SCAMMER ON AIRBNB AND AIRBNB SIDES WITH THEM. I'M IN TOTAL SHOCK

[Julia5299]

Dear Airbnb COMMUNITY,

I am reporting a guest who I believe is actively scamming Airbnb hosts by fabricating issues to demand refunds. The guest made a reservation at my property, checked in, and later began making exaggerated and irrelevant claims about alleged issues.

Upon checkout, she submitted a refund request accompanied by 30 pictures, many of which were:

• Completely unrelated to her stay (e.g., minor pre-existing wear and tear on kitchen cabinets, which were already visible in my listing photos).
• Fabricated (e.g., she claimed a coffee stain on the floor that did not exist in my cleaning crew’s photos).
• Insignificant and clearly did not impact her stay (e.g., a black mark on the mirror that was already shown in my listing pictures).

After I declined her refund request, she retaliated by leaving a false and malicious review in an attempt to damage my listing’s reputation.

Later, I was contacted by another Airbnb host who had the exact same experience with this guest—she used the same tactics of fabricating issues with misleading photos to request refunds. This is a clear pattern of fraudulent behavior.

I strongly urge Airbnb to review her account and take appropriate action, including possible removal from the platform. Hosts should not have to deal with dishonest guests who exploit the system.

I have had to open three cases regarding this guest, yet Airbnb continues to side with her. This is incredibly frustrating, as Airbnb has access to all the necessary information to verify my claims and identify her repeated misconduct.

It is deeply concerning that a platform of Airbnb’s scale allows this kind of behavior to persist. How many hosts need to be scammed before action is taken? It feels as though Airbnb does not prioritize protecting its hosts, despite the evidence available.

This experience has made me seriously reconsider whether I want to continue hosting on Airbnb at all. If fraudulent guests can exploit the system without consequence, how can hosts feel secure? I urge Airbnb to take immediate action to prevent further abuse and to ensure that hosts are valued and protected.

[Rebecca]

Hello @Julia5299 👋

Did you reach out to customer support about the user above? If so, what was the outcome? 

Looking forward to hearing from you, 

Rebecca 

[Elaine701]

@Julia5299 

This is not new. It's been going on for a long time. There are internet blogs giving detailed instructions on how to get free stays on Airbnb. 

They effectively leverage the incompetence and dismissive nature of Airbnb's outsourced support to file frivolous and/or fraudulent complaints with demand for refund. Many hosts simply aren't prepared to immediately provide overwhelming evidence to the contrary (and it must be immediate, overwhelming and irrefutable, or else the guest likely wins the confrontation and gets their refund). 

We've had it happen, and many other hosts too.  

Your only remedy is prevention.

First stop: read their profile and reviews. And how long they've been on Airbnb. If they have nothing, red flag. 

Next, Screen your guests before they book. Ask friendly, benign questions like, "are you coming for the IT conference?". It doesn't matter if there's an IT conference.

The responses (or lack of them) can reveal a lot, if you are a bit perceptive. Experiment with it and you'll start to see patterns. Contradictory answers, deflection, not answering  any of your questions... and occasionally, pure stupidity. Red flag. Tell them your place is not a good fit. Recommend some of your cheaper competition. 

But the ones who answer like "it will be me and my husband (60's), our son and his wife (40's), we're coming to explore the mountains and the lakes". "My husband loves horses. Is there a place nearby that we can book a horseback tour?". She's detailed, friendly, direct, and no evidence of anything odd. Booking approved. 

It's no guarantee, but I haven't had a fraudulent guest since I started using this tactic. 

I hope that helps. Good luck and happy hosting!

[Patricia2526]

Hi @Julia5299 

The best way to prevent these issues is to thoroughly document your property with photos and videos before each guest checks in. Since guests may also take their own photos, its essential for us hosts to have our own evidences as a countermeasure. Additionally, if a guest is staying for more than one night, send them a message the next day asking, How’s everything? Let me know if you have any questions about your stay. This not only ensures they’re comfortable but also confirms that the property was in good condition upon their arrival.

Hope this helps.