Less Safety and Trustworthy Guarantee on Airbnb?

We booked a house with this host from December 30th, 2016 until January 1st, 2017. He had two properties: one for a maximum of ten people, and another for a maximum of fourteen people. I told him that I needed the 14-person house and then we paid. We had nine people, all with big suitcases. We knew some hosts do not reveal the real capacity of their properties for comfort level, so we thought we would take a precautionary step. We arrived, and we were still placed in the smaller room. The nightmare started right away. After we paid, we couldn’t reach the host. Neither phone calls (at least ten times) or messages on Airbnb would receive any response. Some of us needed to stay in living room (his beds were only enough for six adults). Every corner was filled with dust like no one had been cleaning. There was a smelly toilet, and no extra blankets for the winter weather.

After 24 hours and many requests to change or cancel the booking, the host finally responded: “I thought you had a sufficient number of Japanese style beds.” That’s all he answered. Therefore, any host who wants to make quick money in this irresponsible manner should use Airbnb. They know Airbnb does not have much of a hold on their behavior, so as long as they make money, why should they care about anything else? Airbnb can say that there are many more good experiences, but how about all these irresponsible hosts? Who can take action against them? The host’s profile showed others’ reviews. Are these reviews just plain words? Can they be respected? Or is this just a trick from Airbnb to dilute the guest’s anger and complaints, e.g. “I heard you but sorry, I cannot do anything.” Both Airbnb and the host are still making money. The host can choose to not answer our calls and messages during our stay. What if an accident or safety issue happened and no one responded? I have to put my money and life at risk, just because I booked on Airbnb?

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