Tag Archives: airbnb nightmare

Illegal Drugs Found in Airbnb Upon Arrival

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These are the facts about what happened upon arrival at an Airbnb residence in London. My partner’s father and grandmother, residents of Germany, were visiting myself and my partner between Sunday, June 17th, 2018 and Friday, June 22nd, 2018. My partner’s grandmother has not visited the UK before and this will be the last time she will travel to there.

Upon arrival in the UK, my partner, my partner’s father, my partner’s grandmother and I went to the Airbnb residence. Upon arrival, we were disgusted with the cleanliness of the apartment, the floors being sticky and with clear connotations that they had not been cleaned in a while. There were also several stains on the coffee table.

This was not the worst part, as upon inspecting the flat my partner’s grandmother (a woman in her 70s) found what she thought to be a transparent sealable spare button bag. While looking at it, the unmistakeable stench of cannabis wafted from within. This was found at the base of the kitchen counter, clearly seen from any place within the room. When investigating further we also found remnants of cannabis cigarettes both in the rear sliding doorframe as well as just outside the door.

We took pictures of the bag as well as one of these used cannabis cigarettes which we placed on the counter to clearly be seen against its black surface. On top of this we have the physical evidence. Immediately we were in touch with the Airbnb team to escalate the matter and ask for a refund. We were directed by the support team towards both the resolution centre and asked for a refund from the owner of the property.

Upon the owner not accepting the terms, we contacted Airbnb customer service directly. This is where the level of service provided to us has been shocking to say the very least. Due to the language barrier, as well as no help from Airbnb to resolve this, the verification stages for me to represent my partner’s father were practically impossible to do until he was asked to call them directly to verify his representation. This was the initial issue that was not resolved in a professional or timely manner by customer service representatives.

After this shocking experience for my partner’s grandmother as well as the terrible customer service my partner’s father and I experienced, I was finally verified to speak on his behalf. My grandmother has not seen or ever come into contact with illegal substances in her entire life. A reminder at this moment that we found illegal drugs in the apartment with photographic evidence as well as physical evidence to support this.

I have called the customer service number multiple times, speaking with several agents that represent Airbnb’s so called ‘service’. They refused to give me their representative ID numbers. Upon asking to escalate this issue several times and asking to speak with either a manager or someone who is more equipped to deal with my service issues, every single representative said that they could not pass me to a manager or an escalation point.

Upon exploring potential options such as transferring me to another agent, to a line manager, to an escalation point, to even physically leaving their desks to walk to a ‘managerial’ department, I was refused service. To help understand what customer service is, here is a definition of “customer service” by Oxford Dictionary:

The help and advice that a company gives people who buy or use its products or services.

To this day, I have received no help, only excuses for how Airbnb is structured into different departments with zero points of escalation. No advice on the next steps, only excuses stating that this ‘ticket’ is with the escalation team, a department that has no customer facing contact point. Finally, there has been no answer as to when this will be finished.

I have been in contact with our professional legal team to settle these matters publicly with the overarching support from the police, who will be notified if we do not get an answer/refund as soon as possible. Having been ten days since originally escalating the issue to the ‘resolution centre’ department, this is unacceptable and we will be taking further action if there is no resolution or response by this Friday (June 29th, 2018). What are everyone else’s thoughts on this? No opinions about illegality/legality of cannabis please – this is a Class B drug in the UK.

Airbnb’s Removed Listings in Japan Complicate Visas

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Due to the new Japanese law, all the Airbnb listings without permits have been removed from the site. The place we booked is also one of them. We had two groups booked with the same host on the same date at the same location. After the law passed, they contacted Airbnb and the host, and cancelled it right away so guests could find a new place.

