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I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

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Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#181

Post by organsnyder »

dannykwells wrote: post #175

I think what Airbnb, and uber, lyft, Amazon etc. All fail to understand is the longevity ans stickiness of brand. Once you become an untrustworthy or low quality brand, it's very hard to change that. You can still do fine (see: wal mart) but you'll always be looking over your shoulder for higher quality brands that poach the most lucrative customers, and eventually, thats what will lead to your downfall (see: wal mar…

Walmart has had a "downfall"? I prefer to avoid shopping there, but the business appears to be doing quite well.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#182

Post by oarsinsync »

bonestamp2 wrote: post #137
imglorp wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My kid had exactly the same thing happen. The host was local and attentive, but after the visit, they attempted to stick the guests for huge bill for a water ring in the finish on a wooden kitchen table that was already there when they checked in. This was not fine furniture, just generic 90's poly'd oak or veneer. The host was claiming the table needed to be replaced so the charge was high three figures. I'm not sur…

Also avoid tiny rental car companies for this same reason. You'll find them listed on the major travel booking websites and they'll have names that you've never heard of. They often appear to be cheaper than the large rental companies, but they frequently have a chipped windshield or a tiny dent in a body panel. Even if you point it out during the pre-rental walkaround, they won't mark it on the contract. That's the…

Take a slow motion video inspecting the car at the start of the rental. I've supplied screenshots from the video, along with the full video itself, to my credit card company when disputing charges from the rental company. Took about an hour of my time, and a few weeks later the charge was reversed.

> you're on the hook for the charge for that time

I'm not really sure I consider having some of my credit blocked out while the charge is disputed, as being the same as being on the hook for the charge. The credit is essentially in escrow until a decision gets made, but it definitely hasn't impacted my bank balance in any way.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#183

Post by lonelappde »

weberc2 wrote: post #176
gesman wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> 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…

> need to read "between the lines" of misleading representations of properties. I've never had a problem with this, but I also don't bother staying anywhere that doesn't have a 4-star or better average. If you just set your filter at >= 4 stars, then these problems go away, and we also comb through the reviews of our top picks to make sure there's nothing unexpected. Consequently, we've had nothing but good experienc…

AirBnB doesn't have anonymous reviews and there is extreme social pressure to only give 4 and 5 star review.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#184

Post by giarc »

marcodave wrote: post #151
giarc wrote: post #69

It's always interesting to see scammers at work. The nature of scammers, atleast the ones that get caught, put in 95% effort, and it's that last 5% that gets them caught. In this case, imagine if instead of trash furniture and minimal decor in the "switch" property of "bait and switch" they put in half decent stuff. Renters would probably all accept the story of a plumber and move on. Instead, they fill the property…

Well, if a scam is successful and unnoticeable, by definition we won't see any articles about those, right?

You are correct, I guess my point was more about the fact that they were so close to getting away with it. Cutting corners never pays.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#185

Post by harryh »

greggman2 wrote: post #158
julienchastang wrote: post #51

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…

I've stayed at 22 airbnb's 11 were fine. 11 had issues most with false advertising in some form or another. One listed the wrong location and if they had listed the correct location I would not have rented even though the room's interior matched. A few claimed to include onsite parking but didn't which of course is very inconvenient. The last one that did that claimed "Easy Street Parking" as AirBnb's blatant lie. I…

YC owns a tiny tiny piece of AirBnB. They definitely do not have any sort of power over the issues that you bring up.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#186

Post by harryh »

dannykwells wrote: post #175

I think what Airbnb, and uber, lyft, Amazon etc. All fail to understand is the longevity ans stickiness of brand. Once you become an untrustworthy or low quality brand, it's very hard to change that. You can still do fine (see: wal mart) but you'll always be looking over your shoulder for higher quality brands that poach the most lucrative customers, and eventually, thats what will lead to your downfall (see: wal mar…

Ah yes, the downfall of WalMart. The...checks notes...largest company by revenue in America.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#187

Post by magduf »

jbverschoor wrote: post #59

Yeah, I stopped using Airbnb a loooooong time ago, and only use it when the price diff is something like 4 fold. Too many bad experiences. Yay booking.com and normal hotels

I've only used it once, about a year ago. I wanted to visit Nuremberg, Germany, but I picked a terrible time of the year when the hotel rates were atrocious. So I looked on AirBnB and found an older couple renting a bedroom in their private home about 30 minutes away from the city for only about $45/night. It turned out to be a really nice experience, and I think this is what at least some people are looking for. Staying at a private (and very nice) home with some hosts (who actually live there) in a spare room is an international experience you won't get with a hotel or even a hostel. For me, it was mildly inconvenient that I had to take a train 30 minutes to get to the city those two days, but it was well worth seeing a small town I wouldn't have seen otherwise, and getting to meet actual German people and see how they live and attempt to talk to them in my broken German.

I guess you just really have to be careful when you use a service like this. It's like eBay in a way: you can get ripped off on there, but if you're careful and only buy from reputable sellers, you can get some great deals.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#188

Post by ghostly_s »

curiousgal wrote: post #180
dannykwells wrote: post #175

I think what Airbnb, and uber, lyft, Amazon etc. All fail to understand is the longevity ans stickiness of brand. Once you become an untrustworthy or low quality brand, it's very hard to change that. You can still do fine (see: wal mart) but you'll always be looking over your shoulder for higher quality brands that poach the most lucrative customers, and eventually, thats what will lead to your downfall (see: wal mar…

At least with Amazon, their customer service makes up for any fake goods they sell.

Amazon provides customer service?

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#189

Post by aembleton »

marcodave wrote: post #150
Cthulhu_ wrote: post #131

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…

If by "verified properties" we can infer "regulations and warranties", aren't you just reinventing hotels?

But with a kitchen and other amenities.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#190

Post by jasjdfkj2js »

quaquaqua1 wrote: post #25
RandomBacon wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Presumably AirBnB would ban the user and the user still wants to be able to use the service in the future.

I issued a chargeback to Qatar Airways/Expedia for $1700 and they tried to fight it. Bank of America told them to go to hell, and that I was getting a full refund. I can still use Qatar and Expedia. Airbnb should not be allowed to ban me for this reason.

out of curiosity - what was the reason you did a charge back? how much information did you have to give BoA.
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