141–150 of 632 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Try calling your Credit Card company and flag it as fraud. That's what I would do. That failing I'd submit a police report.
That doesn't work well b/c then Airbnb just bans you from the platform
There have been a few threads about AirBnb lately with a lot of people reporting negative experiences so I will add my own $0.02. I have stayed in many AirBnbs. The reason is, I find it is the only way to have a tolerable family vacation is when everyone has their own sleeping quarters. When we are all piled into one (often overpriced and not so clean) hotel room, it makes for less than ideal sleep and everyone ends…
>> The main downside for me concerning AirBnb is it takes a long time to analyze the listings to find quality accommodations. In my view this is major. To describe it better - need to read "between the lines" of misleading representations of properties. Lots of property owners goes to great extends to make property look way better, bigger, nicer than it really is and to conceal obvious negative points that become app…
-I don’t know whether their policy differs from country to country, but after using AirBnb 30+ times traveling with wife and three kids in Northern/Central Europe, I’ve only had two issues - once the place we were to stay was double-booked (and we arrived last!); the other it turned out what was described as a ‘bedroom’ in the listing was a storage room with no windows, hot water tank, a few shelves packed with all sorts of junk and barely room for a dirty mattress on the floor.
In both cases AirBnb promptly decided I was due a refund, my only minor gripe being it took a couple of weeks before the money was actually refunded.
Airbnb let the host write a review on us for the stay which we didn't even take, as when we arrived in the apartment it was in a such appalling state, dirty, broken - we had to spend 4 hours inside while looking for the replacement and trying to convince Airbnb this apartment is inhabitable based on their T&Cs. Yes, we managed that but couldn't find an adequate replacement for the same money and had to move into the hotel. At the same time, Airbnb let the host write a super-negative review about us for not taking this apartment and never sent an invitation to myself to write my own review. I could not even image it is possible to write reviews for cancelled stays! I was left with negative review and ruined stay just because the host could care less and because Airbnb protects hosts first and foremost.
Guess what? Most of non-scam non-inhabitable properties listed on Airbnb are almost always available on other sites, including a well-known booking site. Where you pay and receive service and have means to complain or at least write a review without the fear of being reviewed back for something you are not even at fault.
I had 23 positive reviews and that one last negative. When I later tried to book an apartment and started asking a few questions to host (have to be fastidious with the choice as I often stay for 2-3 weeks, so need to ensure there is no construction works around..etc) - the host has referred to my last negative review and told me I won't be welcome. And that was that proverbial straw.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
That doesn't work well b/c then Airbnb just bans you from the platform
Why would you continue to give airbnb your business, once experiencing something like that anyways?
Oddly enough, there was someone living in the switcheroo apartment I ended up in and they were paying £800 a month!
I reported it to airbnb today after reading this story and checking that listing's reviews, almost all of whom had reported the same problem and airbnb have come back to say they've cancelled the host's account and listing.
There have been a few threads about AirBnb lately with a lot of people reporting negative experiences so I will add my own $0.02. I have stayed in many AirBnbs. The reason is, I find it is the only way to have a tolerable family vacation is when everyone has their own sleeping quarters. When we are all piled into one (often overpriced and not so clean) hotel room, it makes for less than ideal sleep and everyone ends…
Funny, having young kids is what has sent me back to hotels (at least for the time being), simply because they are mostly designed with accessibility and some level of child-proofing. Also, the long corridors, lobbies and elevators in hotels are great outlets for toddlers to burn energy and curiosity. Cooping the kids up in a grown-up oriented space with fragile table decorations they can't touch can be exhausting.
Letting toddlers run up and down the hallways is a good way to make you the most hated guest in the hotel.
Mentioned this in another comment, but it blows my mind that the author ends with: > "Even after a month of digging through public records, scouring the internet for clues, repeatedly calling Airbnb and confronting the man who called himself Patrick, I can’t say I’ll be leaving the platform, either. Dealing with Airbnb’s easily exploitable and occasionally crazy-making system is still just a bit cheaper than renting…
Even after a >>>month of digging through public records...Dealing with Airbnb’s easily exploitable and occasionally crazy-making system is still just a bit cheaper than renting a hotel." It's constantly amazing to see how little people value their time when it comes to stuff like this. Maybe when we're getting yearly salaries we don't compute out the hourly cost but, man, do the math once in a while.
Mentioned this in another comment, but it blows my mind that the author ends with: > "Even after a month of digging through public records, scouring the internet for clues, repeatedly calling Airbnb and confronting the man who called himself Patrick, I can’t say I’ll be leaving the platform, either. Dealing with Airbnb’s easily exploitable and occasionally crazy-making system is still just a bit cheaper than renting…
Random business idea: AirBnB but with verified properties. Actually AirBnB can do that themselves easily enough, just hire people to check properties. Or hire secret guests, if the renter redirects the user to another property, withold payments / ban them from the site. But quality is not in AirBnB's interest, apparently - being cheaper is. They get a cut from all financial transactions anyway. Once they're listed on…