Scam

[Lisa6259]

I needed a place to stay while attending a VERY SMALL, COVID SAFE wedding (all guests showing proof of vaccination & taking a COVID test before the wedding.)

I tried to book a place that was listed as "PRIVATE." Nowhere on the listing did the word "shared" appear. This airbnb listing never mentions ANYWHERE that there is shared space. None of the amenities are listed as "shared," and the word "shared" appears nowhere in the listing.

However, as soon as I made the reservation, the host messaged me to say: "I just want you to know that the host is very strict when it comes to undeclared guests. Since the host will be in the living room, dining room, kitchen, and other areas of the home at all times during your stay, the host will notice if any additional guests enter AND additional charges and fees will automatically apply if additional guests do...And are you OK with the Host being in the house too? You will not have the entire house all to yourself." When I asked if the host was vaccinated, he said no.

I said that, based on the NEW information, I needed to cancel the reservation, which I had only made a few minutes earlier, and get a refund. He refused. He was rude and argumentative, insisting that the listing was not misleading. He claimed that he had missed "opportunity cost" even though I was trying to cancel my booking within 30 minutes of making it. 

He is very clearly running a scam with a misleading listing and then secretly following up with messages that contain more information, then taking advantage of Airbnb's difficulty in securing refunds.

I reached out to Airbnb's support, and the first person I spoke to agreed that the listing was misleading and said she would transfer me to someone who could approve the refund. It took about TWO HOURS, and eventually they told me that I would not get a refund! Meanwhile, the host updated the listing to remove the word "private" and add the word "shared," so clearly he or Airbnb did realize that the listing was problematic and tried to cover their tracks.

I really need my money back. It is completely unacceptable to post such a misleading listing, then send a message with very important clarifying information once the money has become non refundable. This is a scam, and it's completely unsafe - but Airbnb will do nothing about it. Has anyone else been scammed in this way? Has anyone had success recouping costs, and if so, how?

Also, since I had to cancel the reservation for my own safety, I am unable to leave a review for this host and warn others about his dishonest practices. How can we protect other Airbnb guests if we can't get any recourse for scams like this?

[Ann72]

@Lisa6259  Ugh, terrible.  But I don't understand why you can't get a refund if you canceled right away.  Why did you ask the host about canceling and then wait?  If a guest wants to cancel, they can just cancel, and then the policy will kick in.  Did you not cancel immediately?

Airbnb support is overwhelmed right now - poorly trained outsourced staff and not enough of them combined with a huge number of guests traveling has strained the system.  If there is an action that you can take by clicking a button in your itinerary, do it and don't wait for support.

Nevertheless a terrible experience that makes all hosts look bad.  I'm not sure it was a scam so much as bad hosting and co-hosting.  Hosts are responsible for the accuracy of their listings.  Even a listing with good written reviews might have low scores under individual categories, like cleanliness or accuracy.  When looking for your next place, take a look at those.

[Lisa6259]

I canceled immediately and asked for a refund - but the host was argumentative, rude, and flat out refused. I had no choice but to escalate to Airbnb support. And there will be no "next time" - I will not be using Airbnb again after this experience, so no need to check any reviews in the future. This has completely soured me on the platform, despite having used it for years.