24 mm lenses are used for landscapes but not to describe reality or give an impression of how a room or apartment looks like hence majority of pictures in this site are outright deceiving as we experienced two times. It is indeed a short term vision to depict homes like that: surely most of the guests will have a wry feeling about the actual experience but be patient about it because “the host was so nice and after all, it was the site who orders the way it s being shot”.
Category Archives: Airbnb Guest Stories
These are real, uncensored stories from Airbnb Guests. We encourage our site visitors to read and share their Airbnb Guest Stories to help warn others of the dangers of using Airbnb, and consider using alternative options in the sharing economy.
AirBnB refused to publish my negative review
We stayed in an AirBnB flat in Istanbul for a week in Nov 2014. The host, Ercan, was in-hospitable. He informed us we were not welcome, and that we were cramping his style.He gave us a key the to external door. It didn’t work. We were forced to depend on other building residents for entry. The host stole my digital camera & transportation pass. Flat was supposed to have wifi and internet access. It didn’t. Was supposed to be walking distance to Blue Mosque. It wasn’t. I sent a truthful but negative review to AirBnB. They refused to publish it because the host failed to send a corresponding review re his experience as our host. — On the other hand, we spend an additional 3 days at another Istanbul flat and the Hostess, her home, and other guests were wonderful.
Waiting in the cold for a host that did not turn up
I booked three weeks of a room in London way in advance. Yesterday, I turned up there as the host said I can check it a 8 pm. Yes, it was late, and I did not like it very much because it was in Greater London, and took a long time to get there. Then when I arrived there, right on time, nobody was there. So I waited, it was very unpleasant, also very cold, and I felt unsafe (am female, and when you are not in one of the busy areas of London at night, it is not a good experience at all). A bit after one hour of waiting, I was too scared, and decided to look for another accommodation, so it took me over an hour to get into the centre of London (also cost me lots of money travelling there and back again). The host THEN contacted me (as I left a note in the letter box). Said she got held up by traffic (which is a joke because she also used the buses, like me, and there were NO issues, hardly any traffic in that area at all). And now she does not want to refund me my money.
at Artist’s Ditmas Pk 5 bedroom house
Here are the basics.
We made a reservation on AirBnB for a place in Brooklyn back in January for Thanksgiving 2014
The owner of that place cancelled in October due to neighbor issues.
A Customer Support Rep (Piper) Recommended a house at
407 Rugby Rd, Brooklyn, NY 11226, United States
Confirmation Code: 85XFA4
The house is advertised to handle 16+ people , 5 bedrooms.
When we showed up, we immediately realized the house could not safely handle anywhere near the 10 guests. We had paid $7000 for 8 nights and were very disappointed. The list of unlivable things about this house includes. Mold Everywhere, Ceiling falling in, Very Bad Odor, Very Cold, No Closets. No real Beds. The Unsafe issues include no railing , tiny steps , 4 foot head room to go down steps. No Fire Alarms. No windows downstairs.
The Case Manager Rae, told me to take pictures and list all the problems, in order to get us a full refund. We left in less than 20 minutes to book rooms at a hotel. No AirBnB houses were available in Brooklyn.
Even though we sent the pictures and a long list of the problems with the house. We only received a little over half our money back.
Once the case was closed we weren’t even allowed to post a review to warn others of this disaster, even though AirBnB was keeping over $2500 of a house they had recommended.
Fake villa
I tried to book a private villa in Jamaica this past week using airbnb. At the last minute I cancelled as I had a bad feeling because the price was so low and there were no reviews. I did a google image search and the images from the airbnb listing were stolen from another villa in Jamaica. I contacted airbnb and have heard nothing back yet. I am worried that my credit card has been compromised but am happy that I cancelled. Lesson learned: must have reviews and do your research!
Cancelled by host at last minute
In June we booked a place in Sydney, Australia for five days in October. Two weeks later it was cancelled and we booked another place. Two days before our arrival – by cruise ship from Los Angeles – we were advised the host had cancelled on us. So we arrive in Sydney with no place to stay and were put to considerable expense reorganizing our time in Australia. I figure the hosts get a better/longer booking and you are toast. I will never use, or recommend, Airbnb. Airbnb refunded our money but no compensation for additional expenses, not to mention stress and aggravation.
Long term cancellation policy disaster
I consider myself someone who researches things thoroughly before going through with them. I reserved a space on Airbnb for 30 days. On the page, it said a “moderate” cancellation policy applied. If I cancelled before 5 days before the check in date, I would get a full refund.
So I ended up doing just that, and got absolutely no refund. Apparently for reservations over 28 days, a “long term cancellation policy” applies. There is no mention of it anywhere. On inspection, it was mentioned on the email AFTER I reserved. If you dig deep into the site you can find it… however as a first time user, I had no reason to dig deep into the site. The listing said for the dates I reserved, a Moderate policy would apply.
This is completely a mistake on their end. After haggling with their customer reps, and learning that it was up to the host to refund me, I ended up losing $400 and getting refunded the rest. Not worth my time to press charges but honestly it was a total mistake on their end… never use this site unless you want to take a gamble.. once they have your money, they really don’t care.
