Tag Archives: airbnb security

Nasty Airbnb Host Makes me Feel Threatened

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Our second Airbnb booking in August 2018 was in Norwich, UK. The account is in my wife’s name but she could not get a visa so I went on my own; I did tell the host this. On arrival, the host was friendly and no problems were brought up during our two-night stay. Her husband refused to talk to me or even a simple ‘hello’ from me resulted in threatening glares from him.

The bedroom, more like a cupboard, was only accessible via the lounge and it had to be through what I can only call a hostile ice-cold atmosphere; the wife never seemed to be around after I arrived. On leaving, I asked the wife if I had upset her husband. She assured me I had not; he was just sometimes like that and that there was no problem. I had a problem; the last night I blocked the door with my bags as for all I knew he might have had a history of violence or mental illness – he did give that impression.

After I left, a partially negative review. She then replied with concerns which she had the chance to bring up when I was there, but did not. She moaned she did not know who I was (I did not know who they were either) that they did not know why I had gone to Norwich (not their business), and that I should not have gone on my own. They could have copied my passport, but never asked, and never raised any problems while I was there, apart from the threatening rudeness of the husband.

We will not be doing a shared Airbnb again. Of course these hosts somehow manged to get a five-star super host rating. It would have been better sleeping in the park.

Dishonest Host Refuses to Admit Shoes have been Stolen

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One Airbnb host, Steeve, runs a series of Airbnb apartments with his friend in Cannes. We ran into major problems with this guy when staying in one his apartments: we had over £1,000 worth of property stolen and he has repeatedly tried to cover up what happened and is not willing to help resolve the issue.

He has already duped a previous Airbnb host in the past, as shown by this review she eventually left. I tried to leave a review with Airbnb but the host obviously is able to manipulate them into siding with him.

On August 12th, we left the apartment around 12:00 PM and returned at around 9:00 PM. However, after starting to pack up the apartment, we realised two very expensive and rare pairs of our designer shoes went missing, worth in excess of 1,000 euros. We definitely had the shoes there before we left that day. After that, all three of us­ rechecked the whole apartment three times each, and definitely couldn’t find them.

We called the host and asked if anyone had been in the apartment. He said nobody had, and he would not accept that anyone could have stolen it or entered the apartment and continually said “it’s impossible” and that they “must be in the apartment”. He then came in person, and checked with us, and of course, failed to find them there.

The host just would not accept that someone could have stolen it, claiming that his workers are trustworthy and that nobody else has access to the keys. However, he contradicted himself here as on August 8th he asked if his cleaner could come into the house to clean while we were away. They actually did not turn up and he remarked to me later that day that he then “had to get the keys off her”.

The host was adamant that nobody could have accessed the flat but then could not explain how shoes could have gone missing. He also implied that perhaps we hid the shoes, or were lying. I feel this Airbnb host was unprofessional, missing the point and defensive, as he also made remarks like “extraterrestials must have taken them” and “who would steal just shoes?”

The fact still remains that: we were reporting our property being stolen under his watch; a crime had been committed; and it must have occurred within an eight-hour time period by somebody coming into the apartment. It is extremely curious as there were absolutely no signs of any forced entry, door damage, window damage or damages to the locks of the door, meaning the thief must have entered using a key. This should be great cause of alarm for the safety of future guests.

The host also seemed very nervous and hesitant of getting law enforcement involved in any way. Instead of saying “No, Airbnb should sort it,” a friend of the host’s came to visit the flat on August 12th just before 11:00 AM to pick up a baby pram/bed. He was checking each room as if he was struggling to find it. We were with him the whole time, but found it curious how he was scanning the entire flat.

The host phoned the cleaner and his friend, ­­­on loudspeaker in front of us. All that was asked was “do you have a key for the apartment?” to which his friend said “no”. However, the cleaner seemed very hesitant and confused about whether she had one or not. The host was defensive of her, and did not accept that it was possible that she would have done anything.

We were the victims in all of this, having £1,000+ worth of goods missing. Our host was not very considerate, blamed us for this, and acted as if he was the victim.

We are currently filing a report with the French police to investigate this. However, it is difficult as I’m trying to do this from the UK. Please share this with as many people as you can on social media, so that nobody else can get scammed by this dishonest person. I’d also argue that if someone was able to be so dishonest and callous with their tenants, you would also not want to engage with them in any business.

