Miami Host Misrepresents Unit – Airbnb Does Nothing

Posted on January 23, 2016

If there were an option for no stars, I’d have chosen that. Worst experience with accommodations I have ever had. The person (billing himself as Tony&Eli) that advertised the place, completely misrepresented the apartment. From the pictures I received from my daughter it seems as though it’s not even the same apartment that was advertised. I was paying the rent there for a month so she could have enough time to find a place of her own, near to where she wants to go to school. After driving all night from Georgia (and the night before from Virginia) my daughter arrived there only to have to pack up and go stay with family. It was filthy and moldy. She took pictures and sent them to me and took them to my mother as well.The next day he offered to put her in another apartment but I advised her not to trust that person, to have no more contact with him and to see if the family could help her find something else as she is just moving to Florida to go to school there. Instead of the person just letting it go, he refuses to refund the money and I’ve had to take it up with my credit card. It seems as if he has more than one place and probably is using the same pictures for all the ones he rents. Even though I tried to contact Tony&Eli by both my personal and work email, and sent him all the pictures of the apartment, he did not reply. Instead he kept trying to contact my daughter and convince her that she should move into some different apartment he had. Also, to call a member of his family since he lives overseas currently. I did not want him harassing her as she’s only 18 and hasn’t had to deal with this sort of thing before. Airnbn has been no help at all and is considering it a cancellation. Unfortunately, they also went through my daughter and did not contact me. The airbnb contact is in California and can only see the pictures online. They did not offer to have someone come to the apartment in Miami. They probably don’t have a presence in the state. can’t say for sure. They think that just because the owner offers some other place that should be ok with the renter. I don’t see why a customer should have to continue to do business with someone that has bait and switch tactics and would pawn off such a place on some kid. I will never use airbnb again and I advise anyone who does to, if possible, check out the place in person and don’t rely on airbnb to help if something goes wrong. I would especially not send anyone that is inexperienced to possibly have to handle a situation such as this. They will be better off going to an Extended Stay America or Homewood Suites where the management is accountable.

Their response was the following: John, Nov 18, 19:19: Hello Kayleigh, I did get your pictures and a majority of it looks like it can be scrubbed clean. I want to go through all the pictures you sent and the concerns. I am not sure how the door frame can be fixed, it doesn’t look broken but old and repainted. A lot of building and homes in Miami are older but it isn’t broken. The broken tile can be fixed and is something I can request the host have fixed while you are there if you stay. The A/C filter can be cleaned out but I agree is gross. The floor wall boards can be wiped and the floor better swept. Can you please send me a picture of a bug if possible and a closer picture of the tile mold. I can’t tell if it is tile grout or if it is mold on the tile, either way I agree it does need to me scrubbed and mopped. The cabinets can be bleached but look like they have water damage from years of dishes being put away and not all the way dry. Last is the bathtub, it looks like an old tub and similar to mine. Since my building is from the 1980s the tub will get old an impossible to get all the soap scum. It is something that can be scrubbed but not perfectly, possible cleaned with comet powder or bleached also to get rid of some stains and soap scum. Overall I don’t thank anything is bad enough for an immediate cancellation and I also need a picture to consider a vermin issue. I appreciate your patience and hope you get a good sleep tonight, I am sorry for this issue but want to make sure I make the best decision.

So they even admitted the place was nasty and yet, didn’t approve a refund. Apparently scamming college kids is a business practice according to some other reviews I’ve read. Why anyone would be forced to live in this situation, or continue to have to do business with someone that scammed them in the first place is beyond me. Especially, when the apartment was about $1650 a month plus a pet fee of a $150. Now they are simply ignoring the problem. I’ve posted a complaint to BBB Hopefully that will help. This apartment is located in Miami

Dream turned into a Nightmare

Posted on January 21, 2016

My husband and I have been planning a trip to Rio for the last five years. I’m Brazilian and he is American and he has been saving money in order to visit the city where I was born and spend time with my relatives there. We booked an apartment with Airbnb for $2188 to stay for six days and we were really satisfied with it based on the pictures online until relatives and friends raised concerns about the neighborhood and its far distance to all main attractions in Rio, which was contrary to the ad on Airbnb. My husband searched on Google Earth and found out that the apt was located on top of a mountain and that it would take us at least 20 minutes to walk down the mountain in order to get to public transportation, supermarkets, etc. My husband had a leg surgery recently and he can’t walk long distances, specially in an inclined terrain. We contacted Airbnb in order to request a cancellation and they asked us to send a letter from my husband’s doctor stating that he can’t walk such a steep mountain. We sent the letter to Airbnb on the same day as we spoke with the person on the phone and on the next day, they sent us an email stating that our cancellation refund has been denied and that they would only refund us a cleaning fee of $100 and $137 in service fee. This vacation has been a dream to us and Airbnb with its unfair strict cancellation policy had managed to turn it into a nightmare.

