Tag Archives: airbnb host liar

Airbnb Stripped away my Rights as a Guest

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Airbnb was initially very supportive of our situation and processed a full refund but denied me the privilege of sharing my full story because I had initially mentioned the company who was managing the key collection. They did not ask that I remove the name of the company, but they removed my entire review as written below. Your rights to share your experience on Airbnb are very limited. Know your rights and be careful.

We felt cheated staying with these hosts. The whole set-up seems like a scam. The key collection area was unwelcoming; there was a notice to say that it was under construction. A man came up from the basement: no “hello”, no explanation, and zero hospitality. He just handed a set of key to us.

At this point, it all felt like a scam, and we were worried. As we entered the building, there were trucks with graffiti parked on the roads. It didn’t give us a welcoming feeling for a place that is described as a modern five-star apartment. It also claimed to be family friendly. There was a homeless man sleeping at the entrance to the building, blocking our path to use the ramp (we have a baby stroller). There were foot steps and dirt all across the common areas and entrance. This was our first impression of the place for which we paid the premium price of AED 805 per night (167 pounds).

There were alcohol cans and rubbish at the entrance. It was a shelter for the homeless (sleep during the days, take drugs and drink alcohol during the nights). The apartment was serviced, but it was not clean (as a five-star modern apartment). We were also charged AED 200 in cleaning fees (42 pounds). This was what we found as we walked in: pubic hair in the bathroom, hair in the corners of the whole apartment, mold on curtains and edges, salt built up in the kettle – not washable even after I tried. I needed a kettle as I was traveling with young children.

We decided to come home before dark as the area felt unsafe. When we came home at 7:00 PM, there was another homeless guy sleeping at the walkway. We decided to order food to be delivered to the apartment. We felt trapped as the walkway and building entrance was not suitable for our needs and always blocked by homeless people. Our delivery guy had informed us that our food was snatched by one of the homeless who on either drugs or alcohol. That was when we decided to look for an alternative accommodation for the remaining of our stay.

Our apartment door was opened from the outside in the morning while we were still there. When my husband inquired she said she didn’t speak English (Spanish speaker). We decided to check out after our first night there as we were concerned about our safety.

This property was not suitable for family. It is not a modern five-star apartment if the entrance is a home for homeless people. The shower and bathroom was two-star. The cleanliness is zero stars. Both beds were sofa beds (not one bed and one sofa bed as claimed). The amenities were very poor. It was an unsafe area for families.

The hosts didn’t meet me or call me even once although I called the emergency number. She only communicated using the Airbnb messaging and the response was slow. They didn’t provide any hospitality or assurance whatsoever. She claimed to have visited the apartment to take pictures of the cleanliness but didn’t even have the courtesy to come up to check on us. She also said she lives around Camden. It felt like the reason why she visited the apartment was to take pictures after she had cleaned the entrance and walkway to defend herself. Very disappointing. We didn’t want to ruin our holiday and left.

I lodged an official complaint to Airbnb and the host and she only wanted to give us a 20% refund despite us moving out after one night. I logged a safety complaint with Airbnb. The case manager worked on my case and I have received my refund. However they have now removed my honest review of this case and all pictures that I have shared. Airbnb has stripped my rights as a guest who wants to share her poor experience to others.

Aggressive Airbnb Host Falsely Advertising Lakeside House

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We made a reservation for four nights at a lakeside house in Langstini, which the host advertised as having free wifi (and I have the screenshot to prove it); this was essential for us. When we arrived and asked about the wifi he said he decided to disconnect it because he thought people should appreciate nature and not be addicted to the internet. He was talking in a very aggressive way so I didn’t want to argue with him and tell him he couldn’t change the terms after he promised something. It’s also not his job to educate us, so I just told him that it’s crucial for me to have the wifi for my work, for our trip planning and most of all because I have a son at home who has some problems at the moment – I needed to be in touch with him.

He said that tomorrow he would give us the wifi, but only for WhatsApp, not for media. That evening the wifi stopped working and when we told him he just said “I told you it’s just for WhatsApp. Now if you want more you’ll have to pay for it and charge it at the gas station.” I found this very unacceptable: not because of the the money but because he actually lied about the wifi and I don’t have to waste time during  my vacation looking for the specific gas station where I can charge his wifi.

