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Fiascos and Fixes
The Consumer Rescue advocacy team often receives complaints from Airbnb users. We closely follow trends, scams, and other news related to Airbnb and report them so that our readers might avoid problems with the listing site.
A perpetually leaking ceiling in an Airbnb rental seems like a problem the host should fix immediately. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the experience of one young mom who paid $5,400 for the privilege of living in a soggy apartment.
Can Consumer Rescue help?
Airbnb guests Elizabeth Knox and her husband recently discovered bed bugs aren’t the only pests making accommodations uninhabitable in Paris. Soon after arriving at their cute rental in the City of Lights, they found another family already enjoying the apartment.
An Airbnb hacker spent a month in Malaysia using Laura Ward’s name, account, and stored credit card. Now, after a failed chargeback, Laura wants to know how this happened and why she’s being held responsible.
Is your Airbnb account safe from scammers and hackers?
Berenice Anaya certainly thought so. In fact, the possibility of a criminal accessing her Airbnb account and causing havoc had not even crossed her mind.
However, this Airbnb user recently woke up to an unpleasant reality after a scammer successfully hacked right into her account. The Airbnb security team thwarted the thief and prevented him from completing his ultimate goal. But not before $1,942 was removed from Berenice’s bank account.
So why won’t Airbnb return the money to its victimized guest? That’s what Berenice is asking our team after repeatedly trying unsuccessfully to retrieve her cash from the company.
What’s going on here, and can we help?
If you book a vacation rental and it has mice, are you responsible for catching and disposing of the rodents? And if so, does the Airbnb host owe you a refund or other compensation for your troubles?
That’s what Gabriella Costanza wants to know after her recent unpleasant experience. She and her significant other had planned to celebrate the holidays in a clean, cozy Airbnb property. Unfortunately, soon after the couple arrived, it became clear they weren’t alone in the vacation rental. And although Airbnb allows shared-space rentals, these additional “residents” were of the most unwelcome and unapproved kind – mice.
But maybe even worse than the reality that mice were living at this Airbnb was the host’s response. This vacation rental owner expected Gabby to put down glue traps and spend her holiday dealing with the inevitable outcome, which the young traveler did.
Now Gabby is asking Airbnb for a refund for this vacation rental experience. But will the fact that the couple completed their entire stay make that an impossible outcome?
Lee Smith believes she just had the worst Airbnb experience ever. And after you hear — and see — what she (and her cat) endured during the past month, I think you might agree.
Her tale is a harsh reminder of the risky nature of shared-space rentals. Smith assumed the Airbnb host had properly vetted the man with whom she would be sharing an apartment. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case.
Scrolling through Airbnb one evening, Jeremy Little thought he’d found the perfect vacation rental for his family’s trip to London. With scenic views and a spacious layout, it had everything he, his wife, and children could need…and more. Unfortunately, the “and more” turned out to be a real deal-breaker: total strangers sharing the common area. That’s something the host failed to mention until after Jeremy booked and paid for the Airbnb.
As a shared space rental was never part of his family’s vacation plans, Jeremy immediately asked Airbnb to cancel. Much to his surprise, the listing giant allowed the cancellation but refused to refund the payment.
After many unsuccessful attempts to retrieve his money, Jeremy hopes our advocacy team can help. But with Airbnb firmly on the side of the property’s Superhost, is there anything we can do?
It’s easy to find a shared space Airbnb rental if that’s what you’re looking for. Each one is clearly labeled and it’s difficult to book a shared space property by mistake. So that’s what makes Maxim Belyayev’s recent Airbnb experience so unusual.
He used the listing giant to book a private condo in London for his upcoming vacation. But when the Airbnb host sent the house rules, it sounded more like a youth hostel than a $3,668 luxury apartment. A follow-up message made it clear that Maxim would be sharing the common space in the Airbnb rental with strangers.
Maxim immediately canceled the unwanted shared space rental, and the Airbnb host just as quickly rejected his refund request.
Now Maxim hopes that we can get his money back. He believes this Airbnb host is a scammer. And if you’re a regular reader of my column, I suspect you’ll soon agree with him.
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© 2024 Consumer Rescue / Michelle Couch-Friedman
