Airbnb Does Not Care if Criminals Want to Rent your House

Posted on May 28, 2017

Airbnb is a giant scam. Beware. Their customer service sucks (both as a host and as a guest). But that is only the tip of their iceberg. Hosts (especially) should use VRBO or other vacation rental resources, and travelers and guests are advised to do likewise. Airbnb claims to verify their renting guests, and puts many hurdles in the way of hosts trying to require potential guests to fully identify themselves. Only owners or hosts who own fleabag properties would allow any Joe Schmoe to take possession of their property without providing full ID – SSN, Drivers License, DOB, full name, mailing address, etc. – and permission to run a credit check. Maybe that is why so many Airbnb properties are fleabags.

We have properties worth over $1 Million with valuable furnishings and artwork and there’s no way are we going to give the keys to someone Airbnb will not let us verify. I am a realtor and attorney, and I can tell you horror stories when owners do not fully vet guests themselves.

We recently tried to check on one “verified” guest, only to find that their cell phone was really someone else’s (same first name, but different last name and no idea who the “guest” was). No other information Airbnb gave us access to checked out either. We tried several ways of contacting the booking guest but only got one reply – through Airbnb’s anonymous contact email, which was clearly written by a non-native English speaker (even though their name was listed as “John Smith”; I am using a pseudonym here, do not want to implicate anyone directly).

I am guessing they were Eastern Bloc scammers who had cased our Airbnb listing through the pictures, booked for a weekend, and planned to simply rob the entire place during their stay. When I called Airbnb to report my reasons for thinking this was a scam and cancelling the reservation, they penalized me and said I was being unreasonable in the information I was requesting from the guest even though my listing clearly stated what I require prior to a stay.

VRBO has no problem with me getting full verification and ID from guests. Airbnb claims they have a $1 million dollar insurance policy on each rental. When the bandits steal all my valuables, I then get to argue with a third party insurer who has no relationship or loyalty to me (only to Airbnb, their real client), prove my losses to their satisfaction, and hope that I am ultimately made whole (of course, after paying out of pocket for six to twelve months to refurnish the property, not to mention trying to replace irreplaceable artworks, which I enjoy sharing with my otherwise respectable, and fully vetted, guests).

Any legitimate business model would give paramount importance to securing the person and property of the owners and hosts. Any hotel around the world will make you show authorized IDs (passport, credit card, etc.) for every guest before renting you a room. Only Airbnb thinks it can bully owners (increasingly sleazy slumlords and fly-by-night “re-renters” who have no real connection to the properties or neighborhoods they have on offer) into rolling the dice on any jackass who can present a credit card with a limit equal to a few nights’ rent. They then might steal or cause damages worth 5, 10 or 100 times that amount.

Airbnb Customer Service is an Utter Disgrace

Posted on May 25, 2017

This company needs to be sorted out. They are an absolute disgrace. They have blocked my account – also those of people I know – without giving any reason whatsoever. They are disrespectful and unprofessional. I am actively boycotting them and encourage everyone to do the same. Here was a message I received from Airbnb customer service:

Hi Jon,

Thanks for reaching out. As previously mentioned, we regret to inform you that we’ll be unable to support your account moving forward, and have exercised our discretion under our Terms of Service to disable your account(s). This decision is irreversible and will affect any duplicated or future accounts. Please understand that we are not obligated to provide an explanation for the action taken against your account. Furthermore, we are not liable to you in any way with respect to disabling or canceling your account. Airbnb reserves the right to make the final determination with respect to such matters, and this decision will not be reversed. We’ll contact you if anything changes in the future, but until then, we won’t be able to assist you any further with your account issues. Please see our Help Center for further information.

Thanks, Alex.

And my response:

Dear Alex,

First of all, please refer to me as Mr. ___. I certainly do not know you and I expect to be respected. How on earth can you possibly think this is the correct etiquette in business and moreover, customer service? I will do my utmost to pass onto everyone I know to boycott your company as you are unwilling to provide an answer to my questions. There are many more companies that provide the same service as you do, that are of no concern to me. But I will be contacting the ombudsman and also look into contacting the CEO of Airbnb. This situation cannot be accepted and I will not tolerate such unprofessionalism and disrespect.

