Tag Archives: airbnb illegal

Does Airbnb Condone Prostitution in Paris?

Posted on

Here is an experience that shows how Airbnb truly operates with the practice of totalitarian and dishonest methods in order to maximize its gains. The resolution center is there to give anyone that files a complaint serious headaches, to make it as lengthy and complicated as possible to put off potential claims and, in the end, to make a decision without the possibility of appeal or protest. In short, disgusting downright incompetence and amateurism combined. Be warned.

An American female traveler stayed in my studio, located in Paris, France. After three days the complaints from neighbors multiplied and one called the police in the early morning. They discovered my guest and a gentleman who admits to having “paid [for] sexual services” having a heated argument. The traveler denies <em>en bloc</em> and demands a refund “because of some renovation that disrupted her stay.” In fact, it concerned a facelift of a nearby building.

Despite sending the police record and an affidavit from a neighbor this is the Airbnb resolution:

“Hi Paul, This is Keith with Airbnb. I hope this email finds you well. After reviewing all the documentation provided for this resolution case a fair mediation has been reached. Juliana was requesting $1320.00 for the issues had during her stay. I’ve processed a refund to Julian in the amount of $321.00 USD for the issues she experienced. Since your payout was already released for this reservation, a $320.00 adjustment has been added to your account. This means that the amount will be automatically deducted from your future payouts until it has been reconciled. You can check the status of your payouts at any time in your Transaction History, which can be found at Account > Transaction History. The Completed Transactions tab displays your payout when it is released by Airbnb, and when it’s processed by the banking system. This concludes this Resolution case. You are now able to submit your own Resolution case for consideration. All the best, Keith S.”

In other words: Airbnb condones prostitution. Airbnb doesn’t care about hosts. According to my calculations, I’ve made the equivalent of $20,000 in the past five years for this Mickey Mouse company. The style and spelling of their replies clearly demonstrate that Airbnb representatives have zero legal expertise, and are mere puppets of the corporate philosophy of maximizing revenues at any cost.

Airbnb Guest Stole from me

Posted on

I had a guest for one night, who walked away with a few items, including: TV, air conditioner, coffee machine, toaster. I have contacted the guest on his mobile – the man who answered said he’s never heard of Airbnb. I contacted the police, who asked for any traces that might help the investigation. Then I contacted Airbnb. They absolutely refused to provide me with any clues as to the guest’s real indentity, and said they will “run their own investigation.” They asked me for the police report, which obviously takes a bit of time to come through, and 48 hours later closed the case indefinitely. More over, they did not even transfer payment, which they have collected from that guest. On that basis that, I have opened a legal case. This is insane. If anyone knows an alternative to Airbnb I would love to hear it.

Ruining NYC: Airbnb Neighbor Nightmare

Posted on

I would suggest a new category of victim for this website: Airbnb neighbor. My home and four other apartments in a small 6-unit building were all unwilling dragged into the pitfalls of the sharing economy. We had involuntary, front-row seats to the joy of when one individual volunteers access to your doorstep to the world without your consent and lies to everyone involved for her personal financial gain. Stephanie Browne is a serial Airbnb “host” who at one point listed up to three separate full apartment rentals in Bushwick, Brooklyn; this is illegal to do in NY for less than 30 days.  Having reaped much financial gain as a full-blown gentrifier with two separate rental apartments in one building, she proceeded to expand her hotel room business by signing a lease in another small 6-unit apartment building. Our new “neighbor” proceeded to rent the apartment out as early as two weeks from when she moved in to the unit.

Why, we wondered, are families of five who obviously don’t know anything about the neighborhood carrying bottled water and coolers into a one bedroom apartment when our “neighbor” was nowhere to be seen? Sure enough, the apartment was listed on Airbnb for rent, with Stephanie Browne claiming to be the owner. This started a full year of random vacationing strangers parading through the building at all hours, with one guest at one point threatening the host by calling the police when she was locked out, and causing the entire building’s locks to be changed. She gave out building keys like party favors to the whole world. Meanwhile, she was not even residing in the country and had moved full-time to Europe.

Stephanie Browne is the diametric opposite of the “good actor” Airbnb claims makes up their hosts who only need to rent periodically to afford their rent. Browne, by holding three leases for apartments she neither owned or resided in purely for the use of temporary guests, is the exact cause of why everyone’s rent in NYC is going up. After much complaining and lackluster enforcement of the law by NYC Department of Buildings, she gave up the rental unit one year early. As a parting shot, she tried selling the books and furniture from her hotel room to her “neighbors” in the building and wrote this pitiful, inaccurate justification of her noxious lifestyle.

Meanwhile, she still continues to list two illegal rentals while living in Europe. Airbnb’s community complaint line is joke: they enabled her lies to the guests, the building owner, and the occupants of the building she put at constant inconvenience and risk. The moral of the story for other afflicted neighbors who become unwilling concierges to hotel rooms in their own building: know your rights, contact your management company, elected officials, local enforcement agencies, and get these hosts that are your neighbors where it hurts, their wallets.

Airbnb Theft in Safe Neighbourhood

Posted on
blank

Penny wise pound foolish stay. This place is a trap! Don’t stay here if you don’t want to be robbed. At first glance, the apartment looks secure. Decent neighbourhood and location, locked access to the block only by residents, and a double lock door gave us a false sense of security. While we were out, someone broke in and stole all our valuables. We had bought high value items amounting to 7000 euros. Despite locking the door and windows, the thief broke in with no sign of forced entry. He was a true professional, or it was an inside job. Besides stealing our stuff, we also found a knife in the bathroom, left by the thieves. Thank goodness we didn’t come back during the break in.

Throughout the stay, we didn’t meet the owner (Ben). Only his assistant, Gabi, who helped with check in, and his cleaner lady. Both have keys to access the apartment. After the incident, the owner did not bother to meet us, check his apartment, nor lodge a police report with us. Talk about being unhelpful. In my conversations and texts with Ben, all he could offer was an apology whilst constantly defending his Gabi and the cleaner as innocent. In conclusion, this seemingly safe looking apartment is a tourist trap where thieves can simply walk in and out with all our belongings without leaving a trace. The apartment looks nothing like the nice photos, and the owner, although quick to respond with smooth words in good times, offers no help nor takes any responsibility when a crime takes place in his apartment. I hope no one has to go through the ordeal we had to endure. We left a thorough review of the host. It was up on his Airbnb page for a week and unfortunately I received an email from Airbnb today saying it “includes sensitive, personally identifiable information” and has been removed. Airbnb didn’t even enquire about the knife in the bathroom!