Author Archives: Hilary

Airbnb Bait and Switch with Marketing Tactics

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We reserved a house in Vancouver using a credit card and the host cancelled. The credit card was not refunded but was applied to a credit on Airbnb without our consent. When we reserved another house, it was marketed and advertised as $262/night with Instant Booking (when you mouse over the Instant Booking icon you see that you can reserve the property without waiting to hear from the host). I always thoroughly research the houses to make sure they will be comfortable and as advertised. There was one bad review but the others were fine for this particular house.

In the charges area of the house listing they specified that if you have more than 13 guests there would be a $21 per person additional charge. I was delighted by the price and entered my dates manually without use of the calendar and was instantly booked via Paypal.

Here’s where things went very wrong. I had in my mind the $262/night cost promised and marketed. Vulnerable to bait and switch, I quickly booked it while traveling on the road (in a bit of panic about not having housing for a festival my band was performing at in Vancouver) and did not note that the price had been tripled. When I noticed the charge had been applied. The cancellation fee for that house was 50% refund with at least seven days’ notice.

I called Airbnb customer service to try to find out what happened with the price and they explained that there was seasonal pricing for that house. I explained there was no mention of seasonal pricing on the listing. In fact, it was listed clearly as $262/night with only $21/person extra over 13 guests, which did not apply to me. They said I had approved the charge, which was true, but under a false impression from the listing.

Airbnb customer service said that there was a new feature that showed actual nightly rates when you moused over the dates. This feature was not mentioned anywhere on the listing or clearly anywhere during my research of the house. Since I did not mouse over the dates, I was completely unaware.

Buyer beware, right? This is clearly bait and switch. The hosts and Airbnb were completely intransigent about acknowledging the false advertising and did indeed keep 50% of my funds when I cancelled. No apology, no acknowledgement of the fraudulent marketing, just 50% of the considerable sum I’d spent.

Please advise any ways that anyone has found for which I can seek recourse. I’d be happy to join a class action lawsuit. I am reporting them to the City of Vancouver, the equivalent of the Attorney General of BC, the CA Attorney General, the Better Business Bureau and any other place that can put pressure on them to refund people they have ripped off and to change their marketing to be clear and accurate.

Airbnb Can Hold Hosts’ Money Hostage

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I am going to make this short. My wife and I bought a short term rental property in central Florida. We joined Airbnb in May 2017. We got a lead from Airbnb for a guest to stay at the end of June through July 2017. We asked how we would get paid so we set up our bank account back in May to be linked with Airbnb. Airbnb collects the money from the guest and then holds your money. They do not pay you according to your terms and conditions – only on Airbnb’s terms, whatever those terms happen to be. They hold your money, for your rental, in an unknown account.

Our guest stayed in our property. The guest had a good time and enjoyed their vacation, checking out on July 2nd, 2017. We paid the bills/mortgage/management and all other fees for this property. Airbnb collected the money over a month ago. We have tried via email and numerous phone calls to try and find out why we do not have our money for the booking. We were told on the phone that the ticket is updated. That is the only response: the ticket has been updated. Our emails have been ignored. We still have not been paid and are in the dark as to why. We have other guests inquiring to book the house through Airbnb but we can not move forward with a company that does business in this way.

The Worst Response to “Airbnb is Just a Platform!”

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This little nightmare starts back at the beginning of May 2017. It has just been resolved two months later and still leaves a bad taste in my mouth. At 10:00 PM the night of my reservation, I had to cancel after the host was MIA with directions on how to get into the property. Airbnb apologized for its host and the situation. They encouraged us to get a hotel room and they’d reimburse us up to $150; we spent $129 at Hampton Inn.

You must be thinking “wow!” like we were, and “how nice is that?” They really take good care of their customers. All those good feelings about Airbnb quickly vacated as time went on. I was assured twice by two different employees that everything was in place for the reimbursement. After waiting almost two months and losing patience well past the expected payout date, I called back a third time and spoke with someone who got me over to a “Customer Service Specialist” after we discovered I needed to input a payout method (like a host would) to get the reimbursement. This was news to me.

