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.

Left Out in the Cold After Instant Booking Fails

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In 2017, I was touring Europe with my bicycle. I camped most of the time, but it was quite cold and rainy during a week in September. I decided to stay with Airbnb. The first night went quite well, so I made another booking the next morning. It was 60 km away, in a small village in Germany. Instant Book was enabled, so I immediately got a confirmation.

I set off and reached the address around 5:00 PM. When I rang the bell, there was no response. I messaged the host. After approximately an hour, the booking was canceled, without any explanation. It was cold and getting dark fast, so I headed to the nearest hotel. It was only five kilometers, but with the rain and the mud, it took me another hour to get there. At 75 euro, it was much more expensive than some of the other hotels I could have stayed with. Later Airbnb messaged me, saying the host enabled Instant Book without realizing the implications. They kind of blamed me for choosing a host with little experience and did not offer to pay part of the hotel bill. They have much more data on the host than me. They should not allow inexperienced hosts to enable instant booking.

Filth and Infestations at New York Airbnb Home

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No more Airbnb-hosted homes for us. Although there are good clean places out there, we’ve had two ghastly experiences in two months. Airbnb refuses to post honest reviews, only five-star reviews. Avoid this Airbnb in Wynantskill, NY at all costs. We found the bedroom and bathroom filthy and extremely bug infested.

Food scraps, hair, bugs, and dirt were on both the floors and walls. Grime was on the door handles, toothpaste was splattered on the sink, counter, and bathroom mirror, and stains were on the carpet. The pillow cases and bed sheets were terribly stained and even had holes worn through them. The bath towels and washcloths were also badly stained. They looked as though they had been rags taken from a trash can. The place had the odor of a men’s locker room. I wouldn’t let my dog stay in such a filthy place.

Had it not been late and storming when we arrived, we would have never stayed. As it was, we found some Lysol cleaner and wiped down the tub and other bathroom fixtures. Then we went about trying to kill as many of the bugs on the walls, curtains, floor, and bed as we could. The host was not there. Her father let us in. He said that his daughter was renting out the bedroom just long enough to pay for her new Jeep. This is our second bad experience with renting through Airbnb in two months. When we spoke to their representatives the last time, we got nowhere. Never again.

Bullied by Terrible Guest and Case Managers

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A guest from Seattle booked a room for one person at my home. As soon as he arrived, he invited his “daughter” over pretty much all the time against my rules and wishes. They both took over my home. When he left, huge amounts of used wrappers of drugs (Viagra/Cialis) fell out of his personal trash and the sheets were soiled. The creepy guest was holed up in my house all day and running around half naked in a bathrobe. I was very upset about the sexual activity so opened a resolution case to at least address the soiled sheets and other issues regarding this guest’s terrible behaviour.

The first case manager gave me the run around. A week later I followed up and a new case manager responded and tried to close the case in minutes without looking at anything and using very poor English. When I asked to speak to a supervisor and to complain, he told me he was in charge and refused to engage further.

I am surprised that Airbnb employs such poorly trained case managers who cannot write. I am saddened that I spoke up about guest abuse and was mistreated by the guest and then by Airbnb bullies. The customer service people were nice and understanding but when it came to the case managers, they just don’t care.

Airbnb Removed My Review Mentioning Bed Bugs

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I stayed at a listing in Brooklyn. The room in the informal “hotel”-style accommodation (i.e. a house with a digital lock and multiple rooms) had bed bugs. I was removed from the property, Airbnb (after I was forced to fight aggressively with their customer service representatives, who lied to me about reimbursement) paid for a hotel for three nights, and I left a very honest review articulating exactly what happened.

The review was posted two days ago, and it was removed today, presumably at the prompting of the host who did not want a review mentioning bed bugs on their listing page. Lest I be accused of bringing the bed bugs to the listing, let me say that I found the bugs – a lot of them – on the second night after the host said that her “cleaner” accidentally cleaned my room, instead of another room in the house. One of the bed bugs – a large adult – came crawling out of the “clean” duvet/sheets that night.

On the whole, the three-star review was more than fair in terms of positivity (I said the listing was clean, the bed was comfortable, the house was quiet, and that guests might want to stay there again after the bed bug problem is fixed), but I did detail the bed bug experience in the middle of the review. Well, lo and behold, a day after posting the review, I get a message from an Airbnb “case manager” stating:

“Good morning! My name is CASE MANAGER and I am a Case Manager with Airbnb. I hope this message finds you well and that you’re having a great day! I am contacting you today about your review for your reservation with HOST. It has come to our attention that your review for HOST is in violation of our content policy. For your reference, you can learn more about our review guidelines in our Help Center.

Reviews are the backbone of Airbnb’s community. In order to maintain this structure, we have guidelines in place that ensure that all reviews are fair, honest, and relevant to your trips. We also don’t allow reviews to mention any actions taken by Airbnb, including investigations or mediations in our Resolution Center. As such, it is our responsibility to remove your review from HOST’s profile. As of this correspondence, it has been taken down.”

