Author Archives: Kathy Seay

Airbnb Host Blocks Guest From Leaving

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I was a guest at a bed and breakfast in Atlanta, Georgia. My stay started April 4th. The place was in the most dangerous area of Atlanta. I am a travel nurse and needed to find some place quickly, but not knowing Atlanta, I relied on Airbnb’s ratings.

When I arrived, I was greeted by the hosts and they helped me take my things in to my King Suite… so to speak; it was a pull out sofa. The listing stated there were new mattresses but I looked and was laying on two thick foam pieces. The next morning I got up and came out of my room at around 8 AM. No one was to be found, so I just began saying “hello?”

The owner came out and asked if he could help. I told him I wanted to order breakfast. I was starved so I told him what I wanted. I got half what I wanted but was hesitant to ask why. He began to tell me that guests text him what they need instead of coming out of their room. There were no places that delivered there, and he said he was a chef.

I promise you… he was no chef. He took frozen meals, microwaved them, and placed them on a plate. I was the only guest there for the whole month I stayed. The people that had given the reviews actually live there as permanent residents. He has five rooms, so I was a white woman staying with three black men, which really made me uneasy. I am not racist. My daughter has been married to a great black guy for 18 years.

Now the price I paid for this horrible place was $1700. He told me the food was free. In two weeks he knew I was getting a paycheck and asked how much it was. I stated I usually don’t give out that information. There was fresh tea and lemonade on a stand in the kitchen. I got a glass of tea and came out and got a glass of lemonade. After that day, there was nothing sitting out to drink. The trash bags in the guest rooms were grocery bags. The pictures on Airbnb were false and nothing like the nightmare this place was.

When I went in I saw books lying around with titles like Adultery, Illuminati, etc. on the sofa, at the window, and near the flat screen. It reminded me of my grandmother’s house. I would text him at 8:00 AM or so for breakfast, and the response I would always get is: “I’m not quite ready to get up.” I got breakfast at 10:30 AM, and this happened every day. It was always on his terms.

One day when I went to orientation I ate something I picked up going home. I got home and was exhausted, hungry, and trying to find another place to eat. I went to bed early and was extremely hungry the next morning. I texted the host maybe three times and told him I was sorry for the big order but asked if he had French Toast. He said yes. I ordered four pieces of French Toast, two eggs over medium, two slices of bacon, a bagel, and some oatmeal. His reply was: “Listen, even though you are very hungry, I am not about to cook all that. I will do what I can.”

The French Toast was burnt. The eggs were scrambled not over medium. There was no bacon or bagel and the oatmeal was a do-it-yourself packet with hot water. I ask for a refund and he said there are none. I told him about I was angry but nothing changed. I stayed in my room the whole time other than work. No guests were allowed near the fridge. He had a tiny table with four chairs for dining but on Airbnb it looked like everyone was having a great time. I was more and more uneasy and very angry.

I decided to leave on May 3rd. I didn’t tell him until the last minute. He backed up a little and I apologized. However, he also stuck me with a bill for $670. I was in shock. I ask what that was for. He told me it was for extra things I had been eating and Uber rides; he had stated before booking that he gives his guests free Uber rides.

I already paid $1700 for a terrible place. I was dehydrated and hungry all the time. I had relocated from Iowa so my funds were low. I told him before I left that I didn’t have that money. He said you need to leave your things then. I told him no. Then the other two guys came out of their rooms and looked at me. I had found a wonderful place and stated I wanted to leave six days early and to just deduct that from my bill. He really was angry then and he was not aware that the owner of the place I found was related to the Mayor of Atlanta and the Governor.

He stood in front of the door and told me I wasn’t going anywhere, that no one gets away with ripping him off. He said he needed to know where I was going. I told him he didn’t and asked him to let me out. My next host was on her way so my phone was vibrating. Thank god she knew something was wrong and called the police. Then he let me out.

