I know others have complained about this. All she did was insert the word “modern” and change the bed size. This listing is a mile away from mine and is offered at a lower price. I guess I know the answer, I have to change my own description so that it somehow stands out. It’s frustrating though!
When it happened to me I reported it straight away to Airbnb. The other listing had changed within 24 hours.
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When something similar happened to me I reported it, I don’t think Airbnb did anything. So I messaged the host. He denied doing it but changed a few words here and there. I was pissed so kept an eye on his listing for the time it was up. It was only for a few months and i don’t think he ever got a booking. He never got a review.
Anyone who is so lazy and whose listing is so lacking in uniqueness that they would do that is not going to be successful in this competitive environment.
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And here’s the living proof 
The listing I referred to above was a new one and VERY close to here. I had already been hosting for a while so maybe that gave me an edge, I don’t know, but what was funny was that their listing was a private room but ours (the one they’d taken the text from) was an apartment. And it was so word-for-word that they hadn’t even changed ‘apartment’ to ‘room’ in the blurb.
They only hosted for a couple of months and then gave in.
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Report it to Airbnb as the copyright holder of the text, as opposed to a host to a CS agent:
DMCA Notice of Alleged Infringement (“Notice”)
- Identify the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed, or - if multiple copyrighted works are covered by this Notice - you will provide a comprehensive list of the copyrighted works that you claim have been infringed.
- Identify the material that you claim is infringing (or to be the subject of infringing activity) and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material, including at a minimum, if applicable, the URL of the link shown on the Site and Application where such material may be found.
- Provide your mailing address, telephone number, and, if available, email address.
- Include both of the following statements in the body of the Notice:
- “I hereby state that I have a good faith belief that the disputed use of the copyrighted material is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law (e.g., as a fair use).”
- “I hereby state that the information in this Notice is accurate and, under penalty of perjury, that I am the owner, or authorized to act on behalf of the owner, of the copyright or of an exclusive right under the copyright that is allegedly infringed.”
- Provide your full legal name and your electronic or physical signature.
Deliver this Notice, with all items completed, to Airbnb’s Designated Copyright Agent:
Copyright Agent
c/o Airbnb, Inc.
888 Brannan Street
San Francisco, CA 94103
copyright@airbnb.com
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Screenshot it, flag the listing to CS and if they don’t respond contact the CS with the screenshots.
Report, report, report.
Lazy people are the worst 
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I was thinking of just changing mine. She changed a couple of words and her listing is the same type of place - room with private entry. She could argue “coincidence.” She has like 70 reviews.
What? She’s had your wording all this time?
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My upstairs neighbor (3rd floor) at the beach copied my listing and make changes to make it fit his home. About 1/2 of his listing was lifted out of mine. In converse his listing had a couple of things I liked so I included the same information in mine. We have several of the same pictures because we are in the same neighborhood & same building.
If he had copied my entire listing, I would be very upset.
Also when I first created my listing, I started by copying a neighborhor’s listing & making changes to fit my style. At the end, my listing doesn’t look like theirs but I can’t critize my upstairs neighbor for copying part of my listing when I started by doing the same thing to someone else.
I did an inquiry through Airbnb & introduced myself. I told him imitation is the finest form of flattery. We’ve traded information about service providers (repair services, cleaning services etc.).
An unfortunate event occurred that may be related to the similarity of the listings. I think one of his guests thought he had booked my 1st floor no steps, condo. His is a 3rd floor walk up. One of his reviews was very unhappy about it being 3rd floor. In fairness to my neighbor, he clearly states in his listing that it is a 3rd floor walk-up.
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Report her to AirBnb. You shouldn’t have to change it, the copy cat should change it.
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My place is called “Jam Jerrup Sunset”. There is now a “Corinella Sunsets” and a “Coronet Sunsets” nearby which have copied my set up and description though not word for word. I am thinking of suggesting to the local tourist board we rename the area “The Sunset Coast” rather than The Waterline which is its historical name no one except the The Waterline Post uses. I didn’t even know it was called that until I had been here 5 years. Don’t get mad get even, or a rising tide floats all boats., take your pick.
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I don’t know how long her description has been like mine, but I switched mine around a little. We are appealing to the same type of budget traveler. There are only so many ways to get the basic info into that initial description. I was annoyed but I am not going to waste energy on it.
I do appreciate everyone letting me vent!
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So this happened to me with my neighbor who lives on the same farm as I do. So in the first line of my listing I refer to James Mitchener’s seminal story of the Chesapeake Bay region called “Chesapeake” which focuses mostly on the Choptank River where my home (and my neighbors) is located. So they started renting a few years after me and used the reference to the Mitchener book “Chesapeake” in the first line of their listing, same as me - and the title of their listing was exactly the same except for one word- REALLY! I was so annoyed but I never said anything and fortunately their listing was much higher priced than mine and other considerations. They have stopped renting so I am alright and they are selling their home and moving to Mexico so I will not have to this issue anymore. I was the first Airbnb in my town and now there are about 5 others around and somehow they all started with “Amazing” in their listing which was my lead - ugh - so of course I changed mine. Yes the lack of creativity is very apparent out there - At least they didn’t copy my description of being “a tree house one the river” which is what a number of my guests have called our home!
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