Tag Archives: airbnb illegal

Airbnb Tries to Con me out of 1000 Dollars

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Our host cancelled on us when we were literally on his doorstep. After that we spent a good deal of our vacation trying to unearth some contact information for Airbnb. They don’t seem to want to talk to their customers. Meanwhile, the host offered us half our money back, which was transferred to my account. I had my Visa card changed before that, not knowing if Airbnb had already withdrawn the money. After quite a bit of digging, I got through to an actual person,who actually helped me get the rest back! So far so good. I wrote a fair review.

then after a couple of days Airbnb sent me a message claiming I had been reimbursed more than I’d originally paid and regretted that they couldn’t withdraw the excess money on my card – would I please tell my bank to let them have the money? I wrote them back, sending them evidence that I’d only received the original amount, after which they sent me a different (as in, fake) invoice stating an amount that was $1000 more than I had originally paid (and consequently received from them as a refund). I protested, sending them the original invoice and screen shots of my bank records. Airbnb totally ignored this, didn’t answer my emails, and sent me the same message every few days: they paid me too much; will I please talk to my bank about letting them withdraw $1000 dollars from my card? I also kept getting emails about writing a review of the host, but when I followed the link I was told i couldn’t “edit this review.” What review? I hadn’t written any! Their so-called customer service stinks and I have a hard time believing they are not trying to con me.

Outright Theft by Airbnb Discovered in Chile

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So, my story begins when I showed up to the door of what was supposed to be my Airbnb in Santiago, Chile. I called and emailed my host several times until I finally got a response. Her response was shocking to say the least. She told me she never accepted the booking and, in fact, she wasn’t even based in Santiago. Well, needless to say, I was pissed and panicked. I called Airbnb only to be put on hold for an inordinate amount of time. I was told that this was classified as an emergency and I would be contacted very shortly. Three weeks later… I still haven’t heard from them and I’m still being charged for the stay. That incident made me decide me to research my account. I saw a charge from Airbnb for $454. I never stayed  anywhere that they would need to charge me for that amount. I called and told them so and, again, was told this would be an emergency response. That made me concerned, so I started digging through my bank statements to find that Airbnb has stolen $5500 out of my account over the past year. Now I can’t get anybody on the phone to talk to me about it. But, it’s good to know that it is a priority for them to get this resolved.

Elderly Airbnb Guest in Germany Kicks Cat, Steals Keys

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This is my story of hosting a Spanish woman; I offer tips on avoiding weird guests on Airbnb and alternatives to Airbnb:

1. Use Wimdu instead. It’s a German platform. I have switched to Wimdu and like it.

2. Don’ t ever assume Airbnb customer service will help. They are a bunch of useless employees.

Made no mistake, those two points are equally important.

3. Avoid taking bookings from this guest.

4. The guest asked to stay in my flat for a month. She told me she was visiting to improve her English, and used a picture of a lovely flower as her profile picture. I assumed (big mistake) that I was going to host a young, open minded student… never ever take bookings from people who are not verified and who hide their real photos using pictures of flowers, cats, dogs, etc. I did not know that I was going to host a narrow minded 70 year old from Spain who was expecting me to be her maid.

5. On the arrival day, I saw her: a 70-year-old lady who struggled to find my place, wearing heels, with her lovely toenails painted red. She was the kind of person who thinks “you are my maid because I am renting a room in your house.” She wanted me to take her to the shop (LIDL) to buy food. Because she was quite old I tried to be nice so I took her to LIDL in my car, she did her shopping, and she called me on the phone to pick her up when she was finished (like I was a taxi service)

6. The second day, she pushed us to have dinner together because she had to improve her English. I said, “Well, I am not starving; I will have dinner later.” She replied, “Okay, then I will wait and I will have dinner with you.”

7. On the third day, she woke up in the morning “fresh like a flower” after she had been snoring the whole night (I got no sleep…) and she asked me about breakfast. I simply said: “No, I’m not cooking breakfast for you.” I never offered breakfast in my listing; it was just the room with ensuite bathroom, fresh towels and linen, and free use of the kitchen.

8. Day 4: she realized she had no travel adapter. I told her that there is a shop close by that sells them, and she replied, “You have more than one so you have to give me one of yours.” I just said “No…”

9. Day 5: she started using the washing machines (I’m not talking about one but multiple washing machines and driers) at 7:00 AM… on a lovely Saturday morning… the fact that I was still in bed and the washing machine was bloody noisy did not even bother the “princess.”

