Tag Archives: airbnb con artist

Close your bank account to stop con artist guests

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I hosted an Airbnb guest that booked my beach condo for over two months. On the first day, the guest said that the center support of one of the beds had broken off; I then had a handyman come by and fix it. The bed also has three wood support beams going across it at the bottom. Those were all intact and the bed could still be slept in. It was fine and didn’t need the center leg. The guest tried to say they couldn’t sleep in the bed.

Then they threw dirt around my condo, took pictures of it, and told Airbnb that my condo was not clean. I had previous reviews that said my condo was very clean and was cleaned spotlessly before they arrived. The guest then got Airbnb to give them a 50-percent discount for the 20 days they were in my condo and also let them cancel their reservations without my consent.

This guest got a beach condo for $45 per night on the California Coast of San Clemente in which Motel 6 charges at least $150-200 a night. The people were con artists. After they left, my sink and the bathtub were filthy. They ruined my expensive toaster with grease. Airbnb took their side and wouldn’t even listen to a word I had to say. I got paid for 30 days and will not reimburse Airbnb for the money they refunded.

I put a stop payment on my bank account so they cannot take money out of it. I am going to close my account now. I am done with this sham of a company; they should be shut down.

Fraudulent Listings on Airbnb

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I was interested in two listings in London. Both were fraudulent. They posted email addresses in the photo section with Airbnb in the script. When I messaged them through official channels they asked me to email them directly to check on the dates. I then got official looking booking emails that connected you to what looked exactly like the Airbnb payment portal. Payment was then asked for by wire. The apartments are probably from real estate listings (too good to be true). I paid but because it didn’t feel right I cancelled the wire an hour later. That’s a whole other issue that I’m dealing with my bank about. They said they didn’t get the money. I am not sure if they did yet. They sent me a second bank to which to wire money. The first bank was in Norway, and the second was in England. Based on the sophistication of the software I am sure that this scam is not limited to London, but has infected their entire listing database. I informed Airbnb.com of this scam and their response was to send me scripted safety tips. I sent them copies of all the mirrored web pages and email addresses and banking info. I did not request they refund my money I just asked for the assistance and I have never heard from them.

Filthy and Overpriced

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Rented a carriage house in Kerhonkson, NY. Upon arrival we knew we had made a mistake. The property was not close to ANYTHING and you couldn’t even get cell service for miles around the property. When we entered the carriage house, we saw that it was absolutely filthy. Dirt covered floors, dead and live insects everywhere and cob webs nearly everywhere you looked. We had no choice but to stay as there was a horse show in the area and every hotel was sold out. I felt like I had bugs crawling on my skin the entire time we were there. We told the owner that the unit had not been cleaned once we left because we could not get a signal beforehand and that we at least wanted the $100 cleaning fee refunded. She kept trying to drag it out saying she wanted to speak on the phone and not via text. We later found out that this was because she wanted enough time to pass so that we couldn’t get any money back from AirBNB. Now we are not getting any responses from her. Don’t rent from Mo in Kerhonkson NY or in Massachusetts. She’s a con artist.