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.

Kaneohe Frat House Leaves Older Guests in the Wind

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Camping on the beach would have been much better than staying in this Airbnb hovel. Do not believe everything you read. The pictures were misleading. It was advertised as a shared, private room that sleeps four. We had three adults over 50. We were shown the property by a fourth guest, presumably sharing the second room with the co-host who was not there; she was out somewhere getting an inflatable mattress for us. All five of us (we didn’t know if any other surprise guests would turn up) were supposed to use the one, only bathroom (pictured) on the premises.

As far as I can remember our “private” room may not have even had a door. The premises, I hesitate to even call it an apartment, was a mess. You would think the hosts would straighten things out, but why? They already got their money. We cancelled on the spot, and the host told us she called Airbnb to arrange a refund. Thinking it was a full refund, I called Airbnb about it and was told the hosts only agreed to refund for the taxes, cleaning (What cleaning? It was not cleaned before us), and for the already acquired air mattress. This gives new meaning to “Air” bnb. To top things off, the host called me a liar for me telling Airbnb she promised a full refund. Yes, I cancelled. I suggested a 50% refund. There was no reply. I never met the real hosts. Airbnb does not vet its hosts or properties. Let the buyer beware.

Host Cancelled 48 Hours Prior to Our Stay

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We booked a trip for Dana Point, Calfornia on Airbnb. The host cancelled the booking 48 hours prior to the arrival time. He had double booked the property with another site. We booked the property at least 30 days in advance and called us the last couple days mentioning that he had double booked and cancelled our reservation.

We feel cheated and discriminated against. He probably got a higher price for the property and rented to the other parties. Another reason is because of our race. If we would have been white or Caucasian, then I am sure he wouldn’t have cancelled our trip. He lied and mentioned that the other party had booked the trip seven months ago.

Airbnb couldn’t do anything except to transfer the credit to another property, for which we needed to find a host ourselves. They weren’t very helpful in finding a host for other properties so we are stranded with a big group without any place to stay for a long holiday weekend. People have paid for airline tickets for the gathering and all they could do was apologize. Their policy is favoring the host and leaving the guest stranded. I would never trust or use Airbnb again. I would recommend others not use this service as there are other sites that are more helpful.

Dishonest Host Takes Advantage of Airbnb and Decent People

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I booked a room in Clearwater, Florida for a month with the most evil, manipulative and dishonest woman I have meet in my life. I do not recommend this room to anybody; it was a nightmare. The air conditioning didn’t work right, my room in the afternoon was so hot that I had to stay out, the ceiling fan didn’t work, and the glass lamp felt off, so I couldn’t even use it.

The host was expecting to get a new roof during my stay, and moved me to a room in her house as her convenience – another problem. She knew of all this but did not tell me at the time of my booking. The ceiling in the bedroom was all damaged, with open holes; it was disgusting. The door didn’t close properly, so anybody could get in or out of my bedroom without my permission.

The host couldn’t care less about my concerns. One day I came back to my bedroom. The door was open and the smell of fish was so strong that even my clean shirts smelled bad. She didn’t have the decency of closing my bedroom door when she was cooking. From the first day I got there I told her my concerns about the heat in the bedroom; she told me that the air conditioning was off, and added that the cleaning lady left it off and that was the reason for the bedroom to be so hot – another lie. Day after day, she manipulated the air conditioning; one day it was okay, and the next it was off, really making it a hot room.

The worst thing was her intrusive and imposing behavior. She kept inviting me to drink beer, and I kept telling her that I don’t drink. She ignored my words, and every day kept inviting me out to go dancing and do other activities. I told her I wasn’t interested, but she would not stop pressuring me. I started to feel intimidated by her abusive behavior.

Another concern was she had a obsessive compulsive control issue; everywhere you looked was a little piece of paper telling you what you can do or not do in the house. There were paper posts all over the house which made me feel like I was in a military camp: so many rules. She also told me things that I was not interested in hearing, bad mouthing all the guests that gave her bad reviews in the past (she is always the victim).

The garden was a mess. There was no way anybody could sit and relax on that patio. They had chairs that didn’t work. She even told me to be careful about the rats, and the coyotes. How could you live or enjoy a whole month in a place like this?

At the time I didn’t know one could call Airbnb and make a complaint, and I am sure many new Airbnb users had similar experiences but are not familiar with all the rules. I also tried to sit and read in the living room when my bedroom was too hot, but it was not a very cozy place. The whole house was full of objects and boxes that the host used to sell online. She was also trying to sell me a bicycle. I even hurt my knee one night when I needed to go to the kitchen by hitting the same bike she was trying to sell me: she left it next to the kitchen sink, and she keep bringing up the idea of how nice it would be for me to have a bicycle.

