Tag Archives: Airbnb refund policy

Creepy Experience with Airbnb in NYC

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I am just sharing a very bad experience with Airbnb that I had a couple of nights ago. I booked for a friend who is out of the country with a host in Hamilton Heights, New York. First of all, her listing says that it is a quiet and spacious place. The sleeping area was just part of the living room, with a couch, separated by a curtain. The day after my friend arrived, the host’s mother slept in the living room, snoring all night, and making my friend very uncomfortable. The room didn’t have any blinds so my friend needed to sleep with pillows to cover herself from the light. In addition, she asked my friend not to speak one night at 9:00 PM when she received a call, because her mother was sleeping in the living room. Apart from that, the host’s boyfriend was living in her room. So in a very small apartment there were four people.

The third night, my friend went out to smoke a cigarette and when she returned (around 12:00 AM) the door was locked from the inside. She tried to enter, but she couldn’t open the door. After that she knocked on the door without any answer from the inside. She knocked several times. She was able to call me from outside, because she is from a foreign country and didn’t have internet. So she called me through Facebook. I heard how she knocked on the door without any response. She spent the night in my home, but she was very scared without any money, ID, clothes, and unable to speak the language.

The next morning I went back with her, and there was the host, telling me “that she should have rung the bell, and that they didn’t hear the door because they used earplugs.” Of course, my friend took her things and we ran from that kind of host. I then called Airbnb customer service and I requested a refund. They only refunded me one night, and I lost $430 dollars, which covered the rest of the stay. She said that my guest should have read the lock instructions (she never saw any lock instructions, nor this is explained on the listing). Also the customer representative said that my friend should have rung the bell. What is the difference between a bell and knocking on the door at 1:00 AM in a small apartment? It makes no sense.

I was treated badly. I feel robbed and disappointed with this company. This host charged me $40/night for this horrific experience.  I will never book through Airbnb again.

Dodgy Keys, Dodgy Hosts, and Airbnb Scheisters

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I can honestly say Airbnb is the worst company ever. My very first experience: halfway through my stay the host was caught stealing utilities, the Internet was cut off, the entrance lock was broken, there were no bins, causing rubbish to be left in open bags for days on end, and to cap it off, my host left me with a departing gift: head lice. Upon heading to the nearest Internet cafe (because there was no Internet) and sharing my woes with Airbnb customer service, were they able to quickly offer a resolution? No, that was too complex, but they would call me back at their leisure. Four hours later I got called back while I was in the middle of the city. Obviously I didn’t want to share the more embarrassing elements of my stay in the middle of the street, but I agreed with the case manager that because the host was unresponsive and they had been caught stealing Internet that had been cut off, I could terminate my stay.

The next morning the host still had not been in contact to arrange an orderly exit so I headed out into the street at 6:00 AM to get reception. I contacted customer service to terminate my stay, only to have the new customer service agent decide that not being able to offer the agreed services wasn’t a good enough reason to terminate my stay and I would have to get pictures of the cockroaches and a doctor’s note for head lice. After some battling we agreed if I could capture pictures of the cockroaches I could leave, so I went off to sneak around the flat taking pictures. I sent the pictures to Airbnb and customer service promised they would sort it out. Meanwhile, I headed off to sort out my own accommodation.

So how do you imagine they sorted it out? A full refund, maybe? That would be the least you expect, right? Nope. What about a refund for the portion of the stay that had to be cancelled (you would expect there would be no debate on that)? Nope. They nickel and dimed me and gave me a partial refund of the amount of the stay that couldn’t be completed. You would expect that now they had photographic evidence of hygiene issues, cockroach infestation, an unresponsive host, the previous guests’ reviews all raising hygiene issues, and a guest who now suffered health problems because of his stay the listing would be suspended, right? Nope. It was still open for bookings. It took an angry week and multiple case managers until finally one agent looked at the case and after an angry email finally came to the conclusion that this was really bad (cockroaches, rubbish left out, key didn’t work, Internet cut off, and I got head lice; it took five case managers to get to someone who agreed this wasn’t acceptable).

