Tag Archives: airbnb france

Moving to France, Booking on Airbnb, Facing this Situation

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Let me start by saying that I am a frequent Airbnb user. Until this happened. I moved to France (Rennes to be more specific) 11 days ago and I booked two nights in a private room in order to rest and start looking for an apartment full time (moving to a foreign country, carrying a lot of luggage, and finding a proper place to stay even for a couple of days is necessary). The host answered my messages before arrival, but when I checked in, I encountered a problem which made me feel suspicious of the surroundings.

As a foreign young girl who had to stay for two nights in an apartment with two other men, whom I had not been informed about beforehand, and was preparing to consume alcohol that night, I had to think twice about spending the night. I would like to add that even if it was a private room, I didn’t have the key to it. I was accompanied by a friend of mine who shared the same feeling about the situation, saying that he wouldn’t let me stay in there.

The host told me I should cancel the booking and he would give me my money back. In other words, no fees would be charged for my cancellation, with the exception of the website tax. When people make you feel threatened or unsure of your safety, taking pictures is not highly recommended, which is why I do not have pictures of the place/situation. I have noticed that the money was taken from my account; I had reminded him about the money and our understanding and requested a refund once more. I have contacted him four times so far with no hope for a resolution.

I was forced under these circumstances to pay for a service that was not delivered. I would like to include the link of my meant-to-be-safe host’s profile. I know that it might be in vain, but I tried my luck in sending Airbnb an email concerning my issue. I would like for others to be aware of some people and to pay attention to what they are “buying”. Thanks.

Avoid this Airbnb Nightmare in Bordeaux, France

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We (a couple with a child) have nothing against simple. Some simple apartments are good, but this host’s apartment in Bordeaux was not. It was much older than shown in the pictures. In fact, every single thing in her apartment was old and of low quality. The pillows and blankets were so old that they had yellow stains and smelled moldy. It was summer, but the host and her boyfriend only gave us two heavy winter blankets (the only ones they had). Our things had to remain in the suitcases, because the whole apartment was crammed full with her belongings. In the tiny kitchenette, there was no free space to prepare a meal. The bed was uncomfortable and the sofa bed was a joke: very old with a very thin “mattress” (almost the same as sleeping directly on the floor). With the windows closed, one could hear every single word spoken on the streets. The apartment was not clean, they vacuumed only the floor (there were hairs on the bathroom door). Two light bulbs were broken. On the third day, it was very annoying: we had to open the door for her boyfriend because he wanted to have one of his books. On check-out day, instead of coming to collect the keys, he wanted us to bring them to him at his workplace. After I gave the place a negative review, he had the nerve to send me a very angry message. Going to Bordeaux? Avoid this terrible apartment.

Host Reviews Always Seem to be too Good to be True

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We just returned from a really poor Airbnb experience in Chamonix, France. I looked at her reviews as host and they all were too full of sunshine. This makes me think that guests are afraid to tell the truth because then they will be reviewed negatively. So everyone says “It was great!” I’m tired of being lied to like this. The woman who rented to us was clearly crazy, micromanaged every moment of our stay, disrespected our privacy, told us what to do constantly, drove us out of the house the day before she left, gave us the bum’s rush about when we were leaving, had an infant grandchild stay in the small apartment who cried and awoke us, and smoked cigarettes. It was so difficult to relax and enjoy our vacation time. I am about done with Airbnb. It’s all roses in reviews then the reality is different. I do not trust the reviews at all. We were kind, quiet, clean and courteous guests and all we got was grief. We arrived an hour earlier than the 5:00 PM check in time and was greeted with disdain and freak out… how lovely. In addition, we thought it was a private attic apartment, not shared with her and a baby. I would have never booked a place with a baby in the house. Before we went to bed, I asked her to turn off or at least turn down a loud electronic baby toy next to the entrance to our room and she snapped and said “wear earplugs!” We were not allowed to touch anything in the kitchen due to an earlier guest. She should have stated that in her listing. We paid dearly for this crappy treatment and experience. It’s hotels or private accommodations from now on. Airbnb is not worth it anymore. There are too many flakes.

