Author Archives: Amy

Broke and Unhappy After Customer Service Experience

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I’m highly disappointed in my recent experience with Airbnb’s customer service. My friends and I booked what turned out to be a scam listing. We were already about 8 hours into our 11-hour drive to the beach when we received a notification from Airbnb that our booking had been canceled and we wouldn’t be penalized for the late cancelation.

We expressed that we were already over halfway there and were left with no place to stay. We were told that Airbnb would book us a new place to stay and get back to us within an hour. We never heard back from them. We ended up booking the only other pet-friendly beach house in the area that turned out to be four times the price of where we initially thought we were staying.

We reached out to Airbnb many times and were told that we had to wait until our assigned case manager contacted us and that no one else could help us. My friends and I now owe a difference of $700 per person for the new booking and Airbnb has refused to cover any of this difference. Now I’m broke and upset and my whole vacation was ruined because of this.

Guest Leaves, Takes Keys, Receives Refund

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Please consider the following chain of events. I have now been waiting for Airbnb to help me retrieve my keys from a guest for almost a week and two weeks since the guest claimed he moved out (without returning my keys). I have lost numerous reservations and will most likely close my Airbnb account after this is resolved.

I accepted a reservation and arranged for the guest’s arrival and key pickup at my neighbor’s at the guest’s convenience. He checked in and the same day requested a new microwave oven, which I arranged and delivered the next morning.

Two days later he informed me he wanted to leave because of noise that he cannot prove to Airbnb and which was not confirmed by the neighbors. After I refused the change — being informed by Airbnb that I did not have to accept — the guest got hostile and accused me of “taking advantage of him.”

I was then informed by Airbnb that the guest can cancel at his own will, which I also informed him, even though I was not happy with this. I did not know cancellation was possible after checking in. The guest did not cancel, so I assume he stayed.

Prior to the original checkout date, I informed the guest he needed to leave the key where he picked it up: at my neighbor’s apartment next door. I also asked him to take out trash as I won’t be able to visit for a long time due to quarantine. When the checkout date passed and the key was not returned, I asked my neighbor to enter the apartment to look for the key.

He didn’t find the key, but a big mess, unflushed toilet, and trash left out, possibly for 10 days. I was now informed by Airbnb that the reservation is considered cancelled as by the original alteration request that I did not accept. And that I will now owe Airbnb the money for the remaining days.

A day after original checkout date, the guest finally answered and informed me I needed to travel to Stockholm (I am in Norway) to pick up my keys on the other side of town where he now apparently resides. He also requires a receipt of key return. I have no evidence of when he checked out, as the keys have not been returned. For all I know he could have used the apartment all this time, even after the original checkout date.

Instead of help from Airbnb when a guest has not returned my keys, I was informed I owe Airbnb money for the time the guest claimed he has not been in my apartment, even though they keys have still not been returned. The guest repeated he will not travel to return the keys and take out the trash “as I have caused him inconvenience,” thereby somehow “punishing” me for not accepting his alternation request which Airbnb told me I had the right to decline.

Airbnb Nightmare From Lack of Basic Amenities

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We checked into a property for Airbnb. We immediately noticed black mold covering the entire HVAC system and surrounding closet within the interior of the property. The semi-attached townhome was completely filthy from top to bottom. There were dead dried up lizard carcasses spread throughout the interior. The property pool (regular sized hot-tub) was actually bone dry for our Saturday check in. It remained in that very same condition even after its weekly scheduled maintenance appointment.

The property management company really knows how to roll out the red carpet for their guests. The online photographs were enhanced tremendously. This property is off a very busy noisy traffic congested main boulevard that was conveniently cut out of all the photographs that were provided on Airbnb. We reached out to them directly, to no avail. We did not stay at there, not even for one minute. Three days had passed with no communication.

We then contacted Airbnb regarding these issues, when the property rep reached out to us. We waited at the property for over an hour on Tuesday until maintenance arrived. The maintenance rep provided two solutions: paint over the dangerous black mole spores located inside the HVAC closet and have their cleaning crew re-clean or we could take the other townhouse located next door.

At first glance, the semi-attached townhouse was 100 times better. It had an actual adult size pool, boat dock, terra-cotta floors throughout, an amazing emerald color large comfortable anthropology sofa, and an actual neighbor instead of a busy road. I took it without hesitation, not realizing I would be wasting five days cleaning up the property’s exterior from a previous Airbnb guest that entertained huge house parties (fun fact supplied courtesy by delightful neighbor).

Besides the overgrown non-maintained wet lands you will also find empty and full bottles of alcoholic beverages throughout the property exterior. What prompted the cleanup, you ask? While spending time at the pool the first day at the property, a huge rodent (rat) ran right by me. That very same night we saw several mice jumping over the fence, raising my blood pressure even more. I just dealt with it. I had even primed the pool pump and cleaned out the filter, which should have been done prior to my arrival.