However, when we tried to request a cancellation, they wouldn’t do it. They kept asking me to wait for the host to get the permit. Because I had to apply for a Japanese visa, I was really in a hurry to get a response. No one seemed to care at all. They said that if I wanted to cancel, because it is a long term stay, I would lose the first month’s rent. This is not my fault. Then they said that they only can cancel it ten days before the departure date if the host cannot get the permit… this is ridiculous.

So we have to wait ten days before my trip to know if we have place to stay or not? How they can treat the guests like this? We have to stay in Japan for three months. Not just a few days. This is why my friend wanted to cancel the property for the same dates as us, but we cannot do it. This is a horrible experience. I can’t believe any company would doing this to their guests Can someone give me any suggestions for this? Can I still use the Airbnb confirmation letter to apply for my visa?

Clothes Stolen by Host, Airbnb Does Nothing

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I have been using Airbnb since 2011 and generally have had good experiences. However, my most horrific experience happened in May in Kiev. I arrived from the airport late, went to the apartment close to the centre, took the keys from below the door mat, and entered the apartment. Five minutes later, the host entered the apartment with knocking saying that he still wanted to clean. Even when I insisted that this was not needed, he said he wanted to do so and also needed to get some stuff. I gave him permission but had to leave the apartment right after to buy some groceries.

The next morning, I had a bad surprise as I could not find half the clothes that I had left in a plastic bag. I called the host, who sounded shocked, saying “Oh man, I did not know these were your clothes!” He told me that he had put my clothes some place in the apartment but did not know where exactly; I should call him in the evening. I waited until the evening, when I received a message from him saying: “The bag of clothes that you left in the apartment – I did not touch it, so try to remember where you left it!”

I got really upset, because it became clear what was happening: he had taken the clothes and was now denying responsibility. I called him and he finally admitted that he had taken the clothes because they were in a plastic bag; he thought that they were from an old guest and thus thrown them away. He had thrown away my clothes, including a jacket, a blazer, shirts, sweater, and a 150-euro anti-radiation underwear. We tried to recover them but they were gone.

I asked for compensation, to the amount of the value of the cloths, that I listed. Not the value of buying them new, but the value taking into account that at least the jacket was over a year old. The total value would have been over 500 euro but I asked for 237 euro, the minimum amount. The host agreed to this compensation. I asked him to pay via PayPal. Airbnb wrote me within minutes saying that I could not ask my host to pay me via PayPal, only the internal payment method. I tried internal payment but that only gave me 70 USD, which was the price of my stay.

I asked Airbnb customer support agents and in fact have talked to five case managers. They still have not answered my question how I can get compensation for the stolen goods. Before leaving the apartment, I wanted to get compensation from the host, but he did not respond. I remained at the apartment, but called Airbnb and was told that I had to leave the apartment right away. I said, “Once I am gone, the host might never compensate me.”

They responded: “Do not worry; we’ll take care of it! You just have to leave the apartment now”.

I left, but when I asked for compensation, neither my host nor Airbnb wanted to pay. I got a new case manager who told me I needed to upload pictures of my clothes, so that they could compensate me. I did that but then the case manager disappeared and I got yet another case manager. That case manager talked to the host and reported he did not want to pay anything in compensation: “I am sorry! There is nothing else I can do.”

In short, my clothes were taken by the host and neither the host nor Airbnb wants to compensate me. I had five case manager changing every few days, none willing to help. I was promised that Airbnb would take care of it, and they did nothing, only assigned it to a new case manager. I was told I could not use PayPal but was never offered a way to get compensation. I was told to leave the apartment and that they would fix it, but they did not do anything. The only thing they did is ask the host if he wanted to compensate me, and if host says no they say, “Sorry, we cannot help you.”

San Diego Airbnb Gem Turns out to be Nasty

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The tags more or less say it all. We arrived to an overwhelmingly bad smell, a mixture of body odor and dog pee. It turned out the sheets were dirty – I mean really dirty with hair on the pillowcase and a horrible smell. We contacted the host who sent out her mother (the head of housekeeping) to put on fresh linens.