Airbnb Host Asked for More Money After Confirmation

Posted on May 22, 2017

One week ago I found a good place on Airbnb to stay for a four-week holidays in Corsica (France). The price was good and I asked the host to confirm if the price included taxes, cleaning fees, or anything else unexpected. I asked the host to check the price, and he answered the price was the total amount. I booked and was asked by Airbnb to pay the whole amount as it was a “long stay”. Since that was finished, I purchased flight tickets straight away from Sweden to Corsica (the more you wait, the more you pay) – non-refundable tickets to stay on budget. I wrote to the host about my time of arrival.

Two hours later the host sent me a message, asking for more money or he would cancel the reservation. The reason? The price was wrong…

I have contacted Airbnb. There’s just one week now left before I’m supposed to arrive, but I’ve received nothing except an automatically generated reply: “we are working with your case.” There’s been no answer or anything from Airbnb. The host has sent me a request for an update of the booking and for me to pay more money (25% more). I have not confirmed anything nor rejected the reservation… yet. This is my first and last booking with Airbnb. I’ve never seen something so bad before. Has anyone been in a situation like this? What should I do?

Airbnb Calendar Glitch in Reservation Cost me $700

Posted on May 21, 2017

This happened to both my sister and myself and is not yet resolved. We live in a university town and the biggest moneymaking weekend of the year is graduation. The prices we posted on Airbnb were higher than usual, but because the site automatically reverts to your minimum price if you make any change to the reservation, like adding another night, I stand to lose $700 if the guest doesn’t agree to pay the difference. I’ve had many times where I set the price on a date on the calendar, only to find that it hasn’t “taken.” I also couldn’t respond to an interested guest once when reception was poor – I kept sending a message but the guest never got it, and that affected my responsiveness rating. I’ll be relying on other rental sites unless Airbnb gets a more responsive site. That’s a crushing loss for us, and due entirely to the automated settings they substitute without your approval or knowledge. And of course, you can’t reach them to give that feedback or get help.

Airbnb Customer Service Handles Lack of Wifi Poorly

Posted on May 19, 2017

I booked an apartment through Airbnb in Madrid for a long-term stay, about 60 days. I never met the host. This wasn’t a problem, as I was shown around by her friend who was also the person I was to solely communicate with about any problems. The first thing I did when I arrived was check the wifi signal, as it was listed as an amenity on Airbnb. The connection was terrible and always disconnected due to the router being three floors away and shared by a number of other guests. I told the host’s friend about this problem as well as the host herself and they mentioned that they would bring a signal booster around within the next couple of days. I waited patiently whilst delaying my work and losing some income.

Eventually the host’s friend arrived with the signal booster which we set up and tried but it didn’t make a difference at all. The host’s friend also mentioned that some guests have had problems with the wifi in the past too. After fiddling around with the signal booster by putting it in different positions for about an hour the host’s friend gave up and left. At this point I phoned and complained to Airbnb, who told me that they would help me find a new place before my next installment of £1000+ was due. However, they did not keep their promise and this forced me to cancel my booking.

When cancelling my booking the website told me the amount due was for the next 30 days; to cover myself, I paid this so that after the 30 days were up I could move somewhere else. However, this was not the case. Upon canceling my booking on the Airbnb website it stated that I must pay for the following 30 days but it didn’t tell me that I was not entitled to use the apartment for these 30 days that I just paid for. At this point, I was in such a panic and contacted the host telling them what I had done. Luckily they agreed to still let me stay (as they should – I paid for those days). During the 30 days I was staying there I complained a number of times to the host and the host’s friend as well as Airbnb and nothing was done about the situation with the wifi.

After the 30 days were up, I moved into a new place and this time talked to Airbnb to request half of my money back. After a few emails back and forth with the woman who was dealing with my case, she stated that according to their terms and conditions I am only entitled to four days of staying there as after these four days is when I cancelled… even though I paid for 30+ days and lost out on thousands of paid work. On top of this, Airbnb could clearly see in the chat log that the host was lying through her teeth as she said that I sent her a message saying that the wifi was working when there is no such message; there were only messages of me complaining about it. I am never going to use Airbnb again. I thought being a modern company they would have some ethical consideration and take things into account rather than blasting ”according to our terms and conditions” in my face.