Unauthorized people are just letting themselves onto the property, opening the backyard gate and walking in totally ignoring me but once confronted they run away. I’ve rented this property for a month and what privacy do I get? These trespassers are jeopardizing the wellbeing of my beloved pooch from escaping. They are trespassing on private property and leaving the backyard fence open while doing so.

I forgot to include that the property was just sold a day prior to my arrival. The new home owner just loves their new property so much. Now I have my very own paparazzi. A lot of creepy drive bys. They even stalk the las townhome from the parking lot across the intercostal in their tinted out black Cadillac Escalade (thanks law enforcement).

Every room is a adored with a beautiful Amazon FireTV for your enjoyment. It’s a pity that they aren’t functional. Why, you ask? Apparently the house doesn’t have its own Internet provider anymore. The internet was canceled back in May. So management is stealing wifi from another client at the property but not doing a very good job at it. Granted, there are cinderblock walls separating the two different attached townhome properties which is not allowing the wifi to penetrate.

Don’t you worry: the sound from next door penetrates perfectly, very life like, It’s like the other Airbnb guest’s huge dogs are barking in your very own living room. In addition, whoever had setup the Netgear extenders didn’t follow the proper installation procedure. I am not even able to order Internet or my own hotspot, as retailers are only allowing online orders, not in-store purchases. We are not allowed to have anything delivered to this Airbnb.

Why should I absorb additional costs after spending over $6,000 on this Airbnb? I forgot to mention they limit you on how much time you can spend in your own private pool that is located on the property that you’re renting. No swimming after 10:00 PM. What’s next? No swimming after a meal? They also forgot to include that tidbit on their Airbnb listing.

They also forgot to mention that during high tide or any sort of rain that the street located right in front of the property becomes another intercostal. So Leave the GTC Lusso garaged and bring the G-wagon instead. You’ll have no trouble fitting it perfectly within the garage. The same cannot be said about the other garage because it’s filled with old appliances and junk.

I’ve been in constant contact with the rep, but nothing ever gets accomplished. She is constantly passing the buck and has absolutely no follow through. If you ever get her on the phone she would first deny it’s her and then say it is once she decides that she’ll help you without even trying to disguise her voice.

I’m still at the property. There’s 10 days to go without any TV or functional wifi signal attached to a internet provider. I’ll just spend my time writing truthful reviews that will help others until the host or anyone from the management company resolves the ongoing issues at the property.

There’s No One Home at Airbnb Support

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I just spent a splendid two weeks trying to get through to Airbnb support. I have received robot messages from several mythological support people. Some are insulting, some claim to be supportive and not do anything, and none seem to read the messages I sent. Yesterday they added another fun category of pretending to call me back and claiming there was no answer.

I think even a robot could see that the messages were being sent from my phone that was in my hands. I have blocked all my time with Airbnb and plan on finding a company with actual people in it to take my money for use of the website. They charge nearly as much is a reputable rental agency and give nothing in return.

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No One Paid for the Damage to My Furniture

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My Sept. 11 reservation was a nightmare. The person lied about coming with her boyfriend. On the day, she showed up alone, inspected my place, and asked many personal questions. That night, four people came to my place and made noise until 1:30 AM. As a single woman, I was terrified after hearing many male voices.

Later at night, one person left and I found my house key in the mailbox outside the next day. The three men checked out at 11:00 AM on Sept. 12 and I found that they broke my chair. I took a picture at 11:04 AM. I wrote to Airbnb support at 11:16 AM. Since I have a security deposit and it is written that I have 14 days to claim damages (attached), I decided to wait for Airbnb’s response, while getting the apartment ready for the next guest.

I needed to move back the furniture that they moved. The apartment needed deep cleaning, especially when the extra beds were used without linens when I only prepared the main bed for the “couple”. Frustrated by the silence from Airbnb support, I wrote an angry review of the guest and told the sad story. At 4:53 PM, Airbnb sent an email saying that I could report a problem (attached). I was directed to ask for money from the guest. The guest paid the extra guest fee, but lied about the chair being broken when he arrived.

After being cornered by evidence, he began to swear at me. That’s when I turned to the resolution sector. An agent contacted me on Sept. 16 at 6:13 PM. The person technically made up excuses to prevent me from getting any compensation. He said that I need to submit a claim before my next guest checked in, which is not what it says under the “security deposit” information on my listing (attached).

After I explained that the very reason that I couldn’t study the submission process was that I had a guest coming, he said that “you can notify Airbnb either by opening a claim in the Resolution Center or by contacting customer support directly”. I sent a screenshot to show that I contacted support right away, but I never got a response. Then he said “after a thorough review, we have decided to uphold our original decision. We determined that a payout could not be processed in this instance.” I demanded a valid reason, but he closed my ticket without any further response.