FIRST AIRBNB FAILED EXPERIENCE DUE TO BAD COMMUNICATION FROM ALL SIDES and their website doesnt allow me to publish my review.
However the host published one about me which is fake.
Here you can see both reviews
I have been using airbnb and wimdu for more than two years now, always for long term bookings in flatshares and only for myself, as well as a carshare platform. I am an active member of the Ouishare community in Berlin as well as personal friends with the connector, Mr Donnerbrink and we actively promote new and old shared economy projects.
A couple of weeks ago I booked for the first time for short term for three persons. We wanted to attend the Armin Van Buren show in Valencia, Spain. I have my small doggie with me and we found no hotels in Valencia which accepted dogs, only tourist apartments. Also at the moment I have an injury in my hip which prevents me from climbing stairs. Knowing airbnb I felt more safe going through their service than risking getting scammed from some other random tourist ad on the internet. Initially we had requested two other bookings and for two nights, one of them was for the whole property and had been entirely prepaid. By Friday evening none of the hosts had replied and the bookings had expired. We decided to book with this host who had an INSTANT BOOKING button, and we had to postpone the trip for next day. When we were on our way, we still didnt have news from the host, only almost getting to Valencia I could reach him on the phone, and he didnt even know that we were coming because he hadnt checked his email. Airbnb customer services transferred money to my account, so that we could use a locker at the station, as we had to wait till late afternoon to check in because the host worked and couldnt be there earlier.
Late afternoon we had to get to the apartment, and we got late, not 45 min though, it was further than we expected and took us a while to find the place, we communicated on the phone with the host about this. We were assigned a double room and a kid s size bed in the living room, the latest didnt match with what the listing said. We really craved a shower in such hot weather, but there were no towels for us. Also we had no keys of the place and we were not given proper explanations about what we should expect. It started to get late in terms of getting ready for the show and have some dinner out, so we contacted airbnb customer service for help. After a few attemps to find a solution and somebody who emailed claiming having talked to the host and given instructions, which apparently was not true as the host explained later, a helpful agent offered to pay for a hotel. Unfortunately we could not find anything which accepted dogs in whole Valencia even if we were ready to pay very expensive. So we all stayed there and missed the show. The host came late night, we talked for a while, then he left and we went out really late to get something to eat. Next day we left mid-morning and went back to Alicante.
Contrary to what the host explains, we paid 40 euro for the night, I remember having put myself the empty coke and beer cans, as well as empty treat bags in a litter bag in the kitchen. Leaving the keys on the living room table and leaving bathtowels which the host only brought Sunday morning, folded over the double bed. In the nighttable there was a half smoked cigarette which we left untouched, and we left everything else as we found it. As all we used was the couch and bathroom. I dont know what the host means by saying not having cleaned. The shower was not clean at all, I must point out.
Furthermore, after we left Valencia, I SMSed the host several times, from both my German and Spanish phone numbers, to send the airbnb code, as he wasnt there when we left, and asked repeteadly to confirm if he got it. I never got any reply from him, I even asked the customer service to check with him if he had received it.
Next day I received an email from the customer service apologizing for not having been able to help and giving me a 300 euro voucher.
HOST S REVIEW
“Esta persona no es recomendable!! Me gustaría contaros la historia sobre esta persona y su comportamiento A todo esto es una reserva de 3 personas y un perrito por 34 euros. Para empezar llegaron 45 minutos más tarde,eso me hizo no poder atenderles y no poder entregar las llaves, yo les alquiló un habitación doble y una cama individual que tengo en el salón perfectamente acondicionada para dormir, incluso tengo un paraban de madera para cerrar el acceso. Esta chica al no gustarle el lugar, y no parar de poner pegas, Incluso llega a contactar con el grupo para decirles que tenía que dormir en un sofá improvisado, que buscar un sitio donde dormir dignamente. Finalmente se quedaron aquí a dormir y al día siguiente se fueron sin limpiar y sin tirar todas las latas de cerveza que se bebieron por la noche. Voy a subir fotos del supuesto sofá improvisado donde no se podía dormir dignamente . Posdata: no acoger a este tipo de personas, todo son pegas exigencias y quebraderos de cabeza. Somos apartamentos compartidos no suites de hotel
The host totally misrepresented the accommodation in the listing, had no idea about what airbnb was about as it seemed normal to him to explain that he didnt have time to check internet, even if he used an INSTANT BOOKING BUTTON. He was not friendly at all, with nasty comments, such as: did you expect that i sleep here tonight, my *ss, i wont, I am going to sleep somewhere else. I felt extremely sorry about his doggy who literally lived in the kitchen balcony deprived of all human contact and caring, except the daily two short walks for poos and pees and being fed.
Careful with unsuccessful bookings!!!
Be very careful booking with Airbnb since it happened already multiple times in my case that the owner didn’t respond within 24h and in the end three bookings later hundreds of dollars were frozen on your bank account for several days…without a single successful booking! This is ridiculous, you will pay even before any confirmation. I would never go with them again. Horrible customer service as well, no chance to really contact them!!! Plenty of other opportunities to get cheap accommodations and they will only charge you after a successful booking!