That wasn’t all: the place was filthy, with hair and dust everywhere (he said the cleaning lady couldn’t come). The beds weren’t ready and I had to put on all the linen; not all of them were the right size. There wasn’t enough hot water for the shower and on the third night when my daughter was in the middle of a shower the electricity and the water stopped and we were left in darkness. We wrote to him (he wasn’t there) and he didn’t respond at all. The water and electricity returned after about an hour but he never contacted us.

Worse than anything was his attitude: he was always inpatient, arrogant and vulgar, like he’d really prefer we weren’t there at all. Even when he explained about some places we wanted to visit and I asked something he started to shout: “Are you gonna listen or not?!” My son got really scared from his shouting.

He also entered our room whenever he wanted without knocking on the door. We really felt uncomfortable there and after the incident with the water and electricity my kids didn’t want to stay there anymore. I also didn’t feel that we had to feel so bad during our vacation that we waited, planned, and saved for so long, so we decided to leave after the third night.

I’m not asking for refund for the nights we stayed, although he clearly didn’t fulfill what he promised and didn’t provide what he was supposed to. His attitude was terrible, and I think we definitely deserve a refund for the night we didn’t stay because we just couldn’t suffer anymore.

Hell’s Kitchen, Airbnb Nightmare Apartment in NYC

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I just got back from four days in NYC. I rented an Airbnb from two guys who had an apartment in Hell’s Kitchen (okay, should have given me a clue). Upon arrival everything seemed okay; there were no dirty dishes in the sink, and the toilet looked clean enough. THe tub was stained, but acceptable (not taking any bubble baths in it anyway, so sufficient for showering).

However, upon closer inspection, I came to discover that the whole place was filthy. Dirty dishes were left in dishwasher (no dishwasher fluid to clean them with either). The couch was stained, and there were stained, dirty duvets and sheets. Sheets were crumpled and did not appear to even be clean. Baseball-size balls of hair and dust were around the entire apartment, especially on the baseboards and beds. There was a repulsive oven (it set off smoke alarm when we tried to use it) complete with an old hard, burned French fry, and a dirty refrigerator.

The list went on and on. We stayed in a tent in the Sahara Desert once that was cleaner than this place. I immediately texted the owner (he didn’t respond to us, so called another guy in charge) that a cleaning crew needed to be called. Of course, we were assured that one would be there first thing in the morning. We used the towels – that did seem clean – to cover the pillows and ourselves so we could sleep. Suffice it to say that the “cleaning crew is coming” lie was told to us for three days.

The final night the guy texted us at 9:38 PM wanting to send a cleaning crew. In retrospect we should have said yes, as my guess is he was bluffing then too, but trying to cover his #$%. By that time we had bought new sheets after hiking over two miles to BBB and back. Finding this was no easy task in NYC. Quite pricey too, as there’s no Walmart in NYC.

When I got my invitation to post my review, I was loaded. Like I said in my review, I’ve seen animal cages that were cleaner than this apartment. Every night when we returned to the apartment because we’d left for the day – so this magical cleaning crew could appear while we were gone sightseeing for the day, as we had been told over and over by the host – only brought more disappointment, frustration and a string of phone calls to the host and Airbnb. We came to believe that the elusive “cleaning crew” must have lived in the land of the unicorns and lost their metro passes because they never came.

I just got a review from the host. I use that term loosely, as it implies that these guys did something to treat us as guests. He slammed us (me) with a vicious lie saying that we put our used linens and towels in the bathtub (no exit instructions so we called Airbnb and told them what we were going to do; they okayed it. What do you do with dirty linens and towels anyway? This is what we do at a hotel) and urinated on them. What kind of sicko mind can even come up with a defense that gross? Of course you can’t photograph this and he knew that we were staying with a child – pretty low buddy, blame the kid. Little does he know that this child is not a “child,” but a mini-adult who definitely does not wet the bed if that was his implication.

Anyway, I was pretty much pleased with Airbnb for giving us a full refund and eventually resolving our complaint, but it did take five different reps and a lot of phone calls. I also had a lot of pictures (that I really don’t want to post in case I need them for further action) and evidence to present. Even though I probably won’t use Airbnb again, I can say that I’m overall satisfied with Airbnb. It still makes me mad that these guys are out there, ruining other people’s vacations.

Even after this review, they can just list under other names and open new accounts? And the reviews? These guys were Superhosts with 21 positive reviews. It’s not like I didn’t do my due diligence. Buyer beware. All I can say is the next time I’m in New Orleans I’m buying two voodoo dolls.