So finally Airbnb grudgingly offered a refund (but cancelled their goodwill voucher gesture). Since this agent was streets ahead of her awful colleagues and by this point it was way beyond my expectations of Airbnb, I actually felt really good about having achieved something. I decided I would give them another chance by taking my nephew away for a short couple of days; this would be a perfect no-risk way of giving Airbnb a second chance. I tried to book a cabin in the mountains for two days. I found a cabin that was available on instant book, confirmed the dates, clicked instant book, was routed to the payment page, and everything looked good: Airbnb won’t charge you until the booking is confirmed. Instant book is easy: either it gets booked, or it doesn’t; there is no risk.

I clicked the payment button when suddenly there was a new step that hadn’t been there when I chose instant book. My first awful experience: they required government ID (passport or driver’s license). I didn’t have a driver’s license and my passport was being renewed, but it seemed all good because the booking was marked as pending. There was no payment success message and no text or receipt was issued. I thought to myself: Airbnb won’t charge anything until the booking is confirmed. I just cancelled the pending request, safe in the knowledge I still had money in my account and headed off into the real world armed with my phone to book somewhere else, only for my card to be declined. It turns out that despite not having confirmed the booking, not having displayed a message highlighting that there were further steps needed, not having displayed a payment confirmation, and not having issued a receipt, Airbnb had taken payment just in case it would go through.

Having given them a second chance, I would have expected customer service to be super helpful. Not at all. They just lied about what the process was like, claiming I had been warned, until I told them I had screen captures of the payment steps. Then they claimed that instant booking wasn’t instant booking, no payment had been taken, and it had already been refunded. In the end, I just wanted a receipt so I could take the issue further here in the UK with the authorities. The agent tried to send me to a blank page claiming it was a receipt, just point blank refused to provide a receipt for the funds taken, refused to discuss it, refused to escalate the matter and then he just hung up. Despite the rest of this story being appalling both with regards to the accommodation provided initially and the customer support, how could Airbnb refuse to provide a receipt for funds taken? This is statutorily required both in your jurisdiction and mine. The initial accommodation was appalling but the customer support and the disregard with which they treat guests in stressful situations is just beyond imagination. My experience has been embarrassing, frustrating, tedious and unrewarding. Now despite having had to stay in an unfit, unhygienic property, suffering health issues as a result of my stay, I am out of pocket yet again and because of Airbnb’s behavior my nephew and I are disappointed.

Families Love This Airbnb! Sorry, No Kids Allowed!

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After months of looking for a special location for a quiet family vacation in Wisconsin my husband and my kids decide to take the Airbnb plunge. A few people at my office suggested I was crazy. The phrase “Aren’t you afraid of being killed?” came up more than a few times. A very good friend suggested that we might be video taped. Sadly, it turns out it might have been better if I had been. But I digress. We were tired of paying for tiny overpriced hotel rooms with stiff sheets and cream walls.

I started my search in early August for a quiet fall October weekend. I had specific needs: seclusion, a fire pit, a stream, and trees. Right away I noticed the limitations of the Airbnb search engine. I could not search for these criteria at all. I could only search for the number of guests allowed, the type of living arrangement, location dates, and other qualifiers that did not apply to my needs. I couldn’t search for any key words in my listings… all 350+. So, I searched and searched and searched. I found that many listings did not even match their own descriptions. Places that were listed as “the entire place” when they were half a house or even just a room. Many places said two guests only, but listed additional pricing for more guests.

I started to read the reviews of the actual guests. They made everything sound so good. Always five stars. Rarely did I see a grumpy review. Some reviews were so glowing, they seemed unreal. Certain hosts have little metals by their names. How did they get metals?Tonight, after a long hard week, I gave my kidney, drivers license, social security number, blood type, references, and money to go to an adorable purple cabin in Birchwood, Wisconsin. It was an uncomfortable bit of data collection that was scary… like, NSA, Snowden, scary. Two nights for $465, seclusion, peace, and cookies (all the reviews said we’d get cookies). I sent a message to the host about our four-year-old son. I asked if he was okay to come as he is four and pushed our numbers above the “limit of four people with $15 dollars extra per additional person.” I figured this would result in a price increase… Nope, I got a confirmation.

