This review is intended to dissuade anyone from utilizing Airbnb due to the misrepresentation of their listings. I have already tried to resolve this in a reasonable manner with Airbnb customer service only to be ignored for the past few weeks. I booked a property via Airbnb for a boat in Barcelona only to be told on arrival by the host that the boat has failed a safety inspection and is not even in the water. Apart from anything, this property is still listed as available on the website which is unethical and a complete misrepresentation.
Following this, after waiting half a day of a four-day trip, Airbnb assigned us another property. We went to this accommodation to find it damp, with no air conditioning or natural light. It was not listed this way on the website, so we informed both the host and Airbnb that these conditions didn’t meet suitable standards and we would not remain on the property. We then had to book another hotel and received no help or compensation from Airbnb. The only refund I have received is a £42 late check-out fee. This is completely unacceptable, and Airbnb has refused to pass on the details for the correct way to escalate this within the organisation. When a company of this size acts as though they are too big and too powerful to care about individual customers, it is important people know about the poor service. This is especially true considering it is no cheaper than a high standard hotel that upholds their standards and policies.
Airbnb isn’t a real business, a real business has procedures to deal with customers and issues of payments or refunds or conflicts.
They are a platform that exists to make money while hoping guests and hosts can work things out or run up against a wall of shrugging and passing the buck and denial.
Oh my gosh, I just returned from Barcelona and could have written your post myself! I first rented a boat, and did not get access 5 hours after the check in time. So I cancelled and Airbnb “helped” me get another place. It took hours, and we finally checked in at midnight, into an apartment with literally no day light (as in totally dark if lights were not switched on) and no fresh air. Have you learned anything yet? I’m trying to claim for both rentals, since I got charged twice, so I’d love to hear about what you’ve learned.