To sum it up, I spent £1300 on an apartment for 33 days, and they told me I was only entitled to four days’ refund as I cancelled my booking to prevent myself from losing out on more paid work due to the amenity problem. If Airbnb reads this then they can be assured that they’re going to lose a lot more money than the modest refund that I requested for being screwed over by them and the host.

Dublin Landlord with the Tenant from Airbnb Hell

Posted on May 7, 2017

I own a house in a “regeneration” area of Dublin. Regeneration is a kind word; this street is clearly not suitable for unsuspecting elderly tourists. Think Little Red Riding Hood surrounded by wolves. I arrived last week from overseas to show the house to an estate agent to let it out. I was greeted on the doorstep by an elderly retired nurse from Canada who had booked it for four nights and paid about 400 euros. I’m not sure who was more surprised, this lady or me. I took pics of her reservation. It appeared the previous “tenant”, who I finally got to leave the month prior, had been using the house for Airbnb. Heaven knows how many bookings she took and how many other unfortunate tourists will have the same experience. The elderly lady took fright – actually she was in shock. I sat her down in the house – which was quite clearly unoccupied. I offered to get bedding so she could stay, but she was very anxious and no longer felt safe in Dublin. Eventually I dropped her back at the train station to return to the West of Ireland.

I contacted Airbnb. I got a call centre. Then I got a nonsense email. At this stage I went to the police and showed them the details of the reservation. This was a very unpleasant experience, which might have had an even more unpleasant outcome had I not turned up that day. If Airbnb does not already do it, they need to have hosts confirm they have permission to use the property. In circumstances where a property owner like me calls, they need to transfer callers immediately to a fraud/security department. They need to confirm to house owners immediately their properties have been removed from the site. They also seriously need to improve their interactions. In all future lettings I will include a clause in the contract to state subletting on Airbnb will nullify the lease and result in immediate expulsion from the property. I would recommend guests confirm that the host actually has the right to sublet on Airbnb.

Airbnb System Allows Everyone to Request Same Dates?

Posted on May 5, 2017

This is my second time booking through Airbnb; the first time was fine. I sent a request for one apartment for two days and the next day the host declined it, saying that “it conflicts with another booking.” Now, my first thought was: what? What other booking? Shouldn’t my selected dates become unavailable for other people to book? Or does Airbnb allow everyone to send requests for the same dates, so that the host can then dig through them and pick her favorite one? On top of that, after I had been declined, that property was still available to be requested for the selected dates. I messaged the host, asking her to explain, and she said she is “waiting for confirmation for a couple that are looking to book for more days.”

Apparently, it’s true that Airbnb allows unlimited requests to stack up for the same dates. That’s a terribly immoral business model they’ve created, creating competition between guests for the host’s favor. Now, it’s understandable that hosts would prefer longer bookings over shorter ones. However, if their system allows requests for same dates to stack up, allowing the host to pick and choose, then people who need a short stay basically have no chance against longer-stay guests. It’s basically an auction system, where guests bid on who will rent a longer stay. Imagine if hotels started to operate on the same principle: there will be public outrage. Or, imagine if hotels would accept “bids” for a maximum price the guests are willing to pay per night. Then rich people would take all the rooms, leaving everyone else with nowhere to stay. It’s the same here, except with lengths of stay.

I’ve researched this a bit and apparently hosts can choose whether they want the requested dates to become unavailable for others, or not. Why is there even such an option? It puts all the power into the host’s hands. I don’t want to use Airbnb if the hosts will treat me as some undesirable scum just because I only want to book two nights. It creates inequality. Guests and hosts are supposed to be on equal terms.

So, in conclusion, to remove this horrible inequality, Airbnb should:

Only allow booking requests for the same dates one at a time.
Penalize hosts who decline booking requests for no good reason (as it’s still a major inconvenience to wait a day just to receive a decline, then wait another day for another one)
State that a short stay is not a good reason to decline a request (because there is already a minimum stay rule that can be added to the listing)

Airbnb Account was Terminated, No Place to Stay

Posted on May 4, 2017

I joined Airbnb because my sister had good experiences with them. I entered all my information and scanned in my passport. I made a reservation to stay at a flat in Paris. The reservation was accepted and the payment came out of my account. Two days later I received an email from response@airbnb.com:

