A guest retaliated about having to pay to replace my air mattress (a crucial item I needed for future guests) after they admitted, in writing, to damaging it so badly that they removed it from the property (threw it away) while I was not home (which is technically theft). Their retaliation was to write me a negative review, where they said they looked in my (closed) drawers and cabinets(!), and then revealed my personal items that they didn’t like or agree with its presence in the home. I asked AirBnB to remove or edit this review to take out the mention of my personal items. I had a year’s worth of entirely positive reviews and was nearly qualified for AirBnB’s elite Superhost status, and this was a first-time AirBnB user obviously seeking revenge for something they did wrong, but AirBnB’s customer service repeatedly told me they agreed my situation was unfortunate and morally wrong of that guest, but they stood by their policy, which goes like this: ANYTHING in your home is open for guests’ use, viewing, and mentioning in a review, so long as they do not reveal personally identifiable financial information (ex. driver’s license number, tax ID, or bank numbers). I had previously removed that stuff from my home, but I had no idea your guests can write about pretty much anything else, even if it is out of sight and in an obviously hidden or private place that most polite humans would never dare to look or publicly admit that they did look there. I specifically confirmed with AirBnB that their policy means guests CAN write reviews about your prescription medications, health info, religious artifacts, political artifacts, or any other object which someone, somewhere might find offensive, or that you might deem too “personally identifiable” or too private to be mentioned on the Internet. I could not believe a company knowing let go of one of their best customers in exchange for allowing an evil new customer to remain. This was not even ALL of the bad things that this one guest did or that I suspect they did, but those other issues are a one-on-one guest problem, not an AirBnB problem. The above described AirBnB policy and customer service issues are the reasons why I will never use AirBnB again and encourage all others to not use them for hosting or staying!
Author Archives: Danielle
Guests Robbed in Paris, No Help from Airbnb or Host, and Airbnb Removed Negative Review!
In August, my wife and I booked a “lovely” houseboat on the Seine River in Paris. The reservation indicated that there would be an access card entry and the reviews were generally positive. When we arrived, we noticed that the entire river embankment in our part of town was being used as a camp for migrants. The owner assured us that there would be strong police presence and that the area was safe. She enlisted her neighbor to keep watch over the area while she was gone. There was no access card, however, as promised. Unfortunately, the neighbor who was supposed to be keeping watch skipped town for the weekend and we were robbed in the middle of the night while sleeping. The thieves took our wedding rings, engagement rings, laptops, jewelry, cash, cards and passports. They were actually right above the hull of the ship where we were sleeping. Thereafter, we were informed by another resident that this had become quite common; i.e., there had been a rash of break-ins in this very area. We had to sit in a police station for 3.5 hours trying to tell our story in broken French. AirBnB and the houseboat owner were extremely callous and unsympathetic. Most of our items were uninsured, so we lost a decent chunk of our property, as well as our security. They have refused to reimburse us and they do not seem to realize that they had a duty (whether moral or legal) to inform us about the recent activity in the area or to take bona fide steps to secure the property. Worse yet, our negative review of the property has been removed from the AirBnB website. The owner is Marie and here is her unsecured property: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/527140?s=CwERv8I5
Airbnb Kicks Host After Sneaky Trap
I have been an airbnb host for over a year now. I have 73 wonderful reviews from my previews guests. One day, airnbnb customer service called me and told me they were taking all of my listings off of their site for no reason. They did not give me any explanation. The day before, I received a message from a lady saying she wanted to rent out my apartment but she wanted me to take my listing off of the airbnb site so she could do business with me. I clearly told her I will love to do business with her but she had to go through airbnb. THIS WAS A TEST CLEARLY FROM AIRBNB. I KNOW THIS PERSON WORKS FOR AIRBNB. They probably did not like my answer and kicked me off for no reason. This was a trap on airbnb’s side. I have never done any business outside of airbnb. Just because they did not like my answer they had no reason to kick me out their site. VERY SNEAKY WAY OF DOING BUSINESS AIRBNB. Its been a nightmare ever since. They will not give me any answers or list my apartments on their site. VERY UPSETTING.
