Airbnb bedbug problem

[Filippo12]

While staying at a Airbnb rental in Ithaca, NY from June 19th 2016 to July 5th 2016 I started developing a severe skin rush on my face, neck, back, arms and legs. As you have seen from the pictures, my body that day became quickly covered with about 100 to 200 red spots that were painful and itchy. The red spots on my skin soon became blisters, forming a red liquid inside.

That same day I had to seek urgent medical attention. The doctor told me it was probably due to bedbugs, so I decided to do a visual inspection of the bed in the room where I was staying. By just removing the sheets from the bed in the room I immediately noticed the presence of several dozens of live Bedbugs and (as you can see from the pictures I took that same day of these insects and which I submitted to Airbnb) many of them were fully grown and developed adults.

As soon as I realised that my room was infested by bedbugs, I informed the host, who called a pest control company and I then contacted also Airbnb to inform them of the situation. In the following days, Airbnb cancelled my reservation and provided me with a new accommodation in Ithaca for the rest of my stay. I also had to sanitise all my clothes and personal belonging and get rid of several of my items which could not be sanitised in this process or which were too severely damaged by the bedbug infestation because I feared to spread the insects somewhere else.

On the insurance policies page, Airbnb says that it does not provide insurance coverage neither compensation for damage or injuries for bedbug infestation. Also, since Airbnb simply canceled my reservation, I was not able to leave any comment on the host or the rental, and I know for a fact that he is still renting rooms in his apartment.

I think those policies are unfair, since I was not allowed to receive compensation and I was not even able to comment on the host to let other people know about the risk in booking at this place. I think Airbnb should change this policy.

[Julie529]

Oh my God!!

Adult Bed Bugs are about 1/4 of an inch in length, while hatchlings are about the size of a poppy seed. My uncle was also dealing with this same situation. Many doctors cannot be able to immediately identify these signs. But then later on we found out that these forming of red rashes on his hand were came from bedbugs.

Then the doctor had recommended us to hire a bed bug exterminator Brooklyn service to eliminate these bed bugs in a chemical safe environment. Then we had hired an exterminator bed bugs specialists, where the professional had removed all the bed bugs for years.

[Christina283]

Thank you so much for all the information.  I was thinking of renting out my place on airbnb but I have two new mattresses on my beds and love my pest free bed bug free home.  I would not be able to sleep with these problems in my bed. 

[Genevieve58]

Filippo, I know a lot about bedbugs having unknowingly moved into a sublet apartment a few years ago here in NYC where the master tenant didn't realize he had a full fledged infestation. There is a LOT of misinformation on the Internet and it was a learning experience. It turns out that, biologically, about half the popultion is not allergic and doesn't develop bites. (Thus, my master tenant's having let it grow to an infestation that he only found out about when I discovered it.)

But here's the bad on your host: with the sheer number of bites you had the high number of live bugs crawling around (don't believe the Internet that they only come out at night), this means that weeks and months had gone by while these critters were propogating and your host failed to act. Any host who has enough guests should be regularly checking the bed and inspecting it closely every week, even in the absence of guest complaints! Then, they would have cught this early and even an accidental victim who stayed and got bitten would have had not a lot of bites, just a few. Regular checking would have caught it before infestation level. And for this reason, your host owes you more than a refund, in my opinion, because they were negligent in maintaing the room for guests. I'm sorry you had this experience.

I am a two-family homeowner in Brooklyn and this case is EXACTLY why I rent my second room and the unit downstairs to long-term tenants. I knew AIrBnB's policy wouldn't cover bed bugs, and I am terrified that the sheer number/change over of guests coming in and out would likely raise the chances bed bugs arrive. If they weren't so expensive to abate and to keep away, I'd AirBnB my space here (btw, by the time they're an infestation, they can get into the walls and avoid spray and then come back, and back and back).

[Rob279]

so true, which is why they must be treated by a professional exterminator. I also agree that if it is a massive infestation then why didn't any of the cleaning people see bugs and report?  If the beds linens are cleaned and changed between guests evidence of bedbugs should be noticed. The simple truth is no matter where you travel you as a traveler should be savvy enough to inspect your bedding and matresses for bedbugs.  There more people are aware of this problem the more they can be avoided.  Perhaps as hosts were should place awareness brochures in our rented homes. What to look for so any infestation can be treated before further loss and inconvenience. But these things happen in home and hotels.    

