Thinking of Using Airbnb? Think Again.
If you’re thinking of using Airbnb as an alternative to a hotel, bed and breakfast, or other type of accommodation, I urge you to read this first.
Our Airbnb nightmare lasted four days and ruined my daughter’s college graduation weekend, as well as my mother’s 70th birthday celebration. Know the risks you’re taking before you use Airbnb.
I have been wrestling with my thoughts for the past year. Given some factors, including a recent, poignant conversation with a stranger, and some current articles I’ve read about Airbnb, I’ve decided to publish my story. This is bad news:
“When it comes to lodging, Waliszewski said that short-term rentals such as Airbnb and VRBO could outperform hotels in the near-term as travelers attempt to avoid interactions with strangers.” –Travel and Leisure
I try my best to keep my website a positive place, however, it’s simply unbalanced and unjust for experiences like this to be dismissed and ignored for the sake of positivity. Just as I feel strongly when I enjoy a fabulous hotel, or restaurant, and want to share my experience with you, I feel compelled to tell you about this terrible experience in order to help you avoid a similar situation.
My family’s Airbnb encounter last year was hellish: a Hotel California-esque ordeal which no one should ever have to experience. Airbnb not only mistreated us during the time we were there, but afterwards, too. They firmly refused to provide a full refund. This should have been the least they could have offered as a gesture of apology.
Updated March 2025: Frommer’s and others are following my suit in writing about ditching Airbnb, thank goodness.
I realize that this year’s college (and high school) seniors won’t have a graduation weekend at all, however, I want to make sure that if Airbnb stays in business, that as many people as possible are better informed about their ethics and protocol as a multi-billion dollar company.
What my family experienced during my daughter’s university graduation weekend was nothing short of reprehensible. I hope that telling you our story may help increase the probability that it never happens to anyone else in future.
NB: I am sure that many Airbnb hosts are honest, reliable, communicative, have clean rentals and take pride in being welcoming and helpful. However, given my experience last year, clearly there are some hosts that are the antithesis of these hosts. I feel that I need to highlight how disgracefully, and unfairly Airbnb handled our situation, during, and after our stay.
When we can Safely Travel Again~
Think of how clean you want your future accommodations to be: will you trust a company like Airbnb that has no oversight on how clean or safe their rentals are? Or will you stick with hotels that have certain procedures and protocol with which they must comply?
There is literally NO ACCOUNTABILITY with Airbnb. After reading my experience, I think you’ll be opting for hotels, too.
Thinking of Using Airbnb? Think Again.
How a horrible host and Airbnb ruined what should have been a very special weekend for my family.
A weekend we’d looked forward to for four years–my daughter’s graduation from Villanova University last May–was nothing like we’d imagined. Instead of the joyous weekend, family reunion and serendipitous celebration of my mother’s 70th birthday, we found ourselves in a filthy, and disgusting situation with no other place to go.
It appeared that we had arrived at our accommodation unannounced, despite the fact that I’d booked over two months in advance, and had already paid in full.
Background on the Booking.
Exactly one year prior to the date of needing accommodation in the Villanova (Pennsylvania) area, I attempted to book at minimum, two consecutive nights in the same hotel. This was the first available date to do so, and I managed to secure two rooms, however, when I tried to book the second night the next day, the hotels were already full.
If you’ve had a child graduate from university, I probably need not explain anything to you. However, given that there are over 60 universities and colleges in the Philadelphia area, booking hotel rooms during graduation season is a major challenge. I never did manage to secure consecutive rooms in the same hotel, despite consistently checking, and waiting for cancellations.
Enter Airbnb
In early March, someone had mentioned Airbnb to me so I checked the listings and found an entire house for rent not too far from Villanova University. The reviews looked good, one even commenting on the cleanliness of the property.
Edit (June 1, 2020): due to many commenters stating that this must simply be my fault for not checking the reviews, maybe these visuals will help. The 14 reviews includes my 1 star review, so the ratings would have been even higher when I checked them.
These are two of the reviews I read. So for those of you saying I didn’t check the reviews, I guess I should also have known these were fake?