Fortunately, we lived close (long story) so we went and brought our own bedding. After removing all of the bedding the whole house smelled better – except the dog pee – so we sort of got used to it. The bath linens were dirty too. The towels smelled of mildew but the hand towel smelled of ass, literally. I found out the hard way after washing my face. Looking closely anywhere showed a lot of dirt including dust, stains, grime, hair, spider webs, spider shit, rat shit, mildew, and more.

The filth kicker was the cabinet above the kitchen sink. There was an opening to the outside and rats have been coming into the house. Two un-set rat traps still with peanut butter residue sat patiently waiting to be used again and were peppered with rat shit. Another cabinet had three other rat traps in it as well.

The amenities consisted of a used roll of paper towel, a nearly empty bottle of dish soap, a mishmash of silverware not even making up a full complement, some pots and pans but no colander for making spaghetti, and just random barely acceptable $1 store plastic ware. I mean it has some charm, but this crap sets the stage for a lovely four-night stay.

During the stay we discovered the casita next door had a couple in it on a vacation where they never left their unit, talked and laughed loudly all day and night with their windows open we think on a recreational weed holiday. On the other side the neighbors had a nest cam pointed out their window at the Airbnb unit looking past a fence cut down low for visibility and peering into the bathroom and kitchen windows. With no fan in the bathroom you open the window only to be filmed while showering.

When you go to write a bad review and you dispute the $85 cleaning fee, this is the response you might get: “We have to keep traps because of the surrounding fruits trees. I’m sorry that you experienced uncleanliness. I will bring this to the cleaners attention. I just ask you to not write me an awful review. Thank you for your understanding.”

Fortunately they refunded that fee. I am absolutely stunned that anyone recently even wrote a positive review.

Wasted a Week Moving from Airbnb to Airbnb

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I want to follow up regarding our cancelled booking. I want to explain that a 10% credit is completely insufficient for the problems this cancellation caused. We had been traveling all day in a rental car with a four-year-old child and a car full of our life’s belongings – to be precise, over 170 kgs of luggage including a bicycle in a box. I can send a picture of the loaded car if you like?

We had booked into the apartment because it was on the ground floor and near the center. We arrived on time – exactly. After being given so many warnings by the host about being on time exactly and furthermore warning us about providing time for the cleaners (how this could impact us is a complete mystery to me, as guests pay for cleaning). You of course can review all the messages between us.

Anyway we arrived, found it difficult to park, and then called the host as there was no one there at the time agreed upon, 4:30 PM. The host did not answer his phone and a helper answered, telling us the check in time was 5:00 PM not 4:30 PM. They were wrong and then we spent almost an hour waiting in the sun getting conflicting messages from the host via the platform and the helper on the phone number provided. Our daughter was beat and tired and needed to use the bathroom. We did too.

After over an hour we were told the apartment was being cancelled. Finding a new place with a flat mobile battery on the side of the road, in the sun, after driving all day was a nightmare to say the least. We eventually did find a place. It wasn’t ideal, so we booked only for four nights. A two-story place with a four-year-old on a busy street is not what we wanted.

We arrived around 8:00 PM, 3.5 hours after being ready to check in. We could not return our rental car as planned as we were too tired and the rental agency would have been closed by the time we unpacked all the stuff from the car. We didn’t get to have dinner until 9:30 PM, which for all of us was unacceptable, especially for a four year old, and of course we wasted a day as we have to return car today and all of us are too tired to do anything.

In addition, we have to pay Airbnb’s service and cleaning fees twice for organizing one week’s accommodation, as this place is not suitable for the whole week. We also will have to hire another vehicle or moving taxi as we will have to move all the stuff to another accommodation. We will also waste another day moving all our stuff to another location.

This cancellation has ruined our arrival and at least a few days involved in rebooking and moving, which in turn has ruined the week we had planned as now we will not be able to achieve what we had carefully planned to achieve. Not to mention the stress involved for everyone which is a major health concern and one that Airbnb as a provider is responsible for.