10. Day 6: I went out, came back, and caught her hitting my poor kitty cat. Finally, this was too much. I called Airbnb, told them I wanted to her out of my flat. Airbnb contacted her, so the fresh flower came to me and said, “Okay, I can leave… but you have to find me some new accommodation.”

11. I gave her the phone number of a 4-star hotel where she could be treated like a real lady, a fresh flower. However, I doubt that even in a 4-star hotel someone would have given her a travel adapter.

12. Finally, when she checked out at 9:30 AM, I stopped her and asked for the keys. She replied: “I am going downstairs to the car and then I am coming back to get my second suitcase.” I waited and waited and waited…. but she did not come back. I called her and she hung up on me. I texted her and told her to come back, take her suitcase, and give me the keys. No reply. Basically, I had her suitcase and she had my keys. I didn’t know where she was, and she could enter my flat anytime she wanted. I contacted Airbnb immediately. They replied: “She can’t give you the keys because she is busy finding new accommodations.”

At 4:00 PM I went to a locksmith to change the locks at my flat (120 euros). I called Airbnb and they said the same thing again – “she is busy looking for a new place” – so I told them: “Okay, it seems that you are not helping at all. I do not know what’s in this suitcase so I am going to the police station to hand the suitcase to a police officer.” An Airbnb representative called me back after five minutes (the case manager of my original contact) and begged me not to involve the police. He asked me to go the the hotel where she was staying – I thought that she had been looking for accommodations…? – and to give her the suitcase. I told him to tell the fresh flower to go to the police station to collect her suitcase because I had no intention of going to her hotel. Finally at 5:00 PM I managed to get my keys back thanks to the police.

When the adventure with the fresh flower was finally over, I asked Airbnb for compensation because I had had to replace the locks in my flat. Obviously, there was no compensation and they have not paid me for the six nights the “fresh flower” stayed in my flat. I had never had a cancellation before and I won’t have cancellations again; I am not using Airbnb anymore.

Airbnb’s Model is Designed for Scammers

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We booked and confirmed a two bedroom apartment in midtown Vancouver four months in advance. Everything seemed fine except the host told us she did not have “front desk” privileges and access would be via the side entrance. The host’s name was Ashleigh P. A few weeks before leaving for Vancouver, I noticed her listing had disappeared from Airbnb. I messaged her and she said she had to take it down because she was getting too many requests. She replied using the name Nicole P. One week before leaving for Vancouver I contacted Airbnb to discuss my rising doubts. I was told there was no need to worry. They were confident everything was above board. Why were they so dismissive?

Five days before arriving I got a message reminding me she had no “contract” with the management at her condo for concierge services so she would meet me personally to let me in and show me around. At 8:30 AM on the morning of the booking I was boarding a plane to fly to Vancouver and I got a text saying to meet her at a different address in Vancouver. I called Nicole/Ashleigh and she told me she could not provide the apartment to which she agreed as her access pass had been blocked but she moved us to a one bedroom in a different area of town. She was not prepared to explain or “argue with you about this.” The booking had been changed and she had no obligation to do more.

What transpired was that she had been subletting an apartment illegally in a building and the owner/building management found out and blocked her access. She had been doing it successfully for some time and had good reviews but now had been caught and barred. Obviously, the assurance she had given Airbnb was false. When I raised this with Airbnb they said: “We have hundreds of thousands of hosts. We can’t verify all their claims.” Airbnb cancelled the booking and helped us find another that we had to accept with just four hours’ notice. It was a long bus ride out of town and the unit was on a very busy highway. Our holiday was completely ruined.

What is my complaint? Airbnb said Nicole told them she had a last minute hiccup and they accepted her excuse. They agreed it was unacceptable but they had absolutely no plan to do anything other than help me find an alternative accommodation; after all, she was a successful host (i.e. she made big money for Airbnb). I was told this really did not happen often and I was unlucky. I was told four times that Airbnb took great care to look after their customers and that my experience was unusual. The bottom line is that Airbnb will keep Nicole/Ashleigh. She is a valuable source of income to them. They understand what has happened but if she tells them she is okay to offer an apartment then they will take her word for it. Airbnb’s model is set up to facilitate scamming and they know that, believing they can “manage” victims when they inevitably emerge. It’s a “let the buyer beware” portal. So beware.