Airbnb Nightmare in The Bahamas

Posted on January 20, 2016

This is my review of my last Airbnb experienced with a host named Reno in the Bahamas:

Get a Hotel! The cover photo does not reflect how dilapidated the actual building is. Christmas 2015 was going to be special because I surprised my college daughter with a fun trip to the Bahamas – where the hotels were almost full everywhere. Reno was attentive to our inquiry which gave the me faith to book Airbnb. Upon arrival things appear worn out but okay. We arrived with refrigerated food for snacks and dinner to take to the beach. Within 24 hours of being there: living room was uninhabitable due to overwhelming smell of CAT Urine embedded in the couch, TV non functioning-no cable, refrigerator NOT working – failed, $50 worth of groceries wasted. We lost vacation time due to mechanic in kitchen. We had to go out to dinner with an expensive taxi to eat. Within 2 hours of mechanic’s repair, the same refrigerator fan broke and high pitched “Whining” noise continued for the next 24 hours. The floors were dirty. Black mold on corners of floor/carpet interface upstairs and throughout outside balcony – unusable. Closets have space but are filled with junk. NO dish soap, no toilet paper, no garbage cans, no useable pots/pans (aluminum pots with scratched out Teflon – leached out and dangerous), no coffee maker, no coffee, no tea, no kettle, dirty dishes in cabinets without soap to clean and use, No blankets or bed covers -one sheet only. 2 small bath towels given to 2 women for 5 days, no beach towels, one roll of toilet paper only for 5 days. (We asked for more toilet paper and at least some tea for am which we had to microwave as there were no usable pots) As an Airbnb host and guest myself, I spoke with Reno about the issues we had and suggested we leave the next day. He assured me that he would get the refrigerator fixed and get us some toilet paper. Reno asked me to write down all the corrections that he needed for his AIRBNB (Hello? This is MY vacation). The next day when Reno brought toilet paper and a box of tea, he said that he refused to spend any more money on this venture and that the toilet paper, towels, tea, coffee, etc. were THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE GUEST. I did again re-iterate that he should act like any decent hotel with basic preparations; sufficient toilet paper/towels/coffee maker/coffee/ tea/clean utensils/clean dishes/pots/pans/dish soap/bath soap/shampoo/conditioner/blankets/bedspreads/hangers in the kitchen/clean floors-sink, carpets, etc…………there is a certain level of expectation that we all enjoy. It was Christmas. In an effort to be compassionate in the season, my daughter asked me not to make a scene with Reno and leave, plus it was Christmas Eve. My daughter and I stayed away at the beach, restaurants and in town. Taxi’s are horrendously expensive with gas at $6/gallon. We recycled our Dunkin Doughnuts/Starbuck cups to use at the house, we recycled the one towel we each had for beach & shower daily – leaving them and us perpetually damp. We did not eat in the apartment. We did not use the bottom floor due to the cat-piss smell. We did not enjoy “Junkanoo Parade” on T.V. since it was not hooked up. The lack of shower curtain put water all over the toilet and the slick, slate floor – we used the one small face cloth on the floor to keep from slipping. We recycled our grocery bags to create garbage bags up and downstairs. My daughter and slept cold each night, no bedspread. This was the worst AIRBNB experience I ever had in almost four years of Airbnb travel.

