I booked a room for myself and my daughter in Palermo explaining in my messages that I was arriving on the 9pm ferry from Genoa. My daughter tried to call the host starting at 9.10 until the 6th attempt at 10.30pm. My husband tried to call as well from home. Every call resulted in a message "number unavailable".
We found the "street" which wasn't anything like the photo in the listing - it was a back alley, poorly lit with dogs barking running loose in the alley. We asked someone, whose door was open, if they knew the host, but of course we only had the christian name, so they didn't. We used our phones to light all the door bells down the alley but none said Art Room.
Frankly we felt unsafe with the dogs on the loose, down a dark alley so despite making a really good effort to find the place we gave up and drove round until we could find a hotel with a room and checked in.
I went onto Airbnb website to cancel immediately we checked into the hotel but although I could cancel I wasn't allowed a refund.
I sent an email to Airbnb the next morning and got an automated reply saying they would get to my question soon - with useless suggested problems.
I still don't have a reply to my complaint and I don't have a refund......
On this basis I suggest all hosts just disappear when their guests are due to arrive because Airbnb take the money and you don't have to clean or wash the sheets!!!
I appreciate most of the time guests are the problem but nowhere on the web site is there a place for guests to receive any recourse when hosts are the problem.....This needs changing - there isn't even a tab anywhere to contact the company to complain about a host - I have gone round in circles trying to find a way to get in touch and finally this is my only solution.....
I WANT A REFUND and I would like to see a tab for guests to receive refunds if hosts don't deliver. A reference is not enough
