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.

Airbnb Quick to Charge, Slow to Refund

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I currently live in Australia and made a booking for a property in Somerset West, South Africa From September 28 to October 12, 2018. I paid 50% of the total booking fee, but a month before the check-in date I was informed by the host (who appears to be living in Sydney) that he had to cancel the booking as he was in a dispute with his Body Corporate about using this property for Airbnb accommodation.

I immediately took this up with Airbnb and in the meantime I hastily looked for alternative accommodations for our family reunion, rebooked, and paid the fees as required (again through Airbnb). A few days later Airbnb advised me that they had difficulties in cancelling the reservation – something which I truly do not understand. I was assured, however, that they are looking into my case and that the matter will soon be resolved.

Since then I have had four different caseworkers, made numerous phone calls during which I was promised quick action, received generic emails expressing their sympathies and apologies for the inconvenience caused to me, was given a false promise that my refund was processed, received notification that my case was closed, was ignored for weeks on end, and have yet to see my refund…

I am at my wits’ end in dealing with Airbnb. This huge company is so unapproachable and seems to not care one bit about small fish like me. It has cost me way too much time and energy trying to receive fair and just treatment and on top of that it has caused me a great deal of stress. It feels to me that the whole issue is drawn out deliberately to try and force me to just abandon my hopes of receiving my refund. Any ideas how to proceed further will be most welcome.

Australia Airbnb Cancelled the Day of Travel

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I booked a two bedroom apartment in Melbourne for myself and my mother a month before our trip. We were coming from New Zealand for a Bon Jovi concert.

The host had good reviews and several other properties listed with Airbnb so I felt pretty secure with the deal. I did start to wonder though when it got to three days before take off and I hadn’t heard anything from the host. I sent an email asking for directions or some sort of acknowledgment that this was all good to go ahead. There was no reply.

The days ticked by and there was still no communication at all. The anxiety crept in but I thought I had the confirmation, it was all paid, and it was going to happen. We were flying out at 3:30 PM as I was working the early shift from 5 AM.

I woke up at 3:45 AM for work, only to find an email from Airbnb an hour earlier stating that the host had cancelled the booking. This asshat cancelled it literally hours before we were due to leave. No explanation, no personal apology from the host, just a “here are some similar listings”, which were all one bedroom places.

Obviously I was steaming and trying to find a place before my shift started, but here’s the clincher that put me off for life: when I expressed my annoyance (I use the term lightly), the help desk lad replied with “I understand as I have had the same thing happen to me.”

What? So this is a common occurrence? We were flying out in ten hours and eight of those I was working. When I pressed for an explanation, the help desk guy said the host had “trouble getting access to the apartment” and that he would “absolutely be reprimanded” (but only once I asked what action would be taken).

Upon speaking to my sister, she said the same thing had happened to her in Ireland. Luckily I found an awesome apartment on hotels.com, my usual go-to and where I should’ve gone in the first place. Airbnb said they would refund me but it took over a week; lucky I had the funds to book something else. Never again.

Airbnb has been a Huge Disappointment

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Airbnb owners broke their promise to offer us a nice clean place to stay over the winter. The posted reviews on Airbnb for the unit were nice. When we approached the host on June 6, 2018, she asked us to deal with her directly instead of going through Airbnb “to avoid the unneeded formalities.” She repeatedly advised us that “the place is nice, has all the basics and more and she wants us to be happy there.”

We dealt with her and with someone who was introduced to us as her agent. Later we discovered that he was listed as an owner of the place. We wondered if he has a license or not.

We intended to stay in the rented unit for four months. We came from Winnipeg, Manitoba, making 3,060 km during our four days of driving. We arrived in evening of December 8, 2018. The agent met us at the place. During this first meeting he repeatedly posed as an agent for the host by confirming it verbally as well as by calling her several times to get instructions.

We discovered the following shocking deficiencies to the unit: it was dusty and filthy; the carpets were black and dirty; most of the cupboards and drawers were filled in with old useless objects, rubbish, old packaging, all dusty and in disarray; the entire unit was cluttered; all corners and shelves filled with dusty artificial plants; even an old TV was stored on the living room floor.