For a $30 billion company to offer us a 10% return is pathetic in any sense. The hotel chains that Airbnb competes with would offer a full credit and more. As Airbnb has claimed, it is extremely rare that they could cover all the costs, as it would be such a small expenditure for such a large company for an incident that hardly ever happens. If such incidents of ruining holidays are common then I would think their business model is flawed. Could you let me know ASAP what Airbnb can do to rectify this disaster.

Airbnb Break-in after Few Hours… No Refund, No Review

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I organised a trip last year that I will surely remember. I’m getting married in September and I organised a hen-do in Barcelona with my Italian friends who were flying from Rome and Bologna. Lots and lots of preparation. A nice flat with a terrace to enjoy our precious (and rare) time together. What could possibly go wrong?

We were all so excited. The area was Hospitalet de Llobregat. Not central, but not that far from it; we just wanted to spend time together. From the beginning, we realised how dodgy that place was, and this was confirmed by many people we spoke to after the break-in, police included. Some taxis refused to take us there on Friday night, and the policemen said that in particular the street where we were was very dangerous, so extra care should have been taken when someone has to stay in that building. Were there any mentions from the host? None whatsoever.

After few hours after our arrival, we had a break-in in the flat as soon as we went for dinner. They stole iPad tablets and glasses. The terrace (i.e. the major selling point of the flat) was extremely exposed and not safe. We discovered the following day that it was easily accessible through other communal terraces and the police forensic expert confirmed that this is what happened for our break in. The window of the bedroom facing the terrace where the thieves entered was faulty; it was not possible to secure it properly.

This should have been sorted by the host before we entered the flat, given how dangerous the area was known to be and how accessible the terrace is. It is not possible that the owner did not know both of these things, and yet (again) there was no warning or thought given to our safety or the security of our valuables in the flat. We had to spend our Saturday (the only day we could have been together) dealing with Forensics and Police statements and searching for another place to stay for the night.

Airbnb completely refused to give us any compensation for the accident, not even of the items stolen. This was all host’s fault and it was very preventable. The holiday with my friends that we dreamed so much about it? That opportunity is gone forever and there will not be another time to do this. I kept phoning the complaint department who kept saying that they were re-opening the case, to then discover that the original department, Trust and Safety, kept closing it.

Did someone check into the flat after the break-in? They just “recommended” the host to repair the window. Trust and safety? A lot of trust for the reckless host and zero safety for me. The host begged me to not post any reviews and I was holding until the case was closed. Discovering what? That for a hidden policy you’re not allowed to write any review on the place you’ve visited after 14 days. This is not mentioned in any email they send you or on the website at all. It is buried in one of the forum posts. I felt I completely lost on every angle.

I was a great fan of Airbnb, but this completely changes my perspective. Security is not contemplated at all in any of the flats they list, and this is shocking. Something goes wrong and they don’t take any responsibility, they don’t refund you and you cannot even share the experience with the others. A total disgrace.

Airbnb Host Raised Rental Price After Booking

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As my French friends advised me to book an Airbnb place instead of my already booked hotel, I decided to book a place on Airbnb in Paris. As this was my first time booking with Airbnb, I was giving special attention to reviews. After trying to contact a few hosts before actually booking, just as it is advised, and getting no answers, I found a host who was verified by Airbnb with pretty good reviews. I booked the place, sent a message, and waited.

There was no message from the host, no confirmation of my booking, and as it was already close to my departure date and possibility of cancelling my hotel booking, I decided to stick to my hotel and cancelled the request for the Airbnb booking before it was confirmed. Not more than a minute later came a message that she was about to confirm my request and another message came from Airbnb with a special price offer.

