Why Airbnb allows a fraud to happen by not blocking a host, whose list/profile are a complete fraud?

Stepan1
Level 1
Moscow, Russia

Why Airbnb allows a fraud to happen by not blocking a host, whose list/profile are a complete fraud?

Well, I am angry on Airbnb, because I faced some of their irresponsiveness and unwillingness to help, which is obviously in their interests too. Since Airbnb recommends guests to rigorously analyze the available data, I decided to share the fraud, which I detected myself, using word-of-mouth. Hope it will help both guests and organizations like Airbnb in improving their fraudulent host detection algorithms.

 

Until now, I was using Airbnb with only good experience. Few days ago I decided to book an apartment in Rosa Khutor (nearby to Sochi, Russia) for my big family. I found a nice looking and below average priced apartment in the best part of the alpine resort called Rosa Khutor (where part of the Olympics in 2014 was held). This is the only apartment available on Airbnb in this place. It is not surprising since every building in this place is owned by hotels (I found it later). I made a booking with a strict canceling rules. Here is a corresponding url of this apartment: apartment URL.

 

After a while I decided to look at my reservation and then I got an idea about finding this host in the internet by using his profile photo. Strange and unexpected idea you guess? Maybe in part because it is Russia where you can feel a lack of trust - I don't know, but thanks for that idea! I used Yandex website (Russian alternative to Google) to search by photo. Here is a url with instructions (you can try to simulate my way of fraud detection!): Yandex search by photo.

 

What I found was a link to Instagram of a man with an identical picture, but with different name and surname: Instagram of the man on the photo. He appeared to be a popular blogger. According to the number of subscribers it is his original account. I also was easily to find his original account on Facebook and I asked him there whether he owns this profile on Airbnb. He answered "no :))". Well, that is a bad sign I thought. Something isn't clean with my booking. By the way, I found many more accounts which all testify that this person's name is Sergey but not Dmitriy as is stated on the Airbnb host profile.

 

After some sleep, to prove my worries I decided to look more precisely on the apartment that this host is offering for me. At first I did not know about an exact address and used Google and Yandex street views to identify the building. It was easy to do. Then I found an exact address on Airbnb and it matched 100%. Then I identified the part of the building, floor and the room the picture was taken from. It was harder, but it is possible to see that the floor is the highest (because you can see cornice from the balcony’s photo). Also this apartment has a middle balcony. So found the exact place of the apartment!

Then I found that all floors of the building are owned by "VALSET apartments by AZIMUT Rosa Khutor": Hotel website. By comparing photos of Airbnb host with photos of VALSET hotel on TripAdvisor I found that room has similar elements: TV, sofas and views from the balcony photo of view (first photo) and (sofa and TV) . I immediately contacted the hotel through their mobile number and asked about this room and this building. They said to me that it is the same room and that they still have it free to reserve. They also said that this room is 1.5 times more expensive than I rented and that they do not cooperate with Airbnb. It means that not just the photo of the host is fake, but he also doesn’t own this apartment and is not able to give them in rent on Airbnb website or anywhere else.

 

The next step was obvious. I called to Moscow office of Airbnb and tell them everything. However, instead of investigating and blocking his account they sent an invitation to host to cancel the booking and told me to wait till he cancels it. Then they will refund me first part of a payment (during the payment I used an option to divide it into two separate parts - the second will be in a week). I waited till the evening and saw that host decided not to cancel my booking and he is still able to take care of my stay (hm, how he is going to do that?). I called to Airbnb again - they said that they are not able to solve it now, because my case manager Stanislav is not in the office. On the next day they send me an invitation to cancel the order. Is it the way they deal with their clients (guests), who are the main demand and reason for their service to exist? Asking them to cancel a booking and lose all the prepayment? If yes - then it is not customer driven marketing strategy. Say Goodbye! to your customer's loyalty. Of course I did not answer this message and called them by phone saying: why should I make all this actions to detect the fraud by myself? Why they cannot do it in an efficient way? I even watched their video and read their blog where they are using machine learning algorithms. However, in these materials they were detecting fraud committed by guests, not by hosts. They finally said to me that my case is moved from their department to the department of "Travels" and then to the department of "Trust and Safety".