Fake Listing on Airbnb Cost me Over £3500

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As a first time user on Airbnb I had never used their site. I was booking a ski apartment in Morzine, France for me and seven others. I found a perfect apartment; it looked lovely and was at a perfect location in town. I emailed the ‘host’ using the link on the Airbnb website, which said “click here to contact host.” For over three weeks I asked questions and explained I had to get a commitment from my seven friends, hence it took three weeks to finally make the booking. We must have exchanged over 20 emails. Little did I realize this host had a fake email address set up with an Airbnb heading: all the fonts, fine print, everything. At some point during our conversations she switched addresses and all further correspondence went through this channel without my knowledge. When it finally came time to book she even mentioned to me that I was to pay Airbnb and not her directly.

I was then sent an invoice from what appeared to be Airbnb (since then I have seen a friend’s real booking – his invoice looks exactly the same) and I paid it. I even checked online 24 hours later, saw the money had left my account and the beneficiary was Airbnb, and so I had no reason to question it. It wasn’t until a month later, when the holiday was getting closer that I decided to touch base and all was revealed as the host didn’t answer her email. When I tried to click through to Airbnb on one of her letterhead emails the listing had been removed. Airbnb sent me their standard email three times stating, “as I paid outside their platform they wouldn’t help.”

They won’t take any responsibility for a fake listing on their site. Since finding out I was cheated, I have done some research and have discovered unfortunately I am not alone; this has happened to a number of people though my situation seems to be for the most money. I am not a stupid person; these people are very clever and know how to scam others. I do not think Airbnb protected my interests. When setting up my profile I didn’t receive any warnings about how to pay hosts correctly. Instead, there are various references to ways littered across the site, including ‘instant book’ and ‘contact host’. These create enough confusion so that when an email is received from someone listed as a verified user you do not doubt it. When taking on a property it should be their responsibility to verify these listings. It wouldn’t be difficult – even a copy of a utility bill from this property would have saved me and others like me from being scammed. Airbnb is a huge international company, stretching to over 190 different countries, so I am just a small fry to them. Unfortunately for them £3500 is a huge amount of money to me and I will not stop until I get it back.

Family Vacation in Paris Ruined by Bed Bugs

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I travelled to Paris for three nights in October 2016 with my three children. It was supposed to be a dream vacation. I was so excited to stay in the “Romantic Suite Saint Germain des Pres.” I have been a huge Airbnb fan, spending over $5000 in 2016 alone with the platform (as Airbnb customer service explained to me). We are a large family, and we had never had a bad experience with Airbnb. In fact, I was promoting the site among friends and family. I felt very hip to be using the service. We arrived at the flat, and it was slightly disappointing, in the way that you realise that the photos were staged expertly showing the best possible angle. Our host did not meet us; he sent his cleaner instead.

The flat could have been cleaner, and had a strange odor. However, with three kids waiting to see Paris, I didn’t think to complain immediately or call Airbnb for help. I kept telling myself: “it will be fine.” On the last morning in the flat, my son woke up with bites on his thumb, two on his ear, and one on his face. In 40 years of international travel, I never encountered bed bugs. I was horrified, but again – we had only an evening flight; I had to get through the day. Our host told me we had to be out by 11:00 AM but could leave our bags until 3:00 PM.

We came back at 3:00 PM, and the flat stank. There were strange black spots on the bathroom floor, the cleaner had not yet arrived, and, with a bit of help from Google, it became clear to me that the flat had telltale signs of an bed bug problem. I contacted the host from the airport. He didn’t respond until 24 hours later. I then called Airbnb customer service. I spoke with “Jeffrey M.” who told me that I should stop talking and “hear him out.” I realized quite quickly in the conversation that a 20-year-old dude working the phone lines in California has not a clue in this world what it’s like to be a 40-year-old mom travelling in Europe with three children aged 6, 8 and 10 and having this experience.

I asked for a refund. Jeffrey laughed, and told me that in the history of Airbnb that never happened. He asked me to send photos – which I did – and promised to follow up with the host. Jeffrey read from his script, “I, too, travel with Airbnb and understand your frustration.” I grew up in Arizona, I can smell SoCal tripe when I hear it. The speech had all the buzzwords of empathy, but no admission of fault and no promise to resolve anything. The next day, the host finally answered, and told me that he believed there was absolutely no problem with his flat. He refused to return any funds at all. No apology, nothing. He did offer me a discount if I were to come back for a five-night stay, and suggested that perhaps my son had been “bitten during the day.”

