Taking Advantage of Shared Economy: Airbnb in Paris

Posted on July 9, 2017

Let’s start at the beginning. I put my commentary here because the Airbnb website only allows five hundred words, clearly not enough to describe my experience. At my arrival, the host complained all the time about the big bag I had. It was my third week holidaying in France with one week at Guédelon and one week climbing in Marseille so yes… I had a big bag with lots of stuff inside. I had to insist not leaving my bag outside.

The apartment was small, smaller than 25 square meters. The host just rounded the number on Airbnb (for legal reasons, probably). At my arrival (more or less midday), nothing was ready. He hadn’t cleaned the room. I told him I would take a tour in Paris so he had time to clean (but after my bag was already inside).

After my tour, I came back to the apartment and saw the host watching TV. The problem was that the TV was in the bedroom where I must sleep and he was sitting in the kitchen. This is why there was no door; he could watch TV through the wall. It’s not a charming thing to see from a host. It was impossible to sleep without his consent (and after two weeks of playing sports and working under the sun, yes, you want to sleep a little). I had to wait until “his majesty” wanted to stop watching TV to have any rest.

It wasn’t even a room; there was no door. He could just come and go anytime he wanted. There was no privacy at all. The sofa was broken. He didn’t repair it; he just put a wooden board under the mattress, meaning it was a horrible night for my back. The host also complained every time I sat on it because… the board could break? He just slept in front of the main door, meaning it was impossible to go out without his agreement or any major evacuation. Or simply impossible to get water during the night or go to the bathroom without annoying him.

The host was not nice. He always complained about everything. For example, As I said, I had a big bag with stuff from my old trip (Guédelon and climbing) meaning there was a smell coming from my bag (I can understand). After an hour speaking with him, even him telling me the smell was coming from me, he just freely insulted me. Funnily enough, I closed my bag and the smell stopped. If the room had had a door, this could also have solved the problem.

The shower was disgusting; I thought I was in prison. There was no key on the door, and a big spider. There was also a cat. It was a cool cat but he slept on the bed and decided to sharpen his claws on my leg at 2:00 AM… that didn’t help me sleep.

After one night, it was impossible for me to stay longed. I looked for a room hotel (Ibis, Holiday Inn, etc.) but everything was full. I had no other choice but to take a ticket train to come back to Brussels (100 euro for the ticket). On the train, I asked the host to refund the money for the nights I didn’t stay via Airbnb. He refused and insulted me again (and probably will insult me again replying to this, as he did in the comments).

Some of his words were so surreal. For example, he said:

“If you didn’t find any hotel room in Paris, your mistake cost you 150 euro (An Ibis hotel room price).”
“I could find a room in a hotel when I decided to visit Paris, but someone just told me Airbnb was a cool experience.”
“Just look at your profile picture, I understand something’s wrong with you. Change it to improve your confidence.”

In conclusion, this host didn’t understand the Uberization and the philosophy of the shared economy. It’s just a guy with who said to himself “hey, I can make money with my crap.” I lost 277 euros (178 for the rent and 99 for the return train ticket) and had to accept that. I asked Airbnb for a case resolution (but honestly, I don’t believe in it). I also asked “Le Bureau de la Protection des Locaux d’Habitation” of Paris to check this guy out. I don’t have lots of experience doing this (or to see how to get my money back) but if someone can help me, please let me know.

Paris Airbnb Host Tries to Extort Positive Review

Posted on June 11, 2017

I rented an Airbnb in Paris, mainly because the location was so good. Check-in was delayed from noon, which is what was advertised, to 8:00 PM. That wasn’t much of an issue, because the host did let me know with plenty of time. When I got to the apartment, it was pretty dirty. I let it go because I wasn’t planning on spending much time there; I had the beautiful city of Paris to see. However, it was reflected in my review.

About a week after I rented the apartment I received the following message: “The apartment was dirty, and some of my belongings were touched and damaged. Did you have a party, and did you use my things? Please tell me directly as I would like to settle this with you directly, rather than legally.”

I did not touch any of his belongings nor did I throw a party (I was in a foreign city alone – who would I have had over for a party?) When I told him I did neither of those things and asked for more information, he responded with: “Ok. I must be mistaken. I suggest you change your review or I’ll put a bad one also for you, which is not good for either of us.”

So, first of all, I can only assume he was trying to extort money out of me. But, then he went so far as to try to influence my review? I don’t even know how he saw my review. I thought those were confidential until they were uploaded, to prevent exactly this type of scenario. I know there are worse stories, but it kind of ruined my day.

Airbnb Account was Terminated, No Place to Stay

Posted on May 4, 2017

I joined Airbnb because my sister had good experiences with them. I entered all my information and scanned in my passport. I made a reservation to stay at a flat in Paris. The reservation was accepted and the payment came out of my account. Two days later I received an email from response@airbnb.com:

Mr. Horihan,

Thank you for uploading your ID for our ID Verification process. Upon review, and given information uncovered pursuant to online public records, we have determined that it is in the best interest of Airbnb, and for the users on our site, to deactivate your account permanently. We realize that this may come as a disappointment and that you may have questions regarding this determination. We hope you understand that this decision is exercised at our sole discretion and that we are not obligated to provide an explanation as to the action taken against your account, nor are we liable to a user in any way with respect to deactivating or canceling his or her account. Should you choose to dispute the decision, please submit any documents you think may be relevant to us, at no additional cost to Airbnb. We will forward those documents to our Legal Department for review before any decision regarding reinstatement of your account can be made. Additionally, please understand that this removal will also entail the immediate termination of your pending or accepted bookings. As such, we have communicated to your host that your reservation has been cancelled and refunded in full. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

I could no longer log into my account. I called Airbnb several times. Every time they claimed the issue would be escalated and I would get a response shortly. To this day, there has been no response from “higher up” and no refund (as the email suggests refunds of both pending and accepted bookings). I was not able to communicate with the host of the accepted booking through Airbnb. I could not log in to sent her a message.

