Category Archives: Airbnb Host Stories

These are real, uncensored stories from Airbnb Hosts.  We encourage our site visitors to read and share their Airbnb Host Stories to help warn others of the dangers of using Airbnb, and consider using alternative options in the sharing economy.

Active Guest Reservation and No Payment from Airbnb

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I have been a pretty happy host on Airbnb the last three years up until now. I had a three-month trip to Europe planned and found a last minute three-month reservation request. The dates were perfect. I met the lady in person with her teenage son and her dog. I was pretty happy to hand off my keys to a family that was really appreciative at the time and left for Europe in peace. She confirmed the reservation and moved in.

Three weeks later she called me in tears saying she had her identity stolen, needed to move out in 48 hours, and requested her money back. By the way, it was $2,700/month for my NYC pad in a prime location. I really needed this money to pay my rent while I was not staying in NYC. I told her I have a strict policy in place so she took it to the support team. They also basically said she needs to pay. This angered the guest, so she started cussing at me, knocking on my neighbors doors saying she needs to find the landlord. She kept saying she doesn’t want to be involved in illegal activities and wants to talk to my landlord. It was so much unnecessary drama. Most importantly I was so scared for my personal stuff.

Finally the guest checked out early after creating a lot of stress and just problems, playing games with me on where she will leave the keys, and just being rude and disrespectful. I told Airbnb I was so uncomfortable with this guest and this situation. They said not to worry and I will get a partial payment if she was to cancel. The crazy lady moved out (thank god), but she never cancelled the reservation. It kept going as an active reservation.

When next month rent’s was due I should have gotten either the partial amount or the full amount since her reservation is still active but all that Airbnb did was email me saying they cannot collect payment and if the guest doesn’t pay; they are not responsible. I really didn’t expect this to happen but I’m happy the crazy lady is out of the apartment and my stuff is safe. Any advice on how I can collect one month of rent that is still active on my Airbnb account?

Trip Insurance is a Necessity When Using Airbnb

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We have been with Airbnb for three years and most of our experiences have been good up until now. As provided in a formal feedback from my wife, guests buy trip insurance to cover crisis situations and illness. Airbnb is effectively negating this avenue by offering refunds at the host’s expense. It is completely unacceptable as a policy and puts the hosts in an untenable situation of loss that cannot be recouped for last minute cancellations – which, by the way, is why trip insurance exists.

Airbnb is hurting the small business owners who are the reason Airbnb is in business at all. Shame on them for allowing this and for interfering with legitimate trip insurance companies who protect the owners as well as the traveler when situations happen outside of either parties control. Airbnb clearly is not protecting owners and their businesses with this kind of policy. If you read some of the posts from hosts you will see what I am talking about.

We had a guest that was going to check into our property on December 6, 2017 and at the last minute something happened. They cancelled their reservation, and Airbnb refunded their money back to them. Now we are out over $600 to cover our mortgage and other fees and there is no time to rerent the property. I understand things happen that are out of a person’s control that cannot be helped. Thus the reason for trip insurance.

Suggestion: if you want to act like an insurance company and refund guests their money then charge a fee ($35 – $45 to be competitive with trip insurance companies) for that service, put it in a separate account, refund them out of that money, and offer it on the Airbnb website. Both guests and hosts will be happier. I purchase trip insurance just for that purpose. I read about another guest that cancelled at the last minute because they didn’t plan early enough and didn’t have their visa information in order. Airbnb refunded their money, costing the host a month’s rent that couldn’t be replaced.

If a driver is driving without insurance they are taking on the full responsibility if they get into an accident. You don’t have insurance because you plan on an accident, but to protect you just in case you do. Please protect your hosts and guests, as we pay your salaries.

New Years Eve Nightmare – Defrauded by Students

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When I was a full time caregiver for my terminally ill father, I listed my home on Airbnb to temporarily generate income. This was my only source of making money, as I was spending 60 hours per week with my father. On December 30th, 2016, I was approached by four college students who claimed they were from Ivy league schools and hosting a small reunion for the four of them on their first winter break home from college. Instead, the following happened and my home was destroyed. I have been left with nothing, and no help from Airbnb whatsoever. All of my furniture and possessions were either stolen or destroyed. I am at a loss for words, as I have given up all hope of recovering any of the life that I had worked so hard to build. The video will show you everything. Please help.