It was so fast. All the stress of planning and searching started to melt away. Victory! About six minutes after I was charged and my money was whisked away I got a message: the cabin is not safe for kids. Immediately, my mind went to the “guest experience” reviews that lead me to this magical looking place… they would say “great place for kids,” “great place for my family,” and “everything your family needs.” I did not text the host anything except for a question about how to get my money back. I started to cry. The app began to malfunction. I spent an hour or so steaming. Then I got the most “it’s your fault” email I have ever received from a company. Basically, the email said that Angel (yes, her name was Angel) from Airbnb was available to help me and that it was my fault that the host accepted and gobbled up my money before reading my questions.

After several nights of research I did not see the no-children clause for this place so many families have enjoyed. They said, and I quote, “It’s in small red letters underneath the About This Listing section.” Tiny, small, little red letters which probably should have been part of the filters for Airbnb or at least a series of questions about guests and ages. In addition, the host thought my four-year-old would not have been safe around a spiral staircase. The advertisement stated that we should use our best judgement regarding the use of the apparently deadly staircase. My son is very physically capable. I used my judgement. Airbnb called me twice while I started to look for another place to go and their voicemail directed me to an email. They have offered to help me find a place to go via email. How about an apology? How about reviewing your host locations’ reviews to make sure they are consistent? I called their number back just to see what I would get. If I wasn’t having an emergency I should email them. I emailed them.

Tomorrow, my family will wake up to realize our vacation is not happening and our money is gone. The money should be returned in ten days… I guess I’ll take a second vacation then. My boss doesn’t care. It’s not like I work for a living or anything! I might have to call so they can explain this to my kids.

Italian Vacation Includes Mountainous Hike and Mouse

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My situation began when I was planning a 25th Anniversary trip to Italy and booked a place on Airbnb many months in advance. I saw the strict cancellation policy but the place looked so cute and private that I didn’t want to take a chance of losing it; the ad stated that this place was usually booked far in advance. I emailed the host to ask how close to the beach it was. He replied it was a 25-minute hike downhill. This was acceptable to me, but when I went back to the page to book, the price had gone up by $25. I questioned this but he said many people had inquired for the dates I wanted so the price went up accordingly. That was my first red flag and I should have stopped right then… but I didn’t. I booked it.

The list of house rules was excruciatingly long with a long explanation of it being some sort of backpacking club in the past but to ignore the reviews about that because now he was only licensed to rent privately. So I did ignore the part about backpackers needing an additional “club membership” that had to be paid in cash when we arrived. I assumed this was in the past, like the rules read. It also said it was a 15-minute hike uphill to reach the property and so it was not for mobile disability renters. I am not disabled and I do run quite a bit so I felt we could handle a 15-minute hike up the mountain after the bus took us the rest of the way.

When we arrived that day, we took the bus up and when we got to the point where the hike started, it was extremely steep. After 15 minutes, I began to wonder where this place was. We kept at this rugged terrain for a bit. Finally, after about 25 minutes, I called the host because the trail split and I did not know which way to go. He kept saying to follow the trail and when I asked which way he insisted there was only one trail. He finally said he could see me and to look up. I saw him way up there. So we figured out which way to go but it was obvious this was more than a 15-minute hike. My knee was starting to hurt because I had been running a few days before and somewhat overused it. Nothing major.

We finally made it to the top and I was so disappointed. This place was tiny and dirty. The tile was cracked everywhere and he had handwritten us a map that showed long hiking distances back down to the beach. He also asked for payment for the club membership. I explained that I thought that was for the backpacking club in the past and that we were private renters. He said, “I sent you the rules.” I thought that was my misunderstanding but I didn’t have the cash on me. He left and I started to take a shower. This is in Italy in the Cinque Terre. There was no shower curtain so water sprayed all over the tiny bathroom. After two minutes, it turned ice cold.

I was really upset by now but there was no way I could leave because I couldn’t make it back down that mountain in the dark. I headed up to the loft to go to bed. Once settled, a mouse ran across the conduit. I freaked out. I tried to catch it on video but only got a bad quality blur because I was so shaken and the mouse was so fast. It ran around the room four times. That was the final straw.

When we got up in the morning we took the trek back down the mountain, which was much longer than he said. We did not find a beach. We found a marina. I messaged him that we would not be staying the next night and why. He denied the problems with the house. He said it was a problem with me because my husband had mentioned my knee was bothering me after the climb. He denied there was a mouse. He said the hot water was normal and that all they have in the area is a marina, which is a beach to them. He said if I wanted a refund, the steps on Airbnb were to start with cancelling my reservation.