Mr. Horihan,

Thank you for uploading your ID for our ID Verification process. Upon review, and given information uncovered pursuant to online public records, we have determined that it is in the best interest of Airbnb, and for the users on our site, to deactivate your account permanently. We realize that this may come as a disappointment and that you may have questions regarding this determination. We hope you understand that this decision is exercised at our sole discretion and that we are not obligated to provide an explanation as to the action taken against your account, nor are we liable to a user in any way with respect to deactivating or canceling his or her account. Should you choose to dispute the decision, please submit any documents you think may be relevant to us, at no additional cost to Airbnb. We will forward those documents to our Legal Department for review before any decision regarding reinstatement of your account can be made. Additionally, please understand that this removal will also entail the immediate termination of your pending or accepted bookings. As such, we have communicated to your host that your reservation has been cancelled and refunded in full. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

I could no longer log into my account. I called Airbnb several times. Every time they claimed the issue would be escalated and I would get a response shortly. To this day, there has been no response from “higher up” and no refund (as the email suggests refunds of both pending and accepted bookings). I was not able to communicate with the host of the accepted booking through Airbnb. I could not log in to sent her a message.

Five days before my booking the host contacted me through @host.airbnb.com. From her message it seemed she had no idea my account was terminated. She was still expecting me in Paris, so I responded with a nice message stating what time of day I’ll arrive. I also questioned her if she heard anything from Airbnb the reservation being cancelled. I received no response. I continued calling and emailing Airbnb to sort things out and get in contact with the host. They only replied by sending me the same email as shown above two more times.

I arrived in Paris. There was still no confirmed response from the host through the @host.airbnb.com email she was using. I knocked on the gate to the flat. It seemed like nobody was there. I never received a reservation reminder prior to the check in date. My sister said that she gets a reminder email every time she books through Airbnb. My sister and I both assumed that the reservation had actually been cancelled and I would likely get my refund as their email stated. I ended up getting a hotel room for the five days instead.

It’s now well over a month since they charged my card. I’ve contacted them several more times by phone. It seems the only way to get the refund would be a lawsuit. They are completely denying that their system messed up. They try to tell me: “No, bookings actually accepted do not get refunded.” The emails they sent me on three different occasions is a lie. There is absolutely no reason why a company like this would terminate my account “given information uncovered pursuant to online public records.” I have no criminal record. There is nothing bad online about me. I travel the world all the time completely trouble free. They lost a good customer and they’ve lost many more because I’ve shared my experience with others. The existence of a website called Airbnb Hell is proof that Airbnb is a poorly run company with questionable business ethics.

Late Cancellation Strands Guest at Seattle Event

Posted on May 4, 2017

I joined Airbnb three months prior to an event in Seattle which I attend each Memorial Day Weekend. I made my first reservation with Dario, who apparently manages five homes in Seattle and rents rooms in each. That’s not a bed and breakfast, but I’m new to this. Dario and Airbnb sent me a cancellation notice 70 days after I made the reservation. He stated that he’s lost his lease on the property. I went online and learned Dario was still offering the property for lease up to the 25th. My reservation was from the 26th to the 29th. It is possible that he’s found people to pay a premium rate due to the event, so my reservation was cancelled. I do not know for sure. I do know the laws surrounding the leasing business. If Dario did not have a lease on the property, he is not allowed to offer it for sublease. That is the first illegal act. Of course, it’s not just an offer because I received a written confirmation and he accepted payment. The second illegal act is his failure to deliver after contracting and accepting payment. Airbnb will not permit me to review them or him on their site. The result: more people will be fooled and inconvenienced. Airbnb is another business I will avoid, and I’ll tell my friends.

Caveat Emptor: Worst Customer Service Ever

Posted on May 2, 2017

My wife and I recently booked 30 days of travel through Iceland and Western Europe through Airbnb. I would caution anyone who considers using Airbnb to consider that after eight days of calling and hours of dealing with customer service there is no way for a traveler to reach a manager after a case worker. Once it reaches a manger at this level the case is basically frozen in time. If you have an issue there is no resolution. I am quite worried about leaving a trip like this in the hands of this company. I know that before leaving my front door that if I have a problem there is no chance to get help. I did open a Twitter account to try to communicate with Airbnb when I couldn’t get through via email or the phone center. I received this response from them: “We see that a final decision has been issued on this matter and will disengage from further discussion. Thank you.”

I can only warn people at this point to run the other direction from Airbnb. If it goes badly you will regret it.