Paranoia: How Easy is it for Stalkers to use Airbnb?

Posted on January 31, 2017

I am writing to you to raise an issue about an Airbnb property rental on August 3rd, 2015. After using their service over many years, I only had positive references from hosts, though I did have some odd situations where I felt I was being stalked but nothing serious enough to have my accounts closed. After I began to get stalked when an incident on Twitter got out of hand, these online trolls began to target me on other websites. I still managed to find two great properties and some nice hosts. After being stalked in public unrelated to Airbnb, one host didn’t show up to meet me and his address was incorrect; I had to ask them to help me find a different place at the last minute. I found some lovely places where the hosts immediately offered me accommodation and they had secure references. Unfortunately because of the individuals stalking me, somebody contacted Airbnb and closed down my account, their excuse being because I asked them who exactly was behind messing with me. I was forced to return to the UK as I couldn’t find alternatives that weren’t Airbnbs or hostels.

I had reserved another place in advance through Airbnb. My account was reopened but after I asked them for clarification through a polite email if a third party had been behind what happened abroad, they canceled my reservation and closed my account permanently with no explanation. My solicitor tried to get them to provide a legal reason, and their response was: “We as Airbnb have the right to cancel anyone’s account without providing a valid explanation.” Since then, we haven’t had any further clarification. It’s been three years and I have been struggling to find another rental. My previous references from people I rented from were on Airbnb, so if I find a property they will ask me to provide a reference from a previous rental. I can’t do this since my account was closed down and I have no access to any of these hosts I rented from. They shouldn’t allow third party individuals or companies to manipulate their organization on whether I can or can’t use their service, or to spy on users. Support guests as much as hosts who are being troubled by online trolls or stalking problems that weren’t their fault.

The consequences of having my rentals closed had an extremely negative effect on my future travel plans in 2015. A guest’s personal possessions are not insured but of course, the host’s are. So if a friend of the host comes along and tries to steal your stuff, it’s gone. For a laugh, the corrupt company has even added a woman to their homepage that resembles me, as a piss take on me. This is how extremely arrogant they are; this wrecked three years of my life. Not only did they cause severe grievances that were a consequence of what happened thereafter, they have been arrogant to use a member as their “theme” on their site, instead of being professional and keeping quiet about what they participated in – discriminant and illegal. They are absolute hypocrites. They don’t seem to have any respect for users’ privacy so I most likely will never be able to use them again.

Somebody had told me a media production might have been stalking me through this rental service. I didn’t think that was possible until I noted recently they have even posted three film directors on their front page that have no relevance to renting. What are they doing? Hiding cameras in people’s bedrooms as part of a snuff film? They are the typical silicon valley “we’re nice hipsters but secretly we’re planing on using you, ruining your life and future plans, and closing all your rentals and accounts. We are millionaires and you’re an insignificant guest; we can do what we want.”

If you look at all the other rental providers, they have struggled to offer nice properties because Airbnb has been hogging all the best available short-term sublets. At least that’s what one rental company told me when I was struggling to find a place: they said they didn’t stand a chance in offering a lot of available places as Airbnb was taking all of them.

So if your account gets unfairly closed down, you need a flexible rental service that doesn’t ask for rental guarantors and other references, if you’re worried about your safety and are in need of finding a rental that shows exactly with whom you’re sharing and that they have been securely verified, there are very few platforms like Airbnb offering those. I tried Spareroom and Gumtree and got messed about by weirdos and trolling kids. I am desperate to find a nice home. The last time I tried to get in touch they refused to reply to my emails. Are there any other similar alternatives for rentals in the EU if not the USA, that show with whom you will be sharing the property, with profiles and verifications?

Airbnb: Worst Customer Service In The World

Posted on January 9, 2017

I was a host with Airbnb and for whatever reason they disabled my account with no explanation. I tried contacting them over 100 times, and all I got was a runaround and no explanation as to why they took the actions they did. Airbnb is making billions of dollars right now so I guess they feel like they can treat all their guests and hosts like pieces of trash off the street. I want to do everything in my power to try to shut them down, or alter their income in any way I can. They have the worst customer service I have ever experienced in my life, I don’t understand how a company making billions of dollars can’t spend a few extra dollars on their customer service to accommodate their guests and hosts. I only found this site out of the frustration I was going through after going through Airbnb customer service hell. I knew there had to be a platform like this, as I thought I could not be the only one going through this experience. It is only a matter of time before a real competitor steps up to the plate, busts Airbnb’s bubble, and they float back down to earth and realize what they are doing is not right.