Airbnb Doesn’t Care if Hosts Lie and Mislead Guests

Posted on January 10, 2016

Booked a house in Fish Hoek, Cape Town from one Sonny Naidoo. In his listing he claimed the property had 2 bedrooms and a steep flight of stairs. The picture in his listing was of a flight of stairs that looked fine – however when I got to the address I found that the picture was taken in front of another property all together. The actual house had multiple flights of steep stairs to climb in order to reach it. Upon the climb I found that the house actually didn’t have a second bedroom, only a sort of pseudo loft in the kitchen accessible only by climbing a ladder. No safety gate of any sort on the platform either, making it very unsafe for children (listing claimed to be child friendly) AIRBNB support told me the following: “I’ve reviewed the video Joel and while I understand that the staircase shown was not the same as the one you actually climb to the listing but the whole point of the picture was to show the view. It was stated in the description that there was a steep climb and that you would need to be able bodied but that is why porters were supplied. At this point as the description covered the basis of the fact there was a steep climb I would be unable to process a refund for the reservation besides what I have already given.” So – it seems a host can post a picture of another property – inferring that it is the actual property, and airbnb doesn’t care. A host can claim 2 bedrooms, while not describing it accurately, and AIRBNB doesn’t care. I’ve attached a screenshot taken from the listing, showing the staircase from a different property – a clear misdirection – then the actual listing and pictures of the ACTUAL climb property taken by myself.

Next time I’ll book a hotel

Posted on January 8, 2016

In my experience, Airbnb is not at all better than a hotel. First of all airbnb gives you a price, and when you register to book the flat, suddenly the price increased 9 pounds, for no reason. We have booked a week in a “flat” cause we need temporary accommodation for a week. We just chose airbnb to have access to a kitchen. Well, here I am, in the house wearing a thick wool sweater an my jacket (I’d say it is around 16ºC), feet frozen, because the host only turns on the heating from 5pm to 10pm. The first day she told us that if we were cold we could switch on the gas “fireplace”. We used it for around 2 hours the first 2 days. The third day it was impossible to make it work, I guess somehow she has cut off the gas supply. (The flat is a kip adjacent to her house). And then, the kitchen…well I am pretty sure the oven has not been cleaned since the day it was bought. The glass is brown colour, I mean, it is all covered with grease, when I say all , I mean not a single spot in the glass that is clear (see the picture attached). The funny thing is that the price is the same than a hotel, but here first you need to be accepted by the host, which means in my case that I had to send a copy of my ID and a video of presentation or a link to my linkedin or my facebook account!!! WTF?? Plus we had to accept the rules of the house, that means that before leaving the place we’ll need to wash and clean everything. As soon as I am done with this rental, I will delete the account and never use them again.

Non existent apartment in Berlin

Posted on January 8, 2016

I was traveling through Europe over Christmas with my wife, 2 children and my parents. Apartments in Vienna and Prague were wonderful. However, I got radio silence from our Berlin host once I had paid the deposit of $1000. Emails about location and arrival arrangements went unanswered. Contacted Airbnb through Twitter only to receive legal jargon and denials of liability in return. A day before our arrival in Berlin, I had to find a hotel ( 3 rooms) over the New year weekend, at huge expense. This was my first and last experience with Airbnb – never again.

AirBnB “Entire Home” Rental Nightmare

Posted on January 5, 2016

I’ve used air bnb a couple of times to rent ‘entire homes’. One good experience in the UK and two in the US…and one very bad one in the US! The main thing I’d like to share is that air bnb does not monitor their listings in the way you would expect of an agency listings accommodation. Usually agencies/websites hosting hotels or apartments monitor these properties for accuracy of description etc. It was only after my unsatisfactory experience that I discovered this. I rented an ‘entire home’ which was not cheap. However upon staying there discovered that the entrance was shared, the heating could not be controlled by us, and it was basically a room in this person’s house, that upon entering the main door you the entered the room via a patio door. Due to many issues including cleanliness and noise, I only stayed 2 of 4 nights. I had no recourse except to write a negative review, which I had been debating whether to do as the host could simply write a nasty view on my profile in return (I have seen that he has done this to someone else as he doesn’t take kindly to negative reviews). And it seems his strategy works as I can mostly only see positive reviews which I find very hard to believe. Also, it felt as though this host treated me as a non-paying guest in terms of how I had to leave the property. And there were way too many restrictions on what I could and couldn’t do. Doubt very much I will use Airbnb again.

Rudest and least sympathetic host!!!