Please note that the place was small: only 400 square feet. We asked the agent if he could take all that unneeded stuff out of the unit. He said that he would consider taking out only some of it. The bed, pillows and bedding looked dirty and worn out; the bed was not made. The fridge and freezer contained a lot of containers with old food. The fridge was leaking with dirty stale water on the bottom of it. The fridge was producing a very loud uncharacteristic noise.

The hot water tank was not working; there was no hot water in the unit. Later the agent told us that it was fixed. However, we learned from a different source that the tank was leaking, and, if so, it could not be fixed. The agent suggested going to the clubhouse for showering. All the windows had worn out dusty curtains and paper “blinds” that were deteriorating.

The front door lock was not working properly, behaving rather “finicky” as per the agent’s description. We were instructed to use the door leading directly from outside to the bedroom. That door lock was also malfunctioning. The toilet and sink faucet were filthy. One window was not closing as it had a cable wire running through it.

The unit had a bad smell (possibly from the sewer). The parking stall turned out to be small and our truck stuck out on the road. The outdoor furniture was also old and filthy. The whole place was in an unhealthy state of disrepair and disarray: worn out, full of dust and stinky.

We were supposed to pay $1090/month for that place… we were shocked. We had no choice but to stay there overnight. We were tired and afraid that it might be difficult to find a hotel room on a Saturday night. We spent all evening behind the computer looking for an alternative accommodation and moved to a hotel the next day.

We stayed there for a week before finding a place to settle for the remaining term. Please note that there were five reviews that were very nice referring to the place as being nice and clean. We realize that one review was probably referring to a different place as those guests were staying over a weekend and the place “was located walking distance from a festival ground.”

In fact, the location of the subject property is quite remote and renting for a period shorter than one month term is not permitted by the Almar Acres Association. We consider those nice reviews as fraudulent misrepresentation. We consider the whole situation as a fraud. We were tricked by the sweet promises.

In fact the unit has deteriorated far beyond a quick clean or quick fix. The owners are not considerate or trustworthy people. They lied to us about the place and about their own status in respect to the ownership. It feels sneaky and it is not acceptable. They inconvenienced us and made us pay for a hotel. It is so unfortunate that our vacation started with a huge disappointment.

Airbnb Ruined Holidays with Poor Customer Service

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We recently booked a long haul xmas holiday with a stopover in Hong Kong. We booked two-night stay in a place advertised as an “arty, bright and quiet oasis in trendy Sheung Wan” by the host. The photos looked perfect.

When we arrived, the flat did not match the photos. It was filthy and disgusting. The bed sheets and pillow cases had not been changed from when previous guests stayed; there was hair and oil.

There were food scraps and hair everywhere. The shower door was broken and the toilet seat was loose. The listing said it accommodated three people, but there was only a double bed and a small two-seat sofa. We could not sleep a third person in the flat.

The location is twenty minutes from the MRT station, up several slopes from the street to the building, The flat is on the fourth floor with no lift; there were many stairs to climb. None of this was mentioned in the listing.

We contacted Airbnb immediately and told them we could not trust the hygiene standard the host kept and would like to change to a hotel. We asked Airbnb to recommend another place for us to stay. The agent said she could not and insisted we send her photos. We sent the photos as she instructed.

It was very stressful as we had a long haul flight – over ten hours – and arrived in Hong Kong in the early morning. This was already in the evening. We were very exhausted. The Airbnb agent did not seem to understand this.

We told Airbnb we preferred to stay in another place. This place was dirty and the listing was dishonest. They admitted there were cleaning issues but insisted we work it out with the host. We could not sleep in such a flat and had no clue when the issue would be solved. We left the flat and found a hotel.

When contacting Airbnb for a full refund, the agent said we should contact the host ourselves. We did contact the host. He tried to bully us to shut us up. The host insisted his flat was clean and refused to provide a full refund. He told us a negative review on Airbnb would harm his business. The host did not care about his guests and was dishonest about the listing. It is only money. Airbnb encourages that.

Hours and days spent communicating with the host and Airbnb agent. To say the least, we feel humiliated by both. It’s end of our Airbnb experience. We had to cancel our two other Airbnb reservations for our holidays. It is loss for us. We feel sorry for those honest hosts who do care about their guests, but the experience we had was so bad. We cannot risk having any more.

