Property not as described, unsafe and dirty, charged premium price, Air Cover or Airbnb customer service useless

[Lola354]

My first ever post here and first ever horrible experience with Airbnb. I had to go to Kazakhstan for a couple of days with my husband and child and yes, I suspected Airbnb there could be a scam but I needed somewhere to stay, checked the reviews, seemed legit, booked a "luxe, very clean" flat at a premium and thought that was it. Upon arrival, the flat was dirty - and I mean poop smudged on the toilet seat, dry puke on bed linen, shower not cleaned for a couple of weeks, metal springs sticking out of mattress, sofa bed covered in multiple stains, mattress with brown smudges, multiple items broken and all amenities from the description missing - such as towels, bed linen, toilet paper, soap, even rubbish bin. The flat I am told is used for one night stands by locals and looks like it has not been deep cleaned for months. We arrived at 4am, could not get a hold of the host and so had to sleep on this celebration of bodily fluids praying to not catch anything. No information of any type on arrival, host uncontactable, wifi password only given to us on day 3 (no connection in an unknown country was very stressful). On day 1 finally got a hold of the host who happened to be abroad and did not speak any English. A cleaner was sent and a flat was brought to basic standard of cleanliness, with many more structural issues still remaining. We were there only for a couple of days, with a child, had a busy schedule and moving was not feasible. So we stayed trusting that Airbnb will partially refund us for what is a mis-advertised, mis-sold flat. Came back to the UK, sent 50 photos of evidence and all correspondence with the host to Airbnb... got £14 a first day cleaning refund and wished good luck. Seriously!!! For a flat that is being charged for as premium but is well under basic. So Airbnb not only promotes mis-selling via its platform, does not punish unscrupulous hosts allowing them to continue to scam other guests, but also does not protect its customers at all in case of a flat being not as described? They are telling me I should have moved out on day 1. To where I wonder! Kazakhstan is not the UK, we did not have many options. I am very upset by this all. What do others do in this situation? Thank you for letting me vent. 

[Emiel1]

@Lola354 

When there is a "travel issue", you need to contact the Host asap, and if no result, contact Airbnb.

Preferable within 24 hours, at least within 72 hours.

Travel-issues-eligible-for-refunds

If-something-goes-wrong-during-your-stay

You waited until after the stay was finished, which Airbnb propbaly now takes as "you stayed in the listing, so could not be that bad".

But the description of (your stsy in) this listing is really bad, so Airbnb should take it more serious.

Other options are:

- Report the listing to Airbnb (use "report" link on the listing)

- Leave a review about your stay, so other potential guetst are warned

- Try Twitter (AirbnbHelp) and ask for reopening the case.

[Lola354]

Thank you, Emiel1! I know now 😞  My challenge is that there was very limited internet in the first 72 hours because the host did not give us wifi password until end of day 3 (it is like she knew about this 72 hour rule) and international mobile internet in that destination is very expensive. The host also brought the flat to the basic cleanliness standard on day 1 after we complained, although of course structural problems remained and deep clean of the whole place is still required. We were there for only a couple of days, it is a relatively unknown country to us and we had not other options. Plus travelling with a child makes you stay put. I will use the report function, did not know about that, thank you! Already all over Twitter, thank you! 

[Huma0]

@Lola354 

Sorry you experienced that. It does sound horrible. I would follow @Emiel1 's advice but, at the very least, leave an honest review. Try to keep it unemotional, succinct and factual so that you don't come across as a picky guest. I am not saying you are picky by the way, because what you describe is certainly not okay.

I am curious though why you suspected the listing was a scam and did you contact the host to ask questions about the aspects you found dubious? Did the listing have previous reviews? Were they good or bad?

I know you had limited choices, but you should always trust your gut instinct. If something sounds too good to be true... as the saying goes.

RE Airbnb CS, it is patchy at best. The first, or even second, third, fourth response you get from them cane totally unsatisfactory and you have to be like a dog with a bone to get someone to deal with the issue properly.  Sure, you should have reported this straight away, but on the other hand, you attempted to contact the host and give them a chance to rectify the situation, which is also what you are supposed to do. So, I feel like you still have a legitimate case.

[Lola354]

Hi Huma0, thank you for your advice. The place listing was new so did not have reviews, but the host manages other flats in that destination and had multiple positive reviews. I actually asked a friend to go check the place out but they were not allowed to. You are right, I should have suspected at that point.  I did not have many options to be honest, as that destination is prone to scams overall, so I hoped for the best and trusted Airbnb would sort me out if I was scammed. Turns out that's not the case... Yes, I immediately upon arrival (at 4am) documented all issues and all communication was facts based, same with review. Thank you, I feel the same way. Also I had no internet access for 3 days, I started a case with Airbnb but could not complete it. I hope they listen to me finally, but if not, I'm looking into triggering section 75 of the Consumer Act and will attempt partial refund via Amex. 