All of you that have been through the Airbnb nightmare: we have to unite and somehow stick it to them. After all, they do say there is power in numbers. I love hosting and I will not let Airbnb dictate what I can and cannot do, with no good reason or explanation as to why they terminated me. The best thing we can do as frustrated and pissed off guests and hosts is to bring the business to their competitors; I see that being the only way to stick it to them, and hit them where it hurts in their pocket books. Please, everyone that reads this post should check out Homestay, FlipKey, Tripadvisor or Homestayin. Out of all these sites I find Homestay to be the best alternative to Airbnb; they are still upcoming and not that well known, but the more exposure they get and as the word gets out they will be just as big as Airbnb, minus the horrible customer service and lack of appreciation for their hosts and guests. Please everyone who has gone through the nightmare with this overpaid unappreciative company: please do your part and spread the word about their competitors.

Airbnb Cancelled My Account and All Bookings

Posted on December 28, 2016

I was a superhost. My listing was always booked which means I was making Airbnb the 18% commission they get from each booking. My reviews were amazing, averaging to 4.7 Stars. My location prevented getting 5 stars. I am 6 miles from the local attractions and most found that 6 miles was worth not giving 5 stars, but that’s okay. Many of my guests just raved about how I was the best Airbnb experience they ever had. I was listed with instant book, meaning that I welcomed anyone into my home that booked. I never cancelled the first guest. My criminal background is clean as a whistle and I never did anything that would go against Airbnb’s Terms of Service. Hurricane Matthew came around and I had many guests cancel. That was all good. Of course this applied as extenuating circumstances and guests received full refunds. The Hurricane was on a Friday. On Monday I checked my inbox and saw nothing but cancellations. I was panicked, scared, and in disbelief. So because I was a superhost I had a direct phone number for Airbnb that got priority service. I was panicked but I knew that Airbnb would help me fix this right away as I figured it was just a glitch in their system. The customer service representative who answered the phone was also shocked, said that they would escalate it, and a manager would call me in a few hours.

So I waited. The call never came so I called back in four hours. I was then told that I do not exist in the Airbnb system and they could not find my account. However, I was told not to worry; they would take care of this and a manager would call me back. We played this phone tag game for three days. Finally I received an email from Airbnb and told me I had been dismissed from Airbnb and this decision was irreversible. I was told that no further support would be available for me and that they were under no legal obligation to provide a reason. They cancelled my account.

I was devastated. I was in love with hosting. It was the best experience of my life. I never received any bad guests or reviews. I had one guest whose father in law passed away a few hours before boarding a flight to come and spend the weekend with me. Needless to say, calling Airbnb to cancel was not her highest priority. I offered her a full refund and she refused. So I told her when she is ready to rebook, the trip would already be paid when she arrived. I advised I would just credit her the money towards a future booking. The greatest sadness I felt through all of this was that I could not honor that lady’s booking. I do not have her contact information as all of that was removed when Airbnb cancelled my account without warning or explanation. One guest cancelled six hours before his arrival time and Airbnb gave him a full refund and a $100 credit to stay elsewhere. I feel abandoned and just saddened by the loss of hosting and all that the Airbnb community stood for. Despite all the horror stories you may read I was in love with the program. I still do not have anything negative to say about the company other than the way they cancelled the guests with no explanations and no warnings. I live in a major city so the chances of finding last minute accommodations are slim to none.

Account Hacked, Payment Withheld by Airbnb

Posted on December 4, 2016

My account was hacked sometime before October 17th. I realized something was wrong one week later, because I could not receive the emails my future host was sending me, and I wrote Airbnb asking for help. There was no reply. On November 6th I realised, entering my account via Facebook, the system didn’t recognise my email, my account had been hacked, and my email address had been substituted with another. I was not able to change it back again, because I was asked for a password that I didn’t have, as it had been changed as well by the hackers. From that moment on I wrote six emails to safety@airbnb.com and never received a reply. I kept calling the assistance number in Rome and every time I was kindly told that they would take care of the problem.