Fatal Fall from Airbnb Illegal Hotel

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On October 28th, 2018, my son was a guest in a New Orleans Airbnb. He was only there for a few hours after work and before another early morning shift as a chef at Commander’s Palace. It’s been two months and the NOPD are still “investigating” his unexplainable fall through a solid 3’x 4’ window positioned over a sofa.

In my attempts to contact Airbnb, they offered their sorrow that since our son was not the one who rented the room there was nothing they could do. They did offer to cancel any future bookings so he did not get charged for future trips.

I explained that, along with endless questions and frustrations, I expected to get my son’s possessions that were left in the room. Airbnb stated that they could not require the host to get in touch with me. Apparently I put some pressure on him and suddenly the other guest later returned my son’s phone, shoes and shirt. I’m still asking for my son’s backpack and chef’s knife kit, which he took to and from work every day.

Airbnb “closed their case with me” after asking me four times if the host had contacted me, which he hadn’t. I messaged the host on Facebook messenger and then called the host on his Facebook messenger app. Nada. The host had five listings on Airbnb that I found and now I see that four of them have been removed. I reached out again to Airbnb yesterday via Twitter and they said they were “escalating the case” (which I heard before they closed it last time), which have not heard from Airbnb.

These photos show the mysteriously single pane window in a building renovated in 2011 after the for windows requires hurricane-proof glass.

Airbnb Customer Service Doesn’t Care

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I am sending this to share the unhelpful service that I received from Airbnb customer service in resolving my issue of getting credited to use the funds for another booking. I had to speak to multiple people over the course of the day attempting to solve my issue. Even though each person that I spoke to took notes on my case, I had to explain my case each time I called or got transferred.

After explaining my case to each new person, they asked me to give them an hour or another amount of time and my issue would be resolved. I would wait the requested time amount and not have my issue resolved. Therefore, I would have to call back and begin the process of explaining myself to someone new and start the process of being asked to wait again.

The issue was not waiting within itself, but after waiting each time being told that the person I would need to speak to is no longer available became very frustrating. Today alone, I have spent almost three hours attempting to get my issue resolved- which has yet to happen. Customer service tells me “I understand.” However, the response is always “I will put in the notes and someone will message you soon.”

Unfortunately, “soon” appears to never come because I know if I did not call back and ask to speak to someone I would have waited for days and not had a place to stay in the coming days. In all situations, I attempt to be understanding of both ends; however, the chain of command that Airbnb has established is not beneficial to their customers. My issue has yet to be resolved and my trip is three days away.

Mentally Unbalanced Host Does Everything To Stop Me

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It started off as a decent listing on Airbnb with two good reviews. Since it was in the middle of downtown Toronto, a high-end neighborhood, I decided to book for 15 days.

The photos represented a photoshopped version of the real space, and the information about cleanliness was far from accurate. On the first night (check-in at 5:00-6:00 PM), the host arrived and immediately started talking about her interview and her concerns about not getting a job. I thought the condo was hers and she would have a room instead I found only one room and she says she sleeps on the couch.

She jumped right into a sexual harassment case she experienced at her university and I quote: “My professor tried to have sex with me in exchange of ideas.” She proceeded by stating, “This triggered bad memories of my father touching me…”

In one sitting, she also stated that this case at the university ended with her at the mental hospital. She said she was dumb because she was not that smart in school and had trouble with the English language when they moved from China (when she was in high school until she reached university).

She went on to mention that she was afraid that if she did get this government job, since the majority of employees in that department are men, she believed that they would think that it was “okay to have an orgy with her…”

She then mentioned that she attempted to take her own life a few times, and put out her wrists and showed me. I told her that government jobs are far from a certainty for having such things happening.

After trying to console her and encourage her to use good words, she stated that she got this interview because her other professor sent a recommendation and if it was not for her, she would not have gotten interviewed. Once again, I tried to help her by encouraging her and stated that the economy was not going well and that people in the city of Toronto are complaining about the rent hike, especially those with children and parents to take care of.

She stated that they shouldn’t have gotten married and had kids, instead they should’ve taken OSAP, studied, and ultimately focused on their careers. Obviously I disagreed and said that her comment was absurd. I mentioned that there are many like me who graduated with two degrees yet finding a decent paying job is difficult, especially as an immigrant. She disagreed and said everyone with a degree gets interviewed and gets a good job. Since she raised her voice and tried to force her opinions on me, I left the common area and went to my room.