Horrible customer service
I stayed at an AirBnB site in Maui for 2 weeks. The host in the suite beside me was rude, drank nightly, and carried on loudly in the night and morning in her inebriated and hungover state. There were holes in the screens where the bugs came in, and when I looked closly at the mattress I could see it was not, it was a box spring. I had to use the wakeboard to sleep on. AirBnB did nothing to mediate, nor did they offer any sort of customer service. I recently found an unreturned refund amount, and they are handling like automons. When I complained about their communication they say “Thank you, have we answered your questions?” Its annoying, anything out of the simple monetary transactions are terrible. They deserve to fail as a business.
Three bookings, three problems
I listed my house for rent on Airbnb for only one month and had three bookings. The first guest set a hot pot on my kitchen counter and melted it. The second guest dumped oil into the hot tub and broke the $200 handle, splitting the wood on the side of the spa. The last guest stole a white wicker storage chest with all the contents. I try so hard to make the house nice but why bother when three of three bookings ripped me off? I am ticked and disgusted. Now what do I do with the rest of these darned bookings? Cancel them? Grrrr…
Fake Airbnb website, don’t be fooled!
I found a nice apartment in Oman on the olx.com.om website and I contacted the owner. He replied to me and said that he is currently in London cause his contract in Oman has finished in 2011, he has the keys from flat in Muscat with him and he will fly to Muscat as soon as he finds reliable tenants. I was interested in a long term rent, the apartment was very nice and I was ready to talk with him on skype to convince him how good and neat couple me and my husband are. I got a long letter from him, his passport copy and not even a single answer to any of my questions… it was like I got the answers from a robot. Then he sent me an email saying: “I had bad experiences with prospective tenants so that it happened for me to travel to Muscat for nothing which involved a complete waste of time and efforts. Having received proofs from tenants according with them being interested in renting (passport, job contracts showing their earnings, bank statements) proved to be ineffective for my certainty. Some tenants tend to put additional conditions even if they had not been discussed previously or worse, they sometimes still try to negotiate after traveling back to London. Some of them also asked me to wait until the end of the month for them to get paid. I hope my explanation is enough for you to understand my point of view and why I chose Airbnb. My apartment is listed on airbnb.com and I have more good reviews. Let me know if you know about airbnb and I if you are ready to rent the apartment for the first month. That is my certainty guarantee and the only way I can come to Muscat.” I said I don’t mind to rent his apartment through airbnb for the first month and asked him to give me the link. He said he will send it to me shortly and I only got it the next day.
This is the address that I saw in my browser after I clicked on the link he sent me: http://airbnb-rent-booking-apartment-verified.ashanti.ro/rooms/2367933?View Which looked exactly like airbnb and had the payment system in it. Of course it was clear for me that this website is fake airbnb and someone was just trying to get a 1500$ transfer from me. So be very careful and make sure you deal with real airbnb 😉
Uncomfortable situations – Not using Airbnb again.