 

*******Update Sept 22, 2018********

I got an email from someone pretending to be Airbnb, basically threatening me! (Photo below)

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Creepy Airbnb Neighbor Spies on my Daughter

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I couldn’t make this up if I tried. My daughter had used Airbnb in Paris the year before and she knew how to navigate the site, so we asked her to make our reservation. We made our reservation in September 2017 for July 2018. We flew into Paris after a week’s stay in London (also an Airbnb stay). We called our host once we landed as requested in writing by the host. We took a taxi and were about 20 minutes late due to traffic.

Our host then proceeded to chastise my daughter for our tardiness because she was late getting back to work (her ad stated the check-in time was flexible) and she was informed while we were in the taxi of our arrival time to her flat. Our host gave us keys at the bottom of the stairs to the flat and a magnetic key to work the entrance door. She asked my daughter to follow her upstairs to explain the air conditioning, electrical and door lock. We were told to stay downstairs.

Our host then came racing back downstairs with a large bag full of trash and then proceeded to explain to us where to take the rubbish when we left. When I entered the unit, I saw dirty footprints on the bathroom floor and black hair in the sink. The bathroom mirror and tiny sink had crusty residue from previous guests. I ended up cleaning the shower, sink, mirror and floors before we could use. The shower was gross and in desperate need of re-caulking due to mold stains.

The flat was four flights up (not the two stated) with steep and narrow steps. There was a hot plate and two sets of dishes (for three guests). Not a kitchen as stated in the Airbnb ad. There was no air conditioning. There were two small electrical upright fans. The mini fridge didn’t stay cold enough to keep perishables fresh for more than half a day at best and was next to the far wall. We had to open the windows of the studio flat to get air into the tiny unit.

The neighbor one floor up would sit in a chair and stare into our flat while his cigarette smoke had no where else to go but from his window into out flat. The walls between the atrium were about 12 feet apart and our only two windows faced the apartment directly across from us. It was disgustingly humid and we ended up opening the windows in an attempt to cool down the room.

My oldest daughter woke up from her futon “bed” to find the neighbor staring at her from his open window while she slept. When my daughter caught him, he laughed and made a disgusting gesture which I witnessed and pulled the curtains closed over the two windows. He followed this behavior up with us having to listen to him and his partner have sex. I ended up closing the windows and hurried my girls out the door to find breakfast somewhere. It was close to 6:30 in the morning. This jerk pulled the same thing the very next morning. No lie. At least this time I didn’t let my daughter sleep in her underwear.

We thankfully had a flight to catch and needed to be out of the unit by 6:30. So, my best advice to you is do your homework when booking an Airbnb. Read all reviews from all sites that your unit may be posted on. My daughter told me the next day that the owner had taken her ad off the website. Looks like she made enough money off of us to make some repairs. Paris was beautiful but this Airbnb was disgusting in every way.

Airbnb House of Prostitution in Dominican Republic

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When visiting the Dominican Republic in August and seeing my husband’s family, his aunt unexpectedly passed away. We had to return to Esperanza and try to find any place to stay at the last minute. We found an Airbnb at one of only two listings in Esperanza and inquired about staying. They would not give an address but agreed to meet us and show us where.

When my husband’s cousin realized where it was, he questioned them and they admitted it was a “rent by the hour” flophouse popular with locals to drive up with prostitutes and pay as they leave. When they opened a room up to show how “clean” it was, the walls were “decorated” with obscene photos and the only channel on TV was pornography.

My mother in law in her grief, and my seven-year-old son and young daughter surely would have been uncomfortable (to say the least) just to stand in that place, much less lay their heads down on a bed with more uses than a taxi. I contacted Airbnb because my experiences have been very good and I expected them to have a sense of how serious this could have been for an unsuspecting young woman or teacher for example. Honestly in a country that has a huge sex trafficking problem (in the shadows of course) this could have been a disaster.

Was Airbnb concerned? See the pictures and that listing is still on the site at the time of this submission.

The Mystery of the Host’s Black Curtain…

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It was a basic schoolboy/girl error. I have watched enough TV crime detective series so why on earth didn’t alarm bells ring when I saw mention of personal belongings behind a black curtain on the Airbnb listing for what appears to be a charming and well-located ‘apartment’ at the heart of an historic German city?

All seemed fine on making the two-night reservation. The host accepted my solo female traveller booking and a few days before check-in I messaged him, helpfully I thought, with my arrival time in the city. To my surprise I received a very abrupt response, telling me he wouldn’t be providing any details until 24 hours before check-in, not ideal as I was already travelling with limited wifi access but oh well.