I booked the house on March 10th, and cancelled the two separate hotel reservations. I felt so relieved that we wouldn’t have to change locations due to not renting a car, and I also extended our stay for two more days. This way we could have a mini family reunion/vacation. I was excited!
Communication with the host didn’t start out on too well. As per Airbnb’s suggested protocol, I messaged her immediately after I had booked, just to say hello, who was coming to her rental, that I was looking forward to the stay, and asked details about our arrival.
I texted again 12 days later, to no avail. She responded another 12 days later, which was over three weeks after my first message. However, she still never answered my question about how to check in. Her response also goes against Airbnb recommendations to always message through Airbnb (which I had done.)
Check In
May 16th arrived and I messaged the host in the morning, but didn’t hear back, so I called later. I finally spoke to her and she said her parents would be at the home to let us in.
Her parents were there, all right. Her mother was hanging drapes (and we wondered why the last minute drape-hanging was happening.)
And her father was laying sod in the backyard. We felt like we were intruding, arriving while they were working in and out of the home. We didn’t say anything, hoping they would leave since most of us had arrived (my daughter had come with us, but she wasn’t staying there.)
Upon our arrival, we immediately noticed how dirty the floors were and smelled a very strong pet odor. All of us noticed; it wasn’t just my mother who is usually the first to see anything that isn’t immaculately clean, or smell something bad.
It was also hard to miss a huge flat screen TV on the couch (see photo above.) I felt a knot in the pit of my stomach, and it kept tightening in response to everything that I was seeing. In the back of my mind, I knew if this wasn’t going to work out, we had no other place to go. I spoke to the host’s mother about the dirty floor and the TV and she said that we could help put the TV back up. I just looked at my family in disbelief: was this really happening?
At this point, another person was in the house. A young teenager appeared, seemingly coming home from school. He didn’t acknowledge us, but walked through the house as if everything was normal (he seemed not to notice strangers were in the house.)
At this point, my whole body was starting to react to this bizarre situation as we started seeing more and more dirt, fur, hair and dust everywhere we looked. The windows looked as though they hadn’t been cleaned in years, and it became clear that we could not stay in these filthy conditions, especially since we had wanted to cook here.
I called the host since I couldn’t communicate with the host’s mother. Several times, she said things that made absolutely no sense. For example, “the food on the floor is from the comforter” and she brought a TV remote in from another room, and called it “the internet.”
I told the host over the phone that the house had not been cleaned, the floors were filthy, there was a TV on the couch, and many other issues. She sounded shocked, and said she was on her way.
At one point, the doorbell rang and my father opened it as we were all standing by the front door (we didn’t even want to sit anywhere.) I have no idea who it was, but he asked for the the host, and then said, “Oh never mind, I’ll come back another time”, and left. If you’ve ever seen The Twilight Zone, this could easily have been an episode.
Before the host arrived, we had done a quick inspection of the main floor and upstairs. Both floors were disgustingly unclean.
Even some sheets and mattresses were stained. There are simply too many photos and videos to upload all of them. Every room smelled, too, it wasn’t just the downstairs.
The Host Arrives
Without making assumptions about why the host wasn’t there to begin with, and why she said and did all the things she did, let me just say, she was not based in reality. She was absolutely taken aback about the fact that I said her house was filthy. She said she’d had a cleaning crew come in and clean it top to bottom! Clearly, the evidence all over the house showed that it couldn’t have been in the last six months or more! It was obvious that we weren’t going to get anywhere when I tried to show her how dirty the floor was, but she refused to look (I’m serious.)
She started to tell me a sob story about how Airbnb hadn’t reimbursed her for damage to her house from some past guests, and how she works hard and didn’t like how I was speaking to her. I told her that she just didn’t like what I was telling her, and tried to speak to her rationally.
I attempted to make her understand that these things had nothing to do with me; the point was that her entire house was filthy, and not in any condition to be occupied. She was in denial, and seemed as though she honestly didn’t understand anything that I had said (no, there was no language barrier). It was as though she was not present, mentally.
Calling/Texting Airbnb
There was no other choice but to get Airbnb involved. My mind was blown by this woman who was telling me to my face that her house was clean. In fact, she went so far as to say the “upstairs is immaculate.” You’ve seen a few of the photos from upstairs, but here are a few more.