[Helen3]

It's a horrible experience to turn up somewhere and find it's not as described particularly in a different country where you may not speak the language. @Lola354 

If you feel that the accommodation in not as listed it would have been better to document as you did and then move to a hotel as clearly just cleaning it wouldn't have resolved the issues you mention with the sofa/bed etc . You can get free internet access at hotels and cafes.  I would say moving is always feasible rather than staying somewhere that is unsafe for you and your child. 

I'm a little confused as to why you feel Airbnb should refund you for your stay, when you choose to stay. Yes you should get the cleaning fee back and a discount. But I don't think you can expect a full refund.

[Lola354]

Thank you, Helen! Hotels there are very expensive and far and few in between, mostly only 5* stuff, overall accommodation industry is not that developed, so I had not many options. It was at 4am when we arrived to the flat after a 13 hour flight (18 hours on the road overall) and we were badly jet lagged, I had a tired child and we had a full on schedule of non stop meetings from the next day. We were there to visit family, not for leisure. So in retrospect moving sounds easier than it appeared then. 

It's not the full refund I am after, I appreciate that I stayed the whole 6 days. It's the fact that the flat is advertised as "luxe" and sold at a premium which in that destination is £50 per night. Whereas in reality it's a below standard flat (I would not have booked it if the photos were showing its actual state and description was true to life) which there costs £25-30. So because it was mis-sold/ not as described, I believe I am due a partial refund. 

[Huma0]

---

@Lola354 wrote:

 I actually asked a friend to go check the place out but they were not allowed to. You are right, I should have suspected at that point. 

---

Actually, this bit is normal. According to Airbnb policy, you cannot exchange contact details, including the address until the booking is confirmed. I am not sure if you asked the host for the address so your friend could check it out before you booked (no sane host would allow this for security reasons) or if it was after you booked. Even if it was the latter, it's not normal for someone to go check out the listing prior to the stay, especially when it's not even the person who booked. I would not feel comfortable with that at all.

If you are unsure about a listing, it's best to ask the host questions until you feel satisfied. It's difficult though if the reviews for his/her other listings looked good. You don't really have much else to go on. 

RE the refund, it is good you documented everything and I hope that the communication between you and the host about the issues was on the Airbnb messaging system as this will help to back up your case. @Helen3 is right though that, because you stayed for the duration, it's really unlikely you'll get a full refund. I would aim for a partial refund if I was you, citing the fact that you gave the host a chance to rectify things, but certain things could not be rectified (some of the examples you give above about soiled mattresses etc) by a straightforward clean.

[Lola354]

The host tried taking me off the Airbnb messaging, intentionally I believe now, but I made sure key messages were there. She also could not communicate in English, gladly I speak local language so communicated in that. I have copies of all communications, albeit Airbnb probably did not bother to translate them. I am not after a full refund, only the difference between what the flat is described as and what it actually is. Thank you, Huma! I hope they get it the same way you do. 

[Lola354]

Thank you, All. I used Airbnb for 6-7 years with no problems and did not know about the rules that apply when the property is not as described, such as the 72 hour rule. In the first 72 hours, I was promised by the host the issues would be rectified, had limited internet because we were not given wifi password and I had a busy schedule (we were in several all day family celebrations) so could not stop and look properly. I started a complaint with Airbnb on day 1 but did not have a chance to finish it. The email they sent me did not mention 72 hours or what to do. At this stage my asks of Airbnb are: 1) what Airbnb will do to prevent the unscrupulous host from scamming other guests, 2) partial refund - the host kept promising the property would be brought to the advertised standard, but failed to achieve that fully which I realised would be the case at the end of day 3. I was not able to report it to Airbnb due to limited internet connection, I was there on a short trip with a busy schedule and a family, so did not have time or energy to move out as well as did not have many alternative options. As a result,  I believe I am due a compensation for property significantly not as advertised (so mis-sold) regardless of whether I stayed or not. Thank you, everyone, you actually were more helpful than Airbnb customer service. 

[Jenny]

Hi @Lola354 

Sorry to hear about this unpleasant experience.

I've passed your information over to Airbnb support, and explained that you didn't have WiFi access for a few days, and asked if there's anything more they can do.

Jenny

[Lola354]

Thank you, Jenny! No wifi and no options to move to really. Kazakhstan where I went is a developing country, not famous for a huge hotel or accommodation choice 😞  Airbnb customer service so far have not been responsive or helpful, they seem to blindly follow the script. I am at a point where I will just give up 🙂  The scammer host will continue to scam other guests, I hope my review will help others. My confidence in Airbnb is sadly gone, I will consider hotels as the first choice now.