Let me be crystal clear: my review did not mention the resolution or mediation at all, other than saying “Airbnb told me to leave for a hotel.” When I called to question the review’s removal, I was told it was because of my sentence about the hotel. This is absurd, because I didn’t say Airbnb paid for the hotel or describe the mediation process. Regardless, how an accommodation provider responds to a problem is an essential thing to mention in a review. I was also told it was removed because “mentioning bed bugs would hurt the host’s future listings.”

Isn’t this the whole point of leaving honest reviews? To allow guests to make up their own minds about staying somewhere based on past experience?

If hosts are going to be allowed to get around critical reviews with such ease, guests should have zero faith in Airbnb. Why do guests even waste their time writing honest reviews when hosts can so easily find an inexperienced “case manager” to take any slightly negative review down from their listing? This is positively absurd. What should I have done instead? Left vague language about vermin, cleanliness, and then had the review removed for not being based in facts because it would have been so ambiguous? Now, a future guest may suffer from bed bugs, or other incompetence, at this listing, simply because Airbnb can’t competently execute its model.

No help or support for guests when faced with a terrible host

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I need to share my extremely disappointing experience with Airbnb. I’ve just returned from a trip to the USA, where I had a great time, except for my Airbnb experiences. Firstly, I had booked my accommodation very early, but two months before my trip I tried to modify my LA reservation by one day. The host kept refusing my request but also ignoring my messages. This went on for days, where I couldn’t get in touch with him and had to contact Airbnb for support. In the end, the support person told me there was nothing they could do if he refused to modify my reservation.

Around the same time, my host for my accommodation in New York cancelled my reservation because he wanted to host someone else. Again, Airbnb was no help, as the guest can’t stop a host from cancelling a reservation. Sure, the host is penalized – but that just means money for Airbnb. As the guest, I’m left without accommodation.

During my stay in LA, my host (the one who refused me to modify my reservation), was messaging me privately, being very friendly, and offering help and tips. From this I felt like perhaps I misjudged him from the earlier interactions. After I checked out of the apartment he sent me a private messaging that said: “I just got to the apartment. Thank you for taking such good care of it. You have been a great guest! I have a few apartments in this area. I would like to offer you a discount the next time you are in town. You are welcome back anytime. Safe travels!”

I have used Airbnb for all my trips over the last few years, and every time I treat each property with care and respect. I make sure I clean up before I leave: taking out rubbish, washing up and putting everything away, making the bed, wiping down the kitchen, bathroom, etc. I can confidently say that every place I leave looks like it hasn’t been touched. I left a review for the host in LA that was very honest; I mentioned that I encountered some issues leading up to stay with trying to modify the reservation, but also pointed out all the positive aspects of the actual stay and complemented on the apartment and the host. I believe in leaving a true reflection of my experience.

However, I then received a review from the host that said: “She was an okay guest. I did my best to accommodate all of her requests and questions. She requested a reservation change after having booked the apartment for a bit that would have left me hanging. I couldn’t accept the request as it was not in keeping with our cancellation policy.”

I found this review extremely spiteful and deceptive. He was clearly lying and pretending to be nice to me in the private messages, while the whole time holding a grudge over me trying to modify the reservation. His review did not reflect how I am as a guest, and made it sound like I had made a lot of unreasonable requests. Trying to ask for a modification to a reservation with two months’ notice is not unreasonable. Plans change, and I only wanted to modify it by one day; how can that possibly be “leaving him hanging”?

I still accepted the fact that he wouldn’t let me change my reservation and stayed at the apartment with no further requests. I never met him during my entire stay. I checked in and checked out myself. His review made it sound as if he went of his way to help me. I’m very angry at how mean spirited and deceptive someone can be.

What’s even more disappointing is Airbnb allowing this type of host to get away with it. I contacted Airbnb again, explaining my disappointment in the whole experience. The only help I got was links to the Airbnb policies – there’s nothing Airbnb can do for me, as there is a non-interference policy on reviews. Policies are all well and good, but where is basic human decency?

I know no matter how much I try to get my point across, I’m only going to hear about more “policies”. I’ve spent too much time emailing Airbnb’s support team. I may not get a satisfying resolution, but l will share how utterly disappointing and frustrating this whole ordeal has been. Airbnb has major flaws in their policies that doesn’t offer enough support and help for guests.

Airbnb in Sicily Grossly Misrepresented, Still No Refund

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My friends and I booked an Airbnb house In Fiumefreddo, Sicily. We chose this house because it could easily accommodate three couples, as there were at least three bedrooms with queen beds and three bathrooms. At booking, the owner confirmed that we would indeed have the entire house.

We arrived on October 3rd, 2017. The house had obviously been misrepresented by the owner. There were indeed three queen beds; however, one of those beds was in an alcove with curtains around it, curtains which could not have been hung more than one foot from the bed. That is not a bedroom.

There was an extremely narrow spiral staircase. I am a very small woman and could barely fit on the staircase, so we were certainly not going to be able to carry a suitcase up there. This meant whoever stayed on that floor would have to keep their suitcase on another floor and carry clothes up as needed. There were only two bathrooms and the older couple in the house informed us, through an interpreter, that we did not have the entire home, as they lived there.

