Tag Archives: airbnb check in problems

Six-hour drive and no property access in due time

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Let me begin first by saying that I sincerely value what the Airbnb company provides and the opportunities it offers for people to choose their home away from home. Airbnb is my go-to choice when I want to find a unique and personal accommodation when I’m not home. The additional welcoming hospitality from the hosts makes my stays even more memorable. However, that is not always the case and sometime the host fails to deliver.

Unfortunately, this is what happened during my last trip. This complaint is against Airbnb for not vetting their hosts sufficiently enough and not being able to resolve an issue knowing that a host was unprofessional and unable to provide the access for a guest to check in. This complaint is also against Airbnb for assigning a resolutions specialist who deliberately used pivot tactics to misconstrue presented facts and avoided providing the answers, who demonstrated a lack of action and unwillingness to comply with the Airbnb Guest Refund policy, and who were not able to manage a host and act as a mediator to enforce the company policy and the terms of agreement between the host and the client.

This complaint is also against Airbnb for their unwillingness to accept the corporate responsibility and not resolving the matter in due time, consequentially causing an additional cost to its client in a form of two calendar days of vacation until the matter had to be escalated to a banking institution. Finally, the complaint is against Airbnb for not providing me a full refund for services not delivered. I strongly advised the case manager to resolve this matter amicably before I have to contact the bank. The case manager was also advised that further escalation could also lead to respective requests and reviews on BBB, CFPB, FTC, other affiliated agencies, Yelp, FB and other social media platforms.

My wife, our dog and I were returning back to our home from our ten-day vacation. Our dog is subject to anxiety attacks and has to take his calming medication during travelling. Our last stop was going to be a one-night stay in Dallas on August 29-30, 2019. The drive to Dallas was approximately six hours to reach our Airbnb destination. The reservation was paid in full on August 4th and all required documentation submitted and approved in advance.

The terms of agreement explicitly stated the check-in was at 4:00 PM onwards as our normal check-in time. That means the access should have been readily available any time after 4:00 PM. There was no additional agreement outside of the confirmed reservation. I complied with the terms of the agreement. The host did not.

The host also requested a minimum of 45-minute advance notice in order to meet us at the property when we arrive. I complied. The host did not. I sent the host a text message at 13:54 with a precise ETA between 18:30 and 19:00. This advance notice was sent well before the 45-minute requirement set by the host. They had plenty of time to prepare and provide access. Please note that the original terms of agreement did not include a provision for a delay. Late check-in was not discussed in advance. Late check-in would have been declined and a different host would have been chosen instead. However, a 10-15 minute delay would have been tolerated.

We arrived at 18:25. That was only five minutes earlier than the advised ETA of 18:30. The key wasn’t available. The host representative was also not present. We advised in advance our arrival time as requested by the host. The host was not ready. The access was not available.

This is a clear discrepancy and a deviation from the original terms of the agreement. The host demonstrated a gross negligence and lack of professionalism. The failure to provide the key in due time is a clear violation of terms of agreement. The provided ETA was within five minutes after six hours of driving. This is precise and more than sufficient to enable prompt access as per terms of agreement. The key was initially provided and placed in the lock box.

This situation and the delay would not have happened if the key was not removed by the host for an unknown reason. The key was removed from the lockbox without notifying me in advance. The delay was not advised in advance.

I immediately called the host once the key was found to be missing. A host representative promised the key would be delivered within 15 minutes. This was already the breach of terms of agreement, but I agreed to wait. By this time our dog started to exhibit the first signs of the anxiety attack after the six-hour drive.

I called back 15 minutes later and was told by the host it would be another additional 15 minutes. Her statement had no merit based on her first promised time of delivery. By that time my dog’s anxiety attack was fully developed and we had to leave. This was a wise decision also because otherwise the total delay time would have been 47 minutes.

The host representative did not supply the key until 7:13 PM. By that time we were long gone. We had to find accommodations elsewhere. We could not wait because we were on the road for six hours and our dog had an anxiety attack. The dog takes anti-anxiety medication. Staying to wait for the key would have jeopardized the safety and the well-being of our dog. A 47-minute delay is unacceptable.

