I have made three reservations on non consecutive dates on Airbnb… the credit card was pre-approved and the reservation completed… or was it? Apparently one of the reservations did not go through, as my creditcard had gone over the limit because of the two previous transactions. However, because of the pre approval, I was now liable to pay for this one reservation that wasn’t completed. The problem was that, because my card was already above the limits, I did not have how to pay. So, the policy of the website is to keep trying the payment until it works, regardless of how many times it would take. I was stuck with a payment to make and no certainty about the reservation outcomes (BUT OF COURSE HELLBNB will keep the fees if I get refund)… If that was not enough, a representative kept on stalking me with inumerous emails demanding me to pick up my phone because he wanted to call me… I called the 1.888 and of course the attendants were as useless as their company. NEVER AGAIN
Category Archives: Airbnb Guest Stories
These are real, uncensored stories from Airbnb Guests. We encourage our site visitors to read and share their Airbnb Guest Stories to help warn others of the dangers of using Airbnb, and consider using alternative options in the sharing economy.
Major Airbnb SCAM
Dear Airbnb hell friends,
This happened to us last week:
NEVER, NEVER EVER BOOK ANYTHING THROUGH AIRBNB !!!!!!! PROTECT YOURSELF AND DO NOT DO IT.
We were scammed in the most sophisticated way through identity theft and a hacked account of a host on Airbnb.com. The communications with the scammer cannot be distinguished from official Airbnb communications. So, instead of arriving in our booked studio in Geneva, we found out the money for 2.5 months of rent was gone (almost 5000 Euro) to a Polish account and we had no place to stay.
Airbnb has been EXTREMELY, EXTREMELY UNHELPFUL and almost impossible to reach, trying to avoid all liability. AIRBNB WILL NOT HELP YOU IF YOU ARE IN TROUBLE, even if you are scammed through their very own website. DO NOT EVER BOOK WITH AIR BNB. The scam listing remained on their website until we urged them to take it down.
We found out that there are many more scam/hacked listings, like these https://www.airbnb.at/rooms/2136974?s=kZsZ ,https://www.airbnb.it/rooms/267245 and https://www.airbnb.ch/rooms/642750. Airbnb has not taken these down even after notifying them.
IF THINGS DO GO WRONG WITH AIRBNB, YOU WILL REGRET IT VERY MUCH after you find our how UNHELPFUL and UNCOOPERATIVE AIRBNB is. Their standard reply was: “Yes, there are indeed some safety issues with this account. We are sorry for the inconvenience.” And that’s that.
How long are Airbnb.com able to keep their head in the sand? It’s a major and known problem, see for instancehttp://www.thisismoney.co.uk/…/Airbnb-scammers-1-000s-briti…. We found it out the hard way. Airbnb are not doing enough to protect their customers. This has to change! The number of sophisticated scam listings on their website is countless and they are not doing enough to tackle it. They are putting their customers at great risk and you are not doing anything about it!!
I wish people who went through the same as we did could unite so we could start a class action against Airbnb. Please share.
All the best,
Anna
Airbnb Outrageous Cancellation Fee
I recently had a nasty surprise that others using Airbnb should definitely know about. Last week I booked an apartment in San Francisco which was advertised at 109euros a night, which ended up being 649euros for 4 nights after all the fees (Airbnb service charge, local taxes and cleaning fee). This total amount turns out to be just over the cost of booking a hotel, but we thought it would be worth it. After one week (more than a month before the date of arrival) I was offered a place to stay with a friend. So I cancelled. First I got a mail saying I would be refunded 572euros (because unlike hotels, Airbnb keeps their service fee even if you cancel), and then I was told that the host charges a $100 fee for cancellations! This of course appeared nowhere in the booking confirmation or the description of the place! Now that Airbnb is becoming more popular, they are being bolder about fleecing their customers and allowing their hosts to do the same. Beware of ‘The Suuny Upstairs Apt’ in San Francisco!