Five days before my booking the host contacted me through @host.airbnb.com. From her message it seemed she had no idea my account was terminated. She was still expecting me in Paris, so I responded with a nice message stating what time of day I’ll arrive. I also questioned her if she heard anything from Airbnb the reservation being cancelled. I received no response. I continued calling and emailing Airbnb to sort things out and get in contact with the host. They only replied by sending me the same email as shown above two more times.

I arrived in Paris. There was still no confirmed response from the host through the @host.airbnb.com email she was using. I knocked on the gate to the flat. It seemed like nobody was there. I never received a reservation reminder prior to the check in date. My sister said that she gets a reminder email every time she books through Airbnb. My sister and I both assumed that the reservation had actually been cancelled and I would likely get my refund as their email stated. I ended up getting a hotel room for the five days instead.

It’s now well over a month since they charged my card. I’ve contacted them several more times by phone. It seems the only way to get the refund would be a lawsuit. They are completely denying that their system messed up. They try to tell me: “No, bookings actually accepted do not get refunded.” The emails they sent me on three different occasions is a lie. There is absolutely no reason why a company like this would terminate my account “given information uncovered pursuant to online public records.” I have no criminal record. There is nothing bad online about me. I travel the world all the time completely trouble free. They lost a good customer and they’ve lost many more because I’ve shared my experience with others. The existence of a website called Airbnb Hell is proof that Airbnb is a poorly run company with questionable business ethics.

Host Didn’t Respond Correctly and Won’t Give Refund

Posted on April 16, 2017

We booked an apartment on the morning of April 12th after having confirmed with the host for an early check-in time as was allowed in the Airbnb rules. The host confirmed and said it was fine. We left the previous apartment where we had been staying and reached the given address. Then we contacted the host for the keys and he didn’t reply. He started saying he could not let us into the apartment before 6:00 PM; we reached the apartment at 10:45 AM. We started beseeching him, saying that we had only left the previous apartment because he confirmed with us… now he starts saying he couldn’t check us in before 6:00 PM?

It was really unfair when we booked the apartment and then someone says it is not possible. After an hour-long discussion with the host I said I would be cancelling the booking as it was not possible for us to wait till 6:00 PM with family and luggage. He messaged me by asking where we were. I told him we were waiting at his door step, which was unfair. Then he refused to give a refund and started saying that he would offer a 50% discount. I said I didn’t even have the keys yet… how could he deduct the amount? It was because of his own rules.

I would welcome any suggestions as I have requested a full refund. The host has not been replying anymore. We were not able to cancel our booking, so we didn’t get a room in Paris that day, just roamed from one hotel to another because of this incident. At night we got an apartment from booking.com and then I cancelled my Airbnb booking. I had a talk with the host to refund 50% of the cost, which has still not been done yet. I’ve attached screenshots of the messages. I don’t want to lose this money. This has made me lose trust in booking from Airbnb.

Airbnb Nightmare in Paris Leaves Guest Struggling

Posted on April 10, 2017

This was the worst Airbnb experience I ever had. I had booked a room at Catherine’s Hostel from February 27th to March 13th and from March 21st to April 1st. The first week everything was fine; I had a single bathroom which was quite fine and so forth. However, a few weeks before March 13th Catherine told me I couldn’t stay in her flat any longer because she had too many guests and there was no room left for me. She wanted to arrange another hostel on Airbnb for me, but the room was located in the 19th arrondissement, which is quite dangerous for someone who’s new to Paris. Even my local friends suggested I not stay there.

I’ve told her this whole situation is unacceptable: after all, I booked the room prior to my arrival and confirmed it before I came to Paris. Now I’m here but I’m not allowed to have a room? This is completely unreasonable. I told her I can’t accept how she dealt with this situation; she took a strong stand against me saying I couldn’t stay at her place, even if I had made a reservation. She said she would give me a full refund if I couldn’t deal with the change. I asked her to do so and found myself another place to stay. I was supposed to receive a refund of at least €300, but for some unknown reason in the end I got €255. I didn’t argue with her because I didn’t want to ruin my holiday mood. If you’re not fond of unanticipated situations in your travelers, I suggest you avoid this Airbnb in case of any trouble.

Paris Host Trying to Steal Security Deposit

Posted on December 29, 2016

My bad luck began when I found a really charming apartment in Paris on Airbnb and cancelled my hotel at booking.com. Apparently my host was very sweet, but time and again proved to be greedy. She demanded money for everything including early check in, a crib, and even an extra sofa bed which was listed in the property details already. Anyway, I paid and stayed there. I left yesterday and she knew I was in Paris for few more hours after check out and didn’t contact me at all. Now she opened a request for damaged goods demanding 500 euros. And what she listed doesn’t even exist in her apartment. Now she says her maid took pictures which she hasn’t shared yet, but reading stories here I’m not very optimistic. Should I block my credit card already? I have another booking coming up with Airbnb in two days for which I have already paid in advance. I’m not sure what to do.