Found a great looking sailboat to stay on in the keys. paid for 3 nights. did airfare and rental car and another night at a hotel in Miami. Got a reminder on Tuesday of this week that they are looking forward to our visit next week. Got an email last night that the owners canceled our reservation. No explanation, nothing. The email had a spot that we could click if we wanted to use the money that had been billed for another reservation. When we clicked it we were asked to find a site. When we did, it asked for credit card info. Nothing hinted at the fact that we were using monies already put on the card. The way the site is run I was not anxious to throw more money down a drain that so far I could not get it out of. The other button was for a full refund. I clicked it…..and was taken to a page that dealt with referring friends to AirBnB…are you kidding me?!?!?! Again…no sign that another button on this page would get me my money back. It was like me taking a toaster back to the company I bought it from because it did not work…the person at the desk asks me how many egg timers I would like…..What……I want to take something back that is broken…don’t ask me about buying more. Will NEVER use this airbnb crap again.
Author Archives: Joe and Valerie
1099 Tax Fraud
My ex-wife added me to her Airbnb account and somehow got the tax authorities to believe that I have received all the rental income from her properties and owe back taxes on it, which they are now trying to collect from me. This is a total fabrication and amounts to some kind of identity theft and fraud on her part. When I reported this to Airbnb, I asked for help in straightening this out, including things like reviewing and correcting the 1099 form they presumably send out each year to report income, and taking my name off my ex-wife’s account. Airbnb has been of absolutely no help in this. The customer service rep offers only sympathy, says they are sending the issue to the fraud department and that I should be patient. This has gone on for a month with no progress and no communication from them. My partner and I call almost daily. We get promises from the customer rep that it’s being taken care of and that this is an “urgent” issue, but there is absolutely no communication from their fraud department. The issue should take an hour to resolve. Look up the account of my ex-wife, review the payout method, revise the 1099 form accordingly and tell the federal tax authorities that they made an error. Then take me off the account. This has not been done and no one will tell me why. It’s rather stressful to have the tax authorities after you for money rightfully owed by someone else, and when you can’t get the help you need to fix the problem, it’s even more so. Airbnb appears to be rather unprepared to handle issues like this, surprisingly, so I’m posting this simply as a warning to others. Thanks.
AIRBNB CANCELED GUEST’S STAY AND GIVE HOST ONLY 50 PERCENT
A guest claimed that my villa with a swimming pool for 10 people was not good enough for them, even though it is always rented in summer times. The guests claimed that the wifi was not working , that TV was satellite instead of cable , and that glasses were not good, and as guests did not know how to use AC, they blamed me. AIRBNB canceled the stay and gave me 100 Euro per day for 10 people (half price of what was agreed) , which is very small. I finally was able to get an extra cleaning cost . I did not find it fair to receive half of the price . It seems that AIRBNB relocated the guests much more expensively. It was simply a trick from the guest who was claiming from me a half price refund to stay the two weeks. I like AIRBNB, but this time I was very frustrated.
Smelly, loud, and dirty. A terrible place to stay in Paris.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/947097 We booked this nice-enough-looking place for our stay in Paris. Our host contacted us and told us that we wouldn’t be able to check in until after 4:30PM. We made the necessary travel arrangements to accomodate. There are only so many international trains per day between southern Switzerland and Paris. On our way into Paris, the day of our reservation, our host contacted us again telling us we needed to check-in before 5:30PM, leaving us the slim window of 1-hour to check-in after traveling internationally. Somehow, we made it on time. When we arrived, the host showed us around very quickly and then left. He said he might not be able to meet us for check-out, so we should leave the keys on top of his mailbox. The kitchen smelled like rotting vegetables. The stove needed to be lit with a grill lighter and the only available utensils and cook-ware were covered in food. There was a load of laundry in the washing-machine. We were left with two towels for a 5-day stay, one of which had a giant hole in it. The sheets provided has a small blood-stain on them. The apartment was also quite noisy. The noise ranged from being able to hear a neighbor’s cellphone vibrating on the floor above us to hobos screaming down the street at 3AM. Also, from the pictures, an Eiffel Tower view is suggested but there was no such view in sight. The host told us if we weren’t happy with the apartment we could contact airBnB on the first day for a refund. As much as I would have loved to, that would leave us on the streets of Paris with nowhere to stay for 5 days. Not a viable option. The host claimed that we broke glasses and stole his keys. The keys were left in the decided-upon location and we were not even provided with any glasses. The whole experience felt like a scam from start to beginning and the host is now requesting more money from us.
