Rented a cabin and neighbors hostile toward renters and host knew, stated no refund

[Roger950]

I RENTED A CABIN, HOST CAME ACROSS as "OK" SAW PICTURES of the property which LOOKED NICE.

She NEVER said the neighbors are and had been harassing the renters, screaming at them, airhorns in the middle of the night, signs around the property warning, harassing and threating the renters, additional signs of attack dogs and video cameras in use. Signs placed 10 feet in trees so from the rental it is in direct view of the cabin. We had neighbors watching anytime we went outside, one guy staring at my daughter at night, he turned off the light when he saw she was aware of him. I then could see his silhouette peering around the wood pile. After dealing with this and not trying to alarm my family of what else was going on, while outside another neighbor came up and said ** is in court over the rental, harassment of renters and the neighbors.

So the host, ** was fully aware of issues going on at the property, even stating she read my daughters review about the property, which we didn't bash the place knowing others would be reading this logbook.

I requested a full refund with all the crap going on, placing myself and family in harms way without our knowledge of the legal dispute with the neighbors and 14 plus signs along the property for intimidation of the renters.

Like I told ** if I had known this place was filled with psychotic neighbors I wouldn't have rented.

AIRBNB has done nothing, even when I requested assistance with the refund. Nothing but smoke.

Can a host rent a dangerous place knowing it's not safe????

I want my money back ** IN **

PEOPLE HAD BEEN COMPLAINING IN YOUR LOGBOOK ABOUT THE HARASSMENT , YOU KNEW THIS WAS GOING ON AND STILL YOU ARE RENTING THIS LOCATION.

I have had numerous AIRBNB personnel contact me and basically have done nothing, just that they are sorry about my families experience. 

Can a host rent a property knowing that there could be entering a hostile location and know about it? 

I do not understand how AIRBNB would allow this with properties.

**[Sensitive information removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Roger950 Sadly guests lose credibility when they 'suffer' their way through a stay and then claim a full refund. This is akin to eating a full restaurant meal and then demanding a refund because you the food tasted bad.

Why didn't you request Airbnb move you during your stay?

Interestingly there is an April '23 review that also mentions the signs but you appear to be the only person threatened by them (though clearly not to the extent that you took any action during the stay).

[Jenny]

Hi @Roger950 

Sorry to hear about what happened. 

It must have been stressful trying not to worry your family, while dealing with a challenging situation.

The Community Center isn't a formal branch of Airbnb Support, as it's more a place for Hosts to talk about all things Airbnb, although we do welcome Airbnb guests as well.  This does mean that many of the members you'll come across here will approach things from a Host's perspective.

You're more than welcome to post here, to see if you can get some advice about your concerns, but I'd ask that you please don't share personal details (e.g. names) of people, their location or any other identifying details.  I would also ask that you keep your replies respectful, even if you disagree with what someone's saying.  Please see our Community Center Guidelines for more guidance.

I thought I'd share some links with you to explain what resources are available in the event that something goes wrong during a stay, though I hope you wouldn't have to deal with something of this nature in future.

Firstly I'll share this link to the Airbnb Help Centre, which details what to do in the event that something's not right at a listing.  It explains that you have 72 hours to make a report to Airbnb, and advises that any issues should be documented, whether that's photos, or messages between you and the Host.

Every booking comes with Aircover for Guests, which you can read more about here.  The article explains how you can be relocated or receive a refund, if the Host doesn't resolve a serious issue at the time of the stay.  

Lastly, Airbnb have a Safety line, and in the event you feel unsafe, you can be connected to specially trained Safety Agents who will either help you with your concerns or connect you directly with local emergency authorities.  That being said, if you ever felt in immediate danger we would always recommend calling local law enforcement directly before making contact with Airbnb.

If you documented any of the concerns you had e.g. with photos or over messages with the Host then I'd advise getting back in touch with Airbnb Support to demonstrate where the issue was.

Jenny

[Roger950]

Jenny,

It's clear that this is a area that hosts are responding to my post.

Clearly there is two sides to a story.

Mine being I don't have a problem dealing with stupid issues.

Knowing what I'm getting into or how to get out if it becomes stupid.

But when it becomes involving my family,  seeing what is going on and they are being put in harms way with the host aware of problems on property has crossed the line or right and wrong.

Nothing was said or seen until I am on location after traveling hours.

[Fred13]

Had I seen first your other angry responses to my post I wouldn't have been so kind in my 2nd response. One could only imagine (which I did) how Airbnb would see your case from the outset, based on the facts: the host has 46 reviews which sound normal, you stayed the whole length of a supposedly 'booking from hell' and now are demanding a full refund.

Believe it or not the manner in which approached this event has the classic making of a guest hustle: do not say anything during a stay,  make broad accusations after it that no one else experienced, with a 'tone of anger', publicly bring up the host's name (which I would not have allowed), accuse Airbnb of negligence because they are not of instant agreement while not providing them any evidence to go on and with the pursuit of a full refund. Common approach.

You may well be very correct in your assessment, it is believable, but not in your approach. Had you taken pictures of the situation (the crazy signs and definitely of the logbook),  bring it to the attention of the host first, and if that didn't go anywhere then approach Airbnb with the event it probably would have served you a lot better and led to a more pleasant conclusion. I think that is the point many of us are trying to really make.