Possible Host Scam - Resolution Center Zero Help

Ma43
Level 1
Miami, FL

Possible Host Scam - Resolution Center Zero Help

AirBnB Community - Really need your guidance. I recently stayed at this property Creekside Home on Three Acres close to UF - Houses for Rent in Gainesville, Florida, United States (... Pictures and ratings looked great. After arriving we noticed it was in much worse condition than the pictures and reviews noted. I messaged the host and he offered a full refund if I didn't leave a review which I have in writing, I agreed. He even offered late check out. Then the host stopped responding , no responses for a week plus. I open a Resolution Center Case and the host told AirBnB he never offered a refund. They are taking his side saying they can't compel the host to give me a refund. What should I do?

 

You can read a full accounting of the messages btw the host and I and the Resolution Center including pictures here --> https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oqr-8xhW2eUCz-3nKsYY2U3r4XkVY9BD/view?usp=sharing

4 Replies 4
Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Ma43  A host telling you that they will issue a refund means nothing. Hosts are not obligated to refund outside their cancellation policy. And if a host tries to convince you not to leave a review in exchange for refunding, that's extortion, and against Airbnb policy. So you certainly can't trust a host who would do that.

 

You should have contacted Airbnb to cancel and left the minute the host attempted to extort you. That's how you get a refund.

 

You can't simply continue to stay at a place you find unacceptable and then expect to be refunded. And if you still have time to review, do so.

 

But this host has great reviews- were you possibly being overly critical?  What exactly were the issues aside from it not conforming with your expectations?

(Of course, it's quite possible that the host has pulled this review/refund  extortion on other guests which is why there are only greeat reviews)

Ma43
Level 1
Miami, FL

Thank you @Sarah977 - Wow I never imagined that this would be so serious - Thank you for your feedback - you just confirmed that I was scammed.  This is very sad from a consumer perspective as there doesn't seem to be any protection from the scam by the host. 

 

I have been using hosting sites (AirBnB, Onefinestay, VRBO) for 20 years with no problems. Also a big supporter of AirBnB community of income earning hosts, you have always been great. This doesn't make sense.

@Ma43  I did look at the message exchange just now. (Although you really can't post private message exchanges on a public forum and that will likely be removed by the moderators).

 

The place does look super neglected and the host's responses are quite unprofessional. He's basically saying he knows the place is in bad repair but doesn't care.

 

The problem Ma, is that you willingly participated in this extortion by agreeing to it. And there is a written record of that.  No one forced you to do that. A host has no right to ask you not to review, for any reason, unless you never actually stayed, which would be reasonable. And by not reviewing, you missed your chance to warn other guests about this place and the host's inappropriate responses.

 

And as I said, it is not acceptable to continue to stay somewhere and expect to get a full refund. You stayed, used the utilities, dirtied towels and sheets, etc, so the most you could hope for in a situation like this, disregarding the review extortion, would be a discount or partial refund. Which a decent host would offer without being asked if they were made aware that things weren't okay.

 

I think you are going to have to chalk this up to a learning experience- you will now know how to handle things if you should ever be unlucky enough to encounter such a situation in the future. 

 

If it's any consolation, hosts also experience terrible situations with bad guests who cause extensive damages, and end up out of pocket for thousands of dollars. They also have to chalk it up to a learning experience, whether that means learning to vet their guests better, changing the wording in the listing desciption so as not to attract the partier crowd, etc.

 

I'm glad you have had other good experiences with Airbnbs in the past, so you know this isn't a normal occurrance. I'm sorry this happened to you.

 

 

 

 

Thank you @Sarah977 . Appreciate the feedback. The way I saw the situation was is a merchant providing a refund and a free stay for my inconvenience.  Similar to when a merchant provides a product refund and tells you to keep the product as an added benefit. However know I am more educated. Just wish that there was a resolution for an obvious bad host that took advantage of me. A partial refund would have been enough.