Moving on, I started to find that the bathroom and other spaces were dirty. I looked for cleaning supplies but couldn’t find anything except dish soap. Hair was everywhere and even the toilet seat was dirty. The shower was so small. The water pressure is high, but the downside is that the water doesn’t drain and starts to rise. Hair and other things start floating… totally gross.

I asked her about cleaning supplies, and she told me to use the wet cloth. I tried to explain about different types of cleaning detergents, but it seemed she did not understand. Hygiene is extremely important, especially when sharing a space.

The next day, I contacted Airbnb and told them the whole story. I shared photos and explained in detail the mental issues that this host has and how it was definitely not safe for me. They told me that they would review the photos and then issue a refund for the rest of the time I booked.

After a few hours, they said that the apartment was not that dirty and therefore no refunds will be provided unless they inform the host about all the reasons why I am uncomfortable staying there. I suggested not to tell her all the reasons as I was afraid that since she was in a mental hospital and tried to take her own life, she might try to hurt me as well. I emphasized that the place was not clean but most importantly, it was not safe to spend 15 days with someone who is obviously mentally ill and does not have any friends.

On the third day, I spent the entire day out. The host messaged me every hour. At 11:00 PM, she sent her last text saying “it’s almost midnight, where are you?”

Airbnb informed her that I had to leave due to an emergency, so when I arrived, in a very condescending way she said that she did not believe me and would not issue a refund. We got into a heated argument and at the end of it she agreed that if I found someone else to take over the rest of the days she would issue the refund.

The next day I found a new guest who was interested, but she asked if the host was the owner of the condo. If she was not, she would ask me for a document that showed that the host had a lease and that she would not get kicked out if the condo management found out about her using Airbnb. The host confirmed to me that she only rents from the condo owner and since she cannot find a job due to her sexual harassment lawsuit, she makes money by renting the condo through Airbnb, which pays all her bills.

She continued to say that the lady who booked a two-month stay (before I booked) had cancelled early. She does not issue refunds because she uses the money to pay her rent and bills. After a few hours, she came into the room and interrogated me about the new guest. I informed her that I was not feeling well and that we had to wait until she sent a request on Airbnb to book.

She refused to listen and instead came in the room three times while I was trying to rest and refused to leave. She insisted that I was rude because I was not giving her my full attention and eye contact. I told her that I was not well enough to give her all my time and that she should leave because I wanted to rest. She refused to leave, so I raised my voice and freaked out, telling her to leave and to close the door.

She came back again and told me that she was not going to issue a refund if the next guest booked because now she was afraid I would inform condo management, which would result in her getting kicked out. She insisted that I tell her when I will be leaving the condo and when my flight will be. She also told me to turn the volume down (I was listening to a lecture on YouTube at low volume, but she wanted complete silence and insisted it was music). She finally left.

I then informed Airbnb that I would be leaving and my friend would come help me with my bags since I am afraid she will physically hurt me. My friend arrived around 11:00 PM. We got the bags out, when the host got up and followed us to the room and then to the door. She asked my friend if she would be spending the night and she replied by saying, “No, we are only getting the bags out.”

The host followed us to the door and said, “What’s this? You didn’t tell me of your plans. Where are you going? You can’t do this.”

I told her that I was uncomfortable staying there and thus I was going to stay at my friend’s for a couple of nights. She asked for the key but I repeated: “I will come back after a few days as I need a safe and sane space.”

Airbnb contacted me the following day after speaking to her, and they asked me to free up the dates I had booked and to return the key. I told them that I would only accept that if she sent me the refund, but somehow they kept insisting I free up the dates for other guests to book.

I finally agreed after a day, but it turned out that they were siding with her in order for her to get the keys back and to have the space all to herself while enjoying a free $700 + Airbnb fees. In addition, she filed a complaint to charge me an additional $300 for key replacement. I finally returned the keys and asked her to confirm with Airbnb.

Once I left the public place where we met, she followed me. She tried to take my photo and then kept asking when I would be flying. I told her that it did not concern her and to stop that behavior. In the end, the other guest sent a request to book but she rejected it because she wanted the guest to give up her ID. The new guest told her that she would only show her in person, but she declined.

