My wife and several of our friends recommended that I stay at an Airbnb for my trip to Barcelona. The apartment was exactly as advertised, and the host was very responsive to my inquiries. That is until a storm came.
I went to a museum and when I came back to the apartment, the entire dining room area was drenched, as if someone had opened a faucet from above. The table was drenched, the carpet underneath was drenched, and my photography equipment on top of the table was damaged.
I tried contacting the host and Airbnb. The host was nowhere to be found, and Airbnb refused to put me in another place. Apparently, there were no other apartments available in all of Barcelona, so I was forced to stay in this apartment and even clean the mess.
This was a month ago. I have been calling Airbnb for a month now, and I get the exact same response: “My apologies, sir… this should have never happened sir… this should have been resolved within 48 hours sir… you have all the right to be angry sir… I can see that Airbnb is negligent on this matter sir…”
Every time, they say that this issue has not been picked up by a case manager yet and that they are going to expedite this because the last rep I talked to didn’t escalate this. They repeat this every single time I call. I don’t know what to do. My equipment is valued at over 5000 dollars, and I am also asking for a full refund of my stay. I don’t know where to get help on this. If anyone has suggestions, please help.
You shouldn’t call but do all communication in writing supported by photographic evidence and invoices……. Simply read Airbnb complaints procedure 🙂
Have you tried submitting a claim with your hosts homeowners insurance? Did you pay for the trip with a credit card that might offer insurance or damage replacements? Your camera was insured under your homeowners policy (anything over $1000 should be added to your policy), right? Finally, did you purchase any trip insurance? Disasters happen and, sadly, can ruin a vacation. But, if there was significant damage to the structure you stayed in, then the host should be able to submit a claim for your property so long as you documented the loss.