Instructions arrived promptly, and I collected keys from a gruff local shopkeeper. On arrival at the property, I dropped a line to my host to let him know I was safely inside. He immediately replied – like in two seconds – insisting that I gave him a five-star review before I’d even put my bags down. He added ominously “do not touch any of the belongings behind the black curtain.”

I glanced across at the curtain in question. It was a very flimsy piece of sheer fabric hung over a kitchen alcove stacked with plastic boxes. I thought no more of it until the following day. I received umpteen abrupt, accusatory texts from the host (which I have saved as screenshots) that put me on edge to say the least. In the first two, he said I had made his front window ‘messy’ but gave no indication as to how that could possibly be.

My heart started beating a little faster when, a few minutes later, I got the next one. He claimed his neighbour had told him that I ‘love’ his black curtain and that I had been going through his belongings… what? I glanced at the windows front and back and realised the lack of blinds or much in the way of curtains would make it possible for someone to see right inside with a strong pair of binoculars. That said, I had not gone near his alcove of mysteries, nor would I. So what was he on about?

Feeling unnerved and by this point seriously considering paying to stay the second night in a hotel, I glanced again at the listing and his reviews. I was struck by how many negative reviews he’d given his guests despite their seemingly positive public reviews. He’d accused several of going through his stuff. I calmed myself down – perhaps he had experienced some very bad tenants that had left him feeling anxious and hyper-vigilant? Still, my mind boggled. Why did he keep his precious things in such a vulnerable place instead of in storage?

I settled myself down on the balcony with my book and salad to distract myself from all negative thoughts – this was meant to be a relaxing mini break from work after all. I’d be gone early the next day. Then I caught movement through the corner of my eye. There was a man standing in the centre of the open plan studio holding a key to the door. I leapt up in shock and fear and, seeing my surprise, he muttered that he lived downstairs and had permission to access the wifi hub in the studio, which apparently served the entire building.

I ushered him out of the door politely in case things turned nasty, and contacted the host. Instead of apologising, the host replied defensively that it was my fault for not answering when he knocked and range the bell. Again… what knock, what bell? How would he even know so soon after the incident? Needless to say I left and I never did find out what was behind the black curtain…

Airbnb Destroys 10th Anniversary Celebration

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At 11:55 AM on June 21st, I was enjoying an amazing time with my wife of ten years, driving up the coast without a care in the world. Little did I know that Airbnb had just decided to blow up our long planned anniversary trip. When I had first started planning, I was hesitant about using Airbnb because I worried about the potential for homeowners to make sudden changes. However, I was assured by friends that Airbnb had always worked out extremely well for them, so I decided to go for it.

On March 27th, nearly three months before our trip, we booked our stays and were extremely excited. We paid in full, paid off our credit card, and were so eager for our getaway. Fast forward to our actual trip, and once I got wifi access later in the evening, I discovered an email informing me that our bookings had been cancelled without explanation. We had no place to stay, on a weekend, in June.

Panic set in quickly. We called customer support but were only told that it was for a ‘technical reason.’ We were told it would be escalated, but who knows when we might get a response. It was only later that the explanation email arrived and we knew what ‘a technical reason’ meant, which was that somehow I’d been tagged as having failed a background check.

I’m a pragmatist. I understand that businesses must minimize risk. However, the onus must be on the business to minimize their risk in a way that does not harm their customers, that does not strand them 2000 miles from home. When I found out the real reason for my cancellation, I immediately filed a dispute. As expected, that dispute was resolved in my favor, because the information provided to Airbnb was in error. However, winning the dispute eight days later doesn’t fix the emotional turmoil that Airbnb caused on what was supposed to be an amazing trip. It doesn’t give me back those lost hours with my wife where we were both crying and agonizing.

Had Airbnb made this mistake in March, three months ago, it could have been easily corrected. I’d have disputed, and everything would have been fine. However, because Airbnb decided to do so the day before our stay, we had no recourse or remedy. Brainstorming, we tried to sign up my wife and have her book the stays, but she was also denied. She was told that because she was connected to me, she was blocked as well. My wife was devastated when she was told that, because she was married to me, she wasn’t allowed to have an Airbnb account, either.

The follow up email that Airbnb sent to her was brutal, and brought her to tears yet again. Not exactly the emotion one is going for on an anniversary. Airbnb did its absolute best to destroy our long planned, long saved for trip. It hurt us both financially and, more importantly, emotionally. This is the kind of story you only read about; you never think it will happen to you. Now that it has happened to me, I do think people should read about it. It seems like exactly the kind of publicity that Airbnb deserves. Wouldn’t you agree?

