ANOTHER WAY AIRBNB RIPS OFF HOSTS

Airbnb charges owners who cancel a reservation $100 for each cancellation even when it is airbnb’s fault. We have four rental units and advertise on several sites. Airbnb is supposed to sync each calendar. We have accepted reservations and then checked our master calendar and the unit is booked. When we tried to resolve the issue we were charged each time when it was clearly the fault of airbnb. DO NOT USE INSTANT BOOKING or accept a reservation without checking your own calendar. DO NOT RELY ON THE AIRBNB CALENDAR. DO NOT US AIRBNB. Not only are they making 10-15% from the renters they are making a killing ripping owners off!!! We are very happy with VRBO and only fill in our calendar with airbnb. Also, airbnb clientele are not as good as VRBO clientele. They are price shoppers and budget travelers. We have found that the people that pay more are more respectful of your property.

BEAUTIFUL 1 BR APT IN RITTENHOUSE forget this one!

This is not a bad apartment though not great. Really bad experience though due to poor instructions about how to leave the key. They confiscated our security deposit because we left the key incorrectly even though they were at fault for late communication. That’s the gist; buyer beware. They can and will take your deposit over a minor detail. Specifics: The communicator sent us an email 48 hours prior to our arrival with instructions about how to get the key from the lockbox (including details like “Can be sticky”, “Use a key for pressure”). The lockbox flung itself open before the code had been fully entered, and the face fell off. We had the key then and got in, and with some difficulty re-assembled the (old rusted) lockbox. We’d retrieved a message from the AirBnb site about our occupancy and instructions for check-out, but no word about where to leave the key. Reluctant to leave it in that hinky lockbox where it was not secure, we left it on the kitchen table. The apartment was spotless when we left. I received a literally screaming voice-mail message from someone associated with this apartment (female), and numerous angry texts later; “WHERE IS THE KEY?” I think there’s a disconnect between the person who appears to be advertising this AirBnB and the staff person who seems to be pretending to be that guy. Your messages go to the person who will scream at you if any problem occurs. Your deposit is in her hands. I will never go back to this place.

Ripped off

I was using the Airbnb site looking for somewhere to stay in London for a few days after travelling from Australia. I found an apartment in Covent Garden, perfect, dates were free. I next get a confirmation email from what I thought was Airbnb. This asking for payment for almost $1800. After a few emails back and forth, I was still waiting to be given the address of the property, by this time we had traveled to the UK. I then realized that I had been ripped off and had to find other accommodation. The response from Airbnb was basically, sorry can’t help you, it wasn’t booked through our site. What a joke, lack of security to protect the customer and no help after from Airbnb.