Tag Archives: airbnb with children

Hosts Be Warned About Airbnb When Guests Cause Damage

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A warning for all owners who may rent out vacation homes through Airbnb. We own a couple of villas on the island of Aruba. For almost ten years we have rented out to vacationers and 99% of the rentals have been great: satisfied and happy vacationers.

In August this year, our luck changed. We rented to a Dutch family who totally disrespected our house. The reservation was made through Airbnb, who stated that they had verified the renter. All seemed well. The first day they moved in the complaints started, from stupid comments like “we don’t like the taste of the water in the swimming pool” to “we don’t think cooking with gas is safe.” Then they broke a toilet. This was followed by drapes being pulled down. “The fridge makes a noise and we can’t sleep.”

Each and every time we were advised of any issue we had our property manager involved and he visited the house within an hour. On several occasions, he had to tell the renter to stop having their kids jumping on the furniture and dropping food on the expensive furniture. In addition, they did not know how to light the BBQ and demanded the property manager go and light it.

The renter was moving to the island to take a position with a bank. They had already rented a long-term house and it seems the house became available sooner than they planned. We were sympathetic and refunded some money to them as a goodwill gesture. We found out that they did not pay the rent… it was their employer, yet they pocketed the money.

They walked out early and left the house in a disgusting condition: unflushed feces in toilets, open food on counters, wet towels on beds and furnishings, broken artifacts and glass ornaments, caked on filth and food on the outside patio. I could go on, but I think this describes it somewhat.

After they left, neither our administration manager nor the property manager could believe the mess the house was left in. For example, in July we had the furniture professionally recovered at a cost of thousands. The kids jumped all over it and ground in food, spilled greasy food on it, and pushed dirty muddy footprints into it. We photographed and video recorded all this along with reports from both the property manager and admin lady and forwarded everything to Airbnb. They recorded everything.

Then the bizarre happened. The wife made a complaint to Airbnb who issued her a refund. Subsequently, Airbnb agreed with us and decided to partially cover the costs for cleaning and repairs. The amount they agreed on they did not send us as they had refunded money to the renter. They did not contact us before refunding money to the renter.

Airbnb admitted that someone in the organization made a mistake. We have been calling 2-3 times a week and so far have been unable to get any resolution. We will probably be forced to go through a legal route at this point. In reviewing other owners’ entries in an Airbnb blog, it seems we are not alone in having this experience.

Owners are warned: don’t expect Airbnb to be on your side if things go wrong. We also found out after the renter left that illegal drugs were used in their house during their stay. We have a witness. Airbnb admits that this alone contravenes their policy. That should be enough to bring this to a conclusion, but it hasn’t.

Our Private Home Rented Without Our Knowledge

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We were in the process of arranging to rent a portion only – no pets allowed – of our holiday house on Airbnb with the owner-operator, who had access to the house. We had not completed the necessary renovations, most importantly a locking door to separate our private area from the rental area. We left New Zealand with the plan on pause until our return. To our horror, when we returned, we learned that our entire home had been rented out repeatedly starting just after we left. Numerous adults, children and pets were in our home, free to go through all of our personal belongings. The house was infested with fleas, and hundreds of dollars of new linens and the TV decoder were missing. The manager denied everything, but did compensate us for the missing items and flea treatments. So… all this person had to do was tick a box on Airbnb saying they had permission to rent. This is outrageous. Airbnb’s reply? “Really sorry, but not our problem.” How can this be legal?

Host Never Showed up for Check-in and Phone was off

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I am a Cypriot who traveled to Hungary with my family and wanted to make a complaint about an Airbnb case as they are failing to accept their responsibility regarding cancellation of a reservation and failure to deliver an apartment. This left me and my family – including my six-month-old daughter – on the streets without notice in the early hours.

We arrived in Hungary on September 4th at 11:55 PM and found out that host’s phone was off. They didn’t appear to give us the keys to the apartment we paid. We contacted Airbnb and they were wasting our time promising that they would resolve the issue and get back to us. They said that they found us room at two different hotels and sent us there to find that they never called the hotels and that there was no available room.

After complaining again at the call center and asking to be assigned a new case manager because our first one was lying and playing with us, we were assigned a new case manager. He only found us a room that we paid for at 10:30, spending all the night with a six-month-old kid on the streets calling the international center’s number and using mobile data over roaming. The reservation was done through their website for one day less now but we had to pay even more this time because the apartment that they suggested and was available was a higher price per night. I paid again with my credit card.

Initially they wanted to refund us just for 71 EUR which was the additional money (to return to my card after a few days) but after I asked for compensation they proposed giving me 200 USD maximum, including the 71 EUR. Airbnb wants to refund us for this (including the extra money we paid for a more expensive room through their website) with the ridiculous amount of 200 USD.