He showed a total lack of understanding for how bed bugs operate and didn’t seem keen on finding out if his flat had them or not. He also didn’t seem to give a care in the world about what it’s like to wake up with your child covered in bites. He suggested that there could not be bed bugs because “only one of you was bitten.” With the help of Google, I now know that to be totally false. The story gets better, though!

I tried to contact Airbnb through their Twitter handle, @AirbnbHelp. I figured maybe Jeffrey M. is just a bad apple, and maybe someone at Airbnb actually cares about customers who spend thousands each year with the company. At first, the Twitter chat was friendly; they promised to look into it, etc. I sent them all my photos, and screen shots of my conversation with the host. Then I got an email from Jeffrey. He wrote to accuse me of extortion, because I dared ask if I was allowed to write a review while my claim was being looked into. Jeffrey/Airbnb officially disabled me from being able to review the property.

I hadn’t reviewed it yet, as I’d read online that if you ask for a refund you shouldn’t write a review. Now the host will keep on making money, and other families will be exposed to the bed bugs. I was in a state of shock. Never in my life, not in the worst of all hotels, would this have happened. You would walk to the front desk, show the bites, ask for a refund, and would walk away compensated for the hassle. We arrived home at midnight, stripped the kids naked (literally) in front of our front door, put everything that had been in Paris in rubbish bags, and left them in the garage. I spent the entire next day washing and drying everything on the highest possible heat setting, and disinfecting our shoes and my handbag. The dry cleaning bill… a trip to the dermatologist with my son who confirmed my conclusion about the bites… the cost of this trip keeps growing even now that we are home.

I can only pray that I rid everything of any potential to bring the bugs into our own home. To be honest, that’s a thought I can’t even begin to deal with right now. After Jeffrey accused me of extortion, and removed my ability to review the property, the Airbnb Twitter chat popped up, and they confirmed that they are in full agreement with what my case manager has done. In other words, Airbnb took my money, doesn’t give a care in the world about my horrible experience, and worst of all doesn’t let me warn others to prevent it from happening again. Meanwhile, my host is still selling his fairy tale of romantic Paris.

I am, for once, left speechless. I studied at Harvard Business School. I know a bit about business models. So I’ve now come to the conclusion that this is how Airbnb rolls: ramp up as many as possible hosts & guests, generate as much as possible turnover – this in turn maximises valuation – take the whole thing public, then a few young guys who know nothing about family travel or normal people’s lives make themselves billionaires. There is no business reputation to protect. Airbnb isn’t like Marriott who cares if you come back again, or not. Airbnb isn’t a hotel replacement; it is just an online ghost, making a profit out of connecting customers (“guests”) with providers of a service (“hosts”). If either one of us gets screwed in the process, Airbnb doesn’t care. It just needs volume. It doesn’t need me to come back. It will find someone else to replace me, someone who hasn’t had a bad experience, someone who believes in the dream.

I too, believed in the dream, but now my feet are firmly back on the ground. I’m not going to shut up just yet, though. I’m going to write the owners of Airbnb, I’m going to contact journalists, and I’m going to get my story out there. My family’s trip to Paris was the quintessential European holiday gone wrong. It was so plain vanilla it could have been any of us. It will happen to someone else now, too, given that I can’t review the property and the host is still allowed to list. For the record, the Airbnb property is listed as “Romantic Suite Saint Germain de Pres” on Rue Gozlin, Paris, and in the photo you see two orange bar chairs by the kitchen. We spent $698 for a three-night stay in October 2016.

Thanks to the founder of this site, it is like therapy to find an outlet to share one’s story and know that I am not crazy and not alone. Being accused of extortion when complaining about a product or service? That is a first. Imagine if you go to the Gap to return a shirt which is ripped or stained and they accuse you of fraud? Imagine in a restaurant if your food has a problem, and the restaurant gives you the bill and forces you to eat the rotten food? Honestly, this new app economy is hilarious. Airbnb is nothing like an old fashioned bed and breakfast, where the owner would care about his reputation, and on a human level, about people too. Airbnb takes greed to a whole new level, and this is coming from the country which invented customer service.