It is not a fancy chair, even though the market price is about $267. What strikes me most is the lies about insurance and guarantee from Airbnb. I am not a fan of having strangers in my house. The earnings from Airbnb are inconsistent and I can do better with long-term rentals. I chose Airbnb because of the guarantee. If Airbnb allows stranger to get away with damaging my property and lies about protecting hosts, why should I open my doors to make Airbnb rich?

We just need to remind Airbnb that without guests, they can still run your company even with a reduced profit. Without hosts, they are done, nothing, zero. How dare they use hosts like this and treat us like fools.

Host Refuses to Communicate About Cancellation

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We had plans to travel to the U.S. in October that were cancelled due to COVID. Alternative bookings were made for a property in Australia from Oct. 3-10 (we had stayed in this property 12 months ago with a great review from the host).

The cancellation policy on the listing at the time of booking was a 50% refund up until Sept. 25. We raised the question of flexibility to change dates if restrictions applied at the time of booking. The host responded “let’s talk about this in September.”

Flights cancelled by the airline, borders closed by our state governments and penalties (both financial and potential jail sentences) for breaching COVID quarantine restrictions forced our decision to request a change of dates to April 2021 to give us time for recovery post COVID. There was no response from the host.

We reached out to the Airbnb Support team who promised to look into the matter. We reached out to the host in September who advised that this property would no longer be available after February 2021. We were unable to take leave before February so pushed the “cancel” button and requested a refund. The host’s response was a “$0.00 refund.”

We reached out again to Airbnb Support who asked for evidence to be uploaded. They advised they were in contact with host. We were frustrated at how long it took to respond to a message. It would be great to actually speak to someone about this. I have been a very frequent user, supporter and promoter of Airbnb but the lack of real time support has left a very disappointing mark.

No Refund for $2600 Due to COVID Circumstances

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We cancelled our rental on March 21 for our stay in Austin scheduled for October 22-27 through Airbnb with a deposit $2,581.62 due to COVID-related complications. We booked in January. Neither the host nor Airbnb will refund our money due to their strict policy of “no cancellations” unless there are extenuating circumstances. COVID falls under that clause.

We have been fighting with them since March to get a refund. Our business was shut down due to COVID on March 13. We are now hiring an attorney to recoup our money. Do not use Airbnb. They have no compassion for the current climate or what people are having to endure. These are huge businesses which are not interested in the welfare of the clients. Losing $2,600 is a big deal to us, especially now.

Not Happy After Leaving Airbnb in an Hour

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It’s been a long time since my little family and I had gotten away. We chose a home in Lantana, FL through Airbnb to rent for the Labor Day Weekend. As soon as we got there, there was a very strong mold and mildew odor and of course my oldest daughter has allergies. That smell triggered her in less than five minutes.

The house has changed since their pictures had been posted: the reading room is something to be said for; the couch cushion was torn and sewed; the dining room chairs were all stained (who was gonna get blamed for that?); the bunk beds in both rooms said use at your own risk; the master bed literally sat on the floor; the back shower now looked like a jail walk-in shower (not that I know about that, seen on TV); the home was hot as hell and we turned the AC down to give it a chance; and the water was coming out yellow.

We felt so uncomfortable that I realized none of us would sit down. In less than an hour, I said we should go find a hotel. We found one finally about 10-15 minutes away and rented there, went back to the Airbnb, and collected all our items. I contacted the host and out of everything I had an issue with his response was it was cheaper to stitch the couch than to replace it and to try turning the AC down. I informed him that we had done that. He also stated that he went by and saw nothing wrong.

I have requested a full refund because we did not cancel. We showed up and his home was not okay to stay in. The mold and mildew smell alone was too much to handle. Of course there was no refund to give per the host or Airbnb (as if they actually go out and check things). His pool table room is a whole different color now (this is not a problem). They should update their pictures to match all the changes they have made and give someone a fair chance to say this is or is not the home for them (people have gotten too comfortable with ripping others off). I’m definitely not done with this.

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Fleas, Cockroaches, and a Late Check-in

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These Airbnb hosts made us wait an hour and a half after our check-in time to actually let us check in. Our dog caught fleas and there were live cockroaches, dirty floors, and a slimy shower. The hosts actually admitted to all of this. They said we broke their blinds when we never touched them and tried to charge us for it. They said I never paid the pet fee which is insane because we texted them like a month before our trip to pay it but they never responded to let us pay.

I reported all of this to Airbnb to which they sided with the hosts even with all this proof. They said they must stick to their guest policy and sent me a link. I went through the policy and showed that it said less than 24 hours after the trip ends, you can get a refund worked out. I told them if they want to stick to their refund policy then they should take the time to read their own policy and circled where it said that they would work out a refund less than 24 hours after a stay. Then I showed them that I messaged them in less than 24 hours.

The person I was speaking to said that it stated “24 hours before.” I zoomed in and screenshotted where it said “after,” circled it, and sent it to her again. They closed the case.