Airbnb Cancellation Issues Part of their Business Model

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I fully understand that Airbnb is not a hotel service and that the hosts state their cancellation policy on the their page. That being said, I have had some issues with them. I booked a four-day stay on July 3rd at an oceanfront studio condo in Daytona Beach for October 26-30. When my boyfriend, who I added onto the reservation, looked at the dates he advised that I booked the wrong days.

I looked at the available dates for when we needed the Airbnb (October 18-22); the host’s place was not available. I contacted her the second I realized I would not be able to stay there, which was July 7th. She was very reasonable at first. She stated that because I cancelled months in advance that she would offer me a full refund and that I would need to cancel and then send a request. I did as she requested and Airbnb was fully aware of it. I cancelled and then sent the request.

After five days of her not accepting the request for the refund, I messaged her and asked if she would go and accept the refund. I then contacted Airbnb for a week and they stated there was nothing they could do at that point. It has now been five weeks since I sent the request and she has not answered even though I have sent messages. I have months before I would have even checked in for the reservation but she is unable to communicate.

I understand fully that I made the mistake, but by accidentally choosing the wrong dates and cancelling months in advance, I do not believe I should lose hundreds of dollars over this issue. I understand Airbnb is a way to save money but it would have been much easier to just get a hotel if it is going to be this difficult.

Florida Airbnb Not Close Enough to Beach

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Well, let’s start with our arrival. Upon arrival, the door code that the host sent didn’t work. We had to stand around for 45 minutes until we received the code to get into the key box located downstairs. She then failed to send her maintenance guy over to program the code for the door.

On Monday morning, we woke up at approximately 7:30 to the sound of construction noise at the building next door. We set out to find the beach, which was supposedly across from the unit. After a 10-minute drive down the road, we finally in came across Sombrero Beach. It was not within walking distance for the kids. Both the image posted for the unit, as well as the one from Google Maps, indicated the unit was across the road from Sombrero beach.

For the rest of the week we endured noise and construction workers gawking at our 13-year-old girls. This made the girls too uncomfortable to swim without an adult present. Additionally, music was blaring from the construction site all day long. After explaining all of these problems to the host, she indicated she was going to give us a credit for three nights. That never happened and I have attempted to contact her multiple times since with her simply ignoring my text messages and phone calls.

The location of the property, the hassle we endured, and the inconvenience was not worth the $2800+ we payed. I would not stay at any property that this woman represents. She simply lies to appease you for the moment and does not honor her word. Find another property.

Nightmare Airbnb in the Middle of Nowhere

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I thought that I found a new Airbnb holiday flat in a good location in a city centre in Spain. The host lied in his profile by saying “everything is nearby” and had also market names that were not really nearby. I believed their lies and lost time and money.

The host had an incorrect map showing the apartment in the city centre but after booking he had a new map with other details and another place far away in countryside. The location was not excellent as the host and some of his guests lied. I saw fields, not the markets he mentioned. There was a heatwave and nothing nearby. There was no possibility to buy water without walking 3-5 km. The host just didn’t care; he and his friend didn’t even leave a bottle of water.

The host didn’t bring the keys as he was living abroad. He had a friend or worker who gave me the keys and his friend didn’t speak English at all. His friend tried to communicate but he didn’t speak any English and he wrote everything with a translation app.

It felt like a scam. The dirty apartment had too many good reviews and false information about services nearby. It was not a suitable place for walkers; it was just a countryside location out of the centre and only suitable choice for drivers. I wonder if some guests really like to spend all day waiting for a bus or taxi in middle of nowhere to go buy food.

Now I think that the former guests were the host’s friends and not many real guests because they bragged about the apartment and its location without a good reason. The apartment was in an old hotel building. It had a strong urine smell, and almost everything was broken. The microwave was burnt and couldn’t be used. I had to walk a long way to fast food places during a heatwave.

The air conditioning was not the best inside, keeping the temperature about +30 or +33 C. The towels were left dirty even though I saw a cleaner and paid cleaning fees for nothing before seeing the apartment. I don’t know from where the smell came but the floor must have also been dirty. The washing machine was somehow broken; it took three hours to wash a few clothes. The oven I didn’t even try to use, but many plates were left broken.

