Airbnb refuses a refund and the host is lying

[Ophélie38]

Hi everyone, 

I am contacting you to ask for help.

I booked a room on Airbnb for a month in May. The room seemed really great and the host had over 700 good comments so I thought everything would go well. As a student, I make really little money and I worked a long time to be able to rent this room. We are now in September and I was supposed to move in a few days ago.  

However, everything went wrong. First of all, when I arrive at my Airbnb, the box to check in was open so everyone could be entered the bedroom. Then when I opened the front door of the house, it was not locked. Not feeling really safe, I finally made it to the bedroom where I thought everything would be better.

However, I got very disappointed. The first thing I noticed in the bedroom was that it has not been cleaned in weeks. I found other people's belongings all other the room, the toilets were extremely dirty, a part of the floor was sticky due to some liquid spilled by the previous guests, the mugs were unclean, there were some hairs on the bedsheets and I found some mold in the fridge and on the bathroom wall. A bit shocked and scared, I contacted the host who told me that she was on holiday in another country and she will come back late in the evening. She said that she would send someone to clean in a few hours. However, having breathing issues, I ask her what this person would do for the mold as I could not leave with mold for a month. She never answered my query and never replied back to tell me when the cleaner would be there. I then decided to ask if she would give me a refund as it was obvious that it is not possible to be exposed to mold for so long with breathing issues. She did not reply for a while either.

Scared by this place and because I could not even sit anywhere, I left to go to a friend's house. A few hours later, she replied telling me that I damaged her place by urinating on the bed and leaving my belongings all other the house. Obviously, I did not do any of this. I did not even stay an hour at her place. She said that I would not get my money back due to her cancellation policy. She also added that I was making this situation only because I wanted my money back. She was rude.

I was really worried about this host who seemed a bit insane, so I decided to contact Airbnb. I asked for a full refund. Airbnb replied to me and I sent all the pictures proving the state of the bedroom. They started by accepting to refund but they had to contact the host and she provided some documentation that apparently justified that I cannot get my money back.

Now I do not have a place to stay neither I have the money to book anything else and I have to travel hours to go to university. 

I do not know what to do anymore and I wish someone could help me. 

Thank you

[Helen3]

Sorry I'm not sure what help you expect fellow guests and hosts to offer @Ophélie38 

what were her previous reviews like?

were there not warning signs

did you provide video content and photos to Airbnb and the host 

it sounds like a dreadful experience.

glad you are safe with a friend - ask your parents to help pay for another Airbnb with a SH with great recent reviews . 

if she was abroad and not coming back till later in the evening how was she able to provide proof a few hours later you had damaged the property

i would challenged airbnbs decision if they have decided in the hosts favour 

[Ophélie38]

Hi Helen, 

Thank you so much for answering me, 

I did provide video and photos to Airbnb and to the host and they did acknowledge it. She recognized her place and even said at the beginning that it has never been so dirty to welcome a guest before. She said nothing about the mold. 

Her reviews were that the location of the place was nice and that she was helpful. Bad reviews just said that the house was messy due to all the rooms in it. 

She said that the cleaner she sent provided pictures saying we have damaged the property but she did not share any of these pictures. 

Airbnb did decide in her favor because she apparently gave other proof and I was not sure if there was any other action that I could intend against this decision? 

Many thanks, 

[Huma0]

@Ophélie38 

I would go back to Airbnb and fight this decision. I hope that the correspondence you had with the host was on the Airbnb messaging system? If not, make sure you take screenshots of any messages via other methods.

It seems pretty clear to me that it was the previous guests that caused this mess and damage and the security issues and that no one had been there (no host, no cleaners) to inspect the property when those guests checked out, which is not good enough. It's certainly not good enough that the listing, particularly the room you rented, was not cleaned before your check in. Cleaning and change of linens should be done between every single guest, even if they stayed only one night, let alone long term ones. The whole thing is unacceptable.

Go back to Airbnb and tell them that. Tell them that the listing was in this condition when you arrived (also about the lock box and front door), that the host admitted herself that she was away and it was clear that no one had been to clean since the last guests had left. I mean, why were the cleaners only being sent over AFTER you checked in. If your photos are time stamped, also point that out to Airbnb, i.e. that you took the photos within an hour of your arrival and then left.

[Huma0]

@Ophélie38 

PS even if your photos aren't timestamped, the time they were taken will be in the file history/properties.

[Ophélie38]

Hi Huma, 

Many thanks for your answer. 

All the messages with the host were on the Airbnb system. 

I went back to Airbnb and told them it was unacceptable but they still stand with the host even though my photos are time stamped and she recognized it was her place. 

I did threaten to take legal action and they are now open to discussion. 

Thank you so much for your advices 

[Huma0]

@Ophélie38 

Sorry to hear they were still not helpful, but I think you were right to threaten the legal action. Stand firm. This is not okay.

It doesn't necessarily sound to me like the host is trying to scam you, rather that they are very careless (how can you not send a co-host or cleaner in between any guest stays when you are away, let alone long term ones?) and doesn't have the sense to admit that it might have been the previous guests. Either way, you should not have to be the one to pay for her mistakes.

[Gina1907]

AIRBNB will ALWAYS  side with the host bc they bring them the revenue.  I just experienced my first horrible AIRBNB experience. And experienced exactly the same treatment when it came to refunding my remainder 14 days. I had texts, video and audio of the hosts behavior.  AIRBNB does not look after the ppl that are their customers. Only the ppl that bring the revenue.

[Helen744]

@Gina1907 Believe me that is not true. There are good hosts and bad hosts ,same with guests. Good hosts communicate. Please report bad hosts. H

[Trang114]

Hello to all, I have a similar current problem : my host lied a few times during my negotiations to get a full refund.

Her apartment was so disgusting that I had to secure all my belongings, including purse, slippers, dry and fresh food, etc. in the fridge, take my carry-on back in the car, and slept in street clothes because the bed did not have any sheet.

Initially, she said on the phone she will refund me the 6 remaining nights, then retracted when questioned by AirBnB. She stated that my photos and videos were not from her listing. Worse than that : RBB sided with her, as if I have intentionally fabricated proof, even though I was in the street the next day, with nowhere to sleep for the rest of my trip. They never bother with checking her apartment out before closing my file unilaterally. I could not even argue that my visual proofs were authentic, they would not care anyway.

I was naive to believe in RBB ethics. They are powerful with herds of international lawyers, and still standing in spite of numerous scandals in head lines, and this host continues to rent out a slum.

I intend to share my stories to as many media, social forum (TripAd, AirBnBhell, Public Health, the city of Toronto, Reddit, etc. etc.) with the hope the guest will stop her business. I have zero hope that the RBB Support Team would ever realise they have seriously lacked judgment.

RBB, never more.