Airbnb Listings with contact info in pics

1

I always look at listings in a potential guests wish lists. It helps me get an idea of the type of place they want, the price they are willing to go up to, and the areas that they are considering.

I had an inquiry this morning from a German family, and they are looking at my 3 bedroom house. I take a look at the profile, see they have one glowing review, and then scroll through their NY wishlist. There are two separate listings for NY apartments with images containing contact info. One listing is too good to be true (might be the one this screen shot is from) and the other looks slightly more legit.

How are people still getting away with this, and who’s falling for it? I know other hosts that have had text on the image like “Park in this garage” and have had the pictures removed.

2 Likes
2

Just click Reort Listing when you see it.

1 Like
3

I just did click ‘report listing’. The bold little host has her personal contact info in the first photo! It says “Contact me first”

1 Like
4

Not sure what’s going on with that listing 13 people for 350? Very unlikely. So it’s just an ad for some other place and the reviews are for Sam?

5

I reported it too. When someone ‘contacts her first’ (or Sam?) and they go outside the system, it can give all hosts a bad reputation.

1 Like
6

The photos of the terrace and outdoors are fake. There is no way there would be greenery on west 43 street which is Times Square. Only Central Park has so many trees and it isn’t CP. views from Central Park south, 5th avenue and Central Park west or 110th street which all border on the park look quite different. It’s a weird photoshop job.
This is a scam listing, that email address is the same as a fake url I received from an inquiry where they wanted to direct me to a so called duplicate listing of mine.

2 Likes
7

Maybe whenever any of us see a blatantly fake or dodgy listing we should post it here? That way, we can all report it and clean up Airbnb to our benefit? It’s these listings that are giving us all a bad name and accounting for the ‘horror stories’ in the media.

3 Likes
8

This is exactly why NY legislators want to crack down on advertising illegal listings. These are large scale landlords warehousing apartments as hotel rooms. This is not a real apartment they probably redirect to somewhere else. If someone here not in NYC is brave, try contacting the so called host and see what they say about availability. I am betting you can’t book through Airbnb. But Airbnb is really not doing enough to remove these kinds of listings. I bet they ask for money outside the system and you get scammed.

1 Like
9

Check out the reviews on that thing. “simple and clean” and “close to Koreatown” aren’t exactly what one writes after staying at the Trump Tower penthouse.
I’m betting “Margaret” hacked “Sam”'s account and hijacked it to make the fake listing.
Good thing @Maggieroni didn’t fall for it

2 Likes
10

Here’s another one from same guest wish list, but this time the pictures look snapped from a magazine, not even scanned!

Same type of insert card with “contact me first”.

1 Like
11

I reported it. I hope others do too.

1 Like
12

I did! (Post must be at least 20 characters)

1 Like
13

This is a subject that has been worrying me for a while…Shady Hosts that are ruining it for everyone, as well as ruining the airbnb brand name. I love hosting, but I have had a few guests that were only to eager to start the subject of bending the airbnb guidelines which I follow as I believe they protect both the guest and host. They usually start off by saying “Yes, but the last Host let us…” I never know whether the guest is being duplicitous or there are more and more hosts that are sailing by their own set of rules. It’s disheartening for me, as I don’t like being put in that position. Had to get a little thicker skin with a few guests which was just the opposite of what the majority of all my other guests experiences have been like.
I have reported the NY site. I am going to be doing that as I am disappointed that airbnb is not doing a better job of verifying Hosts but I don’t think the responsibility of educating guests and monitoring Hosts should be placed on Hosts that are working very hard to make airbnb a successful and rewarding endeavor. I would appreciate any thoughts on this topic. Thank you.

1 Like
14

Airbnb is spread too thin, dealing with too many legality issues all over the world, it’s like herding cats. Policing their website or even managing it seems to be low on the priority list imho, hey Faheem

I reported it!

15

@superhostnyc we JUST told some friends not to book that EXACT listing!!! They sent to us to ‘vet’ bc they thought it was too good to be true, but ‘thinkg’ ABB is supposedly cheaper, so they thought maybe. I flagged it from both our accounts.

1 Like
16

As soon as one utters that phrase one has the answer! I don’t understand why that listing is still up. Many of us have flagged it.

17

I don’t get how they have any reviews- do the reviews go with the hijacked place/account and have nothing to do with this particular magazine spread-looking place.

18

@superhostnyc
The reviews are lifted from another place, see hypertokyo’ comments above. I just tried the link and it no longer comes up. Anyone else?

19

It’s saying ‘This listing is no longer available’ now. Seems like air removed them!

2 Likes
20

Just curious, does anyone know if you can flag a listing from the app? And when you flag is it anonymous?