I received an email that I was about to delete as spam until I saw it was an actual Airbnb booking for that night in a single room in Rio for the price of a week or more in a luxury home in Oz. I am in Queensland, Australia with no intentions of travelling anywhere right now. I have been charged through Paypal for $875.70 AUD through an express booking process that did not require any input from me. I’m not sure where or how this happened, but have raised disputes with the snail paced and anonymous resolution systems of each player: Airbnb, Paypal and the bank. It seemed impossible to get direct contact with any of them. Any help, shortcuts or advice?
Author Archives: Susan
Airbnb Listing Deactivated without Warning or Reason
Last Monday, I received an email from Airbnb notifying me that “they will no longer be able to support my account due to violations of their terms of service.” I logged into my account thinking there must have been some type of mistake.
When looking at my host page, I saw that all my upcoming reservations had been canceled and I had access to nothing in my account. However, my listing is still showing “listed.” I immediately called and emailed Airbnb. There was no reason given in the email. Once I got through the 20-minute hold, I was told I would have to wait to hear back by email, that there were no notes on the account and it was a different department that handles this type of situation.
I waited a couple of hours and called again because the last representative said it would take about an hour for the person to get back to me. I got the same song and dance: no information is available, but they would let the person know I had called. Now when I call in or ask for help on social media I am shot down and ignored. They said I must email them and that there was no information available as to the reasons why my account was deactivated.
With online support, I once received a message that read just like the emails. I am being ignored, and they will not answer me anymore. Just to add insult to injury, I was just given Superhost status one day before this happened. How can I go from being a Superhost to now no longer being able to use their services?
I am a good host with all positive reviews. I have been hosting since September 2016. My rental is a 5-year-old town home. All brand-new furniture. I just spent almost $1000 on adding new decorative additions, painting and new bedding. I had also scheduled an appointment to have someone come over and take new photos for my listing. I had a painter scheduled to do some accent walls to give the home more character. This was something I loved doing and was very good at it. To be dismissed in such a disrespectful way is very disheartening and really questions my loyalty to this company.
I am at a loss of understanding what has happened and how to resolve the issue. I am getting no response from Airbnb to my emails or calls. I also feel awful for my guests, who were booked and are now left scrambling around to try and find other accommodations. The worst part of all of this is the lack of information available to me as a host and the lack of warning.
Airbnb will not tell me any reasons as to why they cancelled my account. Their emails are just template emails that say the same thing. It is very cold, impersonal and feels insulting to support a company like I have for this long to be dismissed. Not one person could even write an actual email answering questions; they simply just sent me the standard email and then left me no options to ask questions or resolve the situation. It is insulting and frustrating.
Here are some of the highlights of the emails/Facebook support messages I have received:
“They are under no obligation to inform me as to their reasons.”
“They are not responsible for any loss I will suffer.”
“They can no longer support any questions I might have about my account.” “Thanks for reaching out.”
“If anything changes we will contact you.”
I need advice and help.
Airbnb Charging in Wrong Currency with Excess Fees
I was trying to pay my host, but the Airbnb system kept rejecting payment saying ‘server error, please retry’. I kept retrying and eventually selected PayPal as the payment mechanism.
I am booking an Italian property, with charges in EURs, and have a EUR credit card (despite living in the UK). My PayPal account has default currency of EUR and the EUR card was linked to it. However, when submitting payment via PayPal Airbnb kept changing the payment currency back to GBP. Airbnb then charged my credit card several times for this rental despite not finalising payment via PayPal, with automated email confirmations they have refunded it.
I opened the support message, which closed with no action. I phoned and was called back by people who have not bothered to read my support chat, saying I needed to ‘verify’ my identity. I did not need to do as I had already completed my account setup. Airbnb support are simply responding to the common issues people phone with, but absolutely not my issue. I was promised they would investigate and call me back. They didn’t.
It’s simple. I had a booking in EUR and I wanted to pay for it using EUR. I sent a message saying if I paid in GBP then they would need to refund me the 6% charge (3% Airbnb charge from EUR to GBP, and then 3% my bank charge converting GBP back to EUR). There was no response.
As the deadline for making the payment approached (on the special offer price) I needed to confirm everything, so I contacted my bank and transferred EUR into my GBP account, and then changed my payment method to use this account. However, now the system actually charges me in EUR from my GBP account. So, I now face bank charges from my bank converting EUR into GBP. This does not need to be this difficult. I simply wanted to be able to select a payment mechanism and select the currency.
