What can I do about getting ripped off by Airbnb

Sophia449
Level 1
Los Gatos, CA

What can I do about getting ripped off by Airbnb

I had a one night stay at an Airbnb that didn’t even begin to provide the amenities advertised. For example, there were 5 of us and there was bedding provided for 2 people. The host was completely unresponsive. I left a review detailing what amenities were advertised but not actually provided, but I later received an email from the “customer support team” that it violated their community standards. I didn’t violated any of their review policies as listed, it was just a negative (but perfectly founded) review. But they’ve shut me up and said the case is closed. They never once apologized or reached out to resolve the issue, they just shut me up. What can I do? I don’t know of a single other company that can provide such false advertising and can then completely silence a customer for writing a negative review. How is it legal for them to collect money this way? 

4 Replies 4

@Sophia449  Ironically, one of the most frequent complaints from hosts is that Airbnb doesn't usually remove negative reviews. The policy they're referring to is here:  https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/2673/airbnbs-review-policy

 

Two potential causes of the removal would be a) some portion of the text was against the Content Policy or b)  your correspondence with the host could have been interpreted as demanding a refund under threat of a bad review.

 

Just curious, what were the previous reviews on this listing like?  It would be surprising if prior guests had never mentioned missing amenities.

I read the review policy thoroughly before and after my post and didn’t violate any of their guidelines. Their claim was it wasn’t relevant to future potential guests, but I know getting a heads up that the amenities listed on the advertisement weren’t actually provided would have been extremely relevant to me in my property search and saved a whole lot headache. I didn’t threaten the host in any way when reaching out for help. 
There were a few previous reviews that said certain amenities such as toilet paper were not provided, and the host responded “all you have to do is ask!” In my case, I did ask where I could find the rest of the bedding, but never got a response. But, not to sound like a snob or anything, but I feel like guests shouldn’t have to ask for things like toilet paper and bedding when the host expects their visit. Not in the hospitality business! But I wouldn’t have written a bad review for having to ask, if I had gotten a response. 

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Sophia449  Was the guest count you booked for 5? If it wasn't, and you only booked for 2 but assumed you could bring 5 because the listing stated that they could accommodate that many, it wouldn't be unreasonable that the host only provided bedding for 2.

The reservation was for 5 guests, otherwise it would have been a non-issue.