It’s not that the two-month delay wasn’t bad enough, or the misinformation; this is when it really got hellish. The specialist barked like a dog. He seemed old, cranky, short tempered, and not at all apologetic – not what you’d expect from such a “hip” company like Airbnb. He spoke over me constantly as if he was fighting for his life and this was supposed to be top management. He made sure to remind me that Airbnb is a 37 billion dollar company that is “just a platform”. He blamed us and the Airbnb representative at the time of the incident repeating over and over, “I don’t know where everybody’s head was at the time!”

He made sure to blame the host when he wasn’t blaming his underlings and asserted they are ultimately responsible because, yep you guessed it, because “Airbnb is just a platform.” I took this to mean he felt as an Airbnb manager he had no responsibility for my unpleasant, inconvenient experience with a host they vetted or the employees they hired and trained. So keep this in mind: Airbnb takes no responsibility for their hosts or employees. You’re on your own.

Well, I had quite a bit to say to this guy who claimed to be a “specialist” in the area of customer service. After pointing out that two representatives hired and trained by Airbnb, gave me incorrect instructions and information that delayed my reimbursement, you’d think an apology was in order. Nope. He just got crasser and meaner. I had to pull out the big guns and calmly repeated my dissatisfaction. I hinted and suggested an additional travel credit could smooth this all out and make up for all the mistakes Airbnb made along the way to issuing me reimbursement. Finally, he begrudgingly mentioned, “I can give you a $25 credit if that would shut you up.”

I continued to educate “the specialist” in customer service, mentioning how important it is to go above and beyond in this situation. All my suggestions were coming from my own experience as a business owner with unhappy customers. All he could bring himself to do was issue the lousy $25 credit (the maximum, according to him). A good habit to get into when dealing with these giant call centers is “resolution before disconnection.” There could at least be a confirmation number or the agent’s ID. At the most, it would be completely resolved. Try to get an email confirmation as documentation. Things get “lost” all the time in these behemoth call centers and repeating yourself is no fun.

Well, this specialist wasn’t going to have any of it: no ID, no last name, no email, no confirmation, nothing except a hearty, “just trust me, it’s taken care of.” He did take care of it finally, but the way all of it was handled should make Airbnb hide in shame for such a blatant disregard for its responsibilities as a “platform” and the ultimate satisfaction of its guests.

Bad Day using Airbnb in Baden-Baden Germany

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We stayed at Michael’s home in Baden-Baden using Airbnb for one night on July 1st, 2017. When we awoke the following morning, we found ourselves alone. Michael and his family had left for a destination unknown and left no note. After carefully checking that we had packed everything, we left the house key on the table and shut the front door. Only then did we realize that we had left our iPad, which was hidden behind a pot plant, in our room. Is it normal for a host to abandon a guest before they have checked out?

Our communication with the host:

Guest: Michael, where are you? I left my iPad in the bedroom. Can you please let me know when you are at home and I will pick up. Please call me ASAP.

Host: Hello Malcolm, we are back home now. Unfortunately the number you sent is not available. Please call us or send a mail when you want to pick up your iPad.

Guest: Too late Michael! We are now in Metz. We were surprised when we found the house empty this morning and no note. Do you have a valid phone number?

Host: Good morning Malcolm. We were surprised that you forgot the IPad. In 8 years of using Airbnb no guest has ever forgotten anything. I just tried to catch you on the phone again. There is no contact on the phone – even when I call back the message on our answering machine. Today you can reach us until 8:00 or then after 14:30

Guest: Sorry I missed your call but we had a bad day yesterday. First we inadvertently left our iPad (there is a first time for everything) and could not contact you either by phone or mail. We waited in Baden-Baden until 6:00 PM and went back to your home but were unable to get iPad. In the many years we have used Airbnb we have never had a host leave without prior warning and then be unable to contact them. Second, we had our car towed because we had unknowingly parked in a restricted zone! To retrieve the auto cost €300. This caused us much distress and anxiety as you can imagine. I believe we both must accept some responsibility for the first problem. I suggest a compromise that the cost of postage be shared 50%. We will be in Nantes until Friday. If it is possible to deliver before then please post the iPad to us.