I contacted Airbnb to refund this transaction and allow the correct payment to complete, but no response. I am sure as a UK consumer I am allowed to request a refund when the vendor misleads the consumer. All of this is documented on Airbnb message centre with screenshots, but I see this morning the case has just been closed with no comment. All of this is simply because Airbnb is trying to force payment in certain currencies so they can charge exchange rate fees. Their systems simply did not work as they should, and customer services are not empowered to resolve. I simply want these fees I have been charges refunded due to their system issues.
Stranded With Young Children At Night In London
I booked a three-bedroom flat in Limehouse Basin on Airbnb about two months in advance of the stay. We were taking the three children to London as their Christmas present to visit Hamleys and do some sightseeing. We were in the taxi on our way to the flat when host suddenly cancelled the booking without warning, claiming the place had been ‘trashed’ by the previous guests. Amazingly this was only discovered at 4:00 in the afternoon. Airbnb did nothing whatsoever to help; they left me on hold for 15 minutes with a fast draining battery and wouldn’t answer messages or ring me back. You can imagine how we felt being stranded in central London, with three children under ten and the best Airbnb could do was offer an extra £30 and a link to the app. Be very very wary booking with Airbnb – their support and help has been non existent. I also discovered I couldn’t leave a review for the host (she has ten properties listed on Airbnb) to warn others.
I Removed my Property Before Airbnb Deactivated it
I’ve been hosting on Airbnb for six months and basically Airbnb makes me peanuts. The number of nights that they sell is too small, and too short; I could earn more even if I rented my apartment on a long-term basis. Using Airbnb actually reduced my earnings because I often get offers by agents for a two-week to one-month stay, but could not accept it because someone had booked for two nights, which blocks the duration of longer stays. This resulted in much lower earnings using Airbnb than without it.
The truth is Airbnb is a small player; they are a peanut earner. When I cancelled one booking (to make way for a long stay), I received warnings that I may be suspended for the cancellation. I got another offer for a 60-day stay, so I had to cancel another booking for two nights so I could accept the long stay.
That’s when I realized Airbnb is just a waste of time. I went ahead and delisted my property permanently from Airbnb. The funny thing is, three days later Airbnb informed me they suspended my listing because I made two cancellations. Then they told me how I should behave, what I should do with my property, etc. What a joke. Don’t they know I had already delisted my unit? Unless I’m making any real income, Airbnb is just wasting my time.
Deceptive Profile Led to Being Charged for Damage
This is regarding the Airbnb apartment listed at this link. The profile is deceptive, making the property look big enough for four people without any clutter. Due to this deception, I booked this place, but it was hell to stay there and inevitably my son broke an exposed light bulb by his bed. I would have been happy to pay for that lightbulb, but I was charged an unreasonable amount of money.
The host also made a questionable claim that we spilled something on one of his cheap kitchen chairs. The host asked for $118 for damages that were at most approximately $8. It went to Airbnb mediation and they basically split the difference, charging me $68. It’s still extremely unreasonable for $8 worth of damage. Because this dispute was “mediated” by Airbnb I had no recourse. They took the money out of my account and I could not object. All Airbnb customers are vulnerable to this type of mistreatment.
Furthermore, before this verdict was handed down, I posted this review to protest the awful place:
“I was deceived by the 5-star reviews when I booked this [property]. I wish I had read the written reviews more carefully. Most mention negatives even when they gave five stars. This place was horrible. First, when I showed the address to Israelis they all told me that it is a dangerous neighborhood full of drugs, prostitution, crime, and gangs. There is graffiti, dog poop everywhere you walk, and trash blocking the sidewalks.
Second, the apartment was tiny. Profile pictures are deceptive, taken from angles that make it appear larger, and crammed with more furniture than shown in the photos and lots of junk everywhere. There was an exposed lightbulb next to the bench that served as my son’s bed. Inevitably my son bumped it and then the host tried to charge us a crazy amount for his damaged exposed lightbulb (more below).
There are no closets or drawers to put things. The only place to keep things is in your suitcase, but no floor space. So you need to hop over your suitcases whenever you cross the floor. When we complained, he said to put everything on a tiny box that already had his own junk on it. There is no parking since open spots are immediately filled in this dangerous, overcrowded neighborhood. When you try to stop in front, other cars start honking immediately.