NB: I commend you if you’ve made it this far without getting physically ill from these photos, but I’m going to warn you, the worst is yet to come. So don’t go any further if you’ve just eaten a meal. I love sharing beautiful pictures, but seeing and uploading all these are making me feel sick all over again. This is so not me, it’s difficult to share these. Just THINK: Airbnb saw all of these photos and deemed that nothing was wrong: now that’s SCARY. In the end, after I fought and fought with them, they still made us pay 50%!
I barely had any battery left on my phone when I contacted Airbnb, so I asked them to call me back on another number, which they failed to do. Luckily, my phone had not yet died, and I started to explain my situation. I went outside the front door for privacy as I didn’t want the host to hear me tell the rep that her house stunk of dog in addition to the filth inside.
As soon as I divulged this to the Airbnb rep, the door flew open and the host reprimanded me, saying loudly, “My house does not smell of dog!” I told her that it was not okay to eavesdrop on my conversation, but clearly things were heading south.
Yes, I had tried to see if any hotel rooms were available, but it was a joke: everything had been booked for a year in advance. Note the time: we arrived at 3 pm.
I cannot write every single thing that transpired because it was incredibly drawn out. In a nutshell:
- I continued my communication with Airbnb over text as the call kept dropping. They said there was nothing else available and I needed to work with the host and allow her to have cleaners come in.
- I said there was no way they could clean the house in a few hours, due to how much needed to be done, but I finally agreed, given there were no other options.
- The host said her cleaner was in the driveway, but she was sending him away because she didn’t want him in the house with me since I wasn’t nice (!!!)
- Her father pulled out of the driveway right after this (her father was “her cleaner.”)
- She had someone else come over, saying he was her attorney. He stayed in the kitchen with her while she mopped one floor for over 30 minutes. At this rate it would take her over a year to clean the house.
- The rep at Airbnb said it was time for his break and left. I honestly couldn’t believe he just left.
- My entire family: mother, father, husband, and son left in my son’s car to go for a tour of Villanova University with my daughter while I stayed behind and tried to deal with Airbnb and the host from hell. I felt even more sick knowing I was missing out on this special time with my family that I would never be able to get back.
No Choice but to Stay
- I finally couldn’t take being in the house with them any longer as they were talking about the situation and how the house was clean, they had done nothing wrong, and talking about me, etc. The agent came back after more than an hour break.
At this point, I asked the host and her “attorney” to leave. All she had cleaned was one floor, which was probably the cleanest floor in the house. Now it was up to me to clean what we had to use, such as the bathrooms, kitchen sink, beds, etc. However, no matter what I cleaned, it wasn’t going to help the dog odor!
No one in my family was happy about the situation, but we all knew we had no other alternative. I felt the worst for my mother who is so meticulously clean, more than any of us. I felt like a failure, although I’d done nothing wrong.
The Backyard
I had to call the host as the backyard had a sprinkler going and was flooding a small area. The host’s father came back and turned it off. However, as my son was sitting out back reading on another day, he returned, just showed up in the backyard without any notification whatsoever.
Who knows how many times he came over as we tried to stay out as long, and as much as we possibly could. I was not happy that he felt he could just wander in whenever he wanted while we were there.
DiscoveringThe Degree of Filth in the House Using Airbnb
I am not exaggerating when I say the house was FILTHY. Just look. Can you imagine being told this is “immaculate?”
Cleaning the toilet literally made me gag. The only reason I did it was because I had to for my family. My mother would never have been able to manage the feat, and I was the only one left at the house at this point. I truly wanted to run away from this disgusting hell-hole and the entire situation, but where could we go with every hotel booked for miles around?
Absolutely nowhere. My daughter’s graduation ceremonies were being held the next two days and my husband and parents’ flights weren’t until Monday (and this was Thursday!) We were stuck here.
I would have considered sleeping in a car over this house, but we didn’t rent a car and my son just had a Honda Civic. Then where would we shower and dress? It was an impossibility.
