Our family is planning a trip to New York. Upon finding a house that fit our needs and that was in our price range, we decided to contact the host for more details. We liked what we saw and heard, so we decided to book the seven nights, paying with our credit card through Airbnb. After the request for booking was made and after having several messages between the host, Frann (the host) decided to significantly raise the price per night of the house, and raise the cleaning fees. Therefore, the Airbnb fees were raised, adding an additional $1200 dollars to the total bill. Frann was not willing to accept her advertised price. Therefore we had to cancel our reservations. Under the Hosting Responsibilities portion of Airbnb, the host is required to advertise the correct price. I’m very disappointed and makes me leery about using Airbnb for future rentals.
This is common in NYC. We requested a booking at the advertised price and the host sent us a ‘special offer’ which was much higher than the advertised price plus they also requested an upfront $500USD cash payment on arrival. We obviously pushed back and they suddenly told us the property was no longer available. This is just a scam where the host tries to take the piss and if someone accepts it, they make more cash. Since there is no booking in place they are not breaking the rules like someone who raises their prices once a booking is confirmed. I would report this behaviour to Airbnb but they dont tend to do much anyway, so why bother….
The host cannot increase their price after you make a booking. I’m guessing you hadn’t booked, made the host feel like you would be high maintenance and hence increased the price to keep you out.