Tag Archives: bad review

Canada Closed but Airbnb Refuses to Refund

Posted on

The Canadian Prime Minister closed the country’s cruise ports until July 1. All cruises until July 1 are cancelled, including ours. We were coming from the U.S. to Vancouver for one night at an Airbnb. It would have been our first time ever using Airbnb. Every other airline and hotel gave us a full refund the same day we called.

Not Airbnb: they have a COVID-19 policy until May 31 only. We were checking in June 1. Even with a ton of documentation, their “case managers” still denied us a refund because their policy is just until May 31.

The host is very difficult to work with and won’t budge on her strict policy even though we just booked it days before the shutdown in March and we’re two months away. What a selfish human being.

We have no control over this global pandemic and they have been a nightmare to deal with. We call everyday and get the runaround from customer service. Airbnb is a fraudulent company. I’m talking to a lawyer.

Cockroaches and Long Term Cancellations

Posted on

I had an internship in a foreign country (not tropical, and not at all known for big problems in the slightest). I needed a place to stay for two months and couldn’t access any of the local sites from the states. So I turned to Airbnb.

Now, we all know Airbnb’s absolutely shitty long-term cancellation policy of losing a month up front (if not more). Well, on day two of my trip, I woke up to a cockroach in the bedroom, and this dude was absolutely massive. I also woke up pretty late, around 8:30 AM, so it was broad daylight outside.

I immediately Airbnb messaged my host and Airbnb support, specifically saying I found a cockroach. I then ended up killing it (this thing was so massive I couldn’t get its dead body off my shoes and ended up tossing them). My host’s response was to go buy something at the store and put it in the apartment… so spending my own time and money to fix the problem in his place.

I came back from work later that same day and there was another massive cockroach by the TV. At this point I was absolutely disgusted: two cockroaches in one day, both in broad daylight. I told my host I wanted to leave and since I had only been there for two nights I wanted a refund. I found another place and everything and wanted to leave. He refused a refund and told me to essentially wait a week and deal with it.

The day after, I woke up again to a third cockroach in broad daylight. This one was way slower so I took a video of him before I killed him. At this point I have messaged my host multiple times, messaged Airbnb, and tweeted at Airbnb. There has been response from Airbnb and no successful response from my host (he had mentioned when I checked in that he was leaving for Paris that coming Friday for two months so probably more worried about his trip than his guest).

At this point it had been a solid 60 hours and three cockroaches. I vacated the property. It was that bad I had to leave in the first week of my long-term reservation (there were also dead cockroaches literally everywhere in the hallway – it was nasty). I sent videos and pictures to Airbnb and still, no response.

Finally I cancelled the reservation so that I could considerately let my host re-list his place and Airbnb finally responded. They said that because I cancelled before hearing back from them I was not entitled to anything. There’s almost $900 down the drain. They told me cockroaches were a “minor” issue, even though almost every doctor and sanitation worker (and even landlord) would disagree, and I had patiently lived with them for three days coming out in broad daylight: clear signs of an infestation, especially in a city that is not at all known to have any issues with cockroaches.

Airbnb has been a Huge Disappointment

Posted on

Airbnb owners broke their promise to offer us a nice clean place to stay over the winter. The posted reviews on Airbnb for the unit were nice. When we approached the host on June 6, 2018, she asked us to deal with her directly instead of going through Airbnb “to avoid the unneeded formalities.” She repeatedly advised us that “the place is nice, has all the basics and more and she wants us to be happy there.”

We dealt with her and with someone who was introduced to us as her agent. Later we discovered that he was listed as an owner of the place. We wondered if he has a license or not.

We intended to stay in the rented unit for four months. We came from Winnipeg, Manitoba, making 3,060 km during our four days of driving. We arrived in evening of December 8, 2018. The agent met us at the place. During this first meeting he repeatedly posed as an agent for the host by confirming it verbally as well as by calling her several times to get instructions.

We discovered the following shocking deficiencies to the unit: it was dusty and filthy; the carpets were black and dirty; most of the cupboards and drawers were filled in with old useless objects, rubbish, old packaging, all dusty and in disarray; the entire unit was cluttered; all corners and shelves filled with dusty artificial plants; even an old TV was stored on the living room floor.

Please note that the place was small: only 400 square feet. We asked the agent if he could take all that unneeded stuff out of the unit. He said that he would consider taking out only some of it. The bed, pillows and bedding looked dirty and worn out; the bed was not made. The fridge and freezer contained a lot of containers with old food. The fridge was leaking with dirty stale water on the bottom of it. The fridge was producing a very loud uncharacteristic noise.