I explained to them that this was disrespectful and not acceptable as compensation. After this I asked to escalate the issue and was told that someone else took over our case; he is not responding. In the chat box it doesn’t show the name of the person to whom you are talking so I can’t know if the issue was really escalated or it’s just the same person who served me as case manager who is pretending to be the supervisor.

In similar cases when there is a flight cancellation the airlines compensate passengers up to 300 EUR while on this occasion we were not waiting in the lobby of a hotel or an airport lounge but on the streets, including my six-month-old daughter. We didn’t know where we could sterilize her bottles, charge our phones, etc. In addition we were played by this case manager and sent from hotel to hotel. He lied, said that he called the hotels, and said there was room available; when we arrived the receptionist told us nobody called and the hotels were full.

Airbnb Stripped away my Rights as a Guest

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Airbnb was initially very supportive of our situation and processed a full refund but denied me the privilege of sharing my full story because I had initially mentioned the company who was managing the key collection. They did not ask that I remove the name of the company, but they removed my entire review as written below. Your rights to share your experience on Airbnb are very limited. Know your rights and be careful.

We felt cheated staying with these hosts. The whole set-up seems like a scam. The key collection area was unwelcoming; there was a notice to say that it was under construction. A man came up from the basement: no “hello”, no explanation, and zero hospitality. He just handed a set of key to us.

At this point, it all felt like a scam, and we were worried. As we entered the building, there were trucks with graffiti parked on the roads. It didn’t give us a welcoming feeling for a place that is described as a modern five-star apartment. It also claimed to be family friendly. There was a homeless man sleeping at the entrance to the building, blocking our path to use the ramp (we have a baby stroller). There were foot steps and dirt all across the common areas and entrance. This was our first impression of the place for which we paid the premium price of AED 805 per night (167 pounds).

There were alcohol cans and rubbish at the entrance. It was a shelter for the homeless (sleep during the days, take drugs and drink alcohol during the nights). The apartment was serviced, but it was not clean (as a five-star modern apartment). We were also charged AED 200 in cleaning fees (42 pounds). This was what we found as we walked in: pubic hair in the bathroom, hair in the corners of the whole apartment, mold on curtains and edges, salt built up in the kettle – not washable even after I tried. I needed a kettle as I was traveling with young children.

We decided to come home before dark as the area felt unsafe. When we came home at 7:00 PM, there was another homeless guy sleeping at the walkway. We decided to order food to be delivered to the apartment. We felt trapped as the walkway and building entrance was not suitable for our needs and always blocked by homeless people. Our delivery guy had informed us that our food was snatched by one of the homeless who on either drugs or alcohol. That was when we decided to look for an alternative accommodation for the remaining of our stay.

Our apartment door was opened from the outside in the morning while we were still there. When my husband inquired she said she didn’t speak English (Spanish speaker). We decided to check out after our first night there as we were concerned about our safety.

This property was not suitable for family. It is not a modern five-star apartment if the entrance is a home for homeless people. The shower and bathroom was two-star. The cleanliness is zero stars. Both beds were sofa beds (not one bed and one sofa bed as claimed). The amenities were very poor. It was an unsafe area for families.

The hosts didn’t meet me or call me even once although I called the emergency number. She only communicated using the Airbnb messaging and the response was slow. They didn’t provide any hospitality or assurance whatsoever. She claimed to have visited the apartment to take pictures of the cleanliness but didn’t even have the courtesy to come up to check on us. She also said she lives around Camden. It felt like the reason why she visited the apartment was to take pictures after she had cleaned the entrance and walkway to defend herself. Very disappointing. We didn’t want to ruin our holiday and left.

I lodged an official complaint to Airbnb and the host and she only wanted to give us a 20% refund despite us moving out after one night. I logged a safety complaint with Airbnb. The case manager worked on my case and I have received my refund. However they have now removed my honest review of this case and all pictures that I have shared. Airbnb has stripped my rights as a guest who wants to share her poor experience to others.

Poorly Designed Policies Allow Airbnb Extortion

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I recently had an unpleasant experience while traveling in Cannes, France with my wife, baby, and a friend. I explained the situation to Airbnb’s support team, but they sided with the host due to Airbnb policies. I’ve come to realize that the policies are flawed and the only way to fix it is to bring it to the attention to someone with the ability to amend the policies.

I live in the United States and work in residential real estate development. When listing the number of bathrooms in the U.S., “2.5 bathrooms” would mean two full bathrooms with a shower and toilet and a second half-bath with just a toilet. Evidently, in France 2.5 bathrooms means two bathrooms with only a shower and a third bathroom with only a toilet. Thus, there is only one toilet in a three-bedroom apartment.