Now, my phone did not work well in Italy at all so I could not log onto my account at that point. I should have contacted Airbnb right then and there but my number one priority was finding new lodgings before my phone quit working again. So I did. I then did what he said, which was to request a refund. I immediately got a notice that it was denied. My phone was out at that point and I did not try to contact him again until I returned home and could look at the listing in full to see where the communication went wrong. I realized that Airbnb said I should have contacted them immediately, which I had not done. I tried to leave feedback, and realized that I could not do so even though I had stayed one night.

I contacted the host again. He still denied a mouse was there but said he would reimburse me $20 out of the $232 that I paid out of the goodness of his heart. I saw in my account that he had sent me money but it didn’t show up on my credit card. I did not see any way to reach Airbnb or to claim this tiny refund. I wanted to give this story to them but can not seem to find any way to contact them at all. It was very frustrating. I went back to his listing and he has five-star reviews. I find that hard to believe. He must be pulling this “cancel your reservation” scam a lot. I had great stays at all the other places we stayed with Airbnb but this one bad experience is enough to keep me from ever using them again. I made some mistakes but this host definitely has some experience doing this to others; he knows he owes me. I told him to set some traps and he would definitely catch a mouse but he refused and said I was lying. I will chalk this up as a lesson learned and hopefully enough people will read this site and stay away from Airbnb.

I Lost $1500 After a Weird Airbnb Stay

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I booked a few weeks at an Airbnb in Frenchs Forest, Sydney. From the start the host was plain weird: she wanted me to text if I was going to be home later than 9:00 pm, she complained if I had more than one light on in a room, she said I couldn’t use my laptop in the lounge, and she played a gong and bells in the middle of the night, waking me up. Once she did this at midnight. She even smoked right next to the bedrooms even though she advertised the place as non-smoking. To top it off, she had a three-hour raging argument with her adult children one night. I left the next morning but, as I paid in advance, only received a refund for two nights from the 25 I booked. Airbnb even had the gall to say they were kindly not charging me two extra nights. I am short $1500. There’s no way for me to post a review so that others know about it. The host is a bit weird: a few days after my stay my credit card was tapped and the only person to have the details that were used on the fraud was her. I believe she got my card details from my room.

Bad Experience at Portland Airbnb Studio

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I recently had a horrific Airbnb apartment rental, in which I was harassed and threatened with eviction by the property manager for breaking house rules, even though none were broken (a picture of the house rules, which is on the apartment refrigerator, has been provided). It seems she has a history of threatening eviction, keeping the renters money, and even having her husband nearly getting into physical confrontations with renters as I found out in other posted reviews. The property link can be found here. The following is the review I posted on Airbnb:

“The apartment is very nice, but unfortunately I had to cut my stay short due to harassment by Kim, the property manager. She met me at the property and seemed like a nice lady. The apartment was clean, in close proximity to many local attractions, and as described in the listing. Later in the evening, things turned very bad. Three friends and I were walking back to my friend’s apartment and I thought it would be okay to give a quick whirlwind tour of the place I was renting which just happened to be next door. My friends and I were in the house for less than five minutes. No one sat down, had anything to drink, or even went to the bathroom.

About 15 minutes later I received a text from Kim asking if I had read the house rules on the refrigerator, to which I said yes. She then sent another text asking if anyone else had been in the house, to which I replied yes, I quickly showed my friends around. I was told I violated the house rules, and I apologized. She then says she will not be penalized for cancelling my reservation. I then called Kim to explain the situation. Things became much worse. I tried to tell Kim that I did not have a party, event, or gathering. She would not let me finish speaking, cut me off, and then began with verbal harassment. I was told I was not truthful (which I was throughout the conversation), I was not honest, and that I was “a man without honor.” After which, Kim then said that maybe she would kick me out in the morning, and hung up on me.

No guest should ever have to put up with this kind of abuse. Especially when the rules were not broken. According to the house rules, there are to be “no parties or events” or “no gatherings greater than the number of reserved guests allowed”. There was no party, no event, and I would not call four people doing a quick tour in under five minutes a “gathering.” During the one night of my stay, I did not get any sleep after being threatened with eviction. I called Airbnb in the early morning to cancel the rest of my stay and report the harassment I received from Kim. I was able to get another Airbnb apartment at the last minute, and went on to have a nice stay in Portland. I cannot properly convey my disappointment with the property and its manager, Kim. The disrespect shown towards me was not justified in any way. When I am being honest and respectful towards someone, I expect the same in return. That did not happen here. I believe everyone looking at properties managed by Kim should think twice and look elsewhere.”

