Price Gouging

[Thea398]

I just wanted to bring to your attention what has been occurring by some of your hosts over the past several weeks.  There have been many cancellations in order to price gouge in the Miami area due to hosts now realizing Taylor Swift will be at the Hard Rock the weekend of October 18th.  People have made arrangement a year in advance and with only a few months out, hosts are now cancelling without explanation.  It is no coincidence as to why this is happening.  Hotels are now fully booked, and people are finding themselves with no place to stay.  I would hope this is being addressed within your company.  It's one to book at a high price but to cancel on people raise a price is something different.  Now people are at the mercy of hotels, if they can find a room, which are outrageously priced.  People could have booked at a hotel who would have honored the booking price when booked.  I would hope the hosts who care cancelling bookings this weekend are not being allowed to re-book through your site once cancelled. It is a complete injustice to consumers, especially when they rely on your business and partners to follow ethnical practices.  Just want to make sure Air bnb is aware of what is going on. 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Thea398 Sad behaviour from greedy hosts. To give you some reassurance the hosts will be fined for cancelling and their dates blocked on Airbnb. Of course other listing platforms exist so they will still be able to let their spaces.

[Shelley159]

Hi @Thea398 

We are a community of hosts. If you also want to contact Airbnb directly, you can share your concerns here:

Feedback - Airbnb Help Center

Airbnb is well aware of some predatory hosts and tries to weed them out. Here in the Community Centre we often see some of them complain when they get banned. They are certainly monitored and there is an effort to try and get rid of them, but it can help if you also report this particular situation!