Our annual Islamorada guys trip was cancelled due to hurricane damage so we needed to come up with a waterfront house where we could all meet. Since I had already reserved a home in Nantucket for the summer through Airbnb, I turned to them to help me find a place where all seven of us could meet. I wanted a place on or near the beach with an easy walk. I thought that Watersound could meet our needs and found a nice beachfront house in Prominence, a development across 30A from Watersound Beach. After booking it, I asked the property manager how far of a walk it was to the beach. Only then did they reveal that “beachfront” in Airbnb terms meant a three-mile drive to the public beach. I emailed them and they offered me two beach options that were clearly inferior accommodations. I have cancelled the reservation and am now trying to obtain a full refund from Airbnb for deceptive marketing of the house.
Author Archives: Neil Ettinger
A Holiday from Hell Thanks to Flooded Apartment
We arrived in Palma to find our apartment had been flooded. Our host took us to another that had been hurriedly evacuated by a Roma family (at least that’s how it looked). Our dealings with our Eastern European host were through a go-between who was simply charming and promised the Earth, but delivered nothing. We were promised we would eventually be settled in our booked apartment but it was never going to happen.
On our third day, water poured out from our shower and flooded the place, so we were moved to a hotel for one night. At first the go-between, who was on a sympathy kick, told us how lucky we were and he was paying for the hotel out of his own pocket. Fawlty Towers would have been an improvement.
Despite being asked to provide three rooms, the owner waited until we arrived before frantically searching for bed linen. We were asked to wait with our cases half way up an unlit staircase while he went looking. After twenty minutes or so there was a frantic knocking on the front door – the police. They had come to arrest a guy in the room opposite the one I was destined for. There weren’t three rooms, only two.
At this we told the go-between to forget it. He finally put us in a hostel. It was clean and modern and had ensuites so we were okay with this. But we had no idea where we were staying the following night as he had confessed our originally booked apartment was nowhere near habitable, the cost of the hostel was twice that of Fawlty Towers, and he wasn’t sure he’d get back what he’d already paid.
We had already started negotiating with Airbnb by email and phone (they hate you using the phone and hide contact numbers). They had only two responses to urgent messages: Airbnb didn’t believe we weren’t in the booked apartment so we had to send photos to prove it. Of course, by then we were in the hostel. Luckily I had taken a couple of pics to send to my wife so we retrieved those and sent them to Airbnb.
They then agreed on a partial refund but debited us the full cost of the first night, despite the fact that our original contract had not been honoured. We had already booked a new apartment so the refund was good news but still cost us. Then as we were (mid-afternoon) on our way to the new place the phone rang and it was the go-between, saying the leak had been repaired and we could go back to our revolting apartment. We told him where he could shove it.
The new apartment was lovely, modern and clean. However it turned out this apartment was next to a drug dealer’s home. Although the block had a entry lock I think they disabled it at night. We had paper-thin walls, and comings and goings all night long. This ended at 5:00 AM on our last night with a couple of guys hammering on the door and kicking it trying to attract attention. I’m not sure anyone was even in. I got out of bed and went to our door to suggest they stop (unpleasant confrontation in the extreme) but parted telling them I was calling the police. They left. The end of a lovely holiday.
Airbnb Wants Two Women to Stay Without Working Locks
This link is to a host who has a dangerous Airbnb rental. Upon arrival, the lock codes did not work. We had to go to the “cafe”, which is also a bar, to get someone there to help us. It turned out that everyone working at that bar has all the lock codes, and manual keys to override the codes; at least one person was trying to get in. The lock was broken. The host was unavailable and said that the bar employees would have to help us. One employee said we would have to leave the place unlocked since the lock did not work. When we examined the doors to find out why the locks weren’t working, we saw severe damage to the doors and door jambs. Apparently this place had been broken into and the jambs were never repaired. In addition, there were cracks in the wooden doors. With everyone else being able to get into this place, and we were two women traveling alone, we left immediately and got a safer room. Airbnb and the host fought us on the refund, and refused to pay for any additional expenses because we had to spend more money on a hotel, even though we chose the cheapest one we could find. I will not use Airbnb again. Ever.
Beware: Airbnb Price Scam for Long-Term Stays
Beware: if you adjust your Airbnb reservation during your stay, Airbnb will apply the current (i.e. the most expensive) price retroactively to the beginning of your stay. For example, let’s say you make a reservation for $100/night for four weeks. After the second week, you need to leave early and you and the host agree to do this. But the pricing model (if it’s dynamic pricing – which is chosen by the host) shows the rate to now be $150/night. Airbnb will charge you $150/night for your entire stay. I recently had this experience and was overcharged $400 – and Airbnb does not give a damn about it. On top of this, Airbnb will charge you for an extra 30 days because of their long-term cancellation policy – which Airbnb will waive if you and the host insist on it. Airbnb also removed my negative review of the host, stating it violated their policy – even though I spoke honestly about the nightmare I experienced.