We were shocked and felt somewhat duped especially since the host knew better. He was a residential real estate broker in the U.S. for four years. You would think that this would be cause for cancellation, but it was not according to Airbnb support. This was unfortunate, but not the end of the world.

Upon nightfall the unit was overrun with mosquitos – dozens of them. We killed a couple on a dish towel (a photo was taken and sent to Airbnb). My wife and I had our five-month old baby with us. We could not allow him to get eaten alive while he slept. The only responsible thing to do was to leave and check into a hotel.

Evidently, according to Airbnb policy, mosquitoes are not a viable reason to cancel a reservation. I’m still shocked that this does not qualify as uninhabitable. Airbnb is competing against hotels. If I were to check into a hotel room with dozens of mosquitoes, they would have refunded my money. Why wouldn’t Airbnb?

After contacting the host that evening and not receiving a response, I sent him a nice message saying that my experience was clearly unpleasant, but since I didn’t stay there overnight and he would not need to clean the premises, I stated the obvious by saying that if he would just refund my money, I wouldn’t leave a review. What a mistake. He was a pro and knew that according to Airbnb policy, he got me.

He accused me of extortion which I thought this was crazy since extortion clearly implies a falsehood. The intent of an extortion policy is to protect hosts from guests who had a pleasant experience and then demand a refund in return for a positive review. Airbnb’s policy doesn’t read that way and thus provides a loophole to unscrupulous hosts. Since it’s “policy” there was nothing Customer Support could do.

I lost $1,037. I thought to myself that this was unfortunate but at least I can warn other travelers of the two issues mentioned above. After leaving my review, Airbnb then informed me that it was being removed due to the extortion policy despite the fact was that it was completely honest. Not only do I feel like $1,000 was stolen from me, I am now not even allowed to warn other travelers. I know Airbnb is a young company so there will be holes in the system, but I just thought I’d bring this one to their attention.

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.

Aggressive Airbnb Host Falsely Advertising Lakeside House

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We made a reservation for four nights at a lakeside house in Langstini, which the host advertised as having free wifi (and I have the screenshot to prove it); this was essential for us. When we arrived and asked about the wifi he said he decided to disconnect it because he thought people should appreciate nature and not be addicted to the internet. He was talking in a very aggressive way so I didn’t want to argue with him and tell him he couldn’t change the terms after he promised something. It’s also not his job to educate us, so I just told him that it’s crucial for me to have the wifi for my work, for our trip planning and most of all because I have a son at home who has some problems at the moment – I needed to be in touch with him.

He said that tomorrow he would give us the wifi, but only for WhatsApp, not for media. That evening the wifi stopped working and when we told him he just said “I told you it’s just for WhatsApp. Now if you want more you’ll have to pay for it and charge it at the gas station.” I found this very unacceptable: not because of the the money but because he actually lied about the wifi and I don’t have to waste time during  my vacation looking for the specific gas station where I can charge his wifi.

That wasn’t all: the place was filthy, with hair and dust everywhere (he said the cleaning lady couldn’t come). The beds weren’t ready and I had to put on all the linen; not all of them were the right size. There wasn’t enough hot water for the shower and on the third night when my daughter was in the middle of a shower the electricity and the water stopped and we were left in darkness. We wrote to him (he wasn’t there) and he didn’t respond at all. The water and electricity returned after about an hour but he never contacted us.

Worse than anything was his attitude: he was always inpatient, arrogant and vulgar, like he’d really prefer we weren’t there at all. Even when he explained about some places we wanted to visit and I asked something he started to shout: “Are you gonna listen or not?!” My son got really scared from his shouting.

He also entered our room whenever he wanted without knocking on the door. We really felt uncomfortable there and after the incident with the water and electricity my kids didn’t want to stay there anymore. I also didn’t feel that we had to feel so bad during our vacation that we waited, planned, and saved for so long, so we decided to leave after the third night.

I’m not asking for refund for the nights we stayed, although he clearly didn’t fulfill what he promised and didn’t provide what he was supposed to. His attitude was terrible, and I think we definitely deserve a refund for the night we didn’t stay because we just couldn’t suffer anymore.

Hell’s Kitchen, Airbnb Nightmare Apartment in NYC

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I just got back from four days in NYC. I rented an Airbnb from two guys who had an apartment in Hell’s Kitchen (okay, should have given me a clue). Upon arrival everything seemed okay; there were no dirty dishes in the sink, and the toilet looked clean enough. THe tub was stained, but acceptable (not taking any bubble baths in it anyway, so sufficient for showering).