I couldn’t carry everything at once so I had to keep going in and out of the house to put my things in her car. She said she couldn’t come on the property. She already knew that. When I got to her house where I rented a beautiful room, I noticed my computer gone. He had stolen my computer and texted me a trashy message, saying I was pathetic and he would find me. He was pretending to help me with the luggage before I left and took a picture of her tags.

My friend and I were at the police department for an hour. Now I have pressed charges and I want a refund and my computer back. I was exhausted from work, carrying luggage, and filing a report. There were never any other guests. Not one. The picture on Airbnb shows a girl, the host’s girlfriend. I will finish my story here but there was so much more that happened. I hope Airbnb will take this listing off their website as I am filing a lawsuit and they are making false advertisements; people could get raped or killed here.

 

Airbnb Property Fraud, Long Con Scam in London

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I would like to report that my husband and I were just victims of an elaborate property fraud here in London by a long con Airbnb scammer. We lost our entire apartment deposit and what we thought to be our lovely new London flat we had been working for months to save money for and were preparing to move into this Monday, April 30th. I really want to make other consumers and families looking for new apartments aware of the potential dangers and get our story published to raise consumer awareness. It’s shocking what happened; I’ve never heard of such a thing.

As far as I can gather from police and what has happened so far, the situation is as follows. We saw a property advertised on Gumtree in our zone in London when we were looking for a new flat to rent for this year. We contacted the advertised “landlord” via phone to chat and set up a time to view the property for rent. We went the next evening in person to see the apartment after work for a walk through viewing. All seemed normal: there was a man who met us, and showed other couples through after us. Nothing seemed off. We even went back a second time for a second viewing.

We spoke to the “landlord” a few more times. He created a tenancy agreement. I had him amend several clauses on the rental agreement before we all signed the final agreed tenancy agreement. We sent over the bank transfer deposit for the property. We received an emailed receipt. We were told he would contact us a few days before the move in date to hand over keys and do a final walk through.

All seemed fine and normal until this week when my husband was unable to reach the landlord all week. Getting concerned, we walked to the flat – it’s in our local zone – to knock on the front door. A couple answered and said they were staying there until today, Saturday, April 28th, renting it via Airbnb. They told us the name that they had been given for the “host” who rented it to them, which was a different name than what we had been given as the landlord’s name for the property, the person who had showed us physically inside of the flat, drawn up our tenancy agreement, and taken our deposit.

We went home and found the property advertised on Airbnb by the host’s name (name now changed in Airbnb, I noticed) the couple had given us. I logged into my current Airbnb account in order to chat with the “host.” At first I thought maybe everything was still okay, and that the landlord would still contact us as I saw the flat was marked as not for rent at all after Saturday except for three days in May (which was odd, because we were supposed to be moving in Monday, April 30th).

I was hoping it was an error on the part of whoever was temporarily renting it out on behalf of the landlord on Airbnb. The host’s bio on Airbnb said he was a professional property manager. I saw 22 other listings, so I thought maybe it was a company. Wanting to investigate further, I asked if the property was still for rent. The host said it was, and told me to go ahead and book the dates in May. I asked for his phone number; he refused unless I confirmed the booking. I then asked for address confirmation, and the “host” gave me another post code, which was for another address, so that all seemed immediately alarming and suspicious given we were supposed to move in this upcoming Monday.

We phoned our bank immediately, and sure enough, the bank details we had been given weren’t even for the same bank name. Our hearts sank. We reported the fraud to the bank and started preparing for the next preventative steps. I decided to return the next evening after work to the flat. We again knocked on the front door of the apartment. The current Airbnb guests said they had called their host who agreed to let us have his phone number.

We called the host and he said he was a manager from a property management company called Prime Estate Agents, and his company had been managing the property for years. He claimed that one of his tenants at the property had conducted the scam, and had also taken deposits from other couples as well. He said although he was willing to cooperate with the police, he would give me no further information. However, I was welcome to visit his realty office.