Property won’t be Listed on Airbnb if you Complain
We purchased a cabin in the mountains of North Carolina and spent several thousand dollars making it ADA compliant, doing most of the work ourselves. Finally after three months of work, on March 1st we pressed the button to go live with Airbnb and what happened? Nothing…. So I thought I would wait until the 2nd and again on the 3rd and again on the 4th. I sent Facebook messages asking what was up and why the site wasn’t live. The response was silence.
On the 6th I sent an angrier pointed message and was finally told that there were technical problems and that my problem had been elevated up to the highest possible team with the highest possible priority. Okay, so more days went by and nothing. Yesterday I sent another very pointed message and finally received a real message. I was told Airbnb would not list my property and would not give me a reason. So, their mission in life is to list properties and provide customer service. The single most important part of customer service is communication. So, I expect Airbnb to list my property and communicate, and when I complain that they do not seem to be providing either, they exclude me?
Attempted False Charges after Nightmare Stay
We rented an Airbnb in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida in December. Immediately after the payment, Airbnb notified us that the owner wanted an additional $600 in addition to the posted cost. We refused to pay. After checking out, the owner claimed we stole six forks that cost $15 each and demanded payment for that and an extra cleaning charge on top of the $125 we had already paid.
The property needed no more than the usual cleaning that one would expect. For ten days we had no clean towels or sheets and the temperature dropped to the 40s for three nights. There was no heat. The owner said she would do something about it, but did not. A portable space heater would have been sufficient.
The advertisement on Airbnb stated that the place had cable TV and wifi. The TV was hooked up to an antenna and reception constantly broke up which made it virtually impossible to watch a program or a football game. The wifi was also intermittent.
No one puts $15 forks in a rental unit when they can be bought very cheaply at Walmart. We refused to pay the additional charges; however, Airbnb has your credit card and can make charges if they agree with the owner. In this case, the owner did not respond to our complaints about the charges when we refused to pay and Airbnb did not charge us.
One night we stayed in a hotel which cost less and was much nicer. We will not use Airbnb again as they apparently have no quality control and accept owners’ descriptions of their properties even if they are false.
Ten Reasons Why I Hate Airbnb After Account Hacked
Below is my true and sincere experience with Airbnb. I will give you ten reasons why you should not deal with Airbnb, and I hope that governments and consumer protection organisations will do something about the ever increasing risks imposed on internet consumers. The big companies certainly will not.
I received a confirmation from Airbnb that I had “express” booked a deluxe room for five nights in South Africa, and a confirmation that the MasterCard that I had previously used for reservations with Airbnb was now registered for further purchases. I immediately logged on to my Airbnb account only to discover that someone from China (I am located in New York) had logged into my account yesterday, and someone from South Africa logged into my account today placing a reservation for a room in South Africa (total of $650) debited to my MasterCard.
My MasterCard details were now disclosed to whomever hacked my account. At the same time I called my bank making sure my MasterCard was blocked. The bank informed me, however, that the $650 had been debited. The bank urged me to call Airbnb and have them to cancel the reservation.
I tried to call Airbnb. Forget that; they deliberately don’t disclose a telephone number (Reason #1). I tried to find an email address; forget that – they only allow communication through your Airbnb account, making it difficult for you to record and keep track of the correspondence (Reason #2).
I wrote Airbnb through my account only to receive a standard reply that I could expect an answer within two days. Considering that someone with help from Airbnb (though Airbnb presumably was unaware) had stolen $650 from me, I could not accept waiting two days (Reason #3). I promptly replied demanding a call back. I got a call back within an hour’s time. The lady on the phone argued that it must have been me who did the reservation because hacking the Airbnb account was unthinkable. Basically she called me a liar (Reason #4).
I referred to the fact that I was located in New York and within 15 hours someone had accessed my account from China (a hacker), South Africa (a hacker) and New York (myself). She tried hard but couldn’t really provide a comeback. She tried though (Reason #5).
Then she argued that it must be a family member or friend that had accessed my account and that I should check up with them to make sure that it was not them who had made the reservation. Again I argued that no one but me has (legitimate) access to my Airbnb account and no friend or family member could ever dream of booking a room in South Africa on my account. I also (again) referred to the fact that the logins were made from three different continents within one day. She was firm in her “belief”, but her arguments were forced and it was easy to tell that she was instructed in “never accept liability or cause” and “always deny, deny and deny” (Reason #6).
After 40 minutes of telephone conversation, she came to the conclusion that my account may have been exposed, which most likely was due to the fact that I had either logged on from a public computer (and then forgot to log off) or responded to a “phising-mail” disclosing my password to the hackers, or that I in other ways had been careless (Reason #7).
