AIRBNB PROBLEMS - Consumer Rescue

Summer travel scams, avoid scams this summer, sunset in the summer

Summer travel scams are on the rise. Here’s how to spot and avoid them

July 21, 2025July 14, 2025 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Expensive, vacation-ruining travel scams are popping up everywhere this summer. Travelers must be on the lookout for predators running money-draining schemes before, during, and even after a trip is complete.

But there is good news.

You can outsmart the bad actors whose only wish is to relieve you of your hard-earned travel dollars. By familiarizing yourself with the latest scams aimed at tourists, you’ll be able to stop the thieves in their tracks.

Here are the top travel scams and schemes to avoid this summer.

An Airbnb host in Bloomington charges guest for damage she didn't cause, Airbnb problems, Airbnb host scams, vacation rental shenanigans

An Airbnb host billed us $790 for damage 3 weeks after we left the vacation rental

July 8, 2025July 8, 2025 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

An Airbnb host sent Janet Reel a surprise $790 damage bill… three weeks after checking out of her vacation rental. Reel says she left the property in perfect condition and considers the accusation outrageous.

LA Wildfires, Residents flee to Airbnb rentals, illegal Airbnb rental problems, Evicted from Airbnb rental

We were evicted from an illegal Airbnb rental! Aren’t we owed a refund?

March 30, 2025March 29, 2025 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

The recent LA wildfires temporarily displaced Rahul Kapur’s family and pets from their home. The Kapurs temporarily relocated to an Airbnb rental in nearby Marina Del Rey. They reserved the unit for two weeks and hoped to return home after their stay. But as the fires continued to burn, it became clear that wouldn’t be possible.

They were displaced again when that apartment wasn’t available beyond the original contract. However, the good news came when an Airbnb rental in the same condominium became available. The family migrated to the new unit and settled in.

Kapur and his family are still reeling from what happened next.

Airbnb problems in tropical Mexico, surveillance cameras in my Airbnb help, vacation rental problems.

Help! My Airbnb vacation rental has a surveillance camera aimed at my bed

March 29, 2025January 21, 2025 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

What if you were gazing out the window of your Airbnb and found a surveillance camera “gazing” right back at you? That was the startling scene that confronted Susan Scott as she relaxed in bed at her recent Mexican vacation rental.

New Jersey Airbnb vacation rental, helping fix Airbnb problems

Can our Airbnb host really charge us to clean up his trash? Help!

January 21, 2025January 14, 2025 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

If you find a pile of trash and other debris at a vacation rental when you arrive, report it immediately. If you don’t, you could easily find yourself stuck with excessive cleaning fees, as Airbnb guest Daniel Altschuler recently did.

The backyard of the dirty Airbnb had a fire pit.

This dirty Airbnb had a padlock on the front door. Where’s my refund?

September 14, 2024July 15, 2024 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

If an Airbnb host asks you not to come through the front door of the vacation rental, you should ask some questions before you show up. This group of friends wishes they had done just that.

An Airbnb rental is located near a giant oil plant according to the satellite image, pollution from a power plant is damaging sea life.

The satellite image of my Airbnb rental is shocking — I want a refund!

January 14, 2025January 16, 2024 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Some of our cases get relegated to the dismissed file simply because of the attitude of the consumer. This Airbnb guest’s story was almost one of them.

Almost.

Uninhabitable Airbnb rental in Paris problem

Mon Dieu! In real life, that cute Airbnb rental is uninhabitable. What now?

April 12, 2024December 4, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

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.

Palm Springs is the location of an Airbnb host who seems to have tried a bait and switch vacation rental scheme.

My Airbnb host pulled a $13,314 bait and switch on me. Help!

March 29, 2025August 7, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

Isaac Chambers says an Airbnb host just hit him with an expensive bait and switch scam of sorts. After you hear his troubling story, you’ll likely agree.

Many months after Chambers booked the perfect vacation rental for his wedding party, his Airbnb host abruptly canceled the reservation. Citing “synchronization” issues as the cancellation reason, the management company suggested several undesirable replacement properties in Palm Springs.

Now just two months before his wedding, Chambers’ group has nowhere to stay. That is unless they want to rent the exact same Airbnb vacation rental with this host – for an additional $13,341.

So what are those “synchronization” issues that allowed the host to cancel this Airbnb and relist it at a much higher rate? That’s what Chambers is asking Consumer Rescue to find out.

I booked two Airbnb rentals by accident. Can I get a refund?

February 3, 2024June 10, 2023 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

No one needs more than one vacation rental in Paris at a time. So how did Virginia Wong end up booking not one but two accidental Airbnb rentals in the City of Lights?

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