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Infestation = $9 Refund on a $750 Charge

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My current Airbnb is not at all as described: there has been a carpenter ant infestation for the past week and a half where there are literally hundreds of them in the kitchen on the floor, shelves, and cabinets. I have been unable to cook because of it. In addition, there are cockroaches in the hallway and stairs.

The house is very dirty and under maintained overall. Many of the photos do not match the description. For example, there is supposed to be a “garden” in the yard but it is overrun with old chairs, wood planks, construction material, and leaf debris. The pool is empty, the “library” is a shelf with books covered in dust with broken glass on the floor (no joke), and the stove does not work as it was promised to be fixed on day two of my stay.

My host claims fees such as laundry or A/C are separate but in the description they were said to be included. I disputed this to Airbnb and I was switched to three different case managers in the process. They refused to give me a refund, and I left my Airbnb early (more like as soon as I possibly could). My Airbnb was $17/night. I left a full four days early and got back nine dollars in total.

The reason they dismissed my case is because the host provided “alternate photos” of dishes being left out, claiming this to be the cause for the hundreds of ants and cockroaches. My roommate and I never cooked in the kitchen because of the bugs; we wasted so much money on eating out because it was too disgusting to cook in there.

The son who lived in the house and used our kitchen always left dishes out – they were not ours. A few dishes does not result in the infestation of hundreds of vermin: only months of neglect, water damage, unfixed holes and leaks, and vile conditions will result in this. Absolutely ridiculous. I’ve been in touch with Airbnb and they immediately sided with the host.

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

3 Comments

  1. I have also had a similar experience with Airbnb. after 3 nites of a 7 nite stay the bedbug issue was too much so we left for a hotel. We were in an area of mexico where having a home exterminated would take a few days minimum and we simply didn’t want to stay another few days of this bug problem. We were sleeping out on the patio by this time. Long story short we posted a negative review. Very shortly afterwards the review dissapeared. I have communicated many times with Airbnb regarding this issue. Their response was my review violated their standards. I only mentioned the bug issue. Airbnb has done their best not to reply or simply say the matter was closed. I assume the matter closed the second they removed the negative interview. This brings me to the conclusion that reading Airbnb reviews is a very biased way to confirm you are getting a nice place. Only stellar reviews are allowed to be posted. —–BEWARE—-

  2. Cancel the charge through your credit card company. Clearly you signed up for something that you didn’t receive. I would keep fighting. Speaking as a host, I always feel as if I get the short end of things, too. However, this host did not follow the rules and provide what was promised.

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