Airbnb Tax Problems
I have just been notified by my tax office that they are conducting a tax audit of my tax returns, when I asked for further information I was told that AIRBNB have handed over my name, address and all payments made by AIRBNB to me to the United Kingdom tax authorities. Apparently AIRBNB has handed over to the UK taxman all the data they hold on UK taxpayers. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3193503/Airbnb-landlords-face-huge-tax-bill-crackdown-Ireland.html
Beware of this Airbnb in Honolulu
Well my first host scheduled was supposed to secure a place for me Jenny excellent room with ocean view Honolulu hawaii seemed great we emailed and text and when her other hosts said in review she picked up from airport thought that was great only to find out she wanted to charge me three times as much as a cab or shuttle to her would normally be when I told her to this age was sort of shocked I did the research then after that it sort of went down hill she avoided my texts until at least day before I was supposed to fly out told me to get a cab never told me to meet her or when she would give me a key and didn’t want to be homeless in hawaii so after numerous talks with our B and B agents I canceled her thank God and was told to book hotel and because if this I could get maybe three night s reimburse or help on finding a new letting I got one hotel night which I had to prepay then air b gave me refund after that thanks then they send me a couple things that were not close to where I needed to be and said they would increase my credit which they did do thanks again but because it was last minute and u was in Honolulu I couldn’t find anything avail and was almost homeless in Hawaii until I reached out to an old letting that I had previously looked at a small room in an old house Raymond and Rachael in Hawaii pahai go valley, Honolulu and that’s where the fun hell began …the host Raymond was a raging alcoholic who fell asleep with Kit cigarettes every night that I had to intercept so it didn’t burn me in whole house down there were cockroaches every where they left there doors open all the time they acted weird because I wanted a key when I keft to lock door and at first were reluctant to give me key the railings are not attached and when you hold on to them they wobble and are old wooden and have huge holes in them fifty steps up kafir safety hazards think the house was haunted because the doors would open and shut and reopen and shut several times in repetition for the day so always having to prop up stuff against door cockroaches the size of mount rush more every where the room was ok mid size and cable ok here’s the clinchers he said in his add is near a bus stop wasn’t syre if I wanted a car yet so took him for his word what you don’t know is that he lied the bus stop is twenty to thirty minutes away by walking up two massive high. Hills and down a third one which is very steep hill which also essentially not lit for cars either any who I fell down this steep hill and a few days later in the hospital found out I broke my ankle in three places and sprained and cut on Raymond’s street I stated there for rest if trip till I had to fly home .while I stayed there one time he had a date over and I came out for water whith my crutches and he told his date I was faking and I liked to get attention I was fit to be tied at that point but had to stay as I was flying out in a few days also as for renting his cars they aren’t cheap for guests staying there over 35.00 per day and the bike is 35.00 per day not ten if if u want to take it out in trade and weed his jungle home for the day with rusty cutters impossible. Beware single lady’s he now is sepersted from his wife she was there greedy and moved out she seemed nice but didn’t talk much I think because if situation with him so she diesent live with him in his house now he offered to rent one of his cats to me at a higher price then offered then mumbled something about it not being insured and I immediately said maybe I’ll rent one from someone else every night was a recant about the marriage and hiw his wife was this and that which I just shook my head at and tried to avoid beware this place bugs alcohal cigarettes dark energy fairy railings and stairs old house dust coming from deteriorating ceiling barking dogs constantly next door rains all the time even if waikiki is sunny too far from town at least half hour by car always unlocked at owners request even if ur guest ur treated like crap I think this person just needs the money and has too many problems to be concerned with hospitality as a host too bad I lost money time and peace if mind for my vacation and too much money spending on cabs cause too far away from town a total mess now recovering from broken ankle because if the lies and because if the steep as hill connected to his place beware Raymond Orange Honolulu old house small room
Swindle through the Airbnb platform
My daughter found a flat in NY on the Airbnb website. She received an email from the ‘host’ of the flat and also one issued by a fake Airbnb email address (express@airbnb.com pretending to be the real Airbnb, used its buzzwords / terminology and carried the Airbnb logo. It said: “Welcome to Airbnb!” and added that to “get started” they needed her email address. It was signed “Thanks, Airbnb Team” etc. This started correspondence with a duplicitous platform whose sole purpose was to swindle my daughter into paying an Airbnb Inc account with Barclays Bank for a reservation it confirmed with payment instruction. By the time payment was made. We contacted Customer Support and we were told, after rigorous checking of our credentials (how ironic or cynical) that they consider the host to be a security risk – but that we would have to be informed properly by their safety team. There were a number of conversations – each with the same rigorous check (I wonder for what purpose?) and each ending with how they care about their customers; how sorry they are and telling us to wait for contact by the Safety department. This took about 2 weeks. Despite the statement about how much they care, no interest was ever expressed to view the fake exchanges and perhaps learn how their customers are being cheated. This is amazing because for a company that is valued as high as Airbnb, it is obvious that they are operating a platform that ‘leaks’. Either third parties, or perhaps third parties aided by insiders working at Airbnb or ex-workers of Airbnb who are familiar with the engagement process themselves operating these fake operations. We do not know – but it is equally obvious that this scam was not designed for single use but is intended to score many hits. Presumably it does. There is however no-one to talk to at Airbnb. There is no interest on their side to learn more. They continue to operate a leaky platform that confuses and dupes their customers and this can be remedied by regular pop-ups or the use of passwords that protect private information AND by checking their hosts BEFORE they support their fraud by placing their ‘property’ on their website. Is it stupidity or naivety on their part as business managers that stops them from doing this – perhaps it is all too much for them? In any case, Airbnb is remarkably similar to the fraudsters who work as parasites on their sites. Once there is a problem there is no-one to talk to and their use of ‘no-response’ mails has similarities to the email addresses used by the swindlers and purporting to be issued by Airbnb which eventually are returned with the message ‘your message to express@airbnb could not be delivered”. I think this level of care is the lowest I have encountered on the web. I think the disregard for customers losses is unequalled in a travel business. I believe that no-one should use Airbnb as it is a company that is not interested in advancing itself or improving its services to its customers. Its concern is to turn away from the deceit practised around its activity and tell us how much they care and how sorry they are. Don’t bother using them – and running the risk of a swindle that may be encouraged by a leaky platform. Use a hotel. The customer feedback on travel sites for hotel bookings I have found reliable and authentic. Moreover, in entering someone else’s property – God knows to what you expose yourself (leaving aside Airbnb’s platform abuses), especially when you know that (no matter what they say to the contrary) their level of care is abysmal and you are on your own. On the face of theirs appears a hopelessly defective model.