I could easily dismiss all of her accusations, and as I was getting pretty exhausted by the whole conversation I stated that we did not need to discuss this further. If they did not cancel the reservation immediately and retuned all the money to me I would without further hesitation have a lawyer represent me. Not really because of the money (the fees would exceed those from Airbnb in no time) but because of the principle. After this I was told that my “case” would be “prioritised”. Conclusion: you need to actually make a “lawyer threat” to get serviced (Reason #8).
Later the same day I received an email in which Airbnb warned me that they had detected that my account might have been compromised. Is this really how they treat their customers? (Reason # 9). In the email they stated that they would try (only try – Reason #10) to return the money.
The above shows what I think we all now (but don’t like to admit): Airbnb (and similar super big companies) don’t care about their customers (or users as they tend to call us). They get maybe 10,000 or more new users every month. Their business model is based on the masses, not one or a few thousand that experience problems.
I’m not trying to get political here – but honestly I don’t think this would have happened if I had just stayed with small hotels and family owned shops. I have no doubt that should my Amazon, Facebook, Uber and similar accounts be hacked – it would be the same. These are my ten reasons for hating Airbnb (and similar super big companies) – but what I really hate is that I can’t stop using them. They know that all too well. I would really love if we all just gave up on those super big firms and regained control, respect, care, and decency in the course of trade.
Waking up with Ants and Insults in the Room
I had a terrible experience with my stay. We saw condiments and a drink left in the fridge and thought nothing of it. I saw two ants in the room upon arrival and thought it wouldn’t be a problem. We had left to explore the city of San Juan and then arrived back to the Airbnb at night and went to sleep. In the morning, the hotel room had ants all over the bed and night stand. We woke up in the morning with ants all over us. Then we knew something was up when there was mold on the shower curtain, the bed sheets had stains and someone had left their bathing suit on the balcony.
We were about to leave the hotel room in the morning and a man was trying to enter the room saying that he was housekeeping, even though he didn’t have any cleaning supplies. The area of old San Juan has not recovered at all. We hardly saw any guests or people in the area. The closest beach was closed due to the Hilton Caribe reconstruction. The nightlife in old San Juan is a 40-minute walk so nothing is really walkable distance like the post had said. I explained my situation to the host and the host immediately became aggressive. Then resorted to name calling. They called me a millennial. I thought it was pretty funny at first but it was pretty rude.
The Airbnb Customer is Not Always Right
What a joke; I thought the customer was always right. Not in this case. I brought issues to a host’s attention about his place and the lack of help from his helper. Well, you thought I had accused him of fraud or something worse. Never had he heard this before, claiming he only had “happy customers”… just some of the responses he was giving me. He then went on to respond online about this, stating that I was impolite and rude to his assistant. If asking for someone to show their face and meet the customer to make sure everything is okay (finding where to go, making sure the room is suitable to enter, finding all the necessary items needed – towels, water, facilities to eat) then we must of been the rudest people ever.
The Airbnb response was even better, stating that we had been put on the “not providing a quality customer” category. Needless to say, we will not be using Airbnb again and certainly will not be using this whole building again, let alone this host. After reading some of the responses here, I know our situation is not that severe, but when you pay a decent amount of money to have a good holiday only to be treated like we had done something criminal it has an affect on you. I do feel better knowing we are not the only ones but feel sorry for those who have been put through this as well. Thank you for listening to my winge.
Fake Host Tries to Use Airbnb for Rental Scam
I posted an ad on Gumtree that me and my partner were looking for somewhere to rent privately. I was a little confused when I received an email from a guy in Germany. He thanked me for my interest in his property (I’d never seen it) and sent me some photos to review. He said he was a live-out landlord from Germany and wanted someone to take over his property and make it his own.
I should have questioned where he got my work email from (the ad I had posted on Gumtree was via my personal account). He asked for some personal details about myself. I replied with a fairly lengthy message stating I like to knit, don’t really party, and am a clean, reliable person, etc. He told me the all in rent PCM (per calendar month) was £600. I was already thinking this was too good to be true: a place in the centre of town, less than I currently pay for my room in shared accommodation, all bills included, a parking space included, etc. All the other places like this I had been viewing were double the price.
He told me that as he is in Germany he cannot show me the apartment beforehand. He said I must pay one month’s rent plus a two-month security deposit, and to do it through Airbnb as they allow me to cancel my booking up until the day I check in/move in. I asked him for details on the tenancy agreement, and apparently he could not send me anything without my ID, full address, etc. He said after I moved into the apartment he would send a signed contract and a spare key.
I kind of kept this going to see how far this person would go. I had no intention of renting this property and sending a stranger £1800 without first viewing an apartment. I have forwarded this to a number of scamming sites and reported it to Gumtree but the ad is still left up as live. I’m not sure what else to do. Maybe posting on here will help. Email thread below.