Nightmare
It’s 2 a.m. in the morning in Sri Lanka. We booked a room in a guest house slightly east of Matara. It is an ongoing nightmare. First we were told we should have brought our own soap. Then the internet didn’t work. The bed is hard as a cement sidewalk. There is an ant’s nest behind a bathroom tap and an ant highway in the bathroom. My girlfriend couldn’t get the shower to work because she wasn’t familiar with the controls. Instead of explaining how the shower worked our “host” said the pressure was low! even though the sink tap worked fine. They had assured us they had the adapters to connect our Canadian plugs into the Sri Lankan grid. They didn’t, and they finally sent a flunky into Matara to buy one only after we vehemently insisted that we needed to plug in our electronics. The worst was yet to come. It is two in the morning and our bedroom is sounds like the inside of a disco because our “hosts” have decided to have a party which they said will go on all night and we should have brought earplugs if we don’t like the noise. We were told this din will go on all night! We have stayed at some wonderful places through AirBnB here in Sri Lanka but this experience nullifys that. Remember when you book on Air BnB that what you get may be absolutely the opposite of what you were led to expect!
Running out of propane, water, and wakened at 1:30 AM by family fight
Our first, only and LAST EVER time as a guest with AirBnB was at St John USVI the Christmas of 2014. The apartment looked nice in the pictures, but when we got there it was run down—although clean, and the location overlooking the bay was indeed awesome. The host required $50 cash to check in, and we knew this was coming, but it violates AirBnB rules. We were told to use as little water and propane (stove/hot water) as possible, and to avoid taking showers as much as we could. When we returned late after dinner, a guy was delivering propane, which was loud for about an hour for some reason. That night we were awakened by the host upstairs, screaming at her kids, including the phrase “It’s 1:30 in the morning!” which is how I knew what time it was.
We gave her a good review anyway, out of charity. Clearly the only way she can survive is with AirBnB. But I am done with this outfit.
unauthorized charge and airbnb won’t even tell me what I’m expected to pay for
Checking my credit card statement recently I noticed a $100 charge from airbnb. I didn’t go anywhere. I called airbnb, actually got to talk to someone, and later received an email saying that airbnb found the charge to be “legitimate”!!!! No, I did not authorize this charge. So I asked them, well, where did I go? THEY WON”T TELL ME! What a business model–charge your customer but don’t tell them what they’re paying for. airbnb told me I would need a subpoena to get the information.
I should have read this site first!!
Not an original story judging from others on this t but thought it may be worth sharing to prove they haven’t improved! I used the site last year with great success – 3 bookings on a trip to South Africa, the system in place then was the request and approval system, once you had a list of approved places you picked and paid; easy. Impressed, I decided to use them again this year. Well it has been hell! stem requires that you pay immediately for any place you’re interested in, so you have enough money to cope with it being held for 1 week if the host backs out and . you need to book another place. After two failed bookings I am now 1 week to my trip my card is maxed and I can’t find accommodation. The airbnb site doesn’t list any way of contacting the owners and refers you to ‘the community’ fat lot of good that is. Take note: Don’t use them, your holiday could be a disaster.
bed bug disaster
My sister and her friend just got bed bugs from a dirty bed at the host´s apartment. they had evidence (doctor´s approval, photos), that they have not had them before. they were thrown on the street after the host told them THEY brought the bugs – also they had no more money left because the airbnb money they already paid in advance takes a while to get back to their accounts. after hours of exhausting phone calls they finally got 500$ from airbnb to stay at a hotel and a few options for new apartments (btw they were in treatment already and the bugs are gone). after booking another one after a week airbnb called the host to throw them out again because they´re too dangerous. funny thing is: the apartment where they got them from is available again!
Security breach
Warning to AirBnb users: Read my story! A few weeks ago I received an email that my AirBnB account has changed. The hackers changed the email address (i.e. userid) so I could not login. I had my credit card and drivers license and address and phone numbers, so they could adopt a kid using my identity. There was no way to contact AirBnB. No phone numbers, no email. After trying different ways, I signed up with a new email address and explained the situation. First, I received an automated email which did not help at all. After reiterating the story, they corrected the situation, set my correct email address and gave me a temporary password. I logged in to my account and to my horror I realized the hackers posted many phoney listings for rent and discussed the prices etc with unsuspecting poor travellers. As an Airbnb user, I know that (most) property owners like to offer a direct deal to customers to avoid AirBnB charges. That means these guys probably got scammed with no traces on Air