[Caroline474]

I agree with you 100%. I stayed at an Airbnb place and found 3 bed bugs on the 4th day so I check out (and spent the next 3 days trying to clean everything I have). For nights 1-3, Airbnb only gave me a 50% refund because I got "use" of the place for 3 nights. They said that's their "policy". NO OTHER hospitality company would charge a customer if they were attacked by bed begs during their stay. Their stay would be fully refunded and they would probably be comped for a future stay. I had over 300 bites on my body. I had to go to a doctor and get on immediate steroids to relieve me of the pain, the rash and the sores. I fought with Airbnb many times, but they kept saying it's their policy to only give a 50% refund. If you eat half a burger and realize there's a bug in it, do they charge you for the half you ate??? NO!!! Airbnb definitely needs to refund the customer 100%, especially if they are bit by them, and they need to change their policy. 

[Caroline474]

It seems to me that what Airbnb states as their "policy" is different for every person. Two of you on this thread said that you got a full refund. While my "case manager" only gave me 50% and said that's their policy. I'm trying to get the other 50% back. I can't believe Airbnb is giving me so much trouble for a measly $75 when, in my case, everyone knows that it was bed bugs, I didn't bring it in, and I was bit hundreds of times during the 3 days in question.

[V-Ctor-A0]

I agree with Caroline: Airbnb professes to have a different "policy" depending on the circumstance.  My horrible experience with the dubious Airbnb bed bug "policy" began when my companion and I stayed in what was advertised as a "Rustic SW style, Pet Friendly, 1 bedroom Apartment" in Silver City, NM. To our dismay, what we discovered when we arrived was a dusty, musty-smelling, cobweb-covered basement in the Airbnb owner's home.  After less than 35 hours there, when we vacated the premises, it was not yet obvious that bed bugs had bitten me. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (“CDC”), “most people do not realize they have been bitten until bite marks appear anywhere from one to several days after the initial bite.” In my case, the bed bug bites began to reveal themselves three days after we vacated the premises. After being diagnosed with bed bug bites, I submitted a detailed refund request to the Airbnb host and included photographs of the bed bug bites. The host angrily refused my refund request, responding in a hostile email peppered with retaliatory, deny-and-deflect statements; clearly, a thinly veiled attempt to discredit me and my complaint about bed bugs. After she ignored my second request to reconsider the evidence and do the right thing for me and future guests, I provided all information via the Airbnb Resolution portal. When I spoke with Airbnb by phone regarding this issue, the Airbnb Support rep specifically stated that Airbnb would immediately take action to prevent these hosts from renting their property to other Airbnb guests until after the bedbug issue was investigated and resolved. Regardless, Airbnb did NOT do what this Airbnb rep said Airbnb would do. What actually happened was that Airbnb Support made a strategic, dubious decision to refrain from responding at all to my detailed dispute resolution documentation — comprising 30+ pages along with several clear photographs of my bedbug bites — which I provided in writing on the same day I had spoken by phone with the Airbnb Support rep. In fact, that Airbnb Support rep delayed her response until AFTER the 14-day guest review period had expired.  Clearly, this yet another surreptitious Airbnb practice to prevent guests from leaving an honest review to warn others about bedbug bites incurred at Airbnb properties. These duplicitous actions on the part of Airbnb Support are consistent with what numerous other bedbug-bitten Airbnb guests have posted on this Airbnb Community Forum about these ongoing bedbug issues. Even though I submitted all documentation as described Airbnb's refund policy and met the legal burden of proof to validate my complaint, Airbnb Support chose to disregard /ignore my response. I ended up having to dispute the charge via Visa. In stark contrast to how Airbnb handled my complaint, Visa took the time and care to review all the documentation I provided — and Visa stood behind me. It took almost three months to resolve this issue via Visa, but I finally won the dispute against Airbnb, and Visa charged the full amount of this stay back to Airbnb. In retrospect, it's despicable that Airbnb chose to pursue the path of corporate greed, rather than doing the right thing for longtime Airbnb guests. But take heart: If Airbnb won’t do the right thing, you do have the option of asking your credit card company to stand behind you.

[Matthew294]

My wife and I got lit up by bed bugs at our most recent stay, and airBNB delted our review about it!   --- I stayed at a spot in Canarsie Brooklyn, listed as a "A Wonderful quite Brooklyn residence" not knowing anything about brooklyn, I thought it was as according to the listing, not to mention the 13 glowing reviews that praised the spot for being clean, beautiful, in a nice neighborhood, and 20mins from Manhatten (all of which turned out to be very inaccurate)...

when we arrived we discovered we'd be staying in the ghetto, i'm an easy going guy so I shrugged it off when I discovered the listing had a strict refund policy and decided to tough it out, I lived in east LA for years so tougher areas don't affect me that much. The house was run down, the bathroom cabinates were a mess, and the kitchen leaked from the ceiling in areas... All of this I decided to put up with, the hosts seemed nice enough and I didnt want to cause them any problems.. later that night my wife was bit a few times on her foot and legs, we chalked it up to a misquito and kept going.. the next night she was bit on her face and arms.. After this we decided to leave a few days early and stay with a friend in long island, a few days after returning home the bites I had recieved started to show themselves... sometimes bedbug bites can take up to a week to appear and im not very allergic to things (I can roll through a bush of poison oak and come out with one red dot)... I have bites on my legs, on my stomach, on my back and my arms.