We called the owner to inquire about the third bathroom and bedroom with queen bed. She told us her parents were living in the house on the first floor and had the other bedroom and bathroom, and said she would have her parents leave. We were not going to put two elderly people out of their home, as we would not be disrespectful to this man and woman. Their own daughter had misrepresented the situation.

We contacted Airbnb with the issues we faced: a house that was completely misrepresented by the owner. We requested a refund and were told we would get $500. This hardly compensates us for the money we paid and we feel cheated. If this is how Airbnb treats customers, it is very disappointing, and they have now lost six customers. We are all well traveled, and thought the Airbnb business model was one we would utilize for this trip. It was such a bad experience, and we have been poorly compensated. This was the first and last time we will use Airbnb. Our file needs to be reviewed again and we, who have been wronged by the homeowner, should be reimbursed if not for everything, then at least 80% of what we paid.

Host tried to rip us off. Two months later, no refund.

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A friend and I booked a property for two nights in Salamanca, Spain. The price was 30 Euros a night. After we had stayed one night, the host told us that she had made a mistake on the listing and the price was per person per night. There was nothing wrong with the property; it was in a good location and clean. However, having spent two months traveling in Europe this summer, it was most certainly not a 60-euro room. We told the host that this was outside our budget and she told us we had to pay her 60 euros or leave. We checked out and found another property straight away. When I applied for a refund, the host rejected it, saying we had not left the property until 3:00 PM. I have messages through Airbnb to our new host at noon asking if we could come early, as we were on the street with our bags. Airbnb has never followed up. Two months late, and we still have no refund.

Guests Meet Sketchy Host, Airbnb Refuses Refund

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As a single mom traveling with my two children for the first time, I decided to book an Airbnb so that I had a backup if something went wrong. This was a big mistake. A week before my arrival the host was unreachable (for the first time) and after three days was found. A few days before our visit we spoke on the phone and I asked if we could check in earlier, since we were scheduled to land at noon. He said that would be no problem.

The day before we left I contacted him to confirm and he said he would be home, and to call him from the airport. I did so but he didn’t answer. After a few unanswered calls, I decided to take a taxi to the address given on Airbnb, thinking I would just knock on the door and wake him up. We got to the address but there was no entrance to the building. The only entrance was from the side of the building, but it was a different address and his name wasn’t there.

I was alone in Barcelona with two kids and three big suitcases, and it was raining. We waited for him in a cafe nearby; after half an hour he responded on the phone. He came to the cafe and had a strong smell of alcohol on his mouth, so I felt completely insecure. I asked him what was wrong with the address and he said “Oh, the flat is somewhere else. didn’t I send you the address?”

Would you go with a man like that, as a woman traveling alone with two kids?  I contacted Airbnb immediately and they sweet talked me back and forth, suggesting I could solve any problems with the host, implying something about the cancellation policy. To this day I have not received a serious answer, and there is no number to reach customer service. I paid 3000 IS and have nobody to turn to. I contacted the Israeli press and they are now checking what can be done. What a huge disappointment. I will never recommend traveling with Airbnb.

Destructive Review From Host, Only One After 19 Stays

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During our six years as Airbnb guests, amounting to 19 stays in various parts of the world, I’ve very rarely felt uneasy enough to photograph the place before and after. This was especially true with this apartment because it all seemed ideal for us – terrible mistake. This Airbnb accommodation was just as described by the host and many glowing reviews: a comfortable, self-contained basement apartment with a well-equipped kitchen. My wife and I booked the apartment for two months because it was one of very few Airbnb offerings in Black Diamond, Alberta, Canada. Also, most fortunately, it was just a few doors away from our family, who we were in Black Diamond to visit. This unusually good combination of positive features caused us to ask the host if it would be possible for us to book the apartment for future visits and she responded favourably.

We had two great months there, though there was one problem. In the bedroom there was an infestation of bed bugs. Because the accommodation was otherwise so good and because it was our intention to return to this apartment in future years I thought it would be best to report the infestation to the host quietly and privately, rather than making any public fuss about the matter. This seems to have caused her some embarrassment and subsequent antagonism, which I believe induced her to give my wife and I such a startlingly bad review following our stay, as in: “Pleasant people, however they left the suite absolutely filthy.”

As a couple we’ve been enjoying Airbnb’s services for over six years and in that time have stayed at 19 listed locations around the world. It’s mainly because of Airbnb that we have felt secure enough to set out on most of these adventures. We are quiet and responsible retirees who have always treated our hosts with respect and consideration. This has invariably caused us to clean our accommodation thoroughly and return it to the way we found it before leaving, regardless of any pre-charged cleaning fee made by the host. which can be seen from the consistently good reviews we’ve had, until this most recent one.

For Airbnb to leave this damning and untrue review in place will make my wife and I reluctant to book any further Airbnb stays. I have been hoping there is something constructive that Airbnb can do about this situation. Any helpful intervention from Airbnb is still lacking to date. My conclusion: always take detailed before and after photos.