Tag Archives: airbnb women

The Dark Side of Airbnb for Female Travelers

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We are a group of backpackers who have stayed in many Airbnbs. In all our stays, we had pleasant and safe experiences apart from our most recent stay which was awful beyond words. Our stay at an Airbnb in Kalpakkam opened our eyes to the dark side of Airbnb and safety.

We had to encounter probably one of the most horrible experiences of our lives by staying at this place. We encountered a host who abused, insulted and shouted at us. It’s only now that I am reading the reviews of this property and I can see the abuses hurled at by the host even while answering. It was a grave mistake that we did not really read the reviews properly while booking.

On January 3rd, we had a long, tiresome journey from Pondicherry to reach this place at Kalpakkam, near Mahabalipuram. When we came to this Airbnb we were quite upset to see that the beach beside the property was littered with garbage and local people in the area openly defecating in the beachfront. In addition, the rooms were not really tidy. The air conditioning in one room did not cool properly and the toilet in one bathroom had no flush. To be fair it is mentioned in the property description that the flush was broken and would be fixed after January 2nd (we arrived at the property on the 3rd and we had booked this place two months in advance).

After we arrived, we called the host to inform him out of courtesy that we had arrived and we were facing some issues regarding the AC and also mentioned that the flush was broken (yes, it is mentioned in the property listing but it also says that it would be resolved on the 2nd). There was no confrontation from our part and we casually happened to speak with the host about the issue. Immediately the host got furious and asked us to cancel the reservation.

The property is in the middle of nowhere and we had girls in the group. Obviously we couldn’t cancel and find alternative accommodations when it was already dusk. Within ten minutes or so, the host turned up with his mother at the place and started shouting and abusing the girls. We were unable to comprehend why would a normal person behave this way, unless the person is not really sane.

Apparently the host was quite upset because he has “sentiments attached with his home” and that we dared to complain about. However what remains inexplicable is the reason the host would shout at us, abuse us, and ask us to cancel the reservation when it was quite apparent that the location is remote, there are several girls in the group, and it was almost dark.

The host used insulting statements like “Why [would] Airbnb send such characters?”, “Get out of my house”, and “Who are you?” When we said we were not going to leave without talking to Airbnb, he shouted “Airbnb is nobody. This is my property – Airbnb cannot stop me” again and again.

This entire experience made us feel utterly unsafe and stressed. The most unfortunate thing is the fact that our female friends had to suffer such abuse. In a civilized society, no gentlemen would ever assault women, but this vile creature of poor manners is not man enough for civility.

One of our members had a nervous breakdown because of this episode. We are not used to abuse and altercations and we have unfortunately not taken any lessons on how to handle an adult who would bully and shout at you for no apparent reason.

Furthermore, the host said that he only wants “local people” to stay at his place. Apparently we are neither Tamil nor South Indians; he was implying that he does not want people from other parts of India. This was most insulting, humiliating and the highest form of discriminatory abuse. We were so stressed and traumatized that we could not sleep that night.

Apart from such an awful host, there was a group of boisterous local guys in the next house in the same property (probably belonging to the same owner). They were making catcalls, hooting and flashing lights at the girls of our group. It was an isolated place and naturally we were terrified for safety reasons.

To sum up, our New Year party trip was ruined by an unmannerly and unstable host who abused us and we had to endure these insults since we were trapped because of the location. I was constantly reminded of this quote by Gandhi throughout the frightening encounter: “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” But alas, since I am no Gandhi I cannot forgive or forget this horrible episode.

Though we had booked this miserably grotesque place for two nights we left the next day in the morning as apparently we had an appalling stay and felt extremely unsafe and violated. This property is in the filthiest of places with an evil-mouthed, pathologically-egocentric and abusive host.

Airbnb has been requested multiple times to delist this property for the safety of guests. I am waiting for Airbnb to take appropriate actions. We managed to take a small video of the episode. Since we were not smart enough to take the video initially we missed the most insulting parts. But still, this video will give you an idea on how unsafe Airbnb is, especially for women.

Airbnb Retaliates for Reporting Dangerous Hosts

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Airbnb retaliates against those who report dangerous behavior by hosts (such as making solo female travelers run for their lives from the property when they’re chased by deranged guys) and gender discrimination/harassment by host. They start off by not taking any action against hosts and allowing them to continue operating (while lying to guests that they took action), even allowing hosts to leave false negative reviews for guests.