Allow me to Show you the Kitchen when Using Airbnb
For those of you who don’t know, this is mouse poop. And it happens to be in a frying pan. How does that strike you? Can you believe that all these photos and documentation meant nothing to Airbnb? Let me show you more and we’ll get to that in a bit.
The back of the drawer. No clue what this is, but it shouldn’t be here. Everything was reprehensible.
See the photo below? That’s the inside of the freezer door. See the dog fur/hair? Yep, that’s in the freezer; not kidding. Remember, I can only show you some of the kitchen, and the house. There was so much more!
Want to see the dishwasher? Probably not, right?
Looked like these had not been used or cleaned in YEARS.
The microwave was revolting. Who am I kidding, everything was revolting.
Downstairs/Basement Using Airbnb
And finally, let’s take a walk downstairs to the basement. This is just a little part of the disgustingly dirty floor.
This wall is disgraceful. Remember, I DID MY DUE DILIGENCE AND THE REVIEWS WERE STELLAR!!
Thank goodness we didn’t do laundry here. I’m adding a video clip below that I took downstairs.
My Mother’s 70th Birthday Celebration that Didn’t Happen
I already had a huge bottle of bubbly and planned on making Mum a nice dinner, buying a cake, and celebrating her 70th birthday with our family since her birthday was a week later. My family lives all over the US, so this was the perfect time to celebrate my mother’s special birthday.
Alas, there was no special dinner being made in that kitchen. No cake was going in that fridge. Proper restaurants were slammed with existing reservations due to the graduations, so we just popped the bubbly at my daughter’s house where everyone didn’t even have a seat, and that was it. The most pathetic 70th “birthday party”, ever.
Airbnb’s Lack of Successful Resolution and Pathetic Customer Service
I called Airbnb upon my return to Los Angeles, but even though they had all the documentation and photos (more than I’ve shared here), they refused to take into account the fact that we COULD NOT LEAVE. They stated that if we complained about the condition of the house, we should have left in order to receive a full refund! It was a vicious circle of me telling them there was no place to go, and Airbnb saying, if it was so bad, you should have left.
After weeks of spending valuable time on the phone and waiting for them to make a decision, they refunded 50% of my payment and offered a $100 towards a future stay! What a joke–after this experience? At minimum, a full refund should have been given, and that still isn’t even close to making up for our ruined weekend! No amount of money can fix lost and ruined time with family.
Also, I discovered that although the listing says the home sleeps 8 (with 4 beds), there are only 3 beds and one is a twin, so it only sleeps 5. It still has not been corrected. How does Airbnb monitor these listings? There is simply no accountability.
Here’s why Airbnb Failed Miserably~
- The fact that Airbnb absolutely refused to look at the facts and realize that there was literally nowhere for my family to go during those four days says a lot about the company. They are focused on making and keeping money, not doing the right thing, or providing good customer service.
- Airbnb didn’t take into account that we left the premises CLEANER than when we arrived. When has that ever happened? They also didn’t take into account our wasted time, and the time we spent cleaning (and the vomit factor of cleaning strangers’ urine, disgusting toilets and sleeping in filthy premises.)
- Airbnb also blamed the victim by saying that I should have allowed the host to have someone come to clean WHILE WE WERE THERE. When this woman had over two months to prepare for our arrival, it’s okay to have hours and hours of our time taken away when we should have come to a clean house in the first place? Why is the responsibility never laid on the correct shoulders anymore?
Graduation
Given that this year (2020) no one will be able to graduate in the manner shown in the photo above, I’m grateful that my daughter was able to participate in her ceremony. However, our weekend hardly went as planned, all due to some bizarre lack of planning on our host’s part. Had she hired a cleaning crew to do a major (and I mean, MAJOR) cleaning inside her house before our arrival, things would have turned out much differently.
Is my story not enough to dissuade you from using Airbnb?
Then maybe the thousands of other submissions on this site will be.Airbnb Hell
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Please share the word about my experience. Have you had a nightmare experience with Airbnb? Would you have done anything differently than me if you would have been in this situation? Let me know.
