… so a host (very understandably) did not accept your request to be paid in cash (which is unorthodox, a huge risk, and could end in them losing out on those dates if you didn’t pay) and then verbally abused them.

The hostility from the host and the accusation about lying is rude for sure, I’ll give you that. but as you said, this person doesn’t know you from a hole in the wall and is well within their rights to not accept a booking from a total stranger. I have never heard of a host being okay with being paid cash on the day of.

Sounds like airbnb made the right decision here. Buy a prepaid visa gift card in the future.

About half a year ago, I sent a message to a host asking for info and I asked him if he would accept being paid cash at my arrival as I didn’t have a bank account, hadn’t had one for many years and never use Paypal or other online financial transaction services (and as the rent period was starting the next day or the day after, the normal rules for cancelling registration etc. would not apply anyway). I got a hostile reply in return, in which the host was accusing me of lying about not having a bank account, and told me to “tell the truth” (remember, this was someone who did not know me and who I had never seen in my entire life). I got so angry with that attitude that – knowing I would lose any chance of getting the room – I immediately sent him a message repeating I have no bank account, and I have to admit I was so furious I was, let’s say, “calling him names”. I didn’t care, at that point. I got no further reply but shortly afterwards, someone from AirBnB messaged me, telling me my account was suspended (or they may have used the word “inactivated”, not sure), for violating rules about respecting other BnB users’ human rights! I guess this means I was banned. I sent a message back explaining the situation, and carefully adding I would never knowingly violate their human rights, or agree with their human rights being violated (my personal opinions about them having no bearing upon my respecting anyone’s human rights). I think I got one reply back saying there was nothing she could do about it as those were their rules. I sent one short reply back, insisting on what I already said previously but didn’t hear from them again since.

This was the last I heard from them and of course I can’t use that account anymore which implies any communication which I had ongoing with other hosts was made impossible by that fact.

I can understand people renting their apartments or rooms to perfect strangers have to be careful but this was a bad experience for me.