[Editor’s Note: grammatical errors left intentionally so you can have a better idea of the writing style of scammers]“Host”: Thank you for taking the time to look at my property. I am a civil engineer, originally from Germany. I bought the apartment with bank credit 5 years ago for our child who went at college there, but this year he finish the college and moved back to Germany because he has found a better job here in Germany and now we have to rent it to pay the remaining credit to the bank. I am looking for a responsible person that can take a very good care of my apartment. I am not after the money for the rent but want it to be clean all the time and the possible tenant will see the apartment as his or her own and I hope that you can send me some personal information about yourself.
Me: Many thanks for getting in touch, glad to hear from you. Your apartment looks lovely – thanks for sending over some photos. I see we both work in the electronics field. To tell you a little about myself; I moved to Brighton just over three years ago for my current job as a Recruitment Consultant based in Central Brighton. For the past three years I have lived in rented shared accommodation (always through private landlords as I prefer to have direct contact) and am now looking for a flat with my partner to move in together. I have been working in recruitment for around seven years now, hold a senior position within my company, and can provide proof of earnings if needed.
In my current flat, my roommates and I have total management of the property – our landlord lives abroad in France so we are in charge if anything needs fixing, etc. My partner and I are extremely clean people and have never once had a complaint from living in shared housing for the past three years. I have only lived at my current flat for just over a year and have already paid to have a professional cleaner and carpet cleaners come in during my time there at my own cost, just to freshen the place up.
As a person, I enjoy doing crafts (knitting, painting, sewing) and my partner is a musician and plays in a local Brighton band. I am a working professional so we don’t “party” during the week or anything like that. One of the reasons we are looking to move out of shared accommodation is because we would prefer a quieter space for ourselves. I am able to provide references from previous and current landlords if required, or feel free to let me know if you have any other questions. I have a few questions:
• Where exactly is the flat located?
• How much is rent/bills per month?
• What is the minimum/maximum tenancy you are looking for?
• When are you looking for someone to move in?
“Host”: The apartment (1 living room / 1 kitchen / 1 Baths / 1 bedroom with king bed, 1 parking spot) is located on ______, Brighton. The apartment is fully furnished with all necessary amenities (it’s exactly like in the pics). I’m sure that you will love it. It has dishwasher, washing machine, air conditioning and clothes dryer. The rent of the flat for 1 month is £600 including all utilities (water, electricity, Internet, cable, parking, garbage, tv) and two months security deposit £1,200. I am looking for someone to rent anywhere from three months to three years or more.
Obviously we need a way to complete this deal in a safe and fast way for both since I am in Germany and i can’t show you the apartment. The solution is provided by a company called “Airbnb” (www.airbnb.co.uk) which will handle the payment of the first month and the security deposit. I guess you heard about Airbnb. They are the largest and most secure site for rents. I chose Airbnb because you send the money to them and you can cancel your booking any time until check in date (https://www.airbnb.com/home/cancellation_policies) and Airbnb will send your money back. Let me know if you are interested because I really need to take care of this matter as soon as possible.
Me: Thank you for getting back to me, the place really does look ideal. I have searched for the address on Google Maps but it brings me to Lloyd’s Bank on North Street. Do you have any outside photos of the property or a link to an online advertisement? When are you looking for someone to move in by? I will need to give notice on my current apartment. I am familiar with Airbnb but only for making short term/holiday bookings. Will there be a chance to view the apartment beforehand?
“Host”: If you are ready to proceed with this transaction I must tell you how this service works and what we need to do. You have to pay the first month of rent £600 and 2 months security deposit of £1.200 (total £ 1,800) to Airbnb (after first month you will pay directly to me in my bank account), after you book the apartment from Airbnb I will send you the keys via UPS (2 days urgent delivery) and then you can go to see the apartment. If you decide not to rent the apartment, Airbnb will refund your money back in the same day but I’m sure that you will love it because it is like in the photos. If you like the apartment Airbnb will send me the money only after you check in (move), in the apartment. So you can put the checkin date the end of this month so you have time to decide if you keep the apartment or not. After you move in the apartment I will send to you the contract signed by me and a backup key. Let me know if you are interested because I really need to take care of this matter by the end of this week.
Me: Thank you for getting back to me. Everything really does sound lovely but unfortunately I am too wary to send over that amount of money without first being able to view the apartment / without anything tangible to show that this apartment is for rent. Do you have a copy of your tenancy agreement? I also still need to give notice on my current flat, so wont be in a position to move immediately.
“Host”: In order to make the contract I will need a copy of your id and your full address. You don’t have any reason to worry because you can cancel your booking any time until the check in date and Airbnb will refund your money back. You will send the money to Airbnb, not to me and I will receive the money from them after the check in date.