How do you file a complaint against a host?

[Tammy37]

Had a confirmed booking, had already paid, then the host said he wanted $100 in cash on arrival as a surcharge.  We disagreed, but eventually cancelled, since we knew he would eventually cancel us out so he could gouge someone else.  

Because we cancelled, we have to eat the service charge.

Two questions:

1) how do we file a complaint against this host?

2) How can we petition to get the host to eat the service charge?

thanks,

Tammy

[William1775]

Our situation involves the host ISLAND TIMES VACATION RENTALS. 

They negotiated a price on a fl key home and said they Wd block the dates for 24 hours, they then came back in 2.5 hours before we were out of a worship service and riscended the offer. 

very poor conduct. Please do not stay with these folks. 

[Gary42]

Can't be more right !!! With Airbnb, if you run into any problem with your stay, basically you are on your own, PERIOD. 

[Diane600]

Amen to that, Alex!  The Airbnb staff have advised me 'we aren't getting replies to our messages' after I'd sent about 10 complaint ones via their direct message service (which gets delivered to the guests' email and which guests respond to by clicking on "reply" and logging into the Airbnb site. Laziness - or perhaps just couldn't CARE less I think is more the reality!  I've also found they ignore a guest's requests to specifically not contact the host until the guest is able to take moves to ensure they or their property are  made secure from any retaliation from the host for having to leave a booking early - even if that situation has been caused solely by the host!  AND even though I have photos of the condition of a property that was not revealed by the hosts in their Airbnb ad, inadequate refund is being made.  I hope I can obtain satisfaction, or something near to it, via the Small Claims Tribunal.  However, no paying guest of course should even need to do this - seems to me Airbnb staff are just a bunch of hokies who are there to prevent as much $$$ loss to Airbnb/hosts as possible. Certainly won't be using them again.

[Michelle1439]

Diane - I couldn't agree more with you. Airbnb is all about protecting the hosts and their profits, and they offer no practical protections or support for guests. I will not be using Airbnb again - they are placing guests at huge personal and financial risk. Travellers and workers will soon wake up to this company as being all about profit at the exploitation of those who create their income - the guests. The guests will go elsewhere, so enjoy your day in the sun Airbnb and bad hosts - thankfully some companies have ethics and morals, so we are going back to the reliable, ethical web-sites that offer real protection. There is an increasing amount of entrepreneurial sociopathic hosts who have picked up on how easy it is to use Airbnb to defraud guests, and they are making tidy sums from misrepresenting accommodations. The complaints in alternative on-line review sites are mounting up. Complainants agree - if you do manage to contact Airbnb they do their best to confuse and annoy you, and then they stop interacting with you. I recommend that all Australians report their experiences with Airbnb to the ACCC and to their federal MPs outlining the details of what is happening. If you don't do anything about this, then it will continue. Maybe someone should start a Change.org petition calling for Airbnb to be illegal in Oz? At the very least it would draw wide public attention to this fraud. Shame on you, Airbnb.

[Sarah977]

I'm sorry, @Michelle1439 but you're wrong- Airbnb is not "all about protecting hosts and their profits"- they happen to be as non-responsive and difficult to deal with for hosts as they are with guests. It's the company attitude across the board. If you took time to read through a couple pages of posts on the Hosting section of this forum, you'd find out some of the abyssmal ways that hosts are treated.

It's really upsetting to all the good hosts out there that terrible hosts with dirty or otherwise unacceptable listings are allowed to remain on the platform, as it reflects badly on all of us, as per your post. But please don't paint all hosts with the same brush just because you had a bad experience and Airbnb didn't support you. 

[Verlyn0]

Oh my I totally agree with you! My host house is so dirty, run down, with so many rusty things and spoilt items and airbnb can still tell me it is not sufficient to ask for a refund. Worst still I have been texting and calling them since day 1 after I moved in after experiencing their snail replies. I couldn't stand it and I moved out on 3rd day and now I'm back at my country and they still have not reverted on my appeal on the refund! 

It's ok if they have no service but they should be fair to the guests! 

[Vanessa1287]

I have the same problems with the host! What should we do?

