How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb • Hacker News Board

Re: How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

#181

Post by yakireev » Sun, Mar 05, 2023, 10:44 PM UTC

toomanyrichies wrote: post #151

I recently stayed in Panama City, Panama for a week, and booked an Airbnb for my stay. When I checked in, I was so tired from the flight that I just wanted to take a hot shower and crash. I turned on the shower and waited for the hot water. And waited. And waited. Finally I messaged the host to ask if I was doing something wrong with the shower controls. The host’s response: “We don’t offer hot water at this rental.”…

Never been in Panama, but my experience in Colombia was similar: in warmer areas hot water just was not a thing - homes, hostels, hotels just did not have it, without special notice. "Yeah, the temperature outside is above 30C all year round, why would you need more heat?". To be fair, the "cold" water was not really cold either, 25-30C or so, so showering with that was not unpleasant.

Not sure whether things are similar in Panama, but it could very well be. If so, it's cultural barrier, not malignacy.

Re: How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

#182

Post by twelve40 » Sun, Mar 05, 2023, 10:44 PM UTC

che_shirecat wrote: post #62

SV_BubbleTime wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If this is how the service is going to work - why would I want to be part of it? I'm not interested in playing some VC's network effects game. The era of free money is over for now, they're going to want business soon.

You assume you have a choice in playing. Most of the supply will never consider listing on multiple marketplaces, because its a massive hassle. $ABNB is up 48% YTD bucking the rest of the market, they have strong financials and are massively profitable. The growth-at-all-costs play DID work, and now you have no choice but to bend the knee. Edge cases like this will never materially affect their business.

I've never been a host so can't speak for multiple listings, though there seem to be a ton of services that try to market to multichannel listing, so "never" seems a pretty strong word here?

But, if the interwebs are correct, airbnb has 7 mil rentals, booking - 6 mil rentals (vacation specifically, not hotels) and vrbo - 2 mil

https://hosttools.com/blog/short-term-rental-tips/vrbo-vs-ai...

whatever advantage airbnb has, they are no longer the only game in town *

* depends on the town

Re: How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

#183

Post by xwdv » Sun, Mar 05, 2023, 10:45 PM UTC

Am I missing something? Why didn’t the author just say yes he was staying as well? In fact he was going to be there at check in, just not sleeping there. Do you really think they’ll check the bed to see if you’re in it every night?

The host is not your friend, if you’re doing anything odd with an Airbnb it’s best to just be quiet and not divulge more info than what is necessary.

Re: How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

#184

Post by ape4 » Sun, Mar 05, 2023, 10:45 PM UTC

shusaku wrote: post #167

dghlsakjg wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An important thing to remember is that the chargeback doesn't necessarily absolve you of the legal need to pay. Just because the credit card company claws the money back doesn't mean that a merchant can't come after you in court/debt collection. It's not common, but for a big enough transaction, there's nothing stopping a business from coming after you.

On a related know, I wonder if an Airbnb can effectively sue you or there is some kind of mediation clause

Perhaps take AirBnb or the "host" to small claims court

Re: How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

#185

Post by DangitBobby » Sun, Mar 05, 2023, 10:45 PM UTC

jemmyw wrote: post #144

Everything about this is silly. You can contact hosts beforehand on AirBnB and I almost always do that, and certainly would if I was going to be booking an even slightly unusual situation (for someone else). I've booked for third parties before too and did exactly that, during a COVID lockdown when we needed to find a place for an old couple. I'm not sure I believe the host either. Perhaps AirBnB have changed things,…

Maybe to you it seems like an unusual situation, but to people who maybe don't travel very much, "booking a room for my spouse" isn't something they'd think is "unusual". It's a little absurd that it's "unusual", in fact.

Re: How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

#186

Post by monksy » Sun, Mar 05, 2023, 10:45 PM UTC

dghlsakjg wrote: post #120

Nextgrid wrote: post #6

Charge it back via your bank and explain the situation. Worst case scenario, it gets denied, you don't lose anything either way. The initial misunderstanding was cleared up just one hour after the booking - it should be very reasonable for the host to offer a full refund, it's not like it was a last-minute cancellation where the host would struggle to get it rebooked in time and lose out. The host is clearly being ma…

An important thing to remember is that the chargeback doesn't necessarily absolve you of the legal need to pay. Just because the credit card company claws the money back doesn't mean that a merchant can't come after you in court/debt collection. It's not common, but for a big enough transaction, there's nothing stopping a business from coming after you.

Don't forget they've already collected a digital copy of your ID so that it's easier to let them track you down to sue you. [On sign up]

Re: How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

#187

Post by guluarte » Sun, Mar 05, 2023, 10:46 PM UTC

I'll call my bank and ask for a chargeback, you may get permabanned from airbnb but fuck them.

Re: How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

#188

Post by oh_sigh » Sun, Mar 05, 2023, 10:48 PM UTC

He should have just stayed the nights then if it was that important and he would be there anyway. And then misplace his frozen fish in a vent somewhere.

Re: How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

#189

Post by Nextgrid » Sun, Mar 05, 2023, 10:48 PM UTC

kornish wrote: post #179

Nextgrid wrote: post #6

Charge it back via your bank and explain the situation. Worst case scenario, it gets denied, you don't lose anything either way. The initial misunderstanding was cleared up just one hour after the booking - it should be very reasonable for the host to offer a full refund, it's not like it was a last-minute cancellation where the host would struggle to get it rebooked in time and lose out. The host is clearly being ma…

One danger of chargebacks: companies may ban your account or otherwise treat your activity as fraud. It can be extremely difficult to get through to a person to correct the situation. I know a couple folks who still can't use Lyft, for instance, because they charged back an NYC Citibike subscription. You can allegedly cancel a Citibike subscription by contacting customer support — but after no response, they issued a…

Get a new phone number/email/etc. These companies will lie to you when it’s convenient, no reason not to lie back if it becomes convenient for you.

However, in this case I don’t believe the author will ever want to do business with this disgusting company, so nothing of value will be lost.

Re: How to lose $950 quickly on Airbnb

#190

Post by fencepost » Sun, Mar 05, 2023, 10:48 PM UTC

miohtama wrote: post #150

avalys wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have heard of companies reacting to a chargeback in situations like this by banning your account.

Uber, others, ban you on a chargeback immediately.

Heck, years ago Uber used to ban you for having an old credit card on the account and trying to book a ride - no warning that the payment method had a problem, just boom, banned. Procedure for resolving was apparently sending a picture with the physical card (showing just the last 4 digits) that was on the account, but since it'd been changed months before I didn't have it and didn't care enough to pursue unbanning.

I think the card was replaced after a Home Depot breach, but not sure. Was definitely in or prior to 2015.