On November 23rd, as no one had helped me yet, I tried something different: I cancelled my account. I could do it with no password, just a click. Then I called the number again in Rome, fearing that I would not be paid the following month, for the guest I am currently hosting, and again urging them to find a resolution to my case. I received two different replies: according to the first person I talked to, I wouldn’t receive any payment, because my account had been cancelled; it didn’t matter if my guest paid and or if I was out there without an account. Airbnb had my IBAN. That made me furious. The second person I spoke to told me to keep quiet, because I would receive my payment on time, even without an account. Well, I waited until today, because my payment was due yesterday. In the meantime I wrote two more emails to safety@airbnb.com, telling that I had cancelled my account, yet I was expecting a payment. There was no reply. Today I have called again and have been told that the payment has been blocked by them and there seems to be no way out other than to keep waiting for Airbnb to solve the problem. I have a long-term guest, who will stay here until June for 600 euro a month; she can’t cancel, because she would have penalties that we were not able to measure. So for the moment she is paying Airbnb for a month’s rent and they are not forwarding the payment to me. I am really angry and don’t know what to do…

Airbnb will Take your Money then Cancel your Account

Posted on October 17, 2016

We booked a three-bedroom unit in London for a week, with our host, “Caroline”. After a few days, Caroline informed us via the Airbnb email system that she was cancelling the reservation because the unit was booked on another website. Really disappointing, but I guess that happens. So we started over and found another three-bedroom unit we liked with a new host, “Lola”. Lola had some great reviews. Again, I prepaid the entire reservation on my Visa and it seemed like we were all set. Then we received another message from Airbnb stating that our payment method was not valid, our new reservation had been cancelled, and our Airbnb account was to be closed immediately. Our payment method was certainly valid and in fact Airbnb had now charged us for two reservations. I called our credit card company (Citibank) and they said that no refunds had been processed. Now, I’ve booked a hotel and I’m fighting with Airbnb to get my money back. They say they have processed the refunds, but Citibank says they have not. What an amazing scam… I mean service.

Extortion Results in Airbnb Superhost Punished

Posted on September 20, 2016

I have a story for everyone in the Airbnb community. I am a superhost with over 180 glowing reviews and have listings – had, actually – in Quito, Aruba, and Miami. Last month I received a request from a group of first timers: no reviews; two women, one man. The interaction during the booking process was strange but I figured someone has to give people their first chance. They requested one night. They arrived at 6:00 AM when check in is 3:00 PM, spent all day out, and left early the next morning. The following week one of the women wrote to me: “Hi, your father touched me inappropriately. I am offended. Refund me.” Mind you, my mom and dad are in their 70s, married for 50 years, and there is a full-time maid at the house. I contacted Airbnb customer support to ask them to handle the extortionist and I did not engage with her anymore. The guest kept asking for money several times.

I received a message from someone at Airbnb saying something along the lines of: “I am a neutral third party, an innocent and nice person. Oh, and we are canceling all – yes, ALL – your bookings for the next month while we investigate.” I wrote back and told her such action was not neutral. I really dislike hypocritical polite statements. I work for a large airline so I know better. I kept calling for updates; they claimed they were having technical difficulties and I should call back. I wrote to the representative telling her it does not make any sense to shut down listings in different parts of the world; if anything, I could understand they might remove the listing where the complain happened “while they investigated.”

Nothing happened for another week and I called some guy at Airbnb’s office in Ireland and gave him a piece of my mind. I told him they failed to protect their most valuable assets, a host like myself. I demanded the issue be addressed immediately as I was suffering undeserved consequences. I asked to what degree the extortionists were being investigated. The next day I received an email saying: “We are now canceling all your future bookings, removing the listings of your properties, and preventing you from contacting guests.” Fortunately, I had already printed all booking details and told my guests we were in the middle of a dispute with Airbnb; there would be a chance we would migrate elsewhere. It was the smart thing to do given the very strange behavior of the people in charge of our safety.

One representative wrote: “We are under no obligation of explaining our decision to you. Goodbye.” Fine, I am taking my bookings with me, and I have already recovered over $12,000 of what they canceled… and counting. I’ll make sure my guests have a fabulous experience. It is surprisingly easy to take my guests back… it must have something to do with Airbnb not being the owners of any property, not being the hosts nor the talent. They have no product. We are the product. Anyways, I will just take my $50,000 in bookings elsewhere… a couple places actually, as a precaution. It’s not good to keep all your eggs in one basket.

My advice to people after this glorious experience is to list your properties on sites other than Airbnb in case you host an extortionist or any other vindictive person. Happy hosting.