However, upon closer inspection, I came to discover that the whole place was filthy. Dirty dishes were left in dishwasher (no dishwasher fluid to clean them with either). The couch was stained, and there were stained, dirty duvets and sheets. Sheets were crumpled and did not appear to even be clean. Baseball-size balls of hair and dust were around the entire apartment, especially on the baseboards and beds. There was a repulsive oven (it set off smoke alarm when we tried to use it) complete with an old hard, burned French fry, and a dirty refrigerator.

The list went on and on. We stayed in a tent in the Sahara Desert once that was cleaner than this place. I immediately texted the owner (he didn’t respond to us, so called another guy in charge) that a cleaning crew needed to be called. Of course, we were assured that one would be there first thing in the morning. We used the towels – that did seem clean – to cover the pillows and ourselves so we could sleep. Suffice it to say that the “cleaning crew is coming” lie was told to us for three days.

The final night the guy texted us at 9:38 PM wanting to send a cleaning crew. In retrospect we should have said yes, as my guess is he was bluffing then too, but trying to cover his #$%. By that time we had bought new sheets after hiking over two miles to BBB and back. Finding this was no easy task in NYC. Quite pricey too, as there’s no Walmart in NYC.

When I got my invitation to post my review, I was loaded. Like I said in my review, I’ve seen animal cages that were cleaner than this apartment. Every night when we returned to the apartment because we’d left for the day – so this magical cleaning crew could appear while we were gone sightseeing for the day, as we had been told over and over by the host – only brought more disappointment, frustration and a string of phone calls to the host and Airbnb. We came to believe that the elusive “cleaning crew” must have lived in the land of the unicorns and lost their metro passes because they never came.

I just got a review from the host. I use that term loosely, as it implies that these guys did something to treat us as guests. He slammed us (me) with a vicious lie saying that we put our used linens and towels in the bathtub (no exit instructions so we called Airbnb and told them what we were going to do; they okayed it. What do you do with dirty linens and towels anyway? This is what we do at a hotel) and urinated on them. What kind of sicko mind can even come up with a defense that gross? Of course you can’t photograph this and he knew that we were staying with a child – pretty low buddy, blame the kid. Little does he know that this child is not a “child,” but a mini-adult who definitely does not wet the bed if that was his implication.

Anyway, I was pretty much pleased with Airbnb for giving us a full refund and eventually resolving our complaint, but it did take five different reps and a lot of phone calls. I also had a lot of pictures (that I really don’t want to post in case I need them for further action) and evidence to present. Even though I probably won’t use Airbnb again, I can say that I’m overall satisfied with Airbnb. It still makes me mad that these guys are out there, ruining other people’s vacations.

Even after this review, they can just list under other names and open new accounts? And the reviews? These guys were Superhosts with 21 positive reviews. It’s not like I didn’t do my due diligence. Buyer beware. All I can say is the next time I’m in New Orleans I’m buying two voodoo dolls.

Airbnb Not What it Seems, Felt Unsafe for Kids and Dog

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I contacted Airbnb customer service, by phone, after leaving a property in British Columbia. I felt unsafe (would be staying there with my daughters ages 7 and 11) and because the place was not as presented (e.g. the air conditioning turned out to be an air sucking machine in the window, held together by styrofoam and the “wifi” tuned out to be “if I can create a hotspot”).

The host had a huge Doberman that was very angry because our small mini golden doodle was in its space. The stairs to the “3rd floor flat” were rickety, to say the least and the air unbreathable. Also of concern was that there was no way to shut a door and restrict anyone’s access to a place we’d be virtual prisoners.

One of the reasons we booked the listing was that it had a pool (under the amenities). The host and the men downstairs were all very unkempt as was the home outside and somewhat inside. This was even more disconcerting because the home was so remote, surrounded by fields and woods, and well off the main road.

I expressed to the host that I needed to leave, that I did not feel well (asthma and then anxiety based on that because of the oppressive air and the “vibe”) yet she continued to try and get us to stay. The representative from Airbnb customer service seemed very nice and understanding, but did not get back to us; we were left adrift, even after calling back asking for help in securing accommodations for the night.

What was extremely disconcerting was that the host began messaging me, telling me to come back, saying her dogs wanted to play with the girls, that the room was now cool, even after I told her we had gone hours away from her, and to please refund my money. However, she has not done so; I see it in my pending charges, online for Mastercard.

Please help me with this. We were not there more than ten minutes and used no part of the place. I am holding off on my public review but see this particular location is plagued with bad reviews (that have since been deleted, and she’s halved the price), many expressing my own sentiments. How is this place still on Airbnb? My check in was to be 5:00 PM on August 11th. I’m waiting for Airbnb to step up and help, but despite many attempts, there has been no contact yet.

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.