I accepted the special price offer, paid Airbnb, got confirmation, and cancelled my hotel booking. This was already three days before my departure for Paris. The next day I got a message from Airbnb saying that the hosts wanted to change my booking, raising the rate by more than 400€. I immediately tried to contact the host on the number given after confirmation, but no one answered my calls or SMS.

I was thinking ‘What the hell!?’, refused the change, and Airbnb again messaged me saying that my booking was confirmed. Half an hour later I got a message from the host saying she made a mistake and offered a price that was too low and that Airbnb was putting too many provisions on her request for a change in the booking.

I am not answering any more messages as I found this site with similar situations. She then cancelled my booking and sent me another offer for booking her place with a new price. Did she think I would book it again after all? I gave up booking on Airbnb, booked another hotel, paying more than my first booking and not in a part of Paris I wanted. I guess never again I will try to book Airbnb following all the ‘proper advice’ from them.

The Tale of an Awful Hostess who Held me Hostage

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TL;DR: Airbnb hostess agrees to let me change a three-month reservation to one month, then goes back on her word and verbally/financially holds me hostage until Airbnb got involved. Also unreasonably bitchy about stuff. Gather round, and let me tell you a fairytale-like story that quickly became hellish…

Once, in a neighbourhood called Butte aux Cailles in Paris, there was an apartment listed on a place called Airbnb. A young student from the faraway land of North America decided to book this apartment for three months while she was working in France. Even though the student didn’t have much money, she thought that the neighbourhood and the experience would make it worth it (big mistake, she later learned, as she paid about 1000 euros per month for a room, which is way overpriced for what 99% of rooms in Paris are worth).

Anyways, in this apartment lived a woman who the student had figured would be a nice and agreeable person. The tales from others on Airbnb had claimed that she was, however – this young student would later learn – really, for lack of a better term, a “nasty and unreasonable bitch”.

So, what are the problems, you ask? Well, dear reader, let me list them out (and at this point I will just break immersion since writing in the third person is tiresome, and straight up tell you what happened).

Week 1 [~May 3rd]: Host complains about “turning on the water taps too hard and running the shower too hard.”

“Well, if I’m paying 1000 euros just for a room, you really shouldn’t complain too much about me turning on the tap because it’s a little sensitive,” I think, but I shrug and say “alright.”

Week 1 [~May 4th]: The host’s friend was staying over on the couch. She’s nice, although there isn’t much space in the apartment so a curtain is drawn up between the living room and the entrance to my room.

Week 1 [~ May 7th]: I told the host that I was planning on moving out to the dorms after the end of May. She was understanding and sympathetic at the time, and offered to help me find a room with her friend. Unfortunately, it’s too far from where I work, so I declined. However, she said that she would call Airbnb to waive the normal 30-day fee for modifying the reservation.

Week 2 [~May 14th]: I came home at around 11:30 PM and went to my room. The next minute, the host sent a text message complaining about the noise I made when opening the door (she had told me on the first day that the door is tricky, and obviously turning the lock would make unavoidable noise). I had not known beforehand that her friend had been staying over the last two nights, and I told her that: “I would appreciate it if you tell me that you have guests staying the night. It would be unreasonable to expect that I should be completely quiet if I don’t know that someone is already asleep when I come home (via text).”

I believed it to be a reasonable request to ask from her, as I was happy to accommodate if I had known that her friend was staying. On most nights, the street below where her house is often very loud due to the many pubs, with the noise going into late hours of the night (2-3:00 AM).

Week 2 [May 14th night]: The host flips out. She said that “it is quite normal to make less noise in the apartment, because I also live in this apartment, as does my friend and my daughter [which is false, only the host lives there].”

Then she complained to me about the unwashed dishes (I left a cup in there once) and the hygenic pads in the trash (where do pads go, in your bed?), and kept telling me to “respect the rules of the contract.” All I asked her was just to give me a headsup if her friend was staying over.