✧
Two Final Notes
- I never took one photo of my daughter alone in her cap and gown that weekend. I honestly think that the chaos, anxiety, and stress from staying in that horrible filth was the reason I just wasn’t thinking clearly. I’ve been a professional wedding photographer, and I shoot photos as part of my job. This is just not like me, and it breaks my heart that I didn’t get just one of her alone. This is a shot (taken by a friend) the week before with her friends; Denisa is in the center. Thank goodness she and her friends arranged this shoot.
2. On Monday, after leaving “Hotel California” (I cannot tell you just how wonderful it felt leaving that place), Denisa and I took my parents into Philadelphia. After having Philly cheesesteaks for lunch at Reading Terminal Market, I witnessed a pedestrian being hit in a crosswalk by an SUV. I got the license plate and gave it to the victim (luckily he wasn’t seriously hurt.)
Within 5 minutes, I had my new iPhone (with graduation photos) stolen right out of my hand as we were walking down the street! My 83 year old father started chasing the thief, and fell on the sidewalk, injuring his chin and chest. Later his legs would become completely bruised!
I yelled, “Stop him, he stole my phone!” and someone actually did! I got my phone back, but not after the man who had been hit by the SUV tried to subdue the thief and also fell, injuring his hand quite badly.
He had been waiting for the police to arrive. Meanwhile, my daughter took my dad inside a Dunkin’ Donuts as he thought he was going to pass out. I also got two photos of the thief right after getting my phone back! Sounds like a movie, no? This photo says it all: the aftermath.
Let’s just say, it wasn’t the best weekend we’ve ever had. Bottom line: avoid Airbnb and be super vigilant in Philadelphia.
write a bad review and move on! alerts people not to stay with this host or in this house! but I wouldn’t say all of AirBNB is bad,I have had many awesome stays! and no bad ones
My bad review has been written and has absolutely no voice on the Airbnb site as it’s buried with so many 5 star reviews and NO PHOTOS (they’re not allowed.) That’s not good enough for me. I didn’t say all hosts are bad. Lucky for you that you’ve not had any bad stays, but woe is you if you do. Just remember this post as it will be, “I told you so.”
Wow. Just wow. I’m in a lovely Airbnb as I type this. I have used Airbnb exclusively for years and have never had a bad experience. I am so, so, so sorry this happened to you and your family. Horrible customer service from Airbnb.
Yep, buyer beware in future, Marggie. I did everything I should have done and still had this horrific experience. I hope you never experience the same, but don’t expect any assistance from Airbnb if you do. They only care about themselves. Seems from everything I’ve heard, they mistreat the hosts and the guests. (Even THIS host complained about them!)
I’ve used Air BnB for several years now. Mostly looking for just a room. Some accommodation I would interact w/other house guests or family members. Sometimes, I was alone. I’ve rented from college kids up to Senior citizens. Mostly, I’m looking for a home base to jump off of, as I’m out all day long, so use of a house, meal prep, etc wasn’t that critical to me. Staying w/the college kids was a trip. They were nice but, nah…not again. The best were from working families/couples, or retired folks. Sometimes, I’d get invited to a home cooked meal. That was always nice. Loved the folks up in Canada! Anyway, my rule of thumb is to look at stars, reviews, & if they’re a Super Host or not. One time, I was forced to use a newbie. He was OK; it was just for 1 night. Most of the places were relatively clean. A few have been absolutely out of this world clean. Read up on amenities. If you’re unsure, call/write & ask. I will use Air BnB again, but only w/the criteria listed. Otherwise, I motel/hotel it. PS – dogs are OK, as well as cats. Love when they come visit me, because I’m usually missing mine from home. But fur should definitely NOT BE all over the place. I’ve had to touch up a little bit here & there in some places, but never to the extent that you had to do. Sorry you had to go thru all that. Maybe once this pandemic nonsense is over, you could plan for a reunion later on!
Not sure how everyone seems to be missing the fact that I checked the reviews and ratings (almost 5 stars!) on this listing and given the circumstances, I couldn’t seek out a Superhost (although, read these comments and people have had bad experiences with them, too.)
Yes, a reunion is definitely going to happen when we can travel safely and it won’t be in an Airbnb. Thanks, Debbie.
you haven’t, what is the listing so we can see those reviews?
