VACATION RENTAL PROBLEMS AND SCAMS

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.

Nashville vacation rental problem, 1-night in Tennessee. $1000 travel fiasco

Help! Our 1 night vacation rental ended with a $1000 charge for a new bed

July 8, 2025June 9, 2025 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

A vacation rental management company in Nashville charged guests $1,000 for damaging a mattress after a one-night stay. Even more frustrating, the agency told the shocked travelers it didn’t need proof that they had caused the damage.

Can our advocacy team come to the rescue of these consumers?

Let’s find out.

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.

Vacation rental problems, How to fight fake smoking charges

Falsely accused of smoking in your vacation rental? Here’s what to do

September 11, 2024September 9, 2024 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

If you don’t smoke, I’m pretty sure you don’t pack cigarettes, marijuana, or a crack pipe when you go on vacation. Life-long nonsmoker Jason Gladden certainly didn’t bring any of that when he recently took his family to a baseball tournament. However, that didn’t stop his vacation rental host from charging the stunned dad a $250 smoking fee.

But the surprises didn’t stop there.

leaking ceiling in an Airbnb rental and the host lets the bathroom flood, rubber duckies floating on the bathroom floor.

My Airbnb host doesn’t care that the ceiling is leaking in this $5,400 rental!

January 6, 2025August 8, 2024 by Michelle Couch-Friedman

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?