I’m posting this to warn others in the Airbnb community about a deeply upsetting experience I had, and how Airbnb has failed to provide any meaningful support or accountability.
I stayed at an Airbnb property hosted by David **. Not only was the unit in terrible condition—with mold in the bathroom, a broken kitchen stove, and a barely functioning faucet—but after the stay, David filed a false claim accusing me of smoking in the unit. I don’t smoke. No one in my party smokes. I have never touched marijuana or a cigarette in my life. We weren’t even present when the alleged “smoke odor” was supposedly noticed. I have the geotag, time stamped pictures as well as receipts from our credit cards. We were NOT even home till 2 am the next day.
Airbnb’s case manager assigned to this issue Zishan has been completely unhelpful. He called me yesterday with a 10% refund that Airbnb could provide. I provided a detailed response and requested proof of the smoking claim. To date, no credible evidence has been provided, yet the host is pursuing a $1,000 cleaning fee. How can Airbnb allow such a defamatory review to be posted with out any evidence or first reaching out to me to see if there was a system malfunction?
What’s worse? David waited until after the 14-day window (when guests can no longer leave a review) to file this claim. This appears to be a strategic move to avoid public accountability and prevent me from warning others through the review system.
I’ve tried to escalate this beyond the case manager, but Airbnb has made it impossible to reach anyone with actual authority to intervene or resolve this fairly. Meanwhile, the defamatory claim remains, and a dangerous, substandard property goes unpenalized.
This is not just a dispute about money—it’s about integrity, accountability, and guest safety. If Airbnb allows false accusations and health hazards to go unchecked, how can guests trust the platform?
If anyone has experience dealing with higher-level Airbnb representatives or has advice on legal recourse, please reach out. I’m also considering going public on additional platforms to make sure others aren’t misled or harmed.
Please share this with others. Let’s hold hosts and Airbnb accountable.
**[Identifiable information- Name of a Host's listing removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines due to privacy concerns]