I’ve used Airbnb a handful of times with mixed results. I’ve had a couple of lovely experiences, but also a couple of creepy experiences that have made me realize it is NOT WORTH IT to book through Airbnb – no matter how many “good” reviews the host may have (though I do think Superhosts are probably OK). I should mention I sometimes travel alone and I’m a woman. The good hosts I’ve had I’ve enjoyed chatting with when I would see them in the house. The first creepy experience was when I needed to book a place for one night as I was passing through town. The host greeted me as I arrived and seemed friendly. This host had a lot of very positive reviews. She lived in a separate house next to the house she rents. I later texted her a question and thanked her, saying it was nice to meet and I would likely not see her as I was leaving very early the next morning. She informed me when she would be back at her home that night, and I told her I would be coming back later in the evening and again wished her well as I needed to be up early in the morning and I didn’t think I would see her. When I arrived back to the house that night, I was surprised to find my host sitting in the living room on the couch, waiting for me – with no tv or music playing, no book to read – she was just sitting on the couch with a ton of bright lights on, waiting for me. This part of the house was supposed to be only for people renting as it was a guest house, not her living space. It may be hard for me to convey how creepy and unexpected this was – I felt a chill down my spine. I felt nervous so I sat and talked with her for a while because it seemed she needed to talk and I felt rude to retire to my room right away. But I was paying to sleep there, not to talk to this lady about her life story. I felt very uncomfortable. Second awkward situation was in Berlin when my host informed me her boyfriend would be in the flat that night while she was out babysitting. That evening, after a long day of sightseeing, I showered and retreated to my room to send some work emails. The door to my room wouldn’t latch easily so it was cracked a couple of inches. At one point, the boyfriend knocked on my bedroom door to say hello. This in and of itself was okay – I was happy to say hello and chat for a minute. HOWEVER – he would. not. leave. I don’t know if it was his awkwardness, but he kept ignoring my saying, “Yes, well, I should be getting back to my work” and kept starting new topics of conversation with me while I was sitting on the bed with my laptop and a towel around my wet hair. Again – neither of these situations were nightmares or anything horrifying, however, they did creep me out as they made me realize WE HAVE NO IDEA WHO these people ARE, and yet we are putting our safety into the hands of strangers. It’s too bad, but for me it’s not worth it.
Horrible, dirty listing – and no way to warn other people about it!!!
I booked a 2 bedroom apartment (https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/5887408) for 10 nights for my parents during a visit to see me in Australia, as the beautiful studio they previously stayed in was unavailable. Prior to our arrival, I found the host to be responsive and the location of the listing is certainly great being as it is a stone’s throw from the epicenter of lovely, lovely Newtown. We had hoped we were about to discover another local Airbnb gem, but unfortunately we were left very disappointed by this dirty, poorly appointed and dangerous listing. Not only did we have to formally complain to Airbnb, but my parents had to check out early and waste an entire day of their holiday sorting out new accommodation. I have pictures and videos of all the issues described below, which I provided to Airbnb with my complaint. To their credit, eventually, they agreed to refund us the un-used nights and have given me a $250 credit towards the 3 horrible nights my parents stayed in the listing. Unfortunately, Airbnb told me that because I didn’t physically stay in the apartment and because we didn’t complete the reservation, the review I have written will not be made public- and so the host will get to keep his 5 star listing… which I have no idea how he got in the first place.
Having purposely booked a 2-bedroom listing, we were disappointed that the second room was not made up as a bedroom (no bedlinen and futon folded up) and feel that the photo does not illustrate how low the ceiling is. However, our principle concern was in the master bedroom- the sharp, metal bedframe was extremely hazardous, especially as the room is quite dingy and cramped, and no bedside lamps were provided. We found much of the furniture to be very tatty, the bedlinen and towels in the apartment showed signs of age, and my parents were only provided with one towel and one pillow each. The cutlery was stained, sometimes broken, and not properly washed (some still had bits of food on), mugs were chipped, and glasses and a bowl were filled with dust. The top of the microwave, base of the toilet and bathroom exhaust fan were also extremely grimey. The host was not at all friendly or accommodating when they asked for a second pillow, bedside lights, or for bed linen for the second bedroom. He also dismissed my parents concerns about the dirty microwave saying “who is going to put things there?” which they found very unhelpful and a bit rude. Lastly, whilst there is a washing machine and the price is clearly given, the listing does not make it clear that guests are not permitted to access the machine by themselves. To get their clothes washed, they would have to give their dirty items to the host, who would then wash them and return them- wet, with a drying rack- for $8. I should add that this is the first and only time I have had to complain about an Airbnb listing in over 2 years of using the site- I’ve received a great feedback from and have left many positive reviews for other hosts: I certainly don’t make a habit of criticizing or whinging and have personally received excellent feedback. My biggest complaint is actually with Airbnb- they constantly changed their story at all stages of our complaint. One minute we were going to get a full refund, the next minute a partial refund, then no refund… it was time consuming and exhausting. To know here that they won’t publicize our experience feels like disingenuous censorship. So, repeat, DO NOT STAY HERE: https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/5887408
Hosts take advantage of family w pregnant wife – no refund for simple mistake!