We had to hike in and lug our stuff from a long way away. The profile mentions the climb, but fails to say that the staircase is very narrow, dirty and dark with weird wires and pipes sticking out. Dog poop on the floor. The shower is unusable because the water is always cold and splashes everywhere.
Worst of all, the host is a first class jerk. He falsely accused us of breaking “house rules” when we are very conscientious and followed the rules scrupulously. He falsely accused us of taking his remote control that we left in his apartment and tried to extort an exorbitant amount of money from us for a spill on a chair that I doubt was ours and his broken exposed lightbulb next to the bench my poor son had to sleep on. Read the other reviews before booking and don’t rely on the stars.”
Everything I wrote was true and no one disputed the facts. Nevertheless. Airbnb removed my review and wouldn’t allow me to post another one, so other people could be warned about how awful this place was. I suspect that this host’s good reviews are likely the result of all negative reviews getting purged. This brings into question the integrity of all Airbnb reviews, not just the integrity of those at this particular place.
Had to call the police to get insane Airbnb host out of rental
This is a very important story because the person involved has been sharing fake information around social media about my boyfriend and me. Basically my boyfriend and I are moving to Lisbon. He’s Brazilian and I’m French.
We booked an Airbnb for ten days so we could visit and find an apartment. Before we arrived we had communicated with the host in English, but when we arrived and she found out my boyfriend speaks Portuguese, she completely ignored me and did a 30-minute speech on transport (though my boyfriend told her several times we would find our way with Google).
The apartment was kind of alright. There were a few problems like the shower being cold and the wifi not working but I started getting bitten by something on the bed at night. The next night I got bitten again and my boyfriend messaged the host to tell her about it. We were getting ready, as we had loads of administrative meetings during the day. I got out of my shower, my boyfriend was taking his and as I was dressing up the bell of the apartment rang and someone banged on the window.
Surprised and undressed, I quickly put a towel around me and opened the door. It was the host who had already unlocked the entrance door and was waiting in front of ours. She had not sent a message, or called to tell us she was coming. I asked her nicely to wait two minutes so I could put some clothes on and tell my boyfriend to get out since she still refused to speak English to me.
When we opened the door she was in a fury, shouting because we had made her wait outside (I don’t think it was rude of me to ask her to wait two minutes to put clothes on). She ran to the kitchen to look at the boiler and said we had touched it and this was the reason why the showers were cold. We obviously had not touched her boiler and the showers were getting cold for the second person.
She also went into the bedroom and took pictures of my suitcase and blamed us for being the cause of the bedbugs. Obviously she was not going to take responsibility for any of the problems in her apartment. We had a busy day planned, so we asked her to leave because we did not feel confortable leaving our belongings (two Macbooks, a PS4, etc.) with her. She replied that she would not leave because she owned the place.
We told her we were renting the place and she was not allowed to do this. She said the laws in Portugal were not the same as those in Brazil or France and she was allowed to do whatever she wanted. We told her we would call the police and ask Airbnb to pay us back if she did not leave. She started looking at something in her purse and said things like “You have no idea who I am; don’t you think I know what Brazilians like you are coming to do here?”
She was being weird about not speaking English and this comment just confirmed how racist she was and implying we were some sort of illegal refugees. Once the police answered and were on their way she finally decided to leave the apartment and camp in front. After a long time and a lost afternoon, the police arrived and said they were not able to do anything since she was not inside. She tried to talk to them about water and bedbugs but the police left due to the lack of criminal offence from us.
We packed our stuff and left quickly since we were so stressed and afraid she would come back. She came unannounced and is now posting about my boyfriend and me on social media, saying we are scammers and we were only trying to get a free trip. She referred to me as a small blond who only speaks English. Another sign of her racism.
My only question: why make money off tourists if you don’t like them? She also kept making Airbnb call us, saying we had not dropped off the keys in the letter box. Airbnb told us to do so from her instructions. What I think is that this lady has issues, cannot deal with being wrong, will do anything to impose her version of events, and go to crazy lengths to make sure people will believe her.
TL;DR The host of my Airbnb came unannounced due to some problems we messaged her about. We had a busy day so we asked her to leave but she shouted that it was her place and she did not have to leave. After ten minutes of arguments we called the police so she left. Now she has been sharing fake information about my boyfriend and me on social media. She acted insane; she kept shouting, blaming us for the problems in the apartment, and refusing to leave the place we paid for. Now she’s posting about us being scammers in Lisbon.