The hot water tank was not working; there was no hot water in the unit. Later the agent told us that it was fixed. However, we learned from a different source that the tank was leaking, and, if so, it could not be fixed. The agent suggested going to the clubhouse for showering. All the windows had worn out dusty curtains and paper “blinds” that were deteriorating.

The front door lock was not working properly, behaving rather “finicky” as per the agent’s description. We were instructed to use the door leading directly from outside to the bedroom. That door lock was also malfunctioning. The toilet and sink faucet were filthy. One window was not closing as it had a cable wire running through it.

The unit had a bad smell (possibly from the sewer). The parking stall turned out to be small and our truck stuck out on the road. The outdoor furniture was also old and filthy. The whole place was in an unhealthy state of disrepair and disarray: worn out, full of dust and stinky.

We were supposed to pay $1090/month for that place… we were shocked. We had no choice but to stay there overnight. We were tired and afraid that it might be difficult to find a hotel room on a Saturday night. We spent all evening behind the computer looking for an alternative accommodation and moved to a hotel the next day.

We stayed there for a week before finding a place to settle for the remaining term. Please note that there were five reviews that were very nice referring to the place as being nice and clean. We realize that one review was probably referring to a different place as those guests were staying over a weekend and the place “was located walking distance from a festival ground.”

In fact, the location of the subject property is quite remote and renting for a period shorter than one month term is not permitted by the Almar Acres Association. We consider those nice reviews as fraudulent misrepresentation. We consider the whole situation as a fraud. We were tricked by the sweet promises.

In fact the unit has deteriorated far beyond a quick clean or quick fix. The owners are not considerate or trustworthy people. They lied to us about the place and about their own status in respect to the ownership. It feels sneaky and it is not acceptable. They inconvenienced us and made us pay for a hotel. It is so unfortunate that our vacation started with a huge disappointment.

Airbnb Hell in Hawaii

Posted on

A year ago I went to Hawaii, my favorite place. The flight was late and rental car was a no-show, so I was late arriving at the host location – it was between 8 and 9 pm. Half way through the stay, the host asked me to change rooms, but that required cancelling and re-booking. I had lost my credit card so the old one did not go through. I tried to reach airbnb to enter a new credit card number. The host also tried. We could not reach anyone. I offered the host cash but they refused, and then said that I had been nothing but trouble and told me to leave immediately or they would call the police! I am a 60-something, quiet, non-smoking, meditator-type. I went to a local hotel but some money was owed to me, and airbnb refused to refund it. They gave me some worthless coupons. They are worthless because the hosts of Puilani on the big island wrote a bad review of me and now I am not able to make other bookings and use the coupons. Airbnb still refuses to refund the money, or remove the host review. They have a poor business model for the travel industry. They need to have real people available real time to handle these kinds of issues. As for the hosts, they seemed to me to be burned out on hosting and unable to flow with the inevitable problems of travelers. I am very unsatisfied.

Miami Host Misrepresents Unit – Airbnb Does Nothing

Posted on
blankblankblankblank

If there were an option for no stars, I’d have chosen that. Worst experience with accommodations I have ever had. The person (billing himself as Tony&Eli) that advertised the place, completely misrepresented the apartment. From the pictures I received from my daughter it seems as though it’s not even the same apartment that was advertised. I was paying the rent there for a month so she could have enough time to find a place of her own, near to where she wants to go to school. After driving all night from Georgia (and the night before from Virginia) my daughter arrived there only to have to pack up and go stay with family. It was filthy and moldy. She took pictures and sent them to me and took them to my mother as well.The next day he offered to put her in another apartment but I advised her not to trust that person, to have no more contact with him and to see if the family could help her find something else as she is just moving to Florida to go to school there. Instead of the person just letting it go, he refuses to refund the money and I’ve had to take it up with my credit card. It seems as if he has more than one place and probably is using the same pictures for all the ones he rents. Even though I tried to contact Tony&Eli by both my personal and work email, and sent him all the pictures of the apartment, he did not reply. Instead he kept trying to contact my daughter and convince her that she should move into some different apartment he had.  Also, to call a member of his family since he lives overseas currently. I did not want him harassing her as she’s only 18 and hasn’t had to deal with this sort of thing before. Airnbn has been no help at all and is considering it a cancellation.  Unfortunately, they also went through my daughter and did not contact me.  The airbnb contact is in California and can only see the pictures online.  They did not offer to have someone come to the apartment in Miami. They probably don’t have a presence in the state. can’t say for sure. They think that just because the owner offers some other place that should be ok with the renter. I don’t see why a customer should have to continue to do business with someone that has bait and switch tactics and would pawn off such a place on some kid. I will never use airbnb again and I advise anyone who does to, if possible, check out the place in person and don’t rely on airbnb to help if something goes wrong. I would especially not send anyone that is inexperienced to possibly have to handle a situation such as this. They will be better off going to an Extended Stay America or Homewood Suites where the management is accountable.

