. We did get a full refund but what a hassle it was. We flew all the way across the country, only to arrive at an empty house with no way in. The host didn’t return my calls or texts right away so we were stranded, exhausted, panicked and upset. Not a great way to start a vacation. At least Airbnb gave us our money back immediately, but that didn’t help us with a place to stay.
IF you’re traveling to the San Diego area, I’d avoid this host: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6914455?wl_source=list&wl_id=167377054&role=owner&guests=2
Wow….I was going to use Airbnb, but after reading just a few of these stories, no thanks. Will pay the higher price for a hotel.
Airbnb=Insidious.
Airbnb customer service is incredibly horrible – they refuse to address problems and become very aggressive with all their customers. Never use airbnb again it is a nightmare with very deceitful business practices.