 

Now I am waiting for that department's decision, while the date of the second payment is getting closer. Also I spent a lot of my time and nerves on this and cannot make another booking for my family. I do not want to became a victim of an even bigger fraud after arriving at the apartments, which is possible according to so many reviews of people who faced it.   

 

Airbnb, please, help your guests to enjoy their travels before they can even arrange them! According to your code of honor: "There’s nothing more important to us than protecting the safety and security of our community and earning your trust". So please, do not let us lose your trust

 

Update (3 days after): I got a message and a call today from Russian Airbnb office. They got in contact with an agent from “Trust and Safety” department, who did not find anything suspicious in my host's account. Also, they called my host by the phone and he told them that he is able to accommodate us. I do not know what actions I should follow after this to give Airbnb enough evidence. Can you suggest something? I am thinking about writing to the host to get much more information about his exact address and his identity.

8 Replies 8
Elena87
Level 10
СПБ, Russia

@Stepan1

Good police work Stepan.

 

If it were me, I'd go ahead and pay the second installment.

I'd also book an apartment with Azimat in Sochi for your family at the same time. I'd tell Sergey / Dmitriy we will meet at the hotel reception area to collect the keys - absolutely no ifs and buts - this is where we will meet. I'd tell Sergey / Dmitriy about that right now.

I'd arrive at the Azimut hotel reception desk to get the keys from Sergey - Dmitriy.

I'd have airbnb number on hotline - I'd kick up a ochen bolshoi massive massive fuss in the hotel reception area.

I'd demand a refund from airbnb there and then by phone as a fraud is taking place and ask for compensation too.

I'd leave Sergey / Dmitriy with a room that they paid for and won't be paid for by you.

Cormac0
Level 10
Kraków, Poland

@Stepan1

 

This reminds me of my Cousin who worked in a very posh private hotel in London England, where the night porter was allowing rich Arab's use the Hotel bedrooms at night, for a cash fee £1,000 for the sole purpose of entertaining prostitutes, they'd stay for a couple of hours and then leave, the porter would change the bed sheets and was ready for this next Arab guest, apparently he had three clients a night!

 

The management had no idea what was going on.

 

Do you think that the hotel staff are colluding in what going on?

 

Yes, it appeared to be some kind of collusion. But my stay there was good and without any troubles. Too much worries fom my side.

Linda108
Level 10
La Quinta, CA

@Stepan1  I am glad to hear you had a great stay with your family after all.  So it appears that all that detective work appears to have lead you down a wrong path and Air BNB investigation was correct.  Frankly I would never know how to do all that you did and would just blindly trust 😛

 

@Cormac0 and @Elena87  do you think there is a different mind set in some parts of the world that inteferes with trusting Air BNB?  Both of you seem to side with Stephan's investigation and not trust Air BNB.  That would not have been my reaction, but I must admit I can be naive.

@Linda108 maybe Stepan can expand on the collusion side

I don't think so, because only I was so worried about this in my family. Everybody else were just relaxing and trust.

 

I think it all lies in the fact that the more we are informed about the risk of fraud (as I was) - the more worried we became. And on a contrary, the more we are informed about a safety provided by Airbnb - the more trusty and calmn our feelings become about the upcoming trip.

 

About the Airbnb investigation, I think such listings are still quite unacceptable
considering the fact that if the hotel managment will find out this, it will leave you outside of the hotel looking for some place to stay. I think AirBnb should be serious about such listings to increase the average customer satisfation.  

@Linda

 

If your inferring an Eastern European bias, I'm from the Republic of Ireland and we're generally known for our trusting nature.

 

I never mention anything about Airbnb involvement in any shenanigans,

 

"Do you think that the hotel staff are colluding in what’s going on?" was part of comment I made…

 

Being an avid blogger, I am surprised by some American’s in ability to read what is actual said, as opposed to the inflection they want to draw from what was written, which often reflects their own personal bias.

David126
Level 10
Como, CO

Always makes me wonder what was going on behind the scenes, employees, management the Hotel itself are listing?

 

People I know who own a small Hotel had issues, there is a Bar on the property and one of the staff was letting friends crash who had drunk too much, for free.

David