Over the holidays, I rented an apartment. There were problems with the maid. She basically moved into the unit with me and spent half the day there, despite me desperately trying to get her out.
After the first week, I decided to stay a second week. The host agreed. She accepted a second booking at a discounted rate. On the last day, I was accosted for money for “payment for the last five days – in cash and now” and actually attacked by the maid. I only lost about $50, but reported the incident to Airbnb as a “Trust and Safety” issue. I also complained to the host. She proceeded to defend the staff member, and told me she would lodge her own complaint with Airbnb, stating that I had tons of “unregistered” guests, and damaged the apartment… and this was after she renewed my booking.
The next day, Airbnb contacted me and asked for a police report and photos of my injuries. They said the host complained that I damaged the unit and had four “unauthorized” visits. They wanted to know if I had stayed in the apartment without checking out after the first week and stayed for the second week, as they did not see the payment. A payment was in fact made with my Visa. I had 25 photos of the apartment as well as video. The only damage was a stain on the rug, which I believe had been there for months.
The results? The host’s listing was back online in two days, and I was banned as a user. Moral of the story: be very careful when making a safety complaint about a listing. The host can retaliate against you. There is no whistle-blower protection rule. Airbnb could accept all of the host’s complaints, ignore your safety concerns, and ban you.
Some people pay good money to be ‘attacked by a maid”
1) The 2nd extension was booked THOROUGH Airbnb – after several initial failed attempts at payment due to some tech issue. That is what is so odd. All the payment attempts, 6 in total, were recorded on their system. And still they think I stayed “illegally” for several days in-between the first and 2nd booking. In fact, I am still receiving error messages from attempt #4 (attempt #6 did actually work, the host got the money, and confirmed I was all set.)
2) They asked for additional information about whether or not I checked out between the 2 bookings, as clearly there was some error/confusion in the dates. (It was about 13 days straight. They have it, incorrectly, recorded as 7 days, then a 3 day empty gap, then 3 days.) There was also some problem with the host sending an invoice for payment and blocking off dates on the calendar. Thus, there is some confusion that I somehow “illegally” stayed without permission and without checking out in between the 2 bookings.
Some days after filing my complaint, they asked for additional information. Then, 3 hours later, informed me my account was banned. And this was all between 3 am and 8 am local time (??!!)
All of the above info, including numerous Whassap screenshots + air ticket booking receipts was sent to Airbnb.
Im still waiting to hear back.
Any suggestions??
If you booked outside airbnb for your extension, then what on earth does it have to do with them?
Desperately trying to get the maid out and then extending your stay with an additional week?! You need a shrink mate and shouldn’t be allowed to travel at all.