Illegal Airbnb in LA Means Sneaking Around

We booked a two-bedroom apartment in Hollywood for 18 nights as our son is autistic and has allergies so we sometimes like to cook. A few days before our arrival, we received a message from the Superhost not to discuss Airbnb anywhere near the apartment or building; this was because the hotels in the area are losing a lot of money and are going to court to have Airbnb banned.

On our arrival to the apartment it was clear that Airbnb subletting in the apartment building was illegal as there were signs in the lift, entrance and parking lot. The person with our key was not the host but a friend. We also noticed that the carpets were heavily stained, the balcony light had blown out, the Sonos sound system was missing and one of the stovetop burners didn’t work. The next day we went to Walmart and spent $200 on food which was placed in the fridge and freezer.

When we woke the next morning we discovered that the freezer had stopped working; everything had defrosted and was ruined. I sent a message to the Superhost and discovered she was in Europe. I told her we wanted everything fixed. She made no mention of compensating us for the food. She then asked me to take the keys to her friend so they could arrange the repairs. As I was on holiday, I refused (I should not be running around after her). She couldn’t ask management to fix it as she was illegally subletting the apartment.

After much to-ing and fro-ing and abuse from the Superhost we requested a full refund and went to an hotel. Airbnb was good and sorted the refund out quickly. The Superhost gave me a refund because she knew she was in hot water with the apartment if they found out. I’m not sure we’ll use Airbnb again.

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3 Comments

  1. Let me give you people some insight what an illegal listing is in los angeles………1. Apartment buildings..why? because they do not allow short term rentals and subleasing…why do they care? because they would not be covered under their general liability insurance….its considered running a business……..2. All condominiums!! Why? Because Home Owners Association(HOA) does not allow short term rental just like previous example…..plus if you spend a ton of money on your condo..you do not want strangers living in your building that you dont know…you did not buy a condo thats like a motel…..plus buildings insurance forbids that..they will not cover any accident for every unit in that building………..

  2. How dare you judge us.
    Airbnb is not banned in LA. It is banned in this and i’m sure other apartments for subletting. We did do our research and could find no information. Plus we were only told this 2 days before travelling (most likely to stop us doing more research). The hotel we chose was over a $1000 cheaper so don’t call me a cheapskate you ignorant offensive idiot.

  3. Why didn’t you do your homework and checked whether Airbnb is banned in LA or not? You could have been evicted on the spot. Quite a gamble when travelling with an autistic child……. and that to save a couple of bucks…… It shows once again: Airbnb = 4 cheapskates:)

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