Extremely Misrepresented photos by host

[Ethan31]

Hello,

My partner and I booked a home which we drove to from several states away. We booked it for a month at over $5,000 which was significantly more than other comperable homes in the area however..... The home had pictures with really nice furniture and we decided it was worth the extra money. We arrive at the house, it's nice and the neighborhood is nice and the home is clean but NOT ONE piece of furniture in the home is the same as pictured. Literally not even one. The furniture is mostly clean but cheap and hideous. The 4 beds that are here are all exactly the same, super stiff cheapo beds. Very disapointed that we paid more for the luxury and now are stuck in this home for a month paying a premium and getting someones left over yard sale furniture when they decided to use it as a airbnb carcass. I understand if you book a place and a couch is diffrent or not there etc etc but this is different. Oh yea and the big backyard with the patio furniture by the grill? No furniture outside what so ever to enjoy the big backyard. Please what can I do? We can't relocate to another listing and we have been tricked. I feel like we bought a steak dinner and recived mcdonalds.

[Jeff158]

Hi @Ethan31

Misrepresentation is a serious offence on airbnb.

Ring the airbnb customer service number on your booking confirmation and they will relocate you or negotiate a discount.

[Marzena4]

@Ethan31 and make sure you take photos to support your claim.

[Helen3]

Hi @Ethan31

Airbnb says on its website that if the property isn't as described then you should contact the host to see if they can resolve the issue (hardly likely in this case) and if they can't Airbnb will look at cancelling the booking, refunding you and giving you a 10% bonsu on top to help you find something else.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/help/article/248/what-should-i-do-if-something-s-missing-or-not-as-expected...

Critical will be saving screen shots from the listing to show the difference between what is in the listing photos and what you can see.

I agree with others. Get on the phone to them now and supply evidence through photos'/video's of the listing versus what you can see.

Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[Momi0]

@Ethan31   Its good that you came to the CC for help but the most important steps you need to take is screen capture the photos of the listings, take pics of the place and videos proving the date and time with your traveling companion's phone main screen.  Place the phone everywhere to show each area that does not represent what you saw.  That's a huge problem if the host indeed posted pics of IDEA furniture and used 40 year old garage sale furniture instead.   (IDEA was used an example because I love their stuff) - lol

As the previous hosts stated, definitely ring Airnb as soon as possible using the customer support phone number found in your email from Airbnb they sent when you confirmed your booking. 

Be calm, try to leave the emotions out and have notes written down as well to make sure you have communicated exactly what you want to say.   Be sure to get the name of the rep, and know that it is REQUIRED by Airbnb for that rep to write you an email immediately proceeding your phone call.  That email will include a Case Number that they will use to follow up on actions taken, refunds possibly given etc.  

Be sure to communicate exactly what you want to feel satisfied with your situation.  Whether it be moved, refunded, cancelled or all of the above. 

Please be sure to let everyone know on the CC here what was the outcome because this post will be seen by hundreds if not thousands of others and it could potentially help the next person who got "duped".  This makes me mad that you didn't get what you paid for.

This happened to a friend of mine who is an Airbnb Superhost on holiday to Melbourne Australia, and they were moved the next day to a place that matched their needs and expectations.  She received a refund as rightfully so.  Airbnb also gave her a 10% coupon on her next stay.  She called me and thanked me for guiding her on what to do.  I told her to take me on her next luxurious holiday trip as I needed a break from hosting

too  :))

Hope my post was just as helpful.   If so, feel free to use the "thumbs up" icon at the bottom.  Thanks!

[Ethan31]

I appreciate all the detailed responses. I suppose I'm just in a perdiciment as I already know the other options in the area and dont want to relocate our stuff to another home during the remaining 3+ weeks of our stay. I'm not complaing to get a discount I'm complaing because I feel like its so severly diffrent then we expected that I dont see its worth what we paid(being far more than everything in the area) however I will not go through the hassle of relocating. The Host seems nice but I think she just purchased this house made it look pretty for photos and then stripped it of all the beautiful furnishings put yard sale furniture inside and now is charging TOP dollar from the initial pictures. Not right especially at this price for this long of a stay.

[Momi0]

@Ethan31  You are very welcome.  But we dont want others to be swindled either, so can you please call ABB to report this?!  It should be done right away but I would also suggest that you reach out to the host to ask her to consider a refund bc she is violating ABB policy on misrepresentation /fraud of what her actual listing looks like.    She is making ABB look bad and the rest of us with her antics.  Its not right.  

I can promise you that I would've called already as it did happen to me at Disneyland.  I checked into a place that was PURE FILTH! It had not been cleaned in over a year....the BLACK mold growing out of the air vents was enough to make anyone barf!  Mattess was covered in urine, feces and blood.  Sheets were stained and torn.  It needed to be shut down. And Airbnb agreed.  This place was revoked immediately after ABB received my videos and pictures. Seems other guests had complained about the place but I booked it almost a year in advance so didn't know about the reviews that came in after my booking was confirmed.  Thankfully we were moved.  (oh did I mention before we were moved that while I was walking out of the bathroom without clothes, the hosts' BROTHER entered the condo without my permission and scared the **cking crap out of me)  Seems they never change the keyless pad code!!!  Lesson learned for me. 

If you would like, you can send me the listing link via private message, and I wil call ABB.  But it would help if you (the paid guests) actually files a report too.  This cannot continue.  She needs to put up accurate photos immediately. 

My hope is that your stay while not the most desirable in this environment, is still a good city to visit and you both will meet amazing people. 

Please know that its the right thing to do in contacting this hosts and ABB, to ensure others don't get charged for a misrepresented listing at preminum prices.   IMHO.

[Susan1473]

I   recently stayed  at  an  Airbnb  property  in  San  Miguel  de  Allende,  Mexico.  My host  has  'super host'  status  with  Airbnb.  Her  photos  were  OK, but  what  was  not  clearly communicated  on  the  owner's  profile  was  that  it  was  a  rental  property.  All  the  selected  reviews  gave  the  impression  that  the host  and  her  husband  were on site  and  that  it  was  a host-guest  situation  and  not  a  tenant entirely on her own  situation  without  even anyone  to  depend on  in  case of  any problem or  emergency.  The  owner  had  given  the  contact  information  of  a  relative  who lived one  hour  away and  did not respond  promptly  to  messages. It  was  a  clear  case  of  misrepresetation.  Anything  I  can  do  about  this?

[Patricia1872]

I like Airbnb because it supports people. After my stay at Lake Havasu I am done with Airbnb. The place was grossly misrepresented and filthy.  At a hotel we could have simply left without hassle. Host claimed entire house but it was a shared bath and no kitchen. I'm done. I thought Airbnb had better standards. What a shame.

*personal information hidden*

[Rachel1027]

Can someone tell me how I can talk to someone beyond the call centre? They havent helped at all 😞