Airbnb’s Policy on Holding Payment is Dangerous

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I applied to stay at an Airbnb property in Montego Bay, Jamaica. The host completely ignored my request, and did not respond in any way. Fair enough… although this behaviour is very disrespectful and rude in my opinion. Anyway, that’s not really my issue with Airbnb. I did not realise that even though the host ignores your request and you don’t actually fully book, the funds are restricted and frozen for whatever the amount is. In other words, even with no contact from the host after requesting to book their space, your money is being frozen until it is deemed suitable for release. This affects my ability to live whilst alone abroad… even though the money appears to be in my account. In other words, if a host decides to be inhospitable, or covertly racist they could ignore your request merely based on what you look like. What other reason could there be if the space is showing availability and your reviews are totally positive? It’s not rocket science. Be very careful not to request any booking unless you have more than sufficient funds in your account. This aspect needs to be revised ASAP.

Guest Trashed Flat and Told Doorman about Illegal Airbnb

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I was constantly sold by Airbnb and third-party management companies that the “bad stories” from Airbnb are rare and that I had nothing to worry about. I have a water facing Manhattan condo in a doorman building. Manhattan and New York have banned any Airbnb listings. However, I noticed a Superhost from my very building who was making a ton of money and getting away with Airbnb. I figured I would give it a try. I contacted a third-party NYC management company, MetroButler, which handles everything for 25%  of the cost: cleaning, guest communication, and guest screening (not sure how much of a “screening” there was).

I had only reached my sixth guest when I walked into my apartment after a guest left and observed the mess. There was human feces on the bathroom mat, sugar spilled on the coffee table, dishwasher liquid in the dishwasher, and stolen items. This guest deliberately did all of this. He even forwarded MetroButler’s check-in instructions email to my doorman, to which my building fined me $1,000. This guest had the audacity to trash, steal, and go the extra Satanic mile and complain to my front desk. I complained to MetroButler and was able to get some sort of money for my stolen goods, but nothing else. I cancelled my bookings and paid the fine. Never will I allow my place to be abused by childish entitled guests, especially on Airbnb. If I do choose to sublet, it’ll be to someone I know and trust. Do not use MetroButler and do not allow guests like this.

Airbnb Considers a Loud Air Conditioner an Extenuating Circumstance

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About six months ago I had a six-month reservation that was cancelled because we didn’t reply to Airbnb within one hour. Our listing was listed with a strict cancelation policy which states that we don’t offer refunds if the guest chooses to cancel. However, our guest was sensitive to the noise of the air conditioner in our apartment and there was a cockroach (we live in New York). Airbnb determined this to be extenuating circumstance and canceled on our behalf.

Since then we’ve been having issues because apparently, we owe Airbnb the one month’s rent that was paid out after the first night. We actually ended up losing over $20,000 with this reservation, considering we had to cancel our lease, forfeit our security deposit, and hire last minute help to vacate our apartment in just three days before leaving for our six-month trip around Asia which we planned during the rental.

Airbnb has been our main source of accommodations. In fact, just three days ago we were not allowed into Taiwan because our visa got declined and even in these circumstances, when we contacted Airbnb they said we needed to give the host 24 hours to reply and explained that it’s up to the host whether to give us a refund. This was indeed an extenuating circumstance listed on Airbnb’s policy (as we literally were not allowed into the country), but Airbnb still stood by the host’s cancellation policy.

Every time we had issues over the course of our travels, Airbnb gave the hosts 24 hours to fix them and placed us in a hotel for the night while the problems were resolved. In our case, Airbnb canceled our six-month strict cancelation policy reservation because we didn’t answer them within one hour while the guest did confirm we were in contact with her, trying to fix the issue – which seems extremely wrong.

All problems aside, last month we booked a place in the Philippines for three weeks and the apartment had multiple electricity issues for many of the days we were there: meaning we couldn’t cook, there was no internet, no lights, no hot water, etc. We contacted Airbnb and they placed us in a hotel for three days which they said would be refunded. However, now they are saying we owe them the first month’s rent that was paid out for the 6-month reservation in June (which they cancelled without our consent) and that they won’t refund us for the hotel stays. We think this is completely wrong and we wanted to hear anyone’s thoughts.

According to Airbnb’s policy, it’s up to the host to set their cancellation policy; we had set ours to Strict, which meant that the guest does not get a refund unless we decide to give them one. There’s also another policy that applies for 28 nights or more, the long-term cancellation policy. If a guest changes or cancels a long-term reservation their first payment is non-refundable. If they cancel after the trip has started, the remaining nights in their reservation are non-refundable. If they have more than 30 nights left in their reservation, only the next 30 nights are non-refundable.

