My family stayed at a beautiful Airbnb in the central village of New York City, owned by a man named Nick. After our stay, he specifically asked us for a good review, which we found odd at the time. Once we had done so, he waited a few hours to accuse us of the most absurd damage claims. He claimed we completely destroyed his apartment, including a washing machine, a chair and a bunch of towels that we had literally never laid eyes on in our lives. He asked for 1000+ Canadian dollars, thinking we wouldn’t fight it, and just pay to make it go away. Not only did we spend hours finding holes in his story, which clearly proved that we were being scammed, but Airbnb didn’t even help us, taking Nick’s side almost immediately. We clearly proved he was lying on all points, but they took the lazy way out and charged us about half the amount, to make it, in their words, “fair.” There’s no telling how many people he’s first asked for a good review, then charged when it’s far too late to make an edit or delete the review, just for the sake of improving his apartment. I’ve attached the link here, so i warn you, AVOID THIS AIRBNB AT ALL COSTS.
I have just had a similar experience. I have stayed all over the world in hotels and non-AirBnB rentals, and never before been falsely accused of damages, and extorted for money. I know not all hosts are like this, but you are dealing with an unknown character when you book on AirBnB, because of a hugely inflated and flawed rating system, and it isn’t worth the financial risk and aggravation. If you have a dispute with the host, you CANNOT REFER TO THE DISPUTE IN YOUR REVIEW! I just discovered this; it’s in their review rules. So the upshot is, if there is a real that ends up in the dispute resolution center, it NEVER makes it to the reviews! How inherently skewed and dishonest is that??
I also note that not one of the legitimate issues with the rental is mentioned by any other reviewer. People gush because they want positive reviews for themselves. Never again. It’s back to hotels and reputable rental agencies when I travel.