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.