We did not stay also because the host demonstrated gross negligence and did not comply with the terms of agreement. Frankly speaking, we could not stay because the host did not provide access as promised and explicitly stated in the terms of the agreement. Additionally, the host representative chose to send additional information via text messaging while I was driving. This could have been done in advance to avoid unnecessary safety hazards.

The barrage of text messages carried a significant risk. They disrupted my Google maps and my driving safety. This is unacceptable. This is a clear pattern of behavior that can get your clients killed while driving. Also, the host representatives were clearly not aligned between themselves on the proof of identification. Hence, they ensued in a conversation in a group text message while I was driving. This demonstrated a blatant lack of professionalism and communication between the host representatives.

After my two attempts to contact the host and remedy the situation amicably in due time I immediately contacted Airbnb on August 29 at 19:08 CST and had the dispute case started to investigate this matter. The case was assigned to the case manager. I asked him to read through all the communication between the host and myself to get a sense of what really happened. I provided him with all the call history and the screenshots for reference. He got involved and called the host.

Unfortunately, the host offered to refund only 20% of the reservation cost. It is reasonable to presume that the offered 20% from the host proves the host accepted the liability for not following through with the original terms of the agreement. I’d like to think that the case manager’s role is not to simply accept what’s offered, but to see if the terms of agreement were fulfilled. I’d like to think that the role of an Airbnb case manager is to enforce the compliance and also demonstrate the ownership of the corporate responsibility when it is needed.

Unfortunately, during the course of the case investigation the Airbnb case manager failed to execute his task with due diligence by making false claims, omitting important details, deliberately avoiding to respond to presented facts and arguments, choosing not to comply with the Airbnb Guest Refund policy, and refusing to accept the corporate responsibility in accordance with the terms of the agreement.

The offered 20% is insignificant compared to incurred costs to compensate for lost time, emotional stress, and an additional opportunity cost in a form of two calendar days of vacation. Frankly speaking, in large companies a breach of contract carries an additional penalty cost over the 100% of the initial baseline agreement cost.

I sincerely hope that Airbnb will review the validity of the license agreement with the host and suspend it to avoid other similar situations in the future. All of this clearly shows beyond the reasonable doubt the failure of the host to comply with the terms of the agreement, a violation of basic safety rules, and Airbnb company communication policy.

Stranded at Taipei Airbnb after no Contact

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I recently booked an Airbnb in Taipei. I advised the host in advance when I would be arriving. I asked how I would get the keys and was advised I would be greeted. I have learned the hard way that the address on a listing does not have to be the address of the Airbnb. I have also learned that a host is allowed to give instructions on how to locate the keys and if for any reason I can not understand the instructions or they do not work, the host does not have to assist me. Here is my story.

I proceeded to go to the address on the Airbnb listing and it was not a residential address. There was no one to greet me even though I was advised in advance there would be, so I called the contact number. The person who answered did not speak english so I found a stranger to call for me. The stranger advised me that the person who answered said they could not assist me.

I then messaged the phone number and received the following reply in English: “So are you coming tonight or tomorrow?” I told him I was here now. The host then sent me a list of outrageous instructions. I first had to view a video to find the mailbox, then go a few blocks to a mailbox, open the box, get another box, enter a code to open that box and take out a magnetic strip, walk a few more blocks to another location, use the magnetic strip to make the elevator work, then watch another video to get the code to open the unit. Well, I could not play the first video so I messaged the host that I could not play the video and he didn’t reply. There I was, stranded.

I was convinced this was a scam host because the address did not exist, there was no host to greet me, I could not communicate by phone, my final communication from the host asked what day I was arriving which I found frustrating as I had already communicated this, the instructions had a video that I could not play, and when I advised the host I could not view the video, he did not reply. Airbnb advised me I was at fault because I proceeded to cancel the reservation when in fact I should have called them first for their assistance.