Host: Hello Malcolm, the telephone number you gave us is not valid in Germany. So we were not able to contact you. In fact you missed something from your things in the room and realized it later. We are Airbnb hosts . This is not a hotel. We have time with our family on Sunday. When you forget something you are free to pick it up at our place, but we cannot send it somewhere else. You can tell somebody else to pick this up or come to us to get your things back, but we will not post it for our own safety. Sorry for your bad day, but the reason for the inconvenience came from your side. Hope to hear from you about your decision to solve this issue soon.

Guest: Sorry Michael but the phone number is valid in all of Europe. I don’t know anyone in Baden-Baden and I am not able to return as we have a travel schedule to follow. I appeal to you as a decent human being to do the right thing and post the iPad. I accept full responsibility if the device is lost or damaged.

 

Paris Disaster, Airbnb Useless for High-End Travel

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We paid over USD 3000 for three nights in a large centrally located penthouse in Paris. We booked this on February 22, 2017 for our stay July 2-4. We received notification from Airbnb that the host (represented by “Caroline”) cancelled the booking around midnight on June 29. I am traveling through the Scottish highlands with my family with limited internet and have now stopped in at Inverlochy Castle to try to book a hotel for ten people in Paris tomorrow. I’m upset enough to write this complaint.

Customer service has been of no help; one representative said his manager would call us back. Over a day later, and there has still been no call. I just spent a hour talking to customer service with a sympathetic person who couldn’t help. None of the suggestions fit our requirements. We’re flying into Paris tomorrow with no place to stay. I am now left with no options but to book hotel rooms. Airbnb will have cost me over a thousand dollars in extra costs, several hundred dollars in phone calls, and loss of peace of mind on this vacation… not to mention the fact they have held my money since February. The asymmetry of their policies is incredible: if a guest cancels 48 hours prior, they are liable for 100% of charges. If a host cancels, they are penalized by Airbnb. However, when a guest suffers losses because of Airbnb, they provide no compensation in damages or assistance. I will send them my estimated hotel charges as soon as I have them. Let’s see where we go from here…

Why Does Airbnb Continually Break its Promises to Help?

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As Airbnb guests, we encountered what seemed to have been a fairly straightforward question about a refund. The landlady agreed to give us a refund on our room. The only problem, she said, was that she didn’t know how to formally give permission to Airbnb to activate the refund, so she sent us a mail to show to Airbnb, as evidence to get the refund. That was several months ago. I must have called and talked with Airbnb advisors a dozen times now. It’s the same pattern every time – the advisor listens to the story, agrees that we ought to get a refund, and promises to pass the problem to a higher level – and that they will get back to us in a few days. They never do. Every time, they fail to do what have promised. How can the company behave so irresponsibly? They are not even together enough, or honest enough, to give us a straight ‘no’. Instead they just leave us hanging, every time. This has really put me off using Airbnb. If they can treat me like this over a fairly minor issue, what happens if a really serious problem comes up? Will they just run away like they did here? I am thinking of making a YouTube documentary of this saga, together with recordings of the phone calls and broken promises.

Locked Our Child in the Room to Avoid Bad Hosts

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Lesson learnt. Don’t ever use Airbnb. I used it once and cancelled my account. Airbnb will not check the size of the room and the number of people that it can accommodate; it’s up to the host to decide. Even in a small room they will accommodate many people for money. No mercy for kids, either. They will fake the review, even if you call them and complain. They will talk to you nicely and will tell you that they will file a complaint and send you an email copy regarding that. In fact, they will not do that.