Please see your other post. I will not be verbally abused on my own site.
I have an Airbnb listing and can guarantee that It is cleaner than any hotel could be. My condo is listed as a super host and our reviews & photos tell potential renters everything they need to know.
During the covet 19 crisis we have given full refunds for anyone who canceled. Airbnb is the only website platform that gave any relief to us for all of the cancellations. VRBO and flip key did nothing for us as hosts and owners even though we gave full refunds on all platforms during the pandemic.
I have stayed in many airbnb’s personally and they have all been great.
This bloggers experience does sound horrible and I am surprised there was not a better resolution from Airbnb.
My recommendation would be to continue to use VRBO and Airbnb listings as you tend to get more for your money and have personal attention from the hosts.
As you can see from the photos I added, the star rating (almost 5 stars) and reviews told me that this would be a great place to stay. The photos that they added do not show filth and dog fur, as you can imagine, so how is one to differentiate? I’m not willing to roll the dice again, especially given the pathetic lack of customer service that Airbnb provided.
My story of booking with Airbnb isn’t as horrific as this,but…
I booked and paid ($1,200) for two weeks inan apt in Toronto from 30 June- 13 July. When friends from Hungary, who were going to join me, had their flight canceled in mid February, I canceled the reservation & got 50% back. Within days Airbnb published first an extension till 30 May for full refunds becauae of Covid19, then later extended till 30 June. At first, I was told I could get the rest of my money back. Then I was told that because I had cancelled early on, I was no eligible for a full refund! Airbnb should have warned people with pending reservations TO KEEP THEIR RESSRVATIONS OPEN UNTIL THERE WAS A CLEAR POLICY FOR FULL REFUNDS.
And though I cancelled without knowing what Airbnb was going to do, and my reservation ultimately fell within the extension. I feel that Airbnb cheated me out of my remaing refund to save themselves some money. Oh. and the owner of the apt was a total a-hole throughout the process!
Oh no! So you also lost $600! That seems like you would be able to claim it through your credit card company (if that’s how you paid.) I’m so sorry, Bradley, that is just wrong, especially since you did fall within the extension, it should have been a clear cut refund for you. Sorry the owner was terrible with you, also! Good luck on getting the rest of your $ if you are able.
I also had a hellish first experience using Airbnb. I found the Airbnb representatives to be extremely frustrating to deal with. They fail to either read or understand the details of the problem and then they side with whatever the host tells them, which is incredible. I won’t go into my long drawn out story with them and the host, but suffice it to say that the host promised to give me my $200 deposit back if I agreed not to leave a review. Among the many issues was that the over head kitchen light did not work. It was a long term rental and luckily I’d packed a flashlight. I had to use it to get around the kitchen as it was a small apartment and there were no windows, except in the living room and bedroom. The host told me to stay away from using the main entrance to the complex so as not to be seen. I realized that he probably was doing Airbnb illegally. And I was concerned that I’d get thrown out if they saw me. When I made the reservation, the host agreed that I was bringing our cat. We have soft paws on the cat so that he cannot claw furniture. I also agreed to bring furniture covers for the leather sofa to ensure extra protection. I do not allow our cat on countertops or tables and he is already trained in that regard. Our cat is 6 years old and travels with us frequently. My husband has Alzheimer’s and he and the cat are very much attached to each other. The cat always uses a litter box and has never had an issue. He didn’t have any issues at the Airbnb either. Despite the fact that we’d had an agreement that I was bringing a cat and that he received a pet deposit, 3 days before our arrival, the host told me that if the cat does any damage to his sofa or his carpeting that I will have to buy him a new couch and replace all of the carpeting in his apartment. I said, “you’re telling me this now, 3 days before we’re supposed to arrive? Had I known, I would’ve booked elsewhere. Even though I have never had a problem with our cat, I do not want to be responsible for buying you a sofa or replacing your carpet”. Without going into too much detail and all of the frustration with the idiots at Airbnb, the host allowed me to bring the cat as originally agreed. When we arrived, the carpeting was disgusting. It was dirty, matted down and faded. There was a tear in the leather sofa. I took pictures and sent them to the host. It was clear that he was trying to replace