Unstable Host and Airbnb Turned my Vacation into Hell

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My first and last experience with Airbnb pointed out a fundamental flaw in their business model: hotel, motel and even most B&B operators are professionals; Airbnb hosts are amateurs. Because of that, they may not understand they are in the hospitality business, and Airbnb guests can be the unfortunate guinea pigs. As soon as our family arrived at our condo, our host came around and seemed to be spying on us. That evening she chased down a group of us out for a stroll; she asked them how many were staying at the condo told them she suspected more were staying there than she permitted. Later that night she pounded on the door and loudly proclaimed the same accusation. We explained that we had only six staying there (the two-bedroom unit was advertised to sleep six) and two people visiting who were staying elsewhere. She demanded we leave. When we refused, she picked up her phone and dialed 911, claiming she was the victim of assault! When asked if she had been physically assaulted, she replied “no, but I have been verbally assaulted.” When that apparently didn’t impress the operator, she claimed she had “nine drunk tenants and I want them out.”

We told her if she wanted in the unit she would need a warrant. Eventually the police arrived, and she demanded through texting that we come out and meet with the officer. When we didn’t respond, she called Airbnb. To my shock, Airbnb texted me that they had a serious complaint against me and that they had cancelled the reservation and ruled that a refund was not permitted! The next morning, this obviously emotionally unstable host opened the front door and pounded on the wall, shouting: “Your reservation has been cancelled and you need to leave!” We knew she had no legal right to evict us, so we stayed; however, the stress ruined our vacation. And the fact that Airbnb supported her madness only added to the nightmare. Beware of Airbnb… you will be subject to the whims of your host and the company will not have your back!

Closed my Account, Airbnb Still Owes me Money

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I had rented my condo on Airbnb for about two years with few issues from the company. I finally decided to pull my listing and shut down my account early last January as I no longer wanted to use them as a service to host. Shortly after, I started receiving emails to my account stating “It’s time to get paid” and I needed to update my payment information; they had over six hundred dollars that was still owed to me from a guest staying. I did not realize I had any more money coming my way. I tried to log in to update my payment information as the email suggested but the system would not let me as I no longer had an account. I called customer service many times and waited on hold while paying long distance, but they said they could not help me as I did not have an account they could pull up. I wrote multiple emails in response to the emails they sent me and to customer service team and not once did I receive a reply. Airbnb is basically holding the money they owe me hostage despite them repeatedly admitting they owe me a substantial amount of money through a bombardment of recurring reminder emails to collect the money owed me. I am still getting these emails every few weeks but have exhausted all options to collect it from them as Airbnb will not help me get my money from them. This is totally illegal and straight up theft by Airbnb.

Lost Everything in Airbnb Theft… Inside Job?

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We moved to Southern California on July 15th, 2016 and unfortunately, while staying at an Airbnb in Pasadena and looking for a permanent place, our apartment got broken into and everything we had brought with us including our passports, birth certificates, national ID cards, all our academic diplomas and transcripts, and every single immigration document we had got stolen (including the copies of them). This is in addition to the huge financial loss due to the jewelry, laptops, even specialty contact lenses being stolen. Obviously the police were immediately notified and involved. We are still in shock and I don’t think it’s something we can easily recover from. We’ve compiled the list of the items we remember that have been stolen and every day still remember some new items that are missing and realize they were in our suitcase or backpacks… The truth seems to be far from what the reviews and the Internet suggest!

Unfortunately, some of the documents are irreplaceable such as both of our undergrad and masters original transcripts and diplomas as they are issued only once in our home country. This can have a significantly negative impact on our professional lives and careers. The magnitude of the damage is beyond repair. The host and management company failed to change the lock on the unit, after the previous tenant had not returned the keys. The Airbnb host and the apartment management are telling us conflicting stories. The Airbnb host says he had asked for the locks to be changed but management denies it, as says he only asked for a duplicate key.

The apartment management claims that the security cameras were being serviced exactly in that hour when the burglary happened and thus no footage has been recorded. There was no evidence of forced entry (remember this is a gated apartment complex with a digital entrance, gated parking, and a key to the unit). These all suggest that it was an inside job. Nothing that was originally in the Airbnb property was even touched by the thief, whereas all of the stolen items belonged only to us! The property loss is about $20,000 (jewelry, laptops, bags, clothes, etc.). Financial loss is something that you can forget and recover from, however the loss of all identification documents, educational records, and most importantly the feeling of having been violated this way, is something that will be haunting us for a long time. We firmly believe the people who caused this need to pay for it and make sure this does not happen to anyone else…

We believe Airbnb should have done something to make sure any apartment that is being rented using Airbnb’s name is a safe place and that if a tenant does not return a key, that it is immediately reported, and the unit made unavailable as soon as possible. I hope this will not happen to anyone else!