When I went to see him yesterday, he was extremely evasive, would not answer questions about why he gave me a different property address and name when I had chatted with him via Airbnb. All he said was that there were multiple other victims in the scam, and that my lease was not valid even though the landlord’s name listed on the lease agreement was the correct one. He claimed anyone could find out this information via land registry. He would give me no details about who it was that had the keys from the rental agency on that night/stayed there via Airbnb booking, just said it was one of their tenants, and that they would not give any more information unless it was to the police.

Airbnb has not helped me at all, the property company says its not their responsibility, our bank says we cannot get money back unless the criminal’s account still has money in it, and now we have no flat to move into. The police said they may or may not investigate, and we are left with no deposit or flat, and no one that will help us. This has been a heart wrenching experience, and I hope by sharing this that maybe others can avoid such potential scams. We have been living in London less than a year and worked saving money for this flat, and are left speechless after this. Also, I believe this professional property company is breaking council and tax laws by renting full houses out not properly zoned for extended periods of time.

Unprocessed Refund from Cancelling Airbnb Host

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Around February, I booked a house for March 14th. On the day, I was informed by the host that the house was not available due to the radiator breaking down, which would need a few days to fix. So, I asked for a full refund because the house was the only one at which I really wanted to stay and other listed houses that the owner recommended as substitutes were not really fancy or worth the price that I paid for. I was not aware that the host has to process the cancellation if a guest wants to get a refund, which he did not process at all. After several weeks, I messaged him to check if he sent me the money back and he said: “Has it not been processed? Can you send me your bank details?”

After roughly one month from receiving this reply, I asked him again and then he said “Can you double check again?”

This was the last reply that I received. Since then, Intentionally or unintentionally, he is not answering my messages or phone calls. Is there any way that I can get a full refund with the proof that I have?

Last Minute Cancellation by Host in the High Season

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I booked an apartment in Brussels for a seafood expo in April 2018 more than two months in advance knowing that it was high season and all. The host was very responsive at first after we paid through Airbnb, telling us to inform him of the arrival details as soon as possible. Two weeks into the stay, I contacted the host advising him of the arrival details and asked for check in information. I have used Airbnb only in the US – never for Europe – and this time I did not get a prompt reply. I sent again another message and there was still no reply. I tried to call the host and there was no answer. I contacted the host on Whatsapp and after a few days he answered saying that he would give me the information on Sunday, the day I will be flying into Europe from Asia. My stay was for that Tuesday, please bear in mind.

Sunday came and no information from the host. I sent him a message on Whatsapp again; the message was read but there was no reply. On Sunday close to midnight when I was transiting, a message from Airbnb came in saying my host had cancelled. I panicked; it was the busiest season in Brussels and I had no place to stay. I tried calling the host. He did not answer, but just replied: “Sorry, I’m busy!”

I scrambled to find a hotel room at the last minute but the prices were exorbitant or they were full. We ended up paying for a small one-star hotel for five times the price. It was a nightmare for us and for sure we would never recommend Airbnb to anybody. We tried to contact the help center through email and for no replies whatsoever. The conclusion is that we have been lucky with Airbnb all this time and if you ever get into a problem with your booking, well, good luck.

Airbnb Nightmare: Threatened with Forcible Eviction

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I had an Airbnb reservation for a basement (entire unit) from April 20th until May 27th. On April 22nd around 9:00 PM, the landlord decided that she wanted to cancel the reservation (because I was using the heater that was in the unit). Immediately, Airbnb contacted me, and told me I should leave the unit as soon as possible or the police would force me out. I had to rush to find a place so I wouldn’t spend the night in the streets.

We (my husband was with me at that time) visited this unit on April 4th to make sure everything was alright before reserving it; I was going to live there for 37 nights and I didn’t want to have any surprises. Everything looked okay. We also asked about the heating in the unit, and the landlords said that there was no problem as there was a wall heating unit in the living room. Even when I checked in on April 20th, the landlord explained to me how to operate the heating unit.

