I stayed at a place in Lyon, France I booked on Airbnb. The host was in fact not an individual but representative of a company called Flat Fish, which manages a bunch of apartments in Lyon. I left the apartment in great shape, following all the checkout instructions.
The host wrote to me the next day (about 24 hours later) saying a radio was missing. I wrote back that I am not responsible (I did not even turn it on during my stay; I don’t know if it was working or not).
The host later filed a claim for 700 euros through the Airbnb resolution center. Doesn’t this sound like a scam? The evidence they presented was a photo of a table with nothing on it, saying “the radio was there.” I think it’s likely that other people (cleaners, property owners) entered the apartment after I left and before the host entered, but for some reason they accused me.
The host may not be in on this, but still she’s becoming an accessory. I am a model citizen, with a great career, no criminal record, no financial problems, and zero debt. Still, Airbnb took this seriously and are investigating it. This is not like I spilled coffee on their white sofa, what they are accusing me of is a crime, a serious theft. Shouldn’t they have gone to the police instead?
I really enjoyed using Airbnb in the last 4-5 years on more than ten occasions, but if they side with the host here then I would definitely not like to take such a risk again. What do you guys think?
As I read through the posts on this site, it appears that the host feels scammed, then the guest, then the host, then the guest again. Wow. It cuts both ways, honestly.
It could be something as simple as the thief being the one who rented the place before you, in particular if you didn’t look for the radio.
700 euros sounds fair if the next guests expected to find a radio there and needed to use it. Compensation to them plus covering the cost of getting a new radio. Of course, you shouldn’t be billed for this if the thief was someone else.
Post a link to the listing so we know who us doing this.