Week 3 [May 15th]: I told the host that I would be moving June 1st (as discussed with her over a week ago). She flipped out a second time, and told me that I could not leave until after the end of June. In her words: “she has a contract for her daughter’s (university) room until the end of June.”

While this was the case when I originally booked, we had agreed in Week 1 that I would check out at the end of May. I was feeling incredibly uncomfortable being held verbally and financially hostage like this. I was super stressed to return to the apartment, or even leave my room.

Week 3 [May 16th]: I saw her in the morning and she asked me to explain “What was the problem? I don’t understand what was the problem.” This culminates in a terse argument between us. I sent a plea for help to Airbnb support.

Week 3 [May 17th]: Airbnb was surprisingly super helpful. They called me telling me to cancel the agreement, and refunded me for the nights not spent, while also nullifying the 30-day penalty. A colleague let me stay in his house shared with six others until the end of May, which turned out to be a 350 square meter apartment in Paris. By Parisian standards, this was pretty much a castle.

Anyways, to wrap up my long-winded story, avoid this host at all costs. She made me so nervous and agitated being around her because I felt like I had to constantly tiptoe around her or get bitched at. And that was just the icing on the cake compared to her outright lying to me, and not letting me leave in May instead of July – even after we agreed multiple times that I could check out early.

At least I know that long term rentals on Airbnb are awful. Unfortunately I forgot to leave a review on her listing and profile because of a bunch of other stuff was going on at the time, and then I missed the 14-day time limit. This story did actually happen though; take a look at these pictures.

Airbnb Host Won’t Acknowledge Paint Fumes

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We had the most horrible night at this Airbnb due to the host recently painting all of the woodwork in this Victorian bedroom with gloss paint. My eyes were stinging, my nose and throat were burning. My husband was exhausted as our check in wasn’t until 4:00 PM so we had from 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM walking around sightseeing to kill time in Kirkwall.

He didn’t want to leave to find alternative accommodations. I saw a hotel down the street, which he agreed that if they had availability we would move, but they didn’t. We could only get one window to open; the rest of the windows were painted shut. When we saw the host we told him the paint bothered us. He just said it was recently decorated and that it should air out by keeping the window open; it didn’t because all of the painted woodwork was around the windows.

We found a fan and had that in front of the windows and my husband found a face mask in his first aid kit for me to wear. The next morning we asked the table of two other couples if they were bothered by paint fumes, one couple also noticed the fresh paint smell, the other couple didn’t (their room wasn’t painted). When the host came into the room and asked how we slept I told him that the paint fumes bothered me and he acted like I was crazy and stated that no one else complained (the other couple didn’t speak up). Frankly, it was embarrassing.

On the way out I asked for a receipt and they couldn’t be bothered to get me one. Instead, they rehashed why I should be so bothered by paint fumes. When we got home, I made a list of complaints which I posted on Airbnb and Tripadvisor. When he read them he went off his rocker and started accusing us of being nightmare guests and advising people to avoid us like the plague.

He even went so far as to read through four years of my Tripadvisor reviews and to look me up on the internet trying to look for any dirt on me he could find. The worse he could find was that I complained about odours a few times and had three complaints of food related illnesses out of 250 reviews. I’m just hoping his nasty response shows him in a bad light. They are nothing but a pair of liars and scam artists.

Host Cancelled Less than 24 Hours Before Arrival

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Our host cancelled on us less than 24 hours before we were due to stay. This left us with no accommodation in London and our travel was all booked to North of London. It was difficult getting in touch with Airbnb and once I finally got through a person, he was just reading from a script and only offered £27 to help us which I felt was completely unacceptable. They showed us five alternative properties and four were so far south of London they were unacceptable. The final one we tried to get but were rejected due to it being so last minute. After we got rejected, we tried to contact Airbnb again. We got no reply until the next day, which was too late as we were traveling. We had to book alternate and much more expensive accommodation through another website and have been offered no other apology or compensation. The host has removed the property from Airbnb.