these items and was hoping to hold me responsible. The pots and pans were warped, heavily stained with food and grease. The dishwasher didn’t clean properly and even though I’d rinse dishes and bowls off first, I’d take them out of the dishwasher with food still stuck on them. There were only 4 dishes and 4 bowls so I was not over crowding the dishwasher. I ended up buying paper plates. The washing machine also did a horrible job. The pillows were full of lumps and had big spaces with no fill. The comforter was the same way. I had to go out and buy a blanket. In the closet was a large mattress leaning against the wall that smelled of cigarette smoke and there was no place to hang our clothes. We had to live out of our suitcases. We rented this place for 2 months. The lighting throughout was so poor I had to use a flashlight to see the TV remote at night. There were lightbulbs out all over the place and the lights that were working had one 60 watt bulb or dimmer. I cleaned the place regularly and when I tried to vacuum, it spit out dust dirt and pet hair. I had to take the vacuum apart to clean it out – it was jammed. I would partially vacuum the carpet and I’d have to stop and empty the canister, there was so much dirt and pet hair embedded in the rug. The whole situation started out badly and ended even worse. I couldn’t wait to get out of there. Because it was a long term rental, I would’ve had to give a 30 day notice to get my money back. And yes, I could’ve left after the first month. And believe me, I would’ve liked to do that. But trying to pack everything up and move along with dealing with my husband’s Alzheimer’s, unpacking and then repacking when it was time to move was a lot for me. I left the apartment cleaner than I found it, bought dish towels and placemats, which I left there. I cleaned the bathroom, washed the sheets and towels in his crappy washing machine regularly and I washed them all again just before I left and he threatened not to give me my deposit back. That’s when he bribed me by telling me he’d give me my deposit if I wouldn’t leave a review. I told him that this was my first experience with Airbnb and it was a nightmare! It was an experience I hope to forget. I didn’t even bother to contact Airbnb again after we left because I knew it would be an exercise in futility. They side with the host, no matter what. Having to use a flashlight, even in the daytime in the kitchen was outrageous! I reported it to the host numerous times. It became apparent that he didn’t want to call maintenance because he didn’t want them to know that he was subletting the apartment in violation of his lease. At the time of our discussion, 3 days before our arrival (via text on the Airbnb website) I had already had our car picked up by the shipper to be delivered there and our flight reservations were already made, so I was really stuck. I will think long and hard before using Airbnb ever again.
We host a very nice and successful Airbnb in Charleston but when our property sustained $1500 in damage by our second guests ever, who used the home for a big party and we presented the evidence to the resolution center, they proved to be useless. The guests were saying they had done nothing wrong and the resolution center was a joke. We have to say that we have benefited from their system, but when problems arise, especially serious, the system rules, not individuals. We lost 12k in bookings during COVID-19 and could never get help from Airbnb. Even when I asked for a 1099 form they hid behind an insignificant IRS threshold to deny us the form which would have enabled us to get help from state government. So yeah. We get it. Hate that happened to you. Glad you put this out there.
Oh David, that’s absolutely terrible. I hate to hear stories of guests damaging property. Just so uneccessary and wrong. I just responded to another commenter and said that it appears that Airbnb doesn’t side with hosts or guests, only themselves. It’s truly a terrible company which, as you noted, is the reason I posted this. Thanks for sharing your story and I wish you much luck in future. Stay safe, CC
I think this story is the exception, not the rule. I am a long time Airbnb superhost as well as a long time airbnb traveler. Most of my experience hostong and traveling has been top notch and I would never ever have my listing shone like this or react to a guest like this period. I have to say I’ve been to hotel rooms that have been just like this so I don’t believe it’s also strictly air BNB. There are checks and balances In place to protect both sides. You did not mention what her prior reviews were or if she was a super host? It almost sounds like she was new to listing…. I do not know. What I do know is AIRBNB never tolerates something like this.. though the having said all that, I do know that Airbnb costumer service has gone down Hill over the years. So whatever your experience , I can assure you it is not the norm. I can also assure you that you will find this in hotels as well…