Boyfriend renting a room got scammed

[Sheila291]

My boyfriend just moved to Bucharest for a job. He booked a room for a month. He set up a time to meet with the host to get the keys and when he arrived it was an abandoned building! It is night there and he is stranded because he used most of his money for the room. What are his options? He has booked airbnb's before and this is a first for him. Will he get his money refunded or is he screwed? Thanks

[Emiel1]

@Sheila291,

If he booked via the official Airbnb website:

- Contact Airbnb asap for help:

Contact Airbnb - A Community Help Guide [UPDATED]

Maybe they can relocate him or to arrange refund

- report he listing and host profile to Airbnb via the "flag" links on it

Hope this helps,

Emiel

[Sheila291]

Hi Emiel. Thanks for your reply.

He did report it to airbnb. He said he's waiting for a reply. Until then he's stranded.

[Helen3]

It's awful when this happens, what sort of reviews and ratings did this host have I wonder. I am sorry your boyfriend is in this is situation late at night. Hopefully by now he's spoken to Airbnb and they are helping him.

It's a shame he turned up in a foreign country with no funds to cover any of his expenses, I wonder how he expected to live until he got paid?. You or a relative of his may need to wire him emergency funds to get a hotel or hostel for tonight while Airbnb help him find alternative accommodation if he has really turned up with nothing.

However accommodation is quite cheap in Bucharest so I really hope that he has enough for transport and a room for tonight.

[Quincy]

Hello @Sheila291,

Welcome to the Community. 

I am so sorry to hear that this has happened to your boyfriend. Has he already heard back from Airbnb? 

[Sarah977]

@Sheila291  Did he book this through the official Airbnb site, or did he find this through Craigslist or some other place and was asked to wire $ to someone? If the latter, it was a scam, having nothing to do with Airbnb and he will never see his $ again, unfortunately. If he booked and paid through Airbnb, they should be able to sort it out for him.