They know that some guests have to spend a night in a car after running for their lives from the property, as all was immediately reported to Airbnb. Guests insist that Airbnb take action, and they delete the guest’s account. It’s only a matter of time until next person is killed, like Carla Stefaniak, or harmed in the listings of this ruthless, irresponsible and greedy company. They must be stopped.

I was terrorized by a host who is the owner of Robert’s Redneck retreat Cabins (operating under a different name on Airbnb), made to leave the property out of fear for my life and was insulted and harassed by this host multiple times. All was immediately reported to Airbnb; I couldn’t find another accommodation on Friday night and spent the night in a car by the roadside.

Airbnb deleted my account when I said I’d go public since they’re not taking action and even allowed the host to leave me a bad review. This blog details the incident and pictures, as it’s too much to put in one post.

Airbnb Blocks Legitimate Negative Reviews

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I’ve used Airbnb at least 15 times but never again. A host screwed me over (warning: do not stay here). I had never been to New Orleans and was so excited. Six of my girlfriends and I planned a fun weekend getaway. I booked us a house that was listed as “3 miles from French Quarter” on Airbnb and paid over $1000 upfront (included $130 cleaning fee, $113 service fee, and $45 in taxes). I was boarding the plane to NOLA when I got a phone call from two of the girls saying they aren’t staying at the house.

Their Uber driver said it’s a very dangerous part of town and is considered the projects. I Googled it later and found out it was the second largest housing project in the city. There were boarded up houses on the street (something I could not have known). When they arrived at the house, two men drinking from paper bags across the street started catcalling them and made them feel very uncomfortable.

There was only one other review posted before me and the guy said that the neighborhood was “worn down”. I didn’t want to base my stay on one review, but looking back I should have. I immediately contacted the owner and said we did not feel comfortable staying there and we would be staying somewhere else. I ended up paying a fortune for a hotel last minute.

Usually a hotel would make you pay for that first night and give you the rest of the money back. Nope… not this host. She wouldn’t even give me back the $130 cleaning fee. She blamed the boarded up houses on hurricane Katrina which happened 13 years ago. She also had Airbnb block me from leaving a review because I was never inside the house. My friends did not enter the house, just parked the car in the driveway and then left after being harassed. After two months of arguing with Airbnb’s customer support, they blocked me from messaging them and closed the case. I lost over a grand and was blocked from leaving an honest review. Save your time: don’t stay here or use Airbnb.

Airbnb Wants Two Women to Stay Without Working Locks

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This link is to a host who has a dangerous Airbnb rental. Upon arrival, the lock codes did not work. We had to go to the “cafe”, which is also a bar, to get someone there to help us. It turned out that everyone working at that bar has all the lock codes, and manual keys to override the codes; at least one person was trying to get in. The lock was broken. The host was unavailable and said that the bar employees would have to help us. One employee said we would have to leave the place unlocked since the lock did not work. When we examined the doors to find out why the locks weren’t working, we saw severe damage to the doors and door jambs. Apparently this place had been broken into and the jambs were never repaired. In addition, there were cracks in the wooden doors. With everyone else being able to get into this place, and we were two women traveling alone, we left immediately and got a safer room. Airbnb and the host fought us on the refund, and refused to pay for any additional expenses because we had to spend more money on a hotel, even though we chose the cheapest one we could find. I will not use Airbnb again. Ever.

Airbnb Host Tries to Assault Underage Drunk Guests

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About a year and a half ago now I stayed with Airbnb for the first time in Nashville. As soon as we arrived, my host poured shot upon shot of alcohol down my then underage friend’s throat. He offered to show us a good place to eat. That went well.

Later that night he invited himself out on the town with us. Up until this time he was cool so we didn’t really question it. We went out and he started getting grabby with my friend, who made it loud and clear she was not interested. He then abandoned us in the middle of Nashville, knowing both of our phones were dead. Finally I was able to hail a taxi with a phone charger so I could get the address and return to the house.

