Daughter locked out of AirBnb account

[Jess2773]

My daughter had booked a property in Venice for 2 nights. On hey way there, she was trying to check the details of the AirBnb property she booked. She was doing this while on the bus to Venice. While opening the AirBnb app, she got a message that she got locked out and that she needed to be verified. The verification is either an SMS or a call to he mr Australian number, which she does not have with her coz it’s not enabled for roaming. She desperately tried to contact the host using another AirBnb account but did not get any reply. So she got to Venice, with no accommodation.., just wanted to know what her options are from a refund point of view

[Helen3]

Oh dear @Jess2773 

How did she get a message that she was locked out. Can she not use that device to check her booking confirmation on her emails ?

She can also use that device to get hold of Airbnb on their social media. Or she can pick up a local phone and call Airbnb Italy.

Do remind her she should always travel with a printed copy of key information and take photos of travel arrangements on her phone or device.

[Jess2773]

Thanks for responding @Helen3 

The message she got was that she was locked out of AirBnb because she was logging in from a different location. That was when the app redirected her to the verification page where she needed access to her Australian mobile account. She tried different ways of contacting the host and AirBnb but ran out of time. She ended up booking a bus back to Switzerland where she is staying with relatives. She had to cancel her bus ticket for Saturday and is now distraught because of the money she might have lost.

Her situation was like the perfect storm ... she did not have her Australian SIM, which she needed to verify herself .. her AirBnb account is tied up to her Facebook, which is tied up to a yahoo email account, which she forgot the password to .. we tried recovering her yahoo email account but the recovery email is one that she does not recognise.

she said she will try to contact the host again when she gets back to Switzerland. I guess what our question is whether there is hope for her to get some of the money back?

[Helen3]

It depends how long she was planning to stay and which cancellation policy she booked under @Jess2773 

I am sorry this happened but sure you appreciate it wouldn't be fair on the host for them to lose income they rely on because of errors on your daughters part.

A harsh lesson for her, but keeping a paper/phone copy of your travel arrangements is pretty crucial particularly when you are far from home without access to items to help you validate your ID.

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Jess2773  I am afraid not. This was her fault, not Airbnb's, not her host's.

[Jess2773]

Thanks @Branka-and-Silvia0  .. bitter pill to swallow but we somehow knew that was inevitable .. cheers!

[Sarah977]

@Jess2773  Yes, hard to lose money, but as a mom who raised 3 daughters, sometimes experience is the best teacher. I imagine your daughter will make sure to have back-up plans the next time she travels, like printing out a hard copy of the needed info and remembering to bring any SIM cards she needs. Even if it hadn't been an issue of the verification to get into her account, phones get dropped and break, they get stolen or lost, or run out of charge just when you need it and no place to recharge it.

I tried to impart all sorts of life lessons to my girls, and sometimes they thought I was just being a worrywart- they had to experience the repercussions of certain things themselves to understand that I was only trying to prevent them from having unnecessary hassles, based on my own life experience.