On April 22nd, I wanted to take a shower but when I opened the faucet, some brown waste came from the tap and filled the bathroom floor. It looked like sewage waste to me, therefore I messaged the host and asked her to take a look. When she came down and checked, she said that the house has a reliable sewage system and this should have come from the city water supply.

Then she came to the living room and asked me why I had the wall heating system on. I said that because I felt cold (the temperature was 2-3 C outside). She said I didn’t have the right to turn on the heating because the electricity bill would be high. I said I told her that I wanted to turn the heating system on. She left. The second time she came to clean up the waste in the bathroom, she told me that I couldn’t stay there anymore and I had to leave the unit. I said to discuss her issues with Airbnb.

Later, an Airbnb representative contacted me and told me that she had cancelled the reservation and I should leave the unit as soon as possible. I told her that I would find a unit tomorrow and will leave (I was very worried about my health with the sewage issue), but she said that I had to do it tonight or the landlord could call the police, and they would force me to leave. Mind you that this was 9:00 PM on a Sunday. I finally found a hotel at 10:00 PM and left the unit. I had to pay a high price for the unit because I was reserving at the last minute. This event has caused me so much stress that I couldn’t work for several days, and even remembering those events causes me trouble.

The next day, I sent a message to Airbnb and asked how they could force someone to leave the unit or threaten them with the police. This is totally unacceptable. If I have a reservation, I can’t cancel it without paying a high cancellation fee, but Airbnb can tell the clients to leave at 9:00 PM on a Sunday night or threaten them if they want to. The unit has serious sewage issues. It will threaten the health of anyone who wants to live there.

The following are the first messages that were exchanged between me and the Airbnb representative that night. She first called me but I couldn’t hear her, so she messaged me on the Airbnb website.

Agent:”I do apologize if you could not hear me. Your reservation with [host] is ending early. Please leave the listing as soon as possible. I have sent you an email that gives you the option to rebook or receive a full refund. Please let me know if you need rebooking assistance.”

Me: “Hi, I will think and let you know tonight. Thanks.”

Agent: “I have just tried giving you another call but was unable to reach you. Please let me know what time you can get out of the listing. If you don’t leave she has the authority to call the cops.”

Agent: “Are you leaving the listing now?”

AirBnS: Enough is Enough for this Airbnb Host

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I’m an Airbnb host. I used to be proud to announce being an Airbnb host to my friends and family like many others out there until I received every host’s worst nightmare. On March 12th, 2018 I returned to my Bronx home from the result of a guest cancellation at my home. I returned home only to find 80% of my furniture and personal belongings outside sitting in my driveway. This was without a doubt a callous and direct message to me personally from the guest claiming personal justice for his stay being cancelled prematurely.

I’m left suffering from the irresponsible and immature actions of an Airbnb guest. Without any exaggeration, I literally did everything personally within my power outlined within Airbnb’s resolution center to have this issue resolved within the quickest possible timeframe. Unfortunately, even with me taking immediate action to resolve the manner civilly, Airbnb still has failed to successfully come to a realistic resolution and compensate me for personal damages caused by the guest.

Upon doing my due diligence and conducting a thorough investigation of my own, I’ve come to the unfortunate realization that there are countless other hosts worldwide facing this same exact Airbnb “resolution center” nightmare. Airbnb should be ashamed to know that they currently have over 100 open and unresolved host claim cases failing to communicate with hosts (and that’s me being considerate by using a figure as low as 100).

Airbnb prides itself on having morality, empathy and open lines of communication between company, host, and guest. These lines of morality have clearly been compromised greatly, judging from the extensive amount of cases that I’ve recently come across online from performing a simple Google search, looking for people going through similar “resolution center” issues such as myself.

The ultimate conclusion and reality to this revolving door of a “resolution center” is this: everyone who currently has an open Airbnb resolution case will be waiting indefinitely unless immediate action is taken against Airbnb, a company who preys upon unsuspecting hosts such as myself willing to compromise the safety of my home and countless others. Airbnb has clearly broken their own host guarantee rules; this calls for a class action lawsuit.

