We booked a stay at an apartment for our family, including two small children.
There were photos that were included of the facilities and amenities that made the building seem much nicer than it actually was. The actual apartment was a dump, and the host wouldn't allow us to check in until after 6pm, so we weren't able to see all of the inaccuracies.
- We were given multiple addresses for the location. One, which was sent to us, one which is where we were asked to meet the host, and one which was real.
- We were asked to meet the owner blocks away at 6pm to follow him into the apartment complex. It was very sketchy and we didn't know whether we were going to get keys or be robbed or murdered.
- Most of the photos in the listing were not real. When our case manager approached the host, he admitted that these were of other buildings in the neighborhood.
- The owner admitted that he is not permitted to have Airbnb guests stay there. He gave us a fake name, and then sent us his real name, telling us that if asked, to tell his neighbors we're his friends staying at the apartment. We could have been kicked out at any time if his neighbors discovered we were staying through Airbnb.
- We felt unsafe. We called Airbnb immediately, and told our case manager that we did not feel safe, and did not feel safe contacting the host directly to ask for a cancellation and refund. Our case manager asked us to document with photos and send to her, which we did, and let her know when we left the premises. Afterward, we were told that by doing so, we lost our right to any refund. In other words, we and our children should have remained with a host who had lied to us in different ways, then asked for a refund, then escalated to Airbnb support.
I spent numerous hours on the phone with various people, to no avail, and was then told that there was no merit to our claim -- that providing a fake name, three different addresses, and false photos of your listing, and admitting that there's a restriction on your building against Airbnb, apparently doesn't violate their Terms of Service (though it expressly does).
We lost our payment of more than $1000 because our case manager cancelled our stay. She offered us $25, or 25% of our first night stay -- inexplicably.
By cancelling our stay, we now aren't able to leave a review to warn others about our experience and the scam.
If Airbnb actually cared about the safety and quality of its community, they would allow for people who "cancel" due to complaints to be able to leave reviews for hosts. Not doing so creates a one-way feedback loop, where only those who complete a stay are able to leave a review. That is not transparency.
We have used Airbnb for years and have never had a problem before, but are so disapointed by this experience, we will not be using it any longer.