Looking into the extenuating circumstances policy established by Airbnb, it states that deaths, illness, injury to the guests, ability to travel, natural disaster, urgent travel restrictions, endemic diseases, severe proper damage and government-mandated obligations are the reasons why Airbnb would be able to cancel a reservation without the host’s approval. The reasons why this was canceled does not fall into this scenario at all. A loud air conditioner and a cockroach does not sound life threatening to me.

Keep in mind, this guest actually came to the apartment prior to booking it on two separate occasions to determine if it was suitable for their stay and heard and saw the air conditioner. We gave them a full tour and walk through and even rearranged some decorations after their request, which says a lot about our commitment and quality provided to our guests. We have hosted many people before and maintain a 4.8 rating, whereas this person was a completely new user with no reviews. Not only that, none of our past guests (some of which stayed just a week prior to this guest) mentioned any of the problems which she claimed made our apartment uninhabitable.

That being said, the cancellation of this reservation violates Airbnb’s policy as none of her reasons fell into the extenuating circumstances clause and we were not given the standard 24 hours to seek a resolution for the issues. After consulting with our legal team, it seems we have very strong grounds to sue Airbnb up for these losses. We did in fact let it go at the time but considering it is being raised again as an issue of us owning money to Airbnb I think it is worth pointing out that this cancellation was not done by the book in any means.

Regardless, it’s completely unprofessional to have an agent email us confirming they would refund three nights in a hotel and then be told after the stay that the refund would not be granted because of a balance owed for a reservation six months ago, which we were never informed of. I’m sure this is against their policies as well. At the very least, it’s an extremely disorganized an unprofessional way to treat loyal Airbnb users as hosts and guests.

How would you handle this? What would you do in our shoes?

Lacrosse Team of Twenty Trashes Airbnb Home

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I hosted an Airbnb guest who booked our home for five people. He then had his entire club team from the Virginia Commonwealth University stay in our home. They did damage to our home by making holes in walls, smashing windows, breaking furniture, etc. Airbnb will not consider receipts we provided for the damage because they are not on company letterhead. We live in a small town of 6,000 people and our dry cleaners have no computers for this. They will not explain the process of documenting damage so our cleaning crew can be trained by vocational rehabilitation. Our professional crew is from Autism Enterprise and they hire adults living with autism. For example, damage to the sheets was photographed on the bed and someone from the Trust and Safety Team wanted all four sheet sets photographed in one photo over ten days after the issue with the guest. The Trust and Safety Team asked for links for replacement items and then used links that were nothing like the item that was damaged. They asked for reports and invoices from carpenters and then denied everything on report after the guest admitted to damaging our home. I’m still waiting for a response but Airbnb seems to be unethical and unaccommodating of people with disabilities.

Guest From Hell Tries to Stay Even Longer

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Based on this experience I won’t ever be hosting through Airbnb again. First, we never know who will be staying in our home: their character, cleanliness, attitude, or past. This lady I hosted for few months in my beautiful little flat was a true nightmare.

The very first day she stayed she emailed me several times and took pictures of my belongings that I had left for my guests, such as shampoo, soap, a blow dryer, etc. Then she took pictures of the cabinets in my kitchen with the dry food and canned goods I also leave for my guests if they are hungry; there was also gourmet tea. She took pictures of all of this nice stuff I left for her and then claimed my flat was dirty.

I kept all of her insulting emails, as clearly she had never stayed in an Airbnb which in this case was someone’s home with belongings inside. As I kept getting these insulting emails, I told her that this was not a hotel. It is the flat where I live, and if she didn’t like my home then she was more than free to leave and find somewhere else to stay for the next two months. She agreed and asked to give her one night to think about it.

The next day she emailed me back and said she wanted to stay. I was hesitant at first because she had been super rude and already complained over nothing. I knew this was not a normal person. A few weeks went by and she complained about the internet and TV not working. She left me another email telling me that she called my carrier and they said I had an unpaid bill. Immediately after she told me this I knew she read and opened my mail in order to have this private information, which is illegal.

I personally almost fainted because I knew this person was literally wanting to know all of my information for some odd reason. The cable and Internet service was resolved that very day. I did ask her how and why she called my carrier and how the hell she got my personal account information. She lied to me and said she just used my phone number. After that I decided to keep calm but felt uneasy.