Bait and Switch at San Diego Corporate Lodging
I reserved a penthouse in San Diego two months ahead of my visit. I arrived early in the day last Friday and went to eyeball the property at the address in the email. I felt odd as the view from the posting could not have been from the same address. There was no pool or spa and I felt like bad things were about to happen to my weekend. My host sent to me an address nearby.
About an hour before checking in, the host cancelled and I was offered another Airbnb and a 10% credit if I chose one of the offered locations. None had a view like the penthouse did. I went to the address the host provided to find out they had a very strict policy against Airbnb in the building. They only lease to corporate clients and when I showed them the pictures they confirmed it was their building.
They were pissed. I had been baited with the pictures and the view. They tried to switch me to another lesser property claiming maintenance issues. What a load of garbage. All the people I spoke to at Airbnb were the same, amateurs acting like they knew what they were doing. My trust level left me and I went to a hotel never to use Airbnb again. These bait and switch artists should be arrested for fraud.
Irresponsible Host Causes Accident at Bali Villa
My family and I made plans to go to Bali and decided to book an Airbnb. We settled into this nice villa in Seminyak. We went there for a family getaway trip with my cousin’s family, just hoping to relax and enjoy the beauty of the villa and Bali. We arrived late at night around 10:00 PM, got settled, and was amazed how nice the villa was. It really was as described and how it looked in the pictures.
We went on a short trip shortly after to buy some food to eat in the villa. There were three other villas in the same area. To get to the villa where we were staying, you needed to walk for about 15 meters, and the path is paved with block paving. However, one of the blocks was not perfectly placed – part of it was bulging out. As it was late at night and there was minimal lighting to aid us, my brother tripped on it.
At first we thought that his thongs (flip flops) just broke. However, he said that he was in pain. Once I turned on my flashlight I started screaming. A lot of blood was pouring from his left foot. There were so much that I almost puked and had to look away. My family helped him right away and shouted for the villa’s security, asking if they had first aid kit. They didn’t.
However, security was nice and helped him to get into the car to be taken to nearest hospital. My brother ended up getting a tetanus injection and six stitches across his bottom toes. As a result, he was not able to walk properly nor could he enjoy the pool and beaches. Our holiday trip was really disturbed.
In addition to that, on the third day of our stay, the AC in the first room was broken, causing water leakage into the wardrobe. My cousin’s clothes were soaking wet. He had to buy new clothes afterwards as there were no more clean and dry clothes left.
What made us so unsatisfied with the place was that the owner did not take any responsibility for my brother’s incident. The fault was clearly on them as they were not able provide a safe place for us to walk. The paving block was easily fixed right away after my brother’s accident. They were just too lazy to do so, as they said that they needed to open it again. If that was the reason, they should have put a sign or plant around it so that people could avoid it.
We were not able to contact the owners right away as they were based overseas. We had to deal this matter through their employees, who said that the owner would not take any responsibility and that we should just claim it on our own insurance. We travelled domestic and our airline did not provide travel insurance. I also requested reimbursement through Airbnb but the hosts said that the accident happened outside the villa. It happened next to the villa’s parking space and on the entry way to the villa. We really did not enjoy our stay here. Thank you for reading.
I Paid Outside Airbnb for a Condo, Not a Filthy Trailer
I contacted the host for this Airbnb and was asked to pay her directly, circumventing Airbnb payment system to get a reduced rate. When I arrived at the rental I was shown to a filthy trailer seething with decades-old cigarette smoke. The pictures were of another trailer nearby occupied by the host’s mother and depicting a charming residence being advertised as a condo at the time. She has removed that claim from the posting as of now.
As we stood in the trailer my throat began to swell from reactions to the toxic smoke coating the interior of the trailer. I explained to her I could not stay there and asked for a refund, to which she agreed right away. She and her mother were as charming as could be and I left confident they would give me the refund they promised. I asked several times, and finally she relayed that I would get the refund “the next week”.
Next week came and went with her continuing to ignore further inquiries about my refund. Finally she texted me asking why I really needed the refund since I was so wealthy (not true at all). I then contacted Airbnb, who responded telling me they couldn’t help since I paid her outside the system (at her request of course) and as of this posting they continue to advertise for this fraudulent listing. Beware of renting from this listing – it’s a fraud.