We made it back to his place and went inside. Since my friend was drunk, I had a few drinks myself. It was 2:00 AM, so we decided to hunker down for the night and leave that place first thing in the morning. We put his dog in the bedroom with us (which he previously had given us permission to do) and went to sleep. An hour passed and I heard him come home. I got up and let him know we made it back and we were leaving in the morning. At this point he apologized for his behavior and seemed fine. I went back into the room and locked the door. I know for sure because I showed my friend it was locked, as she was still unsure of him.

About an hour later I was asleep but awoke suddenly. I could sense someone was in the room. I sat up and saw his shadow crawling across the floor. I yelled “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Along with a few other choice words. He told me he was looking for his dog (who was white and very clearly laying on the edge of my bed, very visible even in the dark). I told him to get out, along with a few other choice words. I then locked the door again and propped a chair up against it.

As I was trying to process what just happened I picked up my phone to see the time and noticed it wasn’t charging. Thinking maybe he unplugged it while crawling around, I saw it was still plugged into the wall. I then went to turn on the lamp; it didn’t work, and neither did the other two. It hit me this man literally turned the power off to our room to prevent us from turning on the light while he was in there.

Now I was in survival mode. I packed all of our belongings and got my friend out of bed in about five minutes. We made a plan, jetted out of the house and out to my car, and sped off.

We called the Airbnb emergency number and initially they were great. They paid for us to get a hotel for the night and refunded our money from the host. They also told us he was blocked from the website and gave me a $300 credit to use within the year. I tried three times to use the credit; it always said there was an error and to contact customer service. They always said they would figure it out and get back to me but never did.

After my $300 expired I swore to never use Airbnb again. Finally a friend convinced me to try one more time, so I made an attempt to book and found I still couldn’t, as if my account was locked or something. Again, I contacted customer service and again, I was told they would figure it out and get back to me. They never did. This company is garbage. They will cover their rear while an emergency is taking place but besides that the customer service is terrible. Do not stay with Airbnb.

The review I left on their page a week or so ago is attached. Conveniently I got an email today saying “after a routine review of my account I have violated the terms of service so I can no longer be a supported guest”… funny how they can ignore me for over a year until I go public with what happened.

Uninvited Airbnb Guest Vindictive and Petty

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I’m an Airbnb superhost. I’ve generally loved my hosting experience and only ever had a few minor issues but nothing to ever make me feel how I am feeling right now. I am sitting here in tears, shaking in fear that my guest and his “mom” are going to come back. I’m home alone, my husband out of town, but I still decided to approve a request. I had a guest, “Daniel”, reserve two nights for one guest (himself). After a previous bad experience with a couple having disgustingly loud sex, I restricted my listing to single guests only. He was good with communication but never mentioned he’d be bringing anyone. His check-in time was 6:00 PM. He arrived at 1:00 AM with an older woman who immediately exclaimed: “I’m his mom, not a cougar.” She had no luggage so I assumed she was going to see the room, say goodbye, and that would be that. About 15 minutes went by, when I walked by the room and noticed the light was out. I sent Daniel a message asking when his mom might be leaving so I could lock up the house, but got no reply. I knocked on the door. I could hear them whispering but they refused to answer even after several loud knocks. I finally pounded on the door and called out: “Excuse me!”

“What?!” finally came the reply. I asked Daniel when his mom would be leaving, and she chimed in saying she was going to stay. I informed them the booking was for one person and she’d have to leave. She said “what, do you want more money?” I replied I needed her to leave for legal reasons. I could hear her become very angry and begin packing things. Over a period of about ten minutes I could hear them packing and talking about various ways to get revenge. I overheard something about stealing the sheets, stealing a candle, and at one point I overheard the mom exclaim “nice one! that’ll show her!” I think Daniel may have done something gross or stolen something. There are two empty spaces on my shelf but for the life of me I can’t remember what was there; I’ll probably never be able to claim the theft within the 24-hour Airbnb reporting window. They came out of the room and the mom immediately began berating me. I was terrified, sitting on the couch paralyzed with fear. Thankfully, they both left and I immediately called Airbnb. However, Airbnb didn’t really offer any resolution. They didn’t cancel the reservation. They told me it was over and to calm down, and that the guests probably didn’t do or steal anything so not to worry. I’m scared this guy could show up tomorrow for his second night because Airbnb didn’t even offer to cancel the reservation. If you’re a woman home alone, don’t be an Airbnb host!