Two different host are listing one same house.

[James1611]

Me and my friends booked to the first host (first link below). The original link of our room disappeared for quite sometime and the said he needs to 'settle' something. Now I just found out that there are two different hosts listing the same room we booked and also with a difference with price.

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/35404884?source_impression_id=p3_1561077615_YCu6Ewd7xUKN6k7%2B

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/34409787?source_impression_id=p3_1561077608_ELkvbC3zZoUxrP6E
Is this allowed?
I'm really being paranoid because this is my first travel and we also can't cancel because of their cancellation policy to get our full refund. Any thoughts?

[Susan151]

@James1611 You are not being paranoid. However, ManMan appears as the cohost of one and the host of the other, so there is hope! Are the dates that you booked unavailable on the 'other' listing or are they available? If this all feels too scary, call AirBNB and express your concerns. They often will step in and make sure that you are well taken care of. Good luck!

[James1611]

To be fair, both have the same dates in terms of availability and booked dates. Being a first timer, I just got a little bit scared because the url to their listing disappeared only to find out that there are two hosts now with the same place. Can a random person just become someone's cohost? Is this safe to assume they both know each other?

[Sarah977]

@James1611 You are wise to be cautious, and as Susan pointed out, you can contact Airbnb with concerns.

But first, have you communicated with the host at all, or just Instant Booked the place? Maybe you could start there- send a friendly message to the host, tell him you're confused as to why his place would be listed twice, with another host showing on the other listing and different pricing. There may be a logical explanation, or the response (or lack of it) may send up red flags.

[Susan17]

@James1611  This is common practice across the entire platform now. It multiplies visibility and search placement for the host, and ramps up the "active host" and listing figures - thereby increasing the company valuation - ahead of the IPO. It's not only very much allowed, but encouraged.

Also, listing the same property under several accounts, is a way of deflecting attention from listings that have received terrible reviews under the original profile. In this instance,  Man Man has a relatively clean slate with only 2 reviews, but Wing has 674 reviews, many for the same properties as Man Man, and a good proportion of them pretty awful. 

Proceed with caution.