[Diane722]

I thought maybe I was the only one who’s experienced accommodation which is nothing like advertised on Airbnb website.  As a treat for Sri Lankan friends booked for 2 nights in Ballarat, Australia to visit Sovereign Hills Winter Wonderlights and to have a Christmas is July.  Checked with host before booking that the fire shown in lounge was wood burning as wanted to set the atmosphere.....received reply that all OK.  So paid in excess of $800 for 2 nights.    Bought firewood and when arrived it was to find the fireplace was a very old gas one, which was nonfunctional.  Swallowed my disappointment and started to unpack........things started to go downhill very quickly.  2 seater faux leather lounge had antimacassars on seat and back, soon found out why; the seats and back were bare of covering, just bare material everywhere.  Opened oven to find disgusting grease and food encrusted tray, microwave was filthy and had to be cleaned before use, heavy black cobwebs hanging mid way up lounge wall, many skirting boards black with thick dust, spare blankets had holes in them, chunks of plaster off wall in dining area.  Host said I could leave and would give refund.......I asked where could I find alternative self contained accommodation as it was mid afternoon and friends were on their way......just silence.  Spent first few hours of holiday cleaning so place at least met minimum hygiene standards.  Have been in constant contact with Airbnb, sending photos and describing how property was found.  They’re absolutely not interested, have given a refund of $50 for ‘cleaning’ and closed the file.  I will certainly never use Airbnb again and won’t hesitate to pass on my experience to all and sundry.

[Kenneth12]

@Diane722 :  I stayed in a dirty ABB in NYC two months ago;   took 60 pictures;   uploaded 30 as part of a resolution center request;   ABB gave me more back than I requested.

Did you use the Resolution Center?

[William1775]

Our situation involves the host ISLAND TIMES VACATION RENTALS. 

They negotiated a price on a fl key home and said they Wd block the dates for 24 hours, they then came back in 2.5 hours before we were out of a worship service and riscended the offer. 

very poor conduct. Please do not stay with these folks. 

[Diane600]

Amen to that, Alex!  The Airbnb staff have advised me 'we aren't getting replies to our messages' after I'd sent about 10 complaint ones via their direct message service (which gets delivered to the guests' email and which guests respond to by clicking on "reply" and logging into the Airbnb site. Laziness - or perhaps just couldn't CARE less I think is more the reality!  I've also found they ignore a guest's requests to specifically not contact the host until the guest is able to take moves to ensure they or their property are  made secure from any retaliation from the host for having to leave a booking early - even if that situation has been caused solely by the host!  AND even though I have photos of the condition of a property that was not revealed by the hosts in their Airbnb ad, inadequate refund is being made.  I hope I can obtain satisfaction, or something near to it, via the Small Claims Tribunal.  However, no paying guest of course should even n

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@Alex492 wrote:

Thanks for the clarification, but that doesn't point to an inaccuracy in what I said. The 'Community Experts' are not employees of AirBnB, as explicitly stated at the link I provided. So they cannot legally speak for AirBnB. So contacting them is simply not a "way of contacting AirBnB", let alone an *easy* way of contacting AirBnB. I, along with many other frustrated customers on this forum, simply want an easy way of contacting AirBnB directly, without mediation by people who are not legal representatives of AirBnB. It was stated above by 'Dave & Deb' that "it is really easy to contact Airbnb". This is simply false, as attested by the numerous complaints on this forum, and the existence of sites with titles like 'Airbnb Hell'.

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Amen to this - seems to me Airbnb staff are just a bunch of hokies who are there to prevent as much $$$ loss to Airbnb/hosts as possible. Certainly won't be using them again.

[Vanessa1287]

Do you have any way to help me? My Airbnb have me to wire her money and never want to refund me money!

[Sarah977]

@Vanessa1287  Can you explain a bit more what the situation is? It really sounds like you replied to an ad you found somewhere other than the Airbnb site and it was a total scam, not an Airbnb listing. 

When you book an Airbnb, you pay through the Airbnb site with the payment method you have on file with them. A guest never wires money directly to the host. 

If this was a scam, you unfortunately won't be able to get your money back.

Can you post the link to this listing, so we can have a look?

[Ali40]

I started a Twitter account specifically to contact Airbnbhelp when needed. They have always been very helpful on Twitter 

[Neil104]

 Hi Alex - sounds like you've had a bad experience with Airbnb? I am in the middle of a sticky problem with an unscrupulous host. Airbnb is naturally geared to favouring the host. It is completely unregulated. It won't take responsibility for host actions - even though guests actually contract with Aribnb. I work for a litigation funder - and am considering launching  class action against them by guests who have been financially disadvantaged by Airbnb's lack of accountability. Please email me with your contact details if you'd like to participate. It would be no cost to you. Please email me at [Email address hidden] - I can provide more details.

[Email address hidden as per the community guidelines]