Current Events > AirBnB host has been jerking me around. I've never left a bad review. What do?

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VanananaHeyHey
02/03/20 6:00:56 AM
#1:


Wall of text. tl;dr: AirBnB host never told us how to check in so that we were waiting on the street until 1:30 in the morning (2nd into 3rd) and has been making suspicious claims about the listing all day since (3rd). How bad of a review should I leave? Should I try to get a refund for more than just the first night?

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I booked a room in London back in September for a trip with my spouse now, set to arrive last night. On the day of arrival, I still hadn't gotten any information on how to check-in (key box? host meets? all that, no info), so I sent a message asking through AirBnB at 7:00 p.m. while waiting to board the plane. When we got out of the airport at 10:45 p.m., still no info, so I sent another message. When I arrived at the address of the apartment at midnight, I sent another message. I felt a little bad bothering him so late, but it had been several hours since my original, reasonable-hour message and hosts are supposed to send check-in info automatically two days before a trip starts.

Since we were outside the apartment, we tried calling the host on both Skype and the website. No response on either, though I left a message on each one as well as a few more inbox messages detailing our wait time and my urgency. It is February, it was after midnight and we had luggage. Even though it was a well-lit street and the restaurant that shares the address had kind people working there, it was starting to get a little freaky being left without a place to stay all night.

At 12:45, we sent a message to AirBnB directly complaining that this was unsafe behavior and that we wanted a refund for at least the night that we were supposed to have the room and couldn't get in. After 1:30 in the morning, we gave up and found another hotel for the night, still hoping we could get in in the morning. I sent one final message telling the host that we were going to request a refund for the first night and that, if we didn't hear back by the next afternoon, we would consider them to have canceled on us.

When I woke up, I called the host again and, fifteen minutes later, a different number called back, saying that the host "can't hear phones."

They kept taking this attitude that it was something we had done to not get into the room. "So why didn't you come?" "Was the main door unlocked?" Did you know that the address is _____?" This proves they didn't read any of the detailed messages we sent. Anyway, finally, they sent a text message saying to go to unit #5 inside of the apartments and the door would be unlocked with the keys onside. I sent a message confirming "Okay, #5 it is, thanks."

The unit was not unlocked and the only key we found by looking around was (I shit you not) inside a box with glass slides in it, several of them broken. So after reaching into a goddamn box of broken glass for a key that turned out to not even work, we just sat in the hallway and kept messaging and calling. A few other renters/neighbors said good morning and one offered to call the host for us, which I appreciated since I'm using a foreign SIM that doesn't always connect right (but had been calling the host and taking me to their voicemail). After about forty minutes, someone who was not shown in the AirBnB profile picture came down and offered us unit #4, which did have an unlocked door. It wasn't a typo, though, because this apartment does not match the images in the room we rented. He apologized for the "misunderstanding."

Everyone who has actually spoken to me in person has been very kind. I didn't like the person on the phone who kept blaming us but they weren't mean, just breezy and rude; nothing I would have taken a star off for under different circumstances. I think that the guy on the profile is not actually involved and that this is a front. We are inside unit #4 now, which had a twice as high rental rate compared to #5 according to the listings I just skimmed, even though both are just small studio apartments in the same basement of the same restaurant.

I don't usually give bad reviews on anything because I know that getting anything less than 100% is usually grounds for firing in star-rating systems, but this isn't okay.

How bad of a review should I leave? Should I try to get a refund for more than just the first night?

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Ricemills
02/03/20 6:06:54 AM
#2:


leave a bad review.

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VanananaHeyHey
02/03/20 6:12:26 AM
#3:


Ricemills posted...
leave a bad review.
Like, yeah, but 1-star bad with my full condemnation, or like a waffley "Oh, but so and so was friendly and the Internet is fast, 3 stars~"

Do you think the odds of a refund are decent?

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dotsdfe
02/03/20 6:12:54 AM
#4:


https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/43k7z3/nationwide-fake-host-scam-on-airbnb

I'm not gonna lie, the situation you described sounds remarkably similar to what I read in that article a while back. It might not be the same thing, but it came to mind right away.

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#5
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#6
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--Zero-
02/03/20 6:19:27 AM
#7:


Leave a bad review. Don't give them a 1 star because your first night was terrible. See how the rest of your stay goes before determining that. They should have given you check in instructions prior to you arriving. You shouldn't needed to reach out to them for that. You do deserve to have your first day refunded.

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pinky0926
02/03/20 6:24:43 AM
#8:


VanananaHeyHey posted...
How bad of a review should I leave?

The worst review, to be honest. They left you in the dark and cold when the number 1 reason you get an airbnb is to get out of the dark and cold. Even worse, they did not communicate with you at any point. They didn't apologise or make amends or really do anything other than make you feel responsible for the most basic of their responsibilities.

That would be like ordering food from a restaurant, the food never arriving, calling mutliple times during the process and then being told by the owner 3 hours later "what? Why didn't you just show up at the restaurant?"

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VanananaHeyHey
02/03/20 6:41:01 AM
#9:


dotsdfe posted...
I'm not gonna lie, the situation you described sounds remarkably similar to what I read in that article a while back. It might not be the same thing, but it came to mind right away.

Funny enough, this guy in London's profile name is Andrew, too. >:( I think I skimmed this article when it came out, but I've had such positive experiences in the past that it had only registered as a "oh, dang, that sucks." How little I knew.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

They haven't tried to get us to pay anything more for the second room yet and I sure would hold my line if they tried.