Awful Airbnb Experience, Terrible Customer Service

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I recently had a nightmare experience dealing with a unresponsive host and entirely unhelpful Airbnb customer service. I booked a four-night stay at an apparent Airbnb in Cincinnati (here is the link to the listing – be aware this host has a number of listings) which advertised free parking on site

When we arrived, my friend had to go up to the unit to check in to get the fob for the garage so we could park; I was circling the block when he said the code to get in the unit was wrong. I tried to call the host and her phone went to voicemail after one ring. I messaged her on the app and didn’t get a quick response, so I called the emergency number which was a third-party answering service that could not figure out why we couldn’t get in.

The lady at the answering service finally said to try a shot in the dark with using a different code and it worked. This was worrisome because obviously the codes are constantly reused so the unit could potentially be accessed by any past guests. My friend then said there was no key fob for the garage so I finally found a street spot and parked and went up to help look for it.

This is when I realized the lack of garage fob was the least of our worries. The place was absolutely trashed. I would guess there was a bachelor party or something before us and it had not been cleaned at all. The floor was sticky, there was liquid running down the walls, there were multiple holes in the wall, none of the lamps had light bulbs, there were wooden chairs stacked against the wall but no table to go with them, there were crusty nasty stains on the carpet, hair all over the “clean” towels, no sheets on the bed and nasty white stains on the couch.

Since I still hadn’t heard back from the host, I called Airbnb and said we could not stay there. This is where the hours-long saga of us trying to find a place to sleep began. Meanwhile, this was at 9:00 PM and I didn’t find a bed – finally at a hotel – which I paid for out of pocket – until after 2:00 AM. I sat on hold with Airbnb for a while when they told me they needed to give the host a chance to respond before moving forward.

Two hours later, Airbnb finally called me back just to say they couldn’t get in touch with the host and there was nothing they could do yet, but they assured me they would fix this for me. The host finally reached out hours later to let me know she had another unit we could stay in. We went to look at it and it also was not clean, was unlocked, had a huge glass door that was open – again scarily insecure – smelled like weed, and had dirty towels on the floor (including one balled up against the door to keep the smoke smell out of the hallway).

Since it was around 11:00 PM we were desperate and said if it was cleaned we could stay there. The host said she would try to get a cleaner out there to get it ready. An hour later I still had not heard back from the host so I reached out and all she said was she had not heard back from the cleaner. Then all she said was she could not accommodate us.

This was about 12:30 at night now and we were just stranded: nowhere to sleep and no help from the host or Airbnb. I started looking for hotels. Meanwhile I had been talking to Airbnb through the app which was not helpful. The first person I talked to ended her shift and didn’t bother to pass this case on to anyone. I had to call back, sit on hold for over an hour again, and start the whole process over.

Needless to say I was frustrated at this point. After hours on the phone with Airbnb, no help from them or the host, we went to three hotels before I could find a room and finally had a place to sleep at 2:30 AM – already having paid almost $1000 for a room I couldn’t sleep in. I then had to shell out another almost $300 for a room. Airbnb promised me they would reimburse me $200 for the room and give me a $150 credit towards another booking, neither of which I have seen – shocking.

I have also been continually reaching out on the app messenger with no reply for days now. I am appalled at the fact that the host was at fault for having a place unfit for humans to stay and yet I am the one that has paid for it through hours of my vacation and money out of my pocket. I have never dealt with a company that cared about their customers less than Airbnb.

The host has never reached out to explain or help or apologize and couldn’t have cared less. Not to mention I had told her I was pregnant before we left and she couldn’t have cared less about being stranded with no options besides sitting at a bar – the only place open – until I found a place to sleep. I included pictures of the apartment as well as screenshots from the Airbnb messenger showing the payments I was promised that have not been received.

No Confusion about Check-in Time, Only Excuses

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The day we were leaving we received an email from one of the people who ran the Airbnb wanting to know when we planned to arrive. Check-in time was 3:00 PM; I estimated between 4:00 and 5:00 and sent her that information.

We arrived in town and decided to do a couple of things before check in. We arrived at 5:15 PM and the room was not ready. None of the rooms were ready. Somebody was cleaning and she said that she would call us when the room was ready. The off-street parking was not available and that was one of the primary reasons I chose this property.