The apartment felt to me like a old sock left for new people. The host told too many lies without even being in the same country. I wonder how Airbnb accept these hosts who don’t need to be in the same country where they rent apartments. It’s okay for Airbnb that a host has some friends (who don’t even speak English) bring keys. The host was thinking that all people on this planet have cars for driving to the food market. I cancelled and lost money from the cancellation fee but at the end it was best. Even hostels were better than this nightmare dirty apartment far from everything.

Peruvian Penthouse Sheet Stain Mystery

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Bring your own pipe wrench and king-size sheets if you holiday with Airbnb. My recent vacation in Peru began with four chilly days in a flat in Cuzco with no central heat. Not to worry: on the 34-degree nights, there was a small space heater in each bedroom that you could carry to the kitchen, the living room, and the bathroom. Speaking of bathrooms, there was an unfortunate seepage from the bottom of one toilet (if you have a toilet leak, this is definitely not the end to have it come out of).

Then there was the shower. On a cold Cuzco morning, I’m sure there is nothing like a hot shower to get you going. I wouldn’t know. My shower emitted a stream of hot water for the first one and a half minutes. After that you had to brace for a blast so cold it puckered you at both ends. If you’re hearty enough to tough it out you get rewarded with one cycle of lukewarm water for rinsing your bits and then you are on your own. This was The Good Place.

Next stop was the “penthouse” in Miraflores. This deluxe apartment had seen better days and the master suite won the award. Upon arrival, I set up my toiletries in the bathroom and went to wash my hands. No running water. I flushed the toilet. The tank did not refill. The water to the entire bathroom had to be manually switched on because the vanity plumbing was broken and constantly ran. So every shower, hand wash and toilet flush involved a two-step process. Plumbing was definitely not the priority because nearly every faucet in the house was loose. There was also another toilet leak on the first floor. What’s up with me and the toilets on this trip? This flat was the gift that kept on giving.

Upon my return home, I was greeted with a complaint from the owner with pictures of blue-stained sheets and an accusation that I must have worn wet jeans and sat on the bed and transferred dye. Since nobody on this site knows me, I feel compelled to let you know that I am that guy who leaves a note when I back into a parked car. I am also the type of guy who makes sure that he wears dry blue jeans. It’s kind of a thing for me. I am also not a Smurf.

Needless to say, I vehemently denied her crazy accusations, and let her know that there is no logical way that I could have put a stain on her sheets. I suggested that she speak with her cleaning crew, recommended washing whites with whites, and pointed out that the running water issue might be one to prioritize. This made her mad. After a few more exchanges I rejected her demand of $60 for a sheet.

By rejecting her damage claim, I went into Airbnb’s kangaroo court. What happens is that you get an opportunity to send Airbnb a private message to explain your situation anytime you electronically reject a claim. I told them that this was either a scam or a laundry mishap that I was wrongly blamed for. I gave them my cellphone number for them to reach out and offered up my traveling companions as witnesses.

Their response: A form-letterish email stating that they had reviewed the case and were siding with the owner since she reported the incident with a photo before renting to another party. You mean to tell me that is the standard of proof? Seriously? What about the cleaners? What about the owner herself trying to make an extra buck with a blue sheet scam? Who knows if that photo is even of a sheet that was in the house I stayed in?

Apparently that didn’t matter because Airbnb had already billed my credit card for $60. They made it very clear that I had already agreed to this in the fine print as a security deposit. I guess it is back to the Marriott for me. Airbnb and its total disregard for the customer has given me the blues. Literally.

Sleeping on the Streets of Madrid with my Baby

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I am looking for someone to listen to my story about my negative Airbnb experience. I am begging for help, as the customer service representatives and hosts of the place I have booked have insulted me and refused to help, and I will be sleeping in the streets with my 19-month-old daughter because of this.

A month ago, I booked an entire apartment in Madrid, Spain from June 16-25th. We arrived and the host rushed us through the apartment door, through our long hallway, and our room had a bedroom door. After he left, we discovered a locked door next to our bedroom door (in our apartment). We thought it was a closet, but I could see there was a light on.

I immediately contacted our host and asked if there was a person in our apartment. He said someone lives there. I could see a freshly used toothbrush in our bathroom. We were incredibly nervous. I was with my one and a half year old daughter, which is why I booked an entire apartment to ourselves. I did not sign up for a person living there.

