We arrived at the designated apartment building in Montreal on a Friday evening around 6:45. The person at the front desk knew nothing about Airbnb and called the building manager. He searched and advised us that there were no keys left for us. I texted, then called the host at the number she provided – only to hear an answering machine message in French. I proceeded to call various numbers for Airbnb including the one listed under “In case of Emergency” to no avail. I called Corporate Stays to learn that this reservation was not made through them so they couldn’t help. After much frustration and exhaustion I proceed to look for available hotel rooms, which I finally had success with at 10:50. We booked a hotel room for three nights for twice the price we already paid for Airbnb. I texted Airbnb asking for a refund since I couldn’t use the apartment and their response was that the host’s cancellation policy was “strict”; my refund would be zero. After this experience I will never use Airbnb again. Their customer service sucks so they must attract a lot of scammers. All the numbers provided had automated messages that never led to a human being. The building manager at the apartment house stated that the host is “very sloppy” and he would never do business with her. I will give her a negative review, and also get American Express involved in the dispute if I get no satisfaction on a full refund. I also expect to be reimbursed for my hotel stay. A woman from Australia was stuck in the same situation as we were and she’s an employee of Airbnb. She tried to help us but to no avail. However, she assured us that refunds and a free hotel stay would be ours.