AIRBNB BANNED 5 STAR HOST WITHOUT EXPLANATION
I never saw this coming. I have built up a fairly strong vacation rental business through airbnb. never had any problems I’m a 5 star host. Hosted over 1000 people in my time with airbnb. Then out of no where airbnb terminated my accounts and left me totally abandoned. I can’t get any help or answers its really unbelievable that airbnb can just decide overnight that you’re terminated without any explanation as to why. Airbnb has turned into the worst, unsupportive, horrible customer service company I have ever dealt with. Be warned building a business through airbnb because they can take it all away from you overnight and there’s not a thing you can do about it.
Guests tricked Airbnb into giving full refund – used false images
Hello all, My story : we rent a place perfectly advertised on airbnb. 4 weeks ago a guy contact us to rent the full place for 6 days (1600€ all in), asking also for a taxi and booking some stuff around our place. after some chat on airbnb and facebook (lot of pictures sent to him), he place a reservation (strict reservation). 2 days before he come, we proceed to buy all the food for his stay (full board here, for 8 person, for 6 day). we send him a taxi. even before seeing the place, he complain because of everything (too hot, too much people, not enough remote, fish in the sea …) and after one night decided to leave for a 5* hotel 200 km away … (without paying any taxi or the deposit he asked us to put on local sports operator). 3 days after, an email from airbnb : based on the pictures of your guest and the pictures on your advertisement, we can say they are not alike, and that the place is not ok with our policy … so we give a full reimbursment to your guest … nobody contacted us before taking the decision (as i’m sure the place is as described because i took the pictures myself, and I was there the week before). and the “case manager” don’t want to make any change to his decision the fact is that guest changed his mind from a bungalow on a remote beach to a 5* hotel in a touristic place and send to airbnb pictures from crapy place, but not from our place … and airbnb consider it’s actual pictures of our place ! the only thing the guest want is his money back … and he got it ! all together, this story will cost me about 2000€ (the renting, the food, the deposit and the taxi !) avoid airbnb, you are not sure at all to get your money!
We Got Not What We Booked
The management and arrangement for this Hong Kong Hostel that provided extremely poor service. The hotel named as New Lucky House which located at Nathan Road, HK. We feel extremely disappointed to the irresponsible person in-charge, Zoe for the extremely poor arrangement for our stay in Hong Kong on the last 2 weeks (18-19/9). We booked the room few weeks before we travel to Hong Kong, but by the time we reached the ‘hotel’ and called her for check in, she told us to wait her by the roadside because there was some issues for the room. We reached HK on 18/9 but we only book her room for 18 and 19/9 because we stayed at Disneyland Hotel on the 1st night. We dropped her several emails regarding our arrival in HK and the rough timing that we will be checking in her room the next day. She told us that there was no more room that available for us when we reached because she had rented it to some new arrival guests and she needs to bring us to the other guest house which was not the one that we originally booked! This is totally unacceptable. What’s the point for us to book the room in advanced and we’ve fully paid the money? She didn’t even and never informed us regarding the issue from the 1st place, although we contacted with her few times after we reached HK. What we felt was, it was totally not an issue for her because she kept saying that she was helping us to solve this issue. Well, that’s the issue she created for us, not that our problem. The attached link https://www.airbnb.com.sg/rooms/6682671 was the one that we booked original and please see attached photos that taken from the guesthouse she arranged for us. We are totally disappointed and mad on this – irresponsible host and extremely poor service from the host. Attached with the room photos from the guest house that she offered us – the room was not done the housekeeping completely!