Worst Travel Experience Keeps Money in Airbnb’s Pockets

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Worst travel experience so far with Airbnb . My host canceled my booking in Tel Aviv, yesterday, two days before my flight there. I had to call up three different support agents to be able to find someone willing to help me with the issue. They told me they would call other hosts to see what they could offer me instead. Note that flats that are available two days before the actual check-in date are obviously flats that nobody wants. I did not hear anything about them calling any hosts or finding any solution or compensation.

Last night at 1:00 AM I decided to book a place on Airbnb as it was only one day before my flight there. The place was booked and confirmed. This morning I received a message from the host telling me that I could only check in on the 1st of May. I paid for 19 nights. I booked a flat that I would never get in a normal instance, 30 minutes away from the center of Tel Aviv and the host tells me that I can’t check in on the 25th.

I had to call up Airbnb again. They canceled that stay and they “accidentally” refunded me instead of keeping the funds on the account, which will take “5-10 days” to clear out. I now don’t have any place to stay in Tel Aviv, lost two days trying to get in touch with support, lost a 360€ flight, and don’t have access to my 2600€ that I paid for the 19-night stay.

Abusive Host Providing Hell Hole in Philippines

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Out of my three years of being an Airbnb customer, this is the first ‘bad’ review I’ve ever written for anyone. Prices should match the quality of service and quality of premises. $93 is way too much for a night for the experience we had. I’ve stayed in dozens and dozens of Airbnbs including those on friends’ accounts. Enjoy my eleven bullet points of cons.

– Check in was not as flexible as we liked. I’m used to hosts working around us when we are unsure about the check in time or arriving late. Instead we had to work around the host as she couldn’t get out of work at a certain time so we had to wait later for her. Even with check out, she asked us to unplug all appliances (I’ve never had hosts ask me this). Airbnb hosts have been accommodating to our check-in situation. If we are arriving late or not on time we are usually given the option to self check in, not wait for the host to leave work. She even had the nerve to ask me to cancel if I was unhappy with the check in time.

– The lifts didn’t work on our way out. We had to walk with heavy suitcases down three flights of stairs. Such an inconvenience. This really got me angry and the lifts didn’t have any indication on whether they were in service or not.

– The bunk beds were not prepared for us. We had to put mattress protectors and pillow cases on ourselves. One of the mattresses still had plastic packaging covering it, meaning we had to take it off ourselves. There was no way we were gonna sleep on plastic so noisy and uncomfortable.

– The curtain rod fell on one of our visitors when opening the curtain for the porch door. What kind of death trap is this place? My mother fixed up the curtains herself. This place was just awful.

– The bathroom had really bad mouldy grout. I’m surprised no one has written a bad review.

– No coffee, no milk, no sugar. We saw a little sachet of coffee that looked like it was being concealed right on the unreachable cupboard like they didn’t want us to use it. We had to go out of the premises to get coffee and milk.

– The second bedroom had no sun shades so I was woken up by the sun. I just couldn’t get a good sleep in – just ridiculous – when I was up by 6:00 AM.

– The cupboard doors were falling apart, which could end up being a hazard.

– The Internet was very slow. My own 3G data was faster. Visitors couldn’t use the wifi due to it being slow.

– The balcony door latch didn’t close, so good luck to anyone who climbs in from the balcony and steals your stuff.

– We wouldn’t have had to complain much about these issues. However, for $93 a night for a run-down condo in the Philippines, this is way too expensive. With that much you’d expect an immaculate place.

I’m so happy Airbnb has acknowledged her violation and poor customer service when a customer is unhappy. I was issued a partial refund. I have to admit, I was quite aggressive towards her from my frustration. But hosts should never attack or argue in a personal unprofessional manner. I said the lift was broken and the wifi was not working and she replied with: “It’s not my problem.”

She did apologise but in a sarcastic passive manner. I have photos and chat logs all to prove that I was honest in my review even though the host found it my fault because I was aggressive; that is all I did. I left her place more spotless than she left it for us.