We went off to a restaurant and waited to hear. After hearing nothing, we started texting the owner who said he was “sorry for the confusion”. What is the confusion? I said we would appear and we did. The room was not ready. That’s simple; not confusing.

We are elderly and we look for things such as off-street parking and we care about the check-in times. We obey house rules. I’d like to leave a negative review, but fear that the host will ruin our reputation by reviewing us negatively.

Nightmare Host Has No Time to Deliver Keys

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I booked an Airbnb flat but suddenly the host didn’t have time to answer me and give me the details. The waiting time turned out to be a nightmare in cold weather. After I made the reservation, the host acted strangely and didn’t give anything more than her address. All other information was missing. I tried to ask couple of times how to arrive, what was around there, etc., but got no answer.

Then the host told me she was abroad and guests had to search for the keys in the cellar. I was thinking the host was in the same city, especially because she brought keys before to other guests as I saw her positive reviews. She didn’t have “time” to bring keys to me at all.

Then we agreed about an arrival time in the evening but the host suddenly changed her mind and sent me only one message, telling me she would be busy for 2-3 hours and couldn’t give me instructions to find the keys. It is incredible behaviour which I haven’t experienced before. The host knew I was already in the corridor waiting but suddenly she just became busy. The host didn’t ask her friend to bring the keys; it felt like the host only wanted money.

I tried to contact customer service but had to wait many days before getting any help. Then I got help and the host already lied to customer service by saying that she had given me all the instructions and she couldn’t be available for guests 24/7.

I never asked host to be available 24/7, only for the time I told her about my arrival that had been agreed upon. It seemed like she didn’t want to rent out her property. I think the real truth could be the host is living at her flat, kept the key with her, and there was no respect for guests. There were not any keys left in the cellar; I searched for them.

I felt terrible, especially because I walked 1 km to the apartment on a cold evening and ended without a key to the corridor and stuck outside. The host tried to ask customer service to remove her feedback so she could still do the same thing to others.

I know when people are really busy they will tell others “I’m busy” but not just suddenly change their mind and say they’re busy when guests told them their arrival time. I had to pay for an expensive hotel that same night because the host didn’t want to bring her keys.

Terrible host didn’t bring the keys and closed her phone

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This Airbnb host didn’t tell me anything and had no information. All I got was the address and that the host also had some positive feedback (probably from her friends and colleagues). Immediately after I made the booking, she started to be rude. I tried to ask her how to arrive but got no instructions from her; I had to search by myself.

The apartment was also expensive, a similar price to 3-4 star hotels – I would have expected more customer service skills. Then when I was looking for the apartment, I had to call and ask which street it was. The host didn’t know any shops or banks near the apartment even though she said she was “living there”. Then suddenly the host told me she was in another country or place for a work and the keys were in the bike shed.

That’s when I knew things were not as they should be. She told me I had to look for the keys in a bike shed in some box that I didn’t see there. I had to ask for the door codes multiple times. If she had any advice for me, she wouldn’t share it. She expected everyone to have an iPhone or similar smartphone to use Whatsapp. I believe I’m not the only one who doesn’t have Whatsapp for messages. It was possible to send information through Airbnb but she played phone games and didn’t want to.

In the evening, I found the apartment (but no keys in the bike shed). She sent one message with a smile emoticon: that she was not available in the evening for 2-3 hours. Then she turned off her phone.

What a rude and impolite person; she just wanted money. The host knew I was coming and at what time but she decided to hide and turn off her phone. There were a lot of people coming and going in her building and I could not wait in the corridor for 2-3 hours until she would open her phone, assuming she would.

I would never have booked a place on Airbnb if I had known the host would ignore her phone and that she wouldn’t bring the keys. I also think a bike shed is not a safe place to keep any important things such as keys. It would be easy and simple to ask a friend to bring the keys; it would take about 5-20 minutes, which apparently she didn’t have.

This happened in Sweden. I don’t know if I’ll get any refund or not but the host has already tried to get more money: 180 euro because I cancelled the reservation. I had to go to a hostel because I didn’t have the keys.