My wife got a job in Lake Mary, we moved from NJ to FL. The place was totally new to us. I was trying to book a hotel for a five-day stay (because we got an apartment for rent near my wife’s office after five days) with my family. One of my friends suggested booking an Airbnb based on the host’s reviews, which I am regretting now. Since I was traveling with a kid and the area was totally new, my wife and I decided to rent a place with a kitchen to cook fresh food for my son. The rent was $100 than a residential hotel. Since the reviews of the host were good, we booked the place.

The property was hosted by a young couple from the same land where I am from. The first day we reached the place around 7:00 PM and the hosts were so good; they asked us to feel free to use the common area since the room was very small for three people to stay. Starting the second day, the nightmare began. When we started cooking around 1:00 PM on the second day and since they were very friendly and set very high expectations, we started asking about little items like salt, sugar, etc. We cooked with most of our pots and pans. Even though they put in the Airbnb listing that new stainless steel equipment was available in the kitchen, we didn’t see anything there. When we asked for some, they were not happy.

Since we were new and we didn’t have all the items we need and no car, we could not go to the shop and buy everything on the second day. The host was not there and his wife was messaging him about everything happening and keeping him updated. So far so good. The guy came home. He had spoken nicely to us the previous day. However, he entered his home with anger in his face. My kid went and talked to him; he never responded properly. I noticed something was going wrong. I went and talked to him. He was telling me that we were asking for items which we should not ask, overutilizing the kitchen and not cleaning the dining table area properly. In addition, he was very arrogant telling me that if we did not clean the dining table area properly, he would cancel the booking. I was scared that with three big suitcases, three big hand bags, and a little kid, in a place which was really new to me, where would we stay?

I quietly told him we booked the room because we had a kid and we had to cook fresh food. To my knowledge, we were also cleaning the table. He told me that when they eat food, they clean the floor around the dining room table because small food particles might be there. I told him that I would clean the floor if that’s the case. Then I went to the kitchen and saw a piece of rice in the sink. His wife was there and I told her I would clean that up; otherwise, he would not be happy. After hearing this, he told me in a rough voice, “Come here, don’t talk to my wife. Talk to me. What did you say…?” as if I was going to do something to his wife.

I never expected that kind of harshness from him and I explained what I had said. After having our lunch, we went to the room. I Googled around and found some hotels nearby. I told my wife we should get out of there. However, my wife was not completely okay because of our kid and the amount of luggage we had. We went out to talk to the hosts to tell them we were ready to move out. They said that they will not be at home starting the next day so we could use the kitchen. However, we had to clean it properly. My wife said this was okay and convinced me to stay.

After that incident we didn’t want to go out when they were there and kept our son in the room. We basically locked him in the room. The room was so small for three people. I don’t know what kind of verification Airbnb is doing if someone is ready to host by allowing a certain number of guests, especially kids. The room can accommodate only one queen size bed, so they put a bed on the floor by the side of the main bed for my son.

As they said, no one was there for first two days. I went out and prepared something for my son and fed him as my wife left for work. During dinnertime, we went out because they were there. On the third day his wife was there the entire day, so we never went out. We had only oats for my son and I and at night, as usual, we went out. I was waiting for the fourth day because that was the day we were checking out and going to our new apartment. I was so happy when we stepped out of the room. Please don’t use Airbnb and suffer like I did. It’s better to use a hotel.

 

The Dungeon of Horror at NYC Airbnb

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This was my first and last time using Airbnb; it is a total scam. I picked a room from an ad on Airbnb in NYC. The price was very much comparable to that of a decent hotel (about 100 EUR per day) but I had heard the Airbnb experience was great. Since I was planning to stay seven days, it was about 700 EUR altogether.

I arrived at the place. It turned out a total dungeon owned by an old lady. The picture the ad showed was actually the kitchen/living room in which the lady had put her bed just beside the fridge and the cookers. The angle of the picture made it look like a cozy place to stay, but in reality it was below human standards. It also turned out the room I had rented was not the one in the picture (the actual living room) but some smelly dark hole in which I was not ready to stay for one moment.