Seniors Beware: Don’t Waste Your Money

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Months ago I booked two separate Airbnb rooms in two different cities. As the date neared for our travel, my husband and I both became ill. With a week’s notice, I notified Airbnb and the hosts that we had to cancel. I received a note that they could only refund $65 out of $237 due to their “policy” which they never shared, and could contact the host if I wanted more of a refund. I contacted the host and she related that Airbnb hadn’t paid her a cent; how could she give us a refund? In addition, she had no problem with the cancellation. Long story short, out of $500 paid (for two people) I’ve still only received $65. Trying to contact Airbnb is a nightmare in itself, and good luck trying to find someone to help. This is all still pending, but we are both seniors and losing so much money is a hardship. I will shout to the rooftops to anyone who will listen to avoid this company at all costs and book through other, more reputable sites.

My NYC Nightmare: Building Doesn’t Allow Airbnb

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My daughter and I booked an apartment on the Upper West Side of New York City several months in advance of our September 1st visit. I was in touch with the host via text several days in advance, who told me to tell her when I was landing, and she would give me directions on how to get to her apartment. Upon my arrival at the airport from Nashville and on the way to the apartment, I called her, at which time I was told that she was changing the location to her son’s apartment on the Upper East Side. I was also told not to tell the doorman that I was an Airbnb guest, but “a friend of her son’s girlfriend Zoe.” I was very upset and told her to cancel the reservation and I requested a refund of by $1,345. So far, in spite of repeated attempts to reach her and Airbnb, I have not received a refund. Help!

Airbnb Customer Furious over Refund Policy

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Before I begin, let me say that I am staying in a very nice Airbnb right now as I just moved to Tampa. Last weekend I looked and saw a reasonable studio apartment in Tampa that was less than I am paying now for a room in a residence. I put down $1,431. Later that day I drove to the part of town where the apartment is – it is located in a ghetto with all kinds of frightening people around. I wouldn’t feel safe in that area. I cancelled the reservation the same day; it was booked more than ten days in advance. I only received $682 back. After contacting the call center and being very angry I got another $200 refund. I will not stand for Airbnb taking $549 of my money. I intend to contact the CEO of the company or maybe go on the Tampa news. I will not take this lying down.

Three Months in Costa Rica. When did the Price Change?

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I’ve been planning a trip to Costa Rica for three months, from January to April of 2017. I started looking for places a couple of weeks ago. I found a home for just over $1000 per month. It seemed like a good deal so I booked it. The entire cost with Airbnb fees was $3215. I was charged $1071 to cover the first month’s rent. That amount was immediately charged to my credit card. Within a few days I started getting friendly text messages from a person who helped the host of the home I was going to rent. A few days later this person informed me that I would not be able to stay at the home I had rented for the entire three months. He explained that the owner, Mac, had Alzheimer’s and did not know what he was doing. He offered to help me find a different place to stay for the remaining two months of my visit to Costa Rica. He informed me that I would only be able to stay at Mac’s home for the month of January.

The next day I went on Airbnb to check the reservation and the price had gone from $3215 for three months to $11,976 for one month. I also checked my credit card and Airbnb had processed $11,976 to be charged to my account. I immediately called Airbnb to find out what was going on. They expressed surprise and promised to get to the bottom of the situation. I was also in communication with Mac by text and his helper, Luis, by phone and text. They blamed the Airbnb app and the Airbnb reps blamed the hosts. At one point I was informed by Airbnb that Mac offered to lower the price from $11,976 for one month to $3000. I explained that this was unacceptable to both parties and they finally agreed that I would only be charged $1071 for the one month I was going to be there. When I received the final statement from Airbnb it was $1161 for the month with some extra charges thrown in by Airbnb. I have requested a full refund of the $1071. Also, the $11,976 that was going to be charged to my credit card was not completely refunded. Instead they refunded $11,886 charging me for their and Mac’s mistakes. Talk about Airbnb hell! I’m waiting to hear from Airbnb as to the $1071 refund and a complete refund of $11,976. To be continued.