By this time, it was midnight. I could not go out into the street with my child. My family and I did not sleep the entire night. It’s 2:30 PM in Madrid now. We have now been in contact with Airbnb for 12 hours now. When I emphasized that I am simply trying to protect my daughter, the customer service representative accused me of abusing my daughter. I was given warnings when I was just begging for help.

We are now left with nowhere to go, no refund, and being told left and right that we are not entitled to anything. It has been twelve hours with no resolution. Twelve hours with no safe haven for my 19-month-old daughter. We were thrown into an unsafe situation and basically told it doesn’t matter that this was a fraudulent listing, and if I want my daughter somewhere else, I need to once again pay out of pocket, and my $700 for the unsuitable unsafe fraudulent listing will not be returned. They told me they are done with the conversation.

They are silencing a mother, who is concerned for her child’s safety. People need to know what kind of company this is: one that not only disregards customers, but does nothing to ensure the safety of children. The safety of children in any situation should always be the number one priority. A mother should never be silenced. I should not have been mocked and accused of mistreating my child because I wanted her safe.

A man at Airbnb kept writing me messages saying I deserved nothing. I politely asked him numerous times to step back and please let me speak to someone else and he ignored that and kept telling me he’s closing my case. I am a customer. The case is closed when we reach a resolution and I say it’s closed. He clearly had something against me and wanted to wound me up further. Because of him and this host, my one year old daughter is sleeping in the streets tonight. I am begging for help. Begging. Please help me either receive my entire money back or a safe place to stay for the dates I requested.

There’s a Reason Everyone Should be Present at Checkout

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Well, this was first experience with Airbnb, and it’s already a nightmare. Long story short: I booked an apartment in Bucharest for three days. I paid, contacted the host, and was told to speak to a cleaning lady who deals with everything. The booking was made for three nights but as I finished what I came for, I informed the host and his cleaning lady that I would be leaving after only one night; I didn’t need a refund or anything. I was asked to leave the keys in the post office box as nobody would be there for the checkout. It seemed strange but I did just that. Two days later, I was informed by Airbnb that the host was asking for 1000 euros for a broken TV. I felt like I was about to faint as I left the TV in perfect condition. Someone must have broken it after my checkout and passed the blame onto me. If they would have been there for checkout I wouldn’t have had to go through all this. Please let me know what I should do and if I should go ahead and get legal help, maybe even ask for compensation.

Frustration at Airbnb After NYC Host Lied

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I experienced stress and frustration with the place I chose to stay at through Airbnb in NYC. The host happened to be a fraudulent and shameless person. Below are my comments to Airbnb. To my surprise the comments are not published, with the explanation that the message has private information. I asked to remove whatever was considered private but nevertheless, my comments have not been published. Airbnb, rather than protecting and helping the perspective clients, protects the fraudulent hosts. Airbnb refunded me 130 USD and closed the case without publishing the comments that explain the reasons for my frustration.

I do not recommend this place in any condition. It is dirty, and has never been cleaned for at least a month or more. The host was also inhospitable. I snapped a picture of the apartment’s condition for the proof of my complaint. The only advantage of the apartment is its location, but this doesn’t cover the stressf and frustration that you get staying in this place even for short time.

I paid for a master bedroom but instead I was placed in a much smaller messy bedroom, because somebody else had lived there already. The host informed me about the change of the room just minutes before my planned departure to NY. Due to my visa, I arrived three days later than planned. To my surprise, I found an apartment that looked like more like a warehouse of boxes, items, and stuff scattered all over the places. The guests are forced to maneuver between those to be able to move in the apartment.

Due to the conditions above I was not able to use the kitchen. The oven was dirty and piled up with items around it, and using a gas stove may have even caused a fire. The apartment has not been cleaned for a long time, nor was it cleaned while I was there or before my arrival. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust.

The host didn’t sound friendly at all. Prior to my arrival I called him to confirm my arrival time. Instead of a greeting, his reply was: “Follow the instructions given by email,” which I didn’t have with me at that moment.” The host’s name and the address advertised are not the same in reality. The host is trying to hide himself (it’s not clear why and from whom). My guess is that the host manipulates guests, only to get money from them with zero investments like cleaning the place.

I suggested settlement of 50%, due to the fact that instead of the master bedroom I was placed in a much smaller room, I arrived three days later, and the terrible condition of the apartment. The reply was rude and negative. In addition, I left my shoes and asked the host to sent them back. However, the host, in spite of what had happened, requested 100 USD to send them back. Of course I refused. Attached is a picture of the apartment.