The accuracy of properties hosting.

[Kathy408]

I am a host/traveller and have found that some descriptions of properties are incorrect.  One property we stayed at said it had off street parking, a kitchen and a reverse cycle airconditioner.  All these things did not exist. Can airbnb have people randomly check properties and remove from site until addressed?

[Letti0]

@Kathy408  As a host I am surpised you did not contact AirBnB immediately for the inaccurate listing. AirBnB cannot do anything to cvorrect issues if they are not informed of the issues. I hope you have reported both the listing and the hosts profile using the flag. If not please do so. I hope you honestly review him. An inaccurate listing is one of the things that gets me upset. If they say this, that and the other are there they should be there and available. 

[Kathy408]

Hi Letti,

I did mention the inaccuracy to Airbnb when I submitted the review.  This was over a year ago now.  I have just checked to see if this listing is still on Airbnb, which it is, but appears to be blocked so you cannot book.  Can you tell me how you use the flag to report hosts and listings?

[Letti0]

@Kathy408  Every listing and every host and guest profile have a little flag on them, but at the moment mine are all little squares and next to it Report this User. Strange. It's been acting up for the past month with on and off again options to block guests. They keep playing with the programming of it. But this is the button you click on and chose what you want to report and a message box will open for you to list the issue and submit it. When's it working right it's a great tool for a host to block bad guests from rebooking with them. 

[Kathy408]

Thanks Letti I will check it out.

[Sarah977]

@Kathy408  Considering that Airbnb has millions of listings worldwide, it wouldn't be practical for them to have someone personally check out listings for accuracy, which is why you can report a place for that as well as have it be part of your review. 

And, if you want to take it that far, when you check in to a place which is not-as-advertised (barring things like the Wifi being temporarily down for reasons beyond a host's control, like an area-wide outage) you can contact Airbnb after you check in to report it and request a refund. But if you don't report it and just continue to stay, asking for a refund after the fact, that's not a good approach.

Also, if something is missing or not working as far as amenities go, it's always a good start to message the host first- they may not be aware of the problem (some have property managers or co-hosts who may not be that diligent), so you should at least give them an opportunity to correct the issue. Previous guests may have stolen something, messed around with the modem, requiring a reset, or inadvertently switched off a breaker to the hot water, for instance, without the host realizing it.