Airbnb refuses to assist, stating it is the host’s choice to do as she pleases. They had already promised that they would assist in helping book the new guest I found and then help her issue a refund. The hosts now says that she will not issue a refund if the new guest cancels within 48 hours.

I informed Airbnb that this was a trend and it is unfair to bill people just to chase them away and keep their money. The host switched to contacting me via Airbnb to inform me that she rejected the new guest’s request. She said she would charge me for the stress I caused her if I reported her to the building management. I then told her that I will report her to the condo management and the police since she is trying to get more money from my card.

I am truly fed up and will not use Airbnb anymore. I am sick of the threats and attempts to extract more funds from me. How do I get my peace of mind back? How do I get a refund? How do I get Airbnb to ensure that the guests are protected from such fraud and aggressive psychotic behavior?

After Cancellation, Never Again Airbnb

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I have had misleading and conflicting responses from Airbnb support since I cancelled a booking I made for an Airbnb listed property in South Hobart, Tasmania in late August this year.

The cancellation was made in early December, due to non availability of a stove for cooking; I only became aware of this just before I cancelled. This included amenities, pots and pans. Why would these be needed if there was no stove?

I should have checked more carefully before making the booking, but the inference I got from the pots and pans, led me to believe there was a stove, I believe this to be false or misleading advertising. We were supposed to be staying for ten nights and cannot afford to be eating out for every meal; we also prefer the option of home cooked meals occasionally.

This host has a strict (with grace) cancellation policy which means you only get 50% of the accommodation costs refunded if you cancel before 48 hours of booking and seven days before arrival. I paid $768 (AUD) as part payment, Airbnb has now concluded, after I escalated this matter through one of their “case managers”, that I will receive $177.81 refund, which is three nights’ accommodation (which they state was graciously agreed to by the host since he has now received a booking for three nights of the period I originally had booked).

My understanding of the strict cancellation policy is that I should be entitled to a 50% refund of the accommodation payment I made, of $592.65 + $175.40 Airbnb service fee. (Airbnb has refunded 30% of the accommodation fee ($177.81 (not $296.32 which is 50%) and they kindly retain the service fee.

I responded to the Airbnb “case manager’s” communication regarding the refund that they were arranging, as I did not agree with their conclusions. I asked for an explanation regarding the pots and pans inferences in the kitchen facilities as I thought this to be misleading, and asked for proper refund according to the cancellation policy.

Airbnb has now marked the case as closed and have not responded to my message. If anyone can offer some advice on pursuing this matter further with any regulatory authority or otherwise I would be most grateful as I have not been able to find anything suitable to date in Australia.

Airbnb Fraud Not Addressed by Company

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We have recently been victim of an Airbnb fraud. While searching through the app for an accommodation for a weekend, we came across an Airbnb verified listing that led us to contact the host outside the platform. The listing was inviting us to contact the host via email due to issues in synching their Airbnb calendar and was openly providing an email address.

As described in the listing, we contacted the host and after some back and forth on details, the host generated an Airbnb-like booking confirmation email. Very professionally, the email was sent from an Airbnb-like email address and contained a link to customer service. Before carrying out the wire transfer, we unfortunately checked with what we believed was Airbnb’s customer service and got assurance about the legitimacy of the listing/booking.

I discovered this was a fraud a couple of weeks after carrying out the payment, as the booking did not appear in my Airbnb app. I then reported this to Airbnb complaining about the fact that they had hosts verified through their on-boarding process that led me to a scam and requesting some form of help or compensation.

Airbnb has been handling the issue in an extremely unfair way through their (outsourced) fraud department, fundamentally saying that they are not in any way responsible for anything that happened to me and that they can’t control what’s going on their platform. They closed my case a couple of times and no one, whether they’re in the fraud department or customer service, has been helpful in any way.

Not only that, but a few days after I reported my fraud case to Airbnb, I could find very similar fraudulent listings on the platform and I reported them – clearly they didn’t act upon them. My question is the following: is there any consumer protection for this issue? What do you suggest doing? The amount here is considerable (a few thousands euros). Any help would be very much appreciated.