Airbnb Break-in after Few Hours… No Refund, No Review

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I organised a trip last year that I will surely remember. I’m getting married in September and I organised a hen-do in Barcelona with my Italian friends who were flying from Rome and Bologna. Lots and lots of preparation. A nice flat with a terrace to enjoy our precious (and rare) time together. What could possibly go wrong?

We were all so excited. The area was Hospitalet de Llobregat. Not central, but not that far from it; we just wanted to spend time together. From the beginning, we realised how dodgy that place was, and this was confirmed by many people we spoke to after the break-in, police included. Some taxis refused to take us there on Friday night, and the policemen said that in particular the street where we were was very dangerous, so extra care should have been taken when someone has to stay in that building. Were there any mentions from the host? None whatsoever.

After few hours after our arrival, we had a break-in in the flat as soon as we went for dinner. They stole iPad tablets and glasses. The terrace (i.e. the major selling point of the flat) was extremely exposed and not safe. We discovered the following day that it was easily accessible through other communal terraces and the police forensic expert confirmed that this is what happened for our break in. The window of the bedroom facing the terrace where the thieves entered was faulty; it was not possible to secure it properly.

This should have been sorted by the host before we entered the flat, given how dangerous the area was known to be and how accessible the terrace is. It is not possible that the owner did not know both of these things, and yet (again) there was no warning or thought given to our safety or the security of our valuables in the flat. We had to spend our Saturday (the only day we could have been together) dealing with Forensics and Police statements and searching for another place to stay for the night.

Airbnb completely refused to give us any compensation for the accident, not even of the items stolen. This was all host’s fault and it was very preventable. The holiday with my friends that we dreamed so much about it? That opportunity is gone forever and there will not be another time to do this. I kept phoning the complaint department who kept saying that they were re-opening the case, to then discover that the original department, Trust and Safety, kept closing it.

Did someone check into the flat after the break-in? They just “recommended” the host to repair the window. Trust and safety? A lot of trust for the reckless host and zero safety for me. The host begged me to not post any reviews and I was holding until the case was closed. Discovering what? That for a hidden policy you’re not allowed to write any review on the place you’ve visited after 14 days. This is not mentioned in any email they send you or on the website at all. It is buried in one of the forum posts. I felt I completely lost on every angle.

I was a great fan of Airbnb, but this completely changes my perspective. Security is not contemplated at all in any of the flats they list, and this is shocking. Something goes wrong and they don’t take any responsibility, they don’t refund you and you cannot even share the experience with the others. A total disgrace.

Locked Out After a Late Arrival at Airbnb

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We traveled from Indiana to Iowa for a friend’s wedding that I was the personal attendant for so we were ready for a busy weekend and only planned to use the Airbnb to sleep. The hosts texted us about an ETA and sent a detailed message about wifi and the room, but failed to mention anything about the keys or doors.

The door was unlocked when we got there so we walked in. The hosts were there and were welcoming when showing us the room and bathroom accommodations. We set down our stuff but quickly had to leave for the rehearsal dinner. The host had texted if we had any questions to let her know but I didn’t think to respond since I had a lot on my mind and didn’t have any questions at the moment. We didn’t talk to the hosts much because we wanted our privacy, knew we would be gone most of the weekend, and didn’t really know what the “social rules” of Airbnb were since this was our first trip using the platform.

We arrived back on the first night around 10:30 PM. The door was unlocked but we didn’t see the hosts. We were practically gone the whole entire next day due to the wedding and didn’t arrive back until almost midnight and we found the door was locked. We were exhausted and tried calling the hosts because we didn’t see their car in the driveway. The back door was also locked. Finally, one host answered the door (in his underwear) saying they had fallen asleep.

At this point we were not comfortable staying there since our things were still inside and we were without a place to stay for a while. We had to drive two hours away to find other accommodations around 3:00 AM. The host texted us the next day saying she heard everything turned out okay but I never responded because I wanted to go through Airbnb for a refund. I later messaged the host through the Airbnb Resolution Center to see if I could have a half refund since we only stayed one out of two nights.

She proceeded to say I was extorting money from her, got back late, and that we were unfriendly, racist, and rude. I’m not sure how we could’ve been all those things if we didn’t talk to the hosts much other than to text them about the door being locked multiple times. There also was never a rule saying we had to be back at night at a certain time or keep in constant communication with the hosts. It was a busy weekend and we were just looking for a place to sleep at night.

I have read other reviews of this host where guests said the accommodations were wonderful but the hosts were kind of loud and that was frustrating. The host replied back to this review calling them racists as well. This is slander and defamation of character and a host should not be able to throw that word around lightly.