Weeks later she texted me about the Internet, claiming it was off once again. I explained to her that was impossible – she just needed to reset the TV. She had warned me on how the Internet was vital and it “needed to be fixed now”. Again, very rudely. Several hours later the Internet happened to be working after she decided to reset the TV; it was caused by a storm that previous day.

The day she was supposed to check out at a specific time in the morning on the last day of her stay, I had my partner go over to the flat to clean and check on everything before I flew in. Lo and behold, a half hour after her checkout time, she told me she had to go to work, she would leave my flat late in the afternoon, and she hoped I could wait.

My partner went over to the flat at 3:00 PM and she was still there. Not packed. She asked for his ID and said that he was “trespassing” and there to “kick her out”. She and her so-called “lawyer friend” were in my flat trying to stay longer. They used everything against my partner by threatening to call the police, and saying that he was in Europe illegally. I tried to call her on her cell phone but she wouldn’t answer. Then I was furious.

I came to find out she finally left but wouldn’t leave the keys with my partner. Instead she made a huge scene in front of my neighbors in my building and guardian and said that I “didn’t live here – she can’t be renting her flat out if she does not own it!”

Clearly what this evil person was simply trying to do was to dig into all of my personal business to try to stay in my flat long term. She had issues with people of color and always called my flat dirty, always spoke down to me as if I were some sort of slave to her. On top of that, she opened my mail, which is highly illegal. She ruined my flat with the smell from the pets that stayed there with her based on a bad call I made.

Please get to know the person to whom you rent your home, because not all of the guests are honest. They may see your flat as a place as an opportunity to somehow stay longer. Never leave your personal stuff around so they can snoop. Know your country’s laws and make sure you establish a checkout time that they follow and respect.

Libelous Guest Feedback Forces Hosts to Reconsider Airbnb

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I recently rented my two properties for a major event that usually attracts motor enthusiasts. I have never had any issue renting the properties until the last recent booking. As opposed to the usual group of guys booking, it was a young couple with a young child. I did feel this was unusual for the event; however, I accepted the booking.

I did everything as per usual prior to arrival to ensure the house was in pristine condition. I also employed a new cleaning company to assist in the final cleaning and preparation. I actually witnessed the cleaners thoroughly clean the properties. We normally do not provide full linens at the property as in summer we receive many back-to-back bookings which makes it problematic to change the linens when there is sometimes only a 3-4 hour turnaround between bookings. However, as the guests were travelling we made an exception and provided the full linens free. We also sent the guests a welcome pack via email before arrival which detailed the operations of the house, local attractions, maps, and advice on how to maximise their stay.

There was some communication prior to the guests’ arrival but nothing during or after the stay, despite providing my phone number in the event of any issue. After their stay I sent a few messages to which they did not respond – until finally the guest replied. At that time as I lived two hours from the property, I had not yet inspected the house. The guest made some very odd references to the lack of cleaning – which was just not accurate – as the property had been thoroughly cleaned – by us and the cleaners – up until the day prior to their arrival.

She made particular references to a bathroom – toilet and shower recess – which we knew was incorrect and a complete fabrication. She also suggested she would send photos – which never transpired, leaving us to believe that this was some kind of veiled threat to in some way gain a refund. When I inspected the property, I found that she had dumped all of the towels we provided on the wet floor of a second shower recess – for what purpose, I have no idea, as we provide a laundry basket and by the time I inspected the property some of the new towels were ruined.

I reported this to Airbnb and sent a photo of what I found. Over a period of a few days, my case appeared to be handed from one operator to another. This was prior to any feedback being posted form the guest. Essentially I smelt a rat and felt the guest had fabricated issues regarding the cleanliness of the house to negate her own disgusting behaviour of dumping wet towels on the floor of a shower recess. I could predict what was to come and suggested to Airbnb that they review the feedback. We anticipated fabricated references to cleaning.

However, Airbnb would not do anything. The feedback was posted. We received two stars for cleanliness, which dropped our rating from a 5 to 4. Her comments were also quite distressing. We are now considering removing our house from Airbnb as there appears to be no recourse when a guest posts negative feedback which is untrue yet damages a hosts rating and reputation. I have sent additional messages to Airbnb since the feedback, but have not received any reply. We have supporting testimonial from our cleaners who are also really angry by the comments made after they had cleaned what they believed was already a fairly clean and well maintained house beforehand. Does anyone have any advice how I can address this situation?