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Found the following on my nephew’s facebook page. This is a post from a friend This hurts us all
!I wish I could continue to recommend Airbnb to family and friends but our recent experience has completely destroyed trust and confidence in Airbnb as a safe and secure option when traveling.
Last month we had booked an Airbnb for a weekend getaway. When we arrived the address didn’t exist and the booking was obviously fraudulent. This was alarming and disappointing but the lack of response from customer service at Airbnb was even more troubling and alarming.
At the time of the event Airbnb left us stranded - didn’t return calls - and we were left to scramble to find lodging on a weekend that was sold out at most hotels. We ended up finding a place at considerably more expense.
Despite our alert to the fraudulent booking - Airbnb allowed the charges to go through on our credit card. So insult to injury.
Even more concerning is the total lack of accountability and follow through from Airbnb. We have yet to be repaid despite a commitment to have repaid us weeks ago - and now Airbnb will not even provide a timeline.
The customer service line is designed solely to function as a gatekeeper - with zero capacity to respond in any sort of effective way. Communications to the CEO have gone unacknowledged.
I expected more - and remain shocked at the lack of care, concern and accountability. Airbnb seems to lack the capacity to fulfill the most basic of promises.
Deeply troubling - oh and last I checked the fraudulent booking was still up - so who knows how many other innocent travellers are falling into the trap.
That’s odd. I’ve found that whenever I have reported dodgy listings on Airbnb they have been removed within just a few hours.
I’d love to know more about the listing though - did it have a lot of five star reviews? Was the host a superhost? Were there any cancellations in the host’s profile? Please let us know so that we can join in and report it.
[Moderator @CatskillsGrrl Comment: Link to listing removed.]
The listing above is still up. Five stars, many reviews. They have neither refunded the guests (its been almost 2 weeks) or taken the listing down. Very odd. I have asked her for details.
This story was also posted on a Facebook Group that I am a member of. We know ABB CX has much to be desired, but I would love more info. The listing is still up and has a new-ish good review, and has 9 good reviews overall. That would be a pretty elaborate scam to have 9 people book, pay, with the only purpose to leave reviews so that you can scam a few people out of $126 per night. Seems a bit off to me…
To Clarify. I was not the guest. She is a friend of my nephew. I don;t now what happened to these people, but can hardly believe Air was so indifferent! Seven weeks and no refund.
Something about this whole thing sounds fishy and made-up to me. We’re not hearing the whole story and the OPs relationship to the actual guest is removed one too many times. Airbnb is not perfect but they are also not derilect.
I’m hesitant to malign or publicly accuse this host by including their listing without verifying the story is true.
I’d have to agree with that statement.
Since January this year I have received 3 unsolicited phone calls from AirBNB Customer Service with the following request: Would I be so kind as to host a guest who has had difficulty accessing their pre-arranged accommodation? (last minute cancellation by Host, etc)
I have to say that each time I was absolutely thrilled to be asked.
I’ve hosted for over a year and I have just had, for the first time, a couple who could not find my house. They were several miles away in completely the wrong neighborhood.
They were adamant that they were at the correct address. ?? I seriously had to tell them that I was stood at the cross street of my property and they were most definitely not at the correct address.
I have no idea how they ended up so off track.
My point being that if I had not been available to talk them through the mistake they probably would have never found me and could have reported me as a bogus listing.
Fortunately they were a lovely couple and all ended well.
Hi WalkerV,
I also had this happen a few times.
In Australia, it is typical that different suburbs have a street with the same name and the same house numbers.
The suburb is the critical element for us.
In our case, CECIL STREET FITZROY - could potentially be confused with CECIL STREET SOUTH MELBOURNE.
So, I know exactly what you mean.
Based purely on what I can see of the profile in question and the that the guests couldn’t find the address, I’d say they got lost. That could possibly explain why a refund has not been forthcoming…
With that said…there seem to be an inordinate amount of last minute cancellations on his reviews. Maybe he gets a better offer at the last minute. It doesn’t explain the situation above (of the listing not existing), but it offers a window into the level of guest care and concern, imo.
This listing in Montréal, Québec, Canada, definitely looks like it’s hard to find. Dozens of similar roads in a big city, and I have a feeling they speak a foreign language in Montréal, too, so guests might have had difficulties finding their way.
I had a guest arriving, yesterday, who took almost four hours to reach my place, from the airport, and who told me that he got lost repeatedly, on the way. So I do know it can be difficult for guests to navigate in a foreign country.
I looked at the listing, and I read the reviews. I followed one reviewer to her profile, and she seems legit. I’m thinking the person who posted about the listing might have been mistaken. Is it possible they were just unable to find the location and didn’t contact the host? I’d like to hear the other side of this story.
Me too. But Airbnb presumably has because despite the guest reporting the listing, calling and writing to Airbnb, the listing is still in place.
This is a third party account so we have no idea what the truth of the matter is.
I’ve seen plenty of fraudulent listings and they usually have immaculate photographs and this one doesn’t. (In fact, immaculate photographs can be a dead giveaway). The host has plenty of reviews and five stars.
As for this:
There’s no mention of the guest contacting the host, ensuring that they were at the right place or contacting Airbnb at this stage - all of which they should have done. It reads as though they immediately jumped to the conclusion that it was ‘obviously fraudulent’.
But @LizinMN, did you read his other reviews? I read the reviews for his other listings, as well as his replies. The reviews are mixed, he often cancels at the last moment, and his replies to complaints are less than diplomatic. Also, I found one review that states almost exactly what @Martha said. This guest said there was no listing at that address, the host didn’t reply, he had to find other accommodation at the last minute, and he was left feeling the host was a “thief”. A number of guests say he cancelled at the last minute or even after check-in time. I smell smoke.
I have looked in to the complainant. Pretty credible. The guest is not a ditz. She is bright, well spoken active in the community and we have 8 mutual friends on FB.
We are two hours drive from Montreal and so most of us have a good bead on the neighbourhoods of Montreal and enough French to get along. As well, most Montreal people speak good English.
I am wondering if the host’s account could have been hacked? But if the guest complained before payout, would they have paid the host? And if they did all that she should have been able to tell her story in a review?
