Followed Airbnb’s Rules and Got Shafted for it

I run a business where I frequently use Airbnb’s services for myself and crew from Washington to California on a bimonthly basis for the last five years spending tens of thousands of dollars with all (but one) perfect reviews from hosts. This last trip, while cleaning up, we did a load of dishes in the dishwasher; it leaked on tje floor, but went unnoticed.

I got a request from the host for $1,000 for damage done to the floor in front of the dishwasher (apparently the dishwasher leaked and warped a 2×2 section of flooring in front of it). I refused the request for payment and called Airbnb to explain the leaking dishwasher was not intentionally done by us. Airbnb said they would look into it.

Two weeks later, at 2:30 AM, I received a text from Airbnb that they determined I was at fault, and now the bill for repairs was $2,500, due immediately. Without waiting for a reply from me, within seconds, I received a text from Airbnb saying an attempt to withdraw the $2,500 from my checking account failed and threatened that any funds from any current reservation by me could be forfeited.

What right does Airbnb have to withdraw funds automatically, without my permission, to resolve a dispute? I immediately called Airbnb to find out why the request for funds went from $1,000 to $2,500 and why in the hell they attempted to withdraw funds from my account without my permission. I have been waiting two days for an answer with an additional five calls to Airbnb to get answers.

Posted in Airbnb Guest Stories and tagged , , , , , .

2 Comments

  1. That headline title seems like something a misleading news media organization (regardless of ownership) would use.

    You did not get shafted for following the rules. You got “shafted” for the damage.

    A more accurate title would have been “Airbnb tried to collect money for alleged damages without my consent” or “AirBNB attempts to charge my account without consent for alleged damages after I denied their request to do so.”

    Starting off by indicating that you were punished for following rules makes me wonder if someone can trust that your story is accurate or if you are someone who often twists and changes things to create a new version of a story that you prefer for people to believe.

    Also, no one should ever attempt to automatically withdraw from someone’s account without at least their FULL knowledge of it possibly happening first, regardless of situation, in most cases. Especially don’t do it if I denied a request the first time! I want to be FULLY AWARE of any attempt to withdraw funds from my account BEFORE the attempt is made. I don’t want it to be implied that I should know it would happen because I automatically agreed to a circumstantial agreement by making reservations, etc. If I cannot be reached, that’s a different story. But, if I find out an attempt to collect money from my account will occur, I will definitely be reachable in some way, especially if I believe it is an unfair or unjust charge.

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