Hey guys,
I've used AirBnB before and I've never had a problem. I recently opted to rent a place in a nearby big city. This was one of the few listings able to host a large group of people (10) of us. However after I booked it, I saw some pretty big red flags. The host is verified by AirBnB, so I looked up the company and it is a registered LLC that was started up in August of 2021. Okay, so now for the red flags: the address of the booking right in the middle of Dallas, and is the address of high-rise luxury apartments. The listing is in a suburb of Dallas (Oaklawn) and is a townhome. When I click on "Get Directions" the coordinates take me to a 7-11 in Oaklawn. I looked at the listing pictures and reverse image searched them.
1. The picture of the bathroom is from a home that is being sold in Tennessee 2. The picture of the kitchen is from an article about modeling your home in a modern style 3. The 2 pictures showing the outside of the building are pictures of apartments in Oaklawn. The bedroom and living room pictures don't show up as anything in reverse image search. I called the host and asked about the address discrepancies and she said she provides the address 48 hours before check-in. I spoke with AirBnB and they said the pictures could have been stolen from the host and not the other way around and that all hosts provide the address 48 hours before check in. Is this normal of some hosts? I've had the actual address show up every time I've booked an AirBnB listing. I don't want my group to be stranded in Dallas if this is a scam. So, hosts, is this normal?
This is a first listing from the host and there are no previous reviews. Given the time frame (2 weeks) from now, this was the cheapest option with the most freedom. $426 a night, so not dirt cheap. Help, please. I only have 1 more day left to cancel.