I politely said to the woman that the place was not what I expected, and she said “no problem; we can cancel.”

I tried to cancel the booking through the app, but it turned out Airbnb would retain around 250 EUR. Then I called Airbnb to see how I could recover my 250 EUR. They said I should request a refund from the owner – that she only had to accept the request, and that would be it. I did what they asked, she claimed that she had returned them, and everything seemed okay. It should have appeared in my account after a couple of days.

I went to a hotel and after a couple of days, there was still no money back. I contacted the host; several times she confirmed she had accepted the request. A few days more… still no money. I called Airbnb, and they said the old lady hadn’t accepted the request after all, and that they could not do anything.

To sum up: an ad which was absolutely misleading, miserable conditions in which only a poor old woman can live in, an obvious scam where she claimed several times she had returned the money, and Airbnb washing its hands and taking its share of the scam despite of the whole conversation concerning the return of my money was clearly stated in their message system. Airbnb – a total scam. Save your money and your nerves. Stay away.

Dreamland Nightmare: No Amenities in Bali

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Friends and I decided to go for a surf trip to Bali, Indonesia. We found a good looking place for a good price as we are students and don’t have a lot of money. On arrival in Bali we were told that the manager of the house would be waiting for us at the villa to open it. When we got to the villa there was someone different: not the host or the manager, some random person. He struggled with English and quickly left once we were in.

We soon realized that our beds had no bedding or linen. This was a bummer. We also realized that there were no towels so a shower after the long plane flight was a no go. The villa was dirty and falling apart. Shelves and cupboard doors were falling off their hinges. There was no kettle. The gas stove had no gas and to top it off, the wifi that was promised seemed nowhere to be found.

We contacted the host, and she was very responsive and apologetic. We asked for the linen, towels and wifi and she assured us it would be there tomorrow, as we arrived late in the night. We have been here for three days and nothing has changed. We have contacted the host countless times. Every time she reassures us that our needs will be met but we have yet to see anything happen from her part.

Halfway through our stay the manager arrived randomly one evening. He did not bring bedding or towels. He couldn’t speak a word of English so communicating with him was extremely difficult. His friend who accompanied him told us that they need to do renovations two days before we are supposed to check out. This was very weird and we were extremely confused. He then told us that he will move us to the house next door for the remainder of our stay.

This is ridiculous. It’s a complete joke. The host is extremely useless and is treating us terribly. Hopefully we can get a refund or something because no one should be treated this way. Thank god the waves are amazing because it’s the only thing keeping us happy.

Do Not Use Hosts Who Demand Positive Reviews

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Upon arriving at this pool house that was suppose to sleep ten people, we discovered there were only three beds. We had expected three pull-out couches from the listing on Airbnb. After contacting the host, she informed us that the other four people could sleep on the couches, that the couches were not beds. While looking under the cushions for the pull-out bed, we discovered food, candy and dust under all the cushions. It look like they had not been cleaned in months. We did not even want to sit on the couches, so we covered them with sheets.

Then we contacted her and asked what the hours were for use of the pool. She said they had no restrictions on the pool use and that we would not disturb them. She knew that our girls did not get finished with dance until after 9:00 PM, because we told her. After we left, I received an email from her telling me how surprised she was at how clean we left the place. I explained that was how I was raised, to clean up after yourself.

She went on and on about how great renters we were, then she bashed me on my review. She said the children were left unattended at the pool (the “children” were 16, 17 and 18 years old) and that they removed the Polaris from the pool. That was not true. She also reported that they had to scrape food off the couches. As I stated earlier, the couches were covered with sheets she provided for us. If they were scraping food off the couches, it was from the previous tenants. She begged me for a good review and stated that she would give me a good review as well. As it turned out, she lied about that too. Take my advice: do not rent from hosts like her.