After seven day of broken promises, she didn’t fix anything and kept up her abusive behavior. I dint know what else could I do; I was in her house. I told her again about the air conditioning. I was so tired of this situation and I decided to leave. She begged me not to call or report her to Airbnb and “promised” to pay me back the other three weeks I hadn’t stayed. I believed her. I thought there was a bit of decency in this woman; I even felt sorry for her.

A few hours later, somebody from Airbnb call me and promised to resolve the situation. I was surprised because I hadn’t reported her. The host called them. She went about her manipulative ways, called Airbnb, and told them that I had decided to leave. She knew that I was new in this kind of situation and took advantage of the opportunity. Airbnb told me that without any pictures, written complaints, or any proof, they couldn’t help me. I paid $1,250 for a whole month’s rental and stayed only one week. The hostess never paid me back the money she promised. She is a scam artist, and now I know better. I just hope that my terrible experience with Airbnb prevents other decent people like me from been used and robbed.

How can Airbnb Approve Properties like this?

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We were very unhappy when we arrived for our weekend break which was for our son’s wedding. We felt unable to stay in this property for the following reasons. We are a couple in our early sixties and this would have been our first Airbnb experience; the company had been highly commended through our friendship group.

The single most important reason for choosing this property was because of its location and the price suggested it would be of a higher standard. The reality of the flat bore no resemblance to the image presented in the photo. Probably the best way to make this point would be through the quality of the stair carpet, the bedding, and the towels which we felt were substandard. We were going to a wedding and there was no wardrobe space for our clothes. The bathroom was of a very low standard and frankly was damp smelling.

The overall feeling we got was that this was someone’s home minus the occupant who had simply vacated it but crucially made no provision for us as temporary tenants. Absolutely everything was left in its own place. We found it very difficult to criticize someone’s home in this way but we felt that we could not stay and immediately made alternative arrangements. We do not know how Airbnb can give their stamp of approval to properties under their umbrella but we feel that if they were to make an inspection then they would agree with our opinion. We very much hope that it will be possible to receive a full refund of the monies we paid.

I had the worst experience of my life booking with Airbnb

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I’ve got the worst experience of my life booking with Airbnb. My host cancelled my stay the day I landed in New York. After 2.5 hours spent chatting with the customer care without finding a solution, I was told by my representative that she would have finish her journey shortly and another person would take care of my situation soon. I was contacted two days later after opening a complaint against them.

It isn’t over yet. Since I had no place to go I decided to book a hotel (only 3% were available that day), then asked Airbnb for a full refund of the difference I had to pay between the hotel and my room ($600). After about ten days of emails back and forth they agreed to a payment of $300. Be aware your host can cancel your reservation; you won’t have a full refund and potentially no place to go.

Beware Airbnb’s Cancellations and Currency Conversions

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I used Airbnb a few years ago for accommodation in New Zealand and it couldn’t have been better – easy to book and great accommodation. The second time I used Airbnb was to book accommodation in Perth last Christmas. I booked months in advance, but the booking was cancelled by the host a few weeks before the trip because he suddenly “wasn’t going to be around.” In other words, best of luck to the customer – go sort it out yourself.

The third time I booked accommodation in Melbourne for July and was stung by Airbnb’s trick of charging in USD (same as many others by the look of it on a “com.au” website. It’s not unreasonable to expect to pay in AUD unless it’s as clear as dog’s balls that you’re not. I requested a refund. The host was okay with it but Airbnb was going to keep over $200 for their so-called service fee. I agreed with the host to shorten my stay to reduce the pain.

A couple of weeks later, my booking was cancelled by the host as they’d decided to “no longer offer short stays.” I wasn’t even informed that it was cancelled; I saw a refund appear in my bank account and had to ask what was going on before they confirmed that it had been cancelled. Classy on every level. This has been the worst online accommodation booking experience ever.

The system used by Airbnb is shakier than my mum’s 12-year-old dog trying to go to the toilet after she’d got to those burritos she shouldn’t have had. The biggest shame is that their website is really good and easy to use. My suggestion is if you find a place you like on Airbnb, see if you can book it via a different booking agent (e.g. one with some principles) as many of these places are also listed on other sites.

To summarize, here are some analogies for you: if Airbnb was buying your Secret Santa gift, you’d get a voucher for a store somewhere in a foreign country that you’d be unable to use, and it would be expired already. If Airbnb was your girlfriend, she’d walk up to you wearing lingerie, tell you to wait in the bedroom for her, then leave you waiting there whilst she went and married someone else. If Airbnb was a rock band they’d be Nickelback.

Guest Ripped off by Host’s False Promise to Refund

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I booked accommodation advertised on AirBnb on October 19th, 2017 for our nieces and nephews attending our daughter’s wedding from February 18th to 21st, 2018. It wasn’t possible to see the exact location as Airbnb only provides a circle in which the property lie, no address.