Their response was the following: John, Nov 18, 19:19: Hello Kayleigh, I did get your pictures and a majority of it looks like it can be scrubbed clean. I want to go through all the pictures you sent and the concerns. I am not sure how the door frame can be fixed, it doesn’t look broken but old and repainted. A lot of building and homes in Miami are older but it isn’t broken. The broken tile can be fixed and is something I can request the host have fixed while you are there if you stay. The A/C filter can be cleaned out but I agree is gross. The floor wall boards can be wiped and the floor better swept. Can you please send me a picture of a bug if possible and a closer picture of the tile mold. I can’t tell if it is tile grout or if it is mold on the tile, either way I agree it does need to me scrubbed and mopped. The cabinets can be bleached but look like they have water damage from years of dishes being put away and not all the way dry. Last is the bathtub, it looks like an old tub and similar to mine. Since my building is from the 1980s the tub will get old an impossible to get all the soap scum. It is something that can be scrubbed but not perfectly, possible cleaned with comet powder or bleached also to get rid of some stains and soap scum. Overall I don’t thank anything is bad enough for an immediate cancellation and I also need a picture to consider a vermin issue. I appreciate your patience and hope you get a good sleep tonight, I am sorry for this issue but want to make sure I make the best decision.

So they even admitted the place was nasty and yet, didn’t approve a refund. Apparently scamming college kids is a business practice according to some other reviews I’ve read. Why anyone would be forced to live in this situation, or continue to have to do business with someone that scammed them in the first place is beyond me. Especially, when the apartment was about $1650 a month plus a pet fee of a $150. Now they are simply ignoring the problem. I’ve posted a complaint to BBB Hopefully that will help. This apartment is located in Miami

Airbnb Doesn’t Care if Hosts Lie and Mislead Guests

Posted on
blankblankblankblankblank

Booked a house in Fish Hoek, Cape Town from one Sonny Naidoo. In his listing he claimed the property had 2 bedrooms and a steep flight of stairs. The picture in his listing was of a flight of stairs that looked fine – however when I got to the address I found that the picture was taken in front of another property all together. The actual house had multiple flights of steep stairs to climb in order to reach it. Upon the climb I found that the house actually didn’t have a second bedroom, only a sort of pseudo loft in the kitchen accessible only by climbing a ladder. No safety gate of any sort on the platform either, making it very unsafe for children (listing claimed to be child friendly) AIRBNB support told me the following: “I’ve reviewed the video Joel and while I understand that the staircase shown was not the same as the one you actually climb to the listing but the whole point of the picture was to show the view. It was stated in the description that there was a steep climb and that you would need to be able bodied but that is why porters were supplied. At this point as the description covered the basis of the fact there was a steep climb I would be unable to process a refund for the reservation besides what I have already given.” So – it seems a host can post a picture of another property – inferring that it is the actual property, and airbnb doesn’t care. A host can claim 2 bedrooms, while not describing it accurately, and AIRBNB doesn’t care. I’ve attached a screenshot taken from the listing, showing the staircase from a different property – a clear misdirection – then the actual listing and pictures of the ACTUAL climb property taken by myself.

Horrible, dirty listing – and no way to warn other people about it!!!

Posted on

I booked a 2 bedroom apartment (https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/5887408) for 10 nights for my parents during a visit to see me in Australia, as the beautiful studio they previously stayed in was unavailable. Prior to our arrival, I found the host to be responsive and the location of the listing is certainly great being as it is a stone’s throw from the epicenter of lovely, lovely Newtown. We had hoped we were about to discover another local Airbnb gem, but unfortunately we were left very disappointed by this dirty, poorly appointed and dangerous listing. Not only did we have to formally complain to Airbnb, but my parents had to check out early and waste an entire day of their holiday sorting out new accommodation. I have pictures and videos of all the issues described below, which I provided to Airbnb with my complaint. To their credit, eventually, they agreed to refund us the un-used nights and have given me a $250 credit towards the 3 horrible nights my parents stayed in the listing. Unfortunately, Airbnb told me that because I didn’t physically stay in the apartment and because we didn’t complete the reservation, the review I have written will not be made public- and so the host will get to keep his 5 star listing… which I have no idea how he got in the first place.