Posted on January 3, 2016

I went to the snow and saved my little brother from hitting a tree, in doing so I suffered multiple rib contusions and could not go on my next Airbnb trip. I told the host ASAP, and she booked those nights the second I cancelled. She could’ve refunded in full with no harm to her, yet she was greedy and very rude. When a similar instance involving me getting in a crash happened last year, the host changed his policy and refunded me in full. She was not willing to do so, and so I had to contact airbnb and do this the long way WHILE recovering. She told me to contact airbnb and leave her alone. HORRIBLE customer service! I would not recommend this host to anyone and it makes airbnb look bad overall. I will probably just stick to hotels from now on so that I don’t have to deal with unpleasant hosts in the future!

Airbnb Deletes Negative Reviews, Favors Hosts

Posted on January 2, 2016

Just finished reviewing a host yesterday after our stay in LasVegas( Henderson area), there are 3 parts to the review,

part 1) what you liked most about your stay

part 2) what you didn’t like about your stay

part 3) what improvements can the host make to raise your satisfaction.

All of the last two (negative) parts get deleted from the review and only what you LIKED gets shown on the Airbnb website, leaving dangerous, critical faults hidden from the future guests. Airbnb says they pride themselves for transparency and free speech, so it is ironic that they dismiss the very motto they preach. Every false accusation and statement from the host gets to be shown though, and then when you write to Airbnb asking them to delete or edit to be fair, they say it does not violate their review policy and is the ‘perceived personal experience of the host’ although you have written communication proving of its falsehood.

The host can also change their cancellation and extra fee policy after the booking from easy to strict forcing you to loose most to all of your money or just stay even though you want to cancel! The pictures can include pools and other amenities even though they don’t disclose the closure and/or not having access to fitness room. This is fraudulent business and unethical. I will never book from this site again and will tell all my friends to never do so either.

Airbnb FRAUD cost me 1460 Euros, & it was preventable!

Posted on December 23, 2015

Airbnb fraud cost me 1460 Euros! They aren’t doing enough to protect their community from fraudsters. I have had many happy trips with airbnb, but after this I will never use them again. They simply aren’t doing enough to protect their customers. I went to book accommodation in Amsterdam for new year, when I saw a message in the description of the listing offering 20% discount through ‘instant book’ (on the actual airbnb.co.uk site), I just had to email the host and they would enable instant booking to make the payment. ‘Fair enough’ I thought, they want to get people in quickly. Makes sense. So I emailed the host with the dates and a request to instant book. I then received an email from Herman (the host) with a link to instant book. The URL is still active https://www.airbnb.com.book.srl/instant/rooms/5913502?checkin=12292015&checkout=01022016&currency=&guests=8 You’ll notice the URL is airbnb.com.book.srl, which at the time i believed to be Airbnb, which it evidently is not. (these links are no longer active after I brought it to airbnbs attention!) So screenshots are attached. Once you click instant book and enter payment details the following page appears with a slightly confusing error message (images attached). https://www.airbnb.com.book.srl/instant/rooms/status?accepted=false&hosting_id=9652369 After a bit of back and forth with Herman (perfect English I might add) I requested the invoice to be sent. I then received the attached email (too long to put here) and stupidly made payment through transfer. I then received emails from a very a very convincing airbnb finance team representative (express@reply-airbnb.com). Emails written as though from one of Airbnb’s real employees, here’s the linked in profile… but i don’t think this poor guy has anything to do with it. At this moment, I started to realize I’d made a mistake! I called my bank who said you can’t stop a payment like this, also notified Barclays (where the money was being transferred to), seemingly to no avail. During this entire process Herman was continuing to email and reassure me that everything was OK and the payment hadn’t come through yet. I also contacted airbnb who said that they had removed his profile and very annoying then decided to tell me never to make a payment away from airbnb (which I didn’t think I had), until they specified bank transfer. I have now followed the link where the initial listing was and it’s still live, this is after airbnb said that Herman’s account has been blocked! It has the same reviews the same host, but different apartment pictures and is on the actual airbnb.co.uk site. So unfortunately it’s inevitable that this will happen again to someone else. https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/1125879?checkin=29-12-2015&checkout=02-01-2016&guests=3&s=R92_NDn9 I really feel Airbnb could have done so much more to protect me during this absolute nightmare. Not only have they allowed the fraudulent account to continue, but make a bigger play on the fact that no payments should be done offline rather than display instant booking everywhere. They say “At Airbnb, we do everything we can to create a safe and trusted marketplace.” I don’t think this is true. I’m now completely skint 2 days before Christmas with a cancelled trip for the New Year. Thanks Airbnb, but NEVER EVER again.