After all of this I felt it was my duty to leave an honest review of the location so the next un-suspecting out of towner wouldnt befall the same tragedy, I carefully worded my review and submitted it, in the morning I discovered my review had been deleted by airBNB. Suddenly it made sense to me why there were all positive reviews on their listing, airBNB didn't even contact me about my review to verify, they just delted it.... How can I ever use airBNB again after this? how can you trust the reviews for each location when all the host has to do is claim your review is inaccurate and get your review deleted? AirBNB seems like they care more about the hosts then the guests, which makes sense since in a way those hosts are AirBNB's locations... this is very unethical.. i'm very dissapointed to say the least..

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

Even if you don;t have bed bugs - buy some bed bug traps and place one or two under each bed. They will help to stem the problem before it even starts..

[J99]

     We also had a big problem inNew Orleans with bedbugs in one of the 2 bedrooms in the condo we had booked. Unfortunately the problem wasnt realized until the last day Airbnb contacted the host who showed a receipt for an inspection which did not find the bugs.The host did remove the matress and linens, but whenI checked reviews of the host, I saw that another treveler got bedbug bites as well! We too have pictures of bites which extended from face, arms torso and feet! The renter stll is renting, and we are still trying to get some compensation!

[Filip12]

I, possibly, have a similar issue, but not sure what to do. I’m a host and a few days ago I had a couple of nice ladies staying in my apartment. They checked out three nights ago, happy, everything was ok. Today I received a phone call from one of them - she was a bit embarassed, saying that they might have brought some bedbugs to my apartment. She said that they had been bitten while staying in a previous apartment, before arriving to mine, and now she felt like telling me this. I, of course, appreciate the info, but currently I’m fully booked (for the next month or so) and have no way of cancelling guests to do the check up... As you all know, if I cancel, I’ll loose the superhost badge, will have to pay a fine and will get negative comments... 

[Letti0]

@Filip12  This is extinuating circumstances so any cancellation will be penalty free. I would call airBnB now, but document in the AirBnB messaging system the phone call first. AirBnB does not cover bed bugs in any way, but the guest admiting she may have brought them to you gives you a legal stand to sue for damages. Call out a bed bug expert not all exterminaters are good at dealing with them and have them check out your place immediately. Send a Request for Money to the guest for the fee. It can be thousands of dollars to get rid of bed bugs best to cover all bases ASAP.

AirBnB Poland +48 22 30 72 000 

[Sarah977]

@Letti0  Really? Sue the guest for damages? I realize it costs a lot to get rid of bedbugs, but if Filip deals with it right now, before it can become an infestation, it shouldn't be that bad. There might not even be any.

I feel the guest was quite responsible in contacting him to alert him- she could not have bothered. If he sues her, you know what the result will be? She'll think "No good deed goes unpunished" and never bother to alert another host to anything she would have had the conscience to report again.

[Letti0]

@Sarah977  Just to be clear, it would not be me suing any one. I have discussed this with my commercial insurance already in regards to bedbugs to make sure I was covered in the event it happened. They are the ones that said they would cover me and then go after the guest who introduced them to the property if it could be determined who it was. This unfortunately in the US would become a 3 party lawsuit. My insurance company suing her and the place she got them from. She would be found innocent in the end, but the place she got them from would probably be found guilty. In the US insurance companies do not pay without all avenues of blame being made to account for it even if it takes years. Sad, but fact.

Many years ago my company was brought into a lawsuit where we were found not guilty in the end, but because we were a party involved we were  brought into the lawsuit. We proved we had warned the building owners numerous times about the danger from a highraise broken window that they did not want to replace they had us tape it up and flat out refused to replace it. They ignored us constantly regarding this issue as a safety hazard for months, as a result a woman walking past the building was decapitated while walking past the building on a windy day when the glass finally fell. @Inna19 may actually remember the story it was all over the news, but this is an example of how the insurance company would work, all parties involved in any way are sued even if known to be innocent of any wrong doing. 

[Sarah977]

@Letti0  Thanks for explaining this.