Having purposely booked a 2-bedroom listing, we were disappointed that the second room was not made up as a bedroom (no bedlinen and futon folded up) and feel that the photo does not illustrate how low the ceiling is. However, our principle concern was in the master bedroom- the sharp, metal bedframe was extremely hazardous, especially as the room is quite dingy and cramped, and no bedside lamps were provided. We found much of the furniture to be very tatty, the bedlinen and towels in the apartment showed signs of age, and my parents were only provided with one towel and one pillow each. The cutlery was stained, sometimes broken, and not properly washed (some still had bits of food on), mugs were chipped, and glasses and a bowl were filled with dust. The top of the microwave, base of the toilet and bathroom exhaust fan were also extremely grimey. The host was not at all friendly or accommodating when they asked for a second pillow, bedside lights, or for bed linen for the second bedroom. He also dismissed my parents concerns about the dirty microwave saying “who is going to put things there?” which they found very unhelpful and a bit rude. Lastly, whilst there is a washing machine and the price is clearly given, the listing does not make it clear that guests are not permitted to access the machine by themselves. To get their clothes washed, they would have to give their dirty items to the host, who would then wash them and return them- wet, with a drying rack- for $8. I should add that this is the first and only time I have had to complain about an Airbnb listing in over 2 years of using the site- I’ve received a great feedback from and have left many positive reviews for other hosts: I certainly don’t make a habit of criticizing or whinging and have personally received excellent feedback. My biggest complaint is actually with Airbnb- they constantly changed their story at all stages of our complaint. One minute we were going to get a full refund, the next minute a partial refund, then no refund… it was time consuming and exhausting. To know here that they won’t publicize our experience feels like disingenuous censorship. So, repeat, DO NOT STAY HERE: https://www.airbnb.com.au/rooms/5887408

Terrible airbnb in Exeter, uk

Posted on

So, having booked 3 nights at a higher priced airbnb in Exeter, we arrive to find an old box in the bedroom, not enough towels for the expected guests, a dirty bathroom with no attempt to tidy up, a used old toilet roll in the loo and a stench of what smelt to me like cat piss throughout the property. Host suggested we don’t understand airebnb so it’s out fault! Short version is we didn’t stay, host got paid IN FULL! We got 1 night refunded and airbnb said they wouldn’t penalize the hosts.. the airbnb service is a joke.  Avoid at all costs !

HOSTS BEWARE! AIRBNB’S DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS!

Posted on

HOSTS BEWARE! AIRBNB’S DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS! LEGAL PROBLEMS: Airbnb has been banned in many cities. Hosts have been sued by the city, and fined thousands of dollars for hosting Airbnb guests. Neighbors and communities are protesting Airbnb hosting.

GUEST PROBLEMS: Airbnb hosts have had their homes totally trashed by guests, property damaged, stolen, requiring police intervention and legal action.

INSURANCE PROBLEMS: Airbnb’s “$1,000,000 host guarantee is a scam!” Airbnb runs hosts through hurdles, only to deny, greatly reduce, or ignore the claims in the end.

HOSTS USED, ABUSED & KICKED TO THE CURB: If a host exercises their right & files claims against guests security deposits due to damage, theft or violations of rules, they are kicked to the curb with no warning. Their listing(s) are deactivated and all bookings cancelled.

COLLATERAL DAMAGE TO GUESTS: When a host is kicked to the curb, so are their guests. Airbnb lies to the guests, telling them it was the host who cancelled their bookings, when in fact, both host and guests are victimized by Airbnb.

AIRBNB’S GREED: Airbnb collects a fee from both ends, the host and the guest. If a booking is cancelled, the only one guaranteed 100% payment is Airbnb.

SELLING YOUR SOUL TO THE DEVIL: For a little bit of money, hosts sacrifice their home, their privacy, their time, their freedom, their lives, and their pocketbook, only to be kicked to the curb by Airbnb after they have used and abused you, and replace you with new unsuspecting hosts that Airbnb pulls into their web of deceit.