Lyne T.

Airbnb

Airbnb makes money from hosts. Renters are their mug victims.
9/11/16
We booked and confirmed for a 2BR in midtown Vancouver (1028 Barclay Street) 4 months in advance. All fine except the host told us she did not have "front desk" priveleges and access would be via the side entrance. Mmmmmmm. Hosts name was Ashleigh P.

A few weeks before leaving for Vancouver I noticed her listing had disappeared from Airbnb. I messaged her and she said she had had to take it down. Too many requests. Mmmmmmm. She replied using the name Nicole P.

One week before leaving for Vancouver I contacted Airbnb to discuss my rising doubts. I was told there was no need to worry. They were confident all was above board. Mmmmmmm. Why were they so dismissive?

5 days before arriving I get a message reminding me she had no "contract" with the management at her condo for concierge services so she would meet me personally to let me in and show me around. Mmmmmm.

0830 on the morning of the booking I am boarding a plane to fly to Vancouver and I get a text saying to meet her at an address 38 Smithe Street Vancouver. Mmmmmmmm. WHAT?

I called Nicole/Ashleigh and she tells me she cannot now provide the promised apartment as her access pass had been blocked but she has "moved us" to a 1BR in a different area of town. She is "not prepared to explain or argue with you about this". The booking is changed and she has no obligation to do more.

What transpired is that she was (sub) letting an apartment illegally in a building and that the owner/building management had blocked her access. She had been doing it successfully for some time and had good reviews but now was caught out and barred. Obviously the assurance she had given Airbnb was falsified. When I raised this with Airbnb they said "we have hundreds of thousands of hosts. We can't verify all their claims".

Airbnb cancelled the booking and said they would find another apartment in tge same area and standard. We trusted them as we were just a few hours from arriving. We are a 35 minute bus ride from mid town, on a very busy highway and with only a gas station anywhere bear to shop. Our holiday is completely ruined. The Airbnb "service" person took us for mugs.

What is my complaint? Airbnb say Nicole told them she had a last minute hiccup and they accepted her excuse completely even though they know she gave us a completely different excuse. They agreed it was unacceptable but they had absolutely no plan to do anything other than help me find alternative accomodation: she was a successful host (aka she made big $ for Airbnb). I was told this really did not happen often and I was unlucky. I was told 4 times that Airbnb took great care to look after their customers and that my experience was unusual. I was left to understand that I should feel for the host and just get on with it.

The bottom line is that Airbnb will keep Nicole/Ashleigh. They said so. She is a valuable source of income to them. They understand what has happened looks dodgy but if she tells them she is OK to offer an apartment then they will take her word for it. And if she gives a blatantly false explanation to cancel, who is Airbnb to confront her?

Airbnb's model is set up to facilitate scamming and they know that and believe that they can "manage" victims when they emerge. It's a buyer beware portal.

So BEWARE.
Post script. Airbnb tried to charge me a fee for the cancelled booking.

We booked and confirmed for a 2BR in midtown Vancouver (1028 Barclay Street) 4 months in advance. All fine except the host told us she did not have "front desk" priveleges and access would be via the side entrance. Mmmmmmm. Hosts name was Ashleigh P.

A few weeks before leaving for Vancouver I noticed her listing had disappeared from Airbnb. I messaged her and she said she had had to take it down. Too many requests. Mmmmmmm. She replied using the name Nicole P.

One week before leaving for Vancouver I contacted Airbnb to discuss my rising doubts. I was told there was no need to worry. They were confident all was above board. Mmmmmmm. Why were they so dismissive?

5 days before arriving I get a message reminding me she had no "contract" with the management at her condo for concierge services so she would meet me personally to let me in and show me around. Mmmmmm.

0830 on the morning of the booking I am boarding a plane to fly to Vancouver and I get a text saying to meet her at an address 38 Smithe Street Vancouver. Mmmmmmmm. WHAT?

I called Nicole/Ashleigh and she tells me she cannot now provide the promised apartment as her access pass had been blocked but she has "moved us" to a 1BR in a different area of town. She is "not prepared to explain or argue with you about this". The booking is changed and she has no obligation to do more.

What transpired is that she was (sub) letting an apartment illegally in a building and that the owner/building management had blocked her access. She had been doing it successfully for some time and had good reviews but now was caught out and barred. Obviously the assurance she had given Airbnb was falsified. When I raised this with Airbnb they said "we have hundreds of thousands of hosts. We can't verify all their claims".

Airbnb cancelled the booking and said they would find another apartment in tge same area and standard. We trusted them as we were just a few hours from arriving. We are a 35 minute bus ride from mid town, on a very busy highway and with only a gas station anywhere bear to shop. Our holiday is completely ruined. The Airbnb "service" person took us for mugs.

What is my complaint? Airbnb say Nicole told them she had a last minute hiccup and they accepted her excuse completely even though they know she gave us a completely different excuse. They agreed it was unacceptable but they had absolutely no plan to do anything other than help me find alternative accomodation: she was a successful host (aka she made big $ for Airbnb). I was told this really did not happen often and I was unlucky. I was told 4 times that Airbnb took great care to look after their customers and that my experience was unusual. I was left to understand that I should feel for the host and just get on with it.

The bottom line is that Airbnb will keep Nicole/Ashleigh. They said so. She is a valuable source of income to them. They understand what has happened looks dodgy but if she tells them she is OK to offer an apartment then they will take her word for it. And if she gives a blatantly false explanation to cancel, who is Airbnb to confront her?

Airbnb's model is set up to facilitate scamming and they know that and believe that they can "manage" victims when they emerge. It's a buyer beware portal.

So BEWARE.
Post script. Airbnb tried to charge me a fee for the cancelled booking.