The property was very nice and within a few minutes of our house. The full amount needed to be paid immediately and the host required a 50% non-refundable deposit. After the full payment had been taken off our credit card by Airbnb, we received the address, and realized that there were safety concerns. The property was on the other side of the railway line from us and our guests would need to use a subway to get to our house. We contacted the host immediately explaining our concerns and asking if she would consider waiving the 50% deposit. As it was immediate, she agreed in writing and we cancelled with Airbnb. Airbnb’s portion was refunded quite soon, but they said the host had to give permission for them to release her portion.

Sufficed to say, over 20 emails to the host and seven months later, we have not managed to get a penny from her. I am handing this matter over to a debt collecting firm, as I have it in writing that she agreed to pay. She has had a long term rental on the property, our dates falling in that period. Unfortunatey, this will be an expensive business, as one is only given a client custom email address by Airbnb. So there will be tracing fees involved. Feeling ripped off and sad. Make sure you have someone who is conversant with the pitfalls of Airbnb when you book.

Abandoned by Airbnb after Fraudulent Host Swapped Houses

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It’s almost impossible to find a place to lodge a complaint or comment on Airbnb, so I’ll do it here. Our dream vacation to Cancun was entirely ruined when a deceptive host picked us up at the Cancun airport and dropped us at an entirely different house than the one we rented with no mention of any change in venue.

We initially booked a beautiful beachfront property in the hotel zone and arrived in Cancun, excited and ready for R&R and lots of beach time. What we were dropped off at (by the host’s representative) was a house on the Lagoon (the mosquitoes and crocodiles were just dandy) and a house that was rundown, dirty and quite insufficient for our party of six. It was certainly not what we rented and Airbnb easily acknowledged that fact.

After 24 hours of phone time with Airbnb and a cancelled reservation (Airbnb did that), a near fistfight with the owner of the fraudulent house where we were dropped, a host who was initially unresponsive and then unapologetic and belligerent, we were basically without a place to stay in a foreign country during spring break. We were thrown to the wolves by Airbnb.

Airbnb refused to help us find or fund hotel lodging in the Cancun hotel zone (it was more expensive) and there was no other housing available during this peak time in our target area. We gave them the names of several hotels in the right area that had availability. No go. The most they would concede (even though they acknowledged the fraud) was a 10% concession for a new booking, but the end result was that we would have to find and book the property ourselves.

We did eventually find a nice house inland and that host was great, but we were forced to rent a car at a cost of $500 and fight traffic, find parking and travel one hour each way to access the beach. It was not fun. It was not relaxing. It was exhausting. It was generally an awful vacation because of the housing issues.

We were pulled over by a corrupt policeman who demanded a $96 bribe to not give us a ticket (careful tourists – Cancun cops are on the take). That’s just another trickle down effect of the housing fraud, as we shouldn’t have been driving at all. We should have been relaxing on the beach. Airbnb should have honored their guarantee and funded a hotel in the same area that we booked our vacation.

The worst part is that despite our complaints, this host is still managing 24 properties in Cancun on Airbnb (six weeks later). There seem to have been no repercussions at all for him. I am horrified that he was not removed as a host after what he pulled, and after what Airbnb acknowledged that they knew he pulled. They were aware of the whole sad scenario.

Why is this fraud tolerated among Airbnb hosts? When I complained to Airbnb, someone responded, “Oh, we handled it. The house was removed from our listings”. It was not the house that committed this fraud; it was this host.

As far as we’re concerned, never again, Airbnb. What a horrible experience. I spent the first 24 hours crying and frantically worrying about what we would do as I had been the person in our party of six who was responsible for booking lodging. My whole party spent the rest of our hard earned vacation unable to do the things we planned for our vacation. Shame on all of them. Airbnb, honor your commitments.

Last Minute Cancellation, No Response From Airbnb

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Our first ever Airbnb booking was cancelled this morning, two days before we were due to land in London. Airbnb sent a text message saying they had emailed us with an offer of 10% off an alternative booking. No such email arrived. I called them; they said a Case Manager would call me to assist. I called back again two hours later and there was no Case Manager to speak to. I was told a refund could take more than two weeks.

When I made this booking, had I cancelled it even an hour after having made it, I would have been charged 50% of the fee I paid but there is no meaningful compensation for the host having cancelled at the last minute. I have now had to book a hotel in London, costing a lot more, and Airbnb cannot even be bothered speaking to me about what is literally a breach of contract. I have other bookings with Airbnb for this trip throughout Europe and now don’t know whether we will even have accommodation when we get there. This is thoroughly unprofessional, skewed in the hosts’ favour and I will never, ever use Airbnb again.