Husband & Pregnant wife +19 month old baby girl look forward to a last holiday before newborn arrives…… WRONG! It was a disaster staying through Airbnb with FABIO & CHRISTINA. Looking at the beautiful photos of Byron Bay & all the options on airbnb, I booked ahead looking forward to a well earned rest before our new born arrives in December. We headed down from Queensland to New South Wales forgetting about the 1 hour time difference(NSW 1 hour ahead). We were asked to let them know when we would be arriving so I said 2 pm, approximately, when we arrived there was no one there as we had the times mixed up! No big deal I thought just an error in judgement. When I called Fabio, I asked when we could be given access, he started getting angry & did not seem to want to remedy a solution. Eventually I passed him onto my wife to let her work out a solution! We managed to get him to agree to come to the houses an hour later. If he had explained/communicated that we had to be there at a specific time as he would be waiting specifically for us, then I could have understood his annoyance, but he did not! His partner I guess, Christina, was there and did all of the talking, he said nothing, not an apology, not a peep, which I did think was odd after he had been so angry on the phone. We all stood in the kitchen, I checked the room out, It was ok, the bathroom was ok, then I thought that I had better check that the bathroom was just for us. The reply was “no it’s a shared house with 4 room”, & the kitchen to was shared. I explained that was not what I was expecting as my understanding was that we had booked a self contained unit!! Christina then offered for us to cancel/ not stay & “she would not be offended” along with the fact that she did not have the money, Airbnb had it, & we could get it back from them if we wanted. I gave my pregnant wife the option to make the decision to stay or not. She chose the latter. We said goodbye & left, trusting what we were told regarding the monies/refund! We were left at 5pm Halloween evening on the side of the street scrambling around frantically to find accommodation, we ended up sleeping in a caravan/ mobile unit, not the holiday we were expecting sadly. Then we moved out and stayed another 2x nights somewhere else. When I returned to Brisbane I followed up with airbnb & Fabio & Christina for our refund…………. We are told by airbnb that Fabio & Christina HAD received the monies in full & they could/would do nothing as they could not force them to give the money back as per verbal agreement…… When I asked the Rude host Fabio he said that it was all our fault & we should have gone online on the day we left to get our monies back!! Fabio & Christina are using airbnb to scam/rip off money out of unsuspecting customers who do not know their rights & are lied to in order to take advantage of in this kind of situation! I wonder how many other people have been caught by this couple & others using the same tactics. In the end I gave them the option to play fair & give the money back or I would have no choice but as my duty to warn there people wanting a cheap holiday NOT TO BOOK THROUGH AIRBNB. “BUYER BEWARE”, THE OLD SAYING GOES! IF SOMETHING SEEMS IS TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE THEN IS PROBABLY IS! A VERBAL AGREEMENT FROM HOSTS MEANS NOTHING, AND AIRBNB WILL DO NOTHING TO HELP YOU!
Airbnb SuperHost raised price after guest arrived, and Airbnb did nothing!
Airbnb customer service lies to its customers and is useless. I filed a complaint against a host in Oahu because she decided to change the rate after arrival. She wanted $30 more per night saying Airbnb made the mistake. Since Airbnb didn’t accept the price increase, the host demanded I pay in cash for the next 7 nights. I telephoned right away to file a complaint with airbnb. The host violated one of the most critical rules. Her listing was to be removed as Airbnb said as a super host and as a general member. Well it never happened. Her listing is still there and it is still shown as a super host. I visited all the way from Europe and was disappointed that I had to deal with this crazy host and lousy Airbnb customer support. Be careful of some hosts and their listing price. Once you have arrived a host may speak of excuses why the price has gone up and Airbnb couldn’t give a damn.