--Zero- posted...
Don't give them a 1 star because your first night was terrible. See how the rest of your stay goes before determining that. They should have given you check in instructions prior to you arriving. You shouldn't needed to reach out to them for that. You do deserve to have your first day refunded.
I still feel like there should be an upper limit of stars I give due to their slow/absent responses and the weird shuffling. They are definitely supposed to send that info first. I've had other one or two hosts forget to do that in the past, but they've always responded immediately and with contrition when I message them the first day. Maybe not one-star yet, but dang. I also had to ask the guy who finally showed up and gave us the second room what the Internet password was, because they didn't have any information sheet inside the room.

pinky0926 posted...
Even worse, they did not communicate with you at any point. They didn't apologise or make amends or really do anything other than make you feel responsible for the most basic of their responsibilities.
The gaslighting is what really pissed me off, too. I could not have been clearer in my messages and they just seem to think I'm a weirdo who didn't 'want it' bad enough.

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Muintir
02/03/20 6:50:12 AM
#10:


Get a refund for what you paid and make them give a discount or cover a night. But make sure you deal with someone else and just tell the truth nothing else to that person. If they do. Good leave them a neutral review and just explain everything after a week goes by. Say your only doing neutral cause the bad and good but will give them another chance. If they refuse leave the lowest review immediately and explain everything with the truth and nothing else.
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FFT-Fan
02/03/20 7:14:45 AM
#11:


1 star review, unless full refund is given and with no cancellation fee. Scams like this and in the article are why I refuse to use Airbnb. Awful company
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StucklnMyPants
02/03/20 7:41:50 AM
#12:


VanananaHeyHey posted...
Everyone who has actually spoken to me in person has been very kind. I didn't like the person on the phone who kept blaming us but they weren't mean, just breezy and rude; nothing I would have taken a star off for under different circumstances. I think that the guy on the profile is not actually involved and that this is a front. We are inside unit #4 now, which had a twice as high rental rate compared to #5 according to the listings I just skimmed, even though both are just small studio apartments in the same basement of the same restaurant.
How do you just let people run over you like this? You should demand, not ask, for a refund on the first night. You should leave the lowest score possible that only details the negative aspects.

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lilORANG
02/03/20 7:56:23 AM
#13:


leave 1 star and complain to AirBNB corporate.

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stone
02/03/20 8:02:02 AM
#14:


How you are even considering not leaving a bad review is beyond me.. Seriously, as literally everyone else said, bad review and ask for full refund.

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VanananaHeyHey
02/03/20 9:32:41 AM
#15:


StucklnMyPants posted...
You should demand, not ask, for a refund on the first night.
I'm within my rights to do so and already have, but they have the full power over whether it happens and, even then, there would be fees that AirBnB would have to waive. It's not like I can find the guy and intimidate him becaue the whole business model is hands-off; most people never see their hosts in person and the only reason I saw anyone was because this scam seems to involve everyone who works at the restaurant above the apartments.

lilORANG posted...
leave 1 star and complain to AirBNB corporate.
I did send their helpline a message yesterday.

stone posted...
How you are even considering not leaving a bad review is beyond me.. Seriously, as literally everyone else said, bad review and ask for full refund.
I'm plenty willing to leave a bad review, but if they come back with "Nuh-uh, we gave them a nicer room even and tried to make it better," that pings on my rating and will make renting from other places harder in the future. Since posting the OP, I've determined that this fake "Andrew" also has 68 other apartments listed on AirBnB, so it's not like he'll starve. I'm all-in on outrage now and won't mention how good the hookah bar smells or any of the friendly co-conspirators are.

Just got a message (the first one, after over nine messages and several phone calls, plus the complaint to corporate):

hi, thats fine you can stay in that apartment. best andrew sorry.

For fuck's sake, Drew.

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treewojima
02/03/20 10:22:29 AM
#16:


yeesh, sorry that happened. AirBNBs sketch me out, I'll stick to a hotel or more formal arrangement when it comes to keeping a roof over my head
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twitterfriends
02/03/20 12:02:08 PM
#18:


If you dont leave a bad review youre just doing a disservice to the app and future customers who have to deal with these problems too, all because it makes you uncomfortable, youre incredibly selfish.

3/5 TC

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The Top Crusader
02/03/20 12:11:20 PM
#19:


I can't imagine not leaving a 1 star review after this. ...why wouldn't you? Do you want other people to see "well at least they got a 3 must not be too bad" and go through the same thing?

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Alpha218
02/03/20 12:23:34 PM
#20:


dotsdfe posted...
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/43k7z3/nationwide-fake-host-scam-on-airbnb

I'm not gonna lie, the situation you described sounds remarkably similar to what I read in that article a while back. It might not be the same thing, but it came to mind right away.
That was a really interesting article

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VanananaHeyHey
02/04/20 5:54:37 PM
#21:


UPDATE: AirBnB got me a refund for the first night and closed the ticket. I'll be staying here in the alternate unit until checkout. They'll get a savage review, but I am going to list earnest positives of the room.

(The bathroom is really nice. Like, it's weird how much nicer the bathroom is than the rest of the apartment. I probably won't be mentioning that in my review, but dang.)

twitterfriends posted...
If you dont leave a bad review youre just doing a disservice to the app and future customers who have to deal with these problems too, all because it makes you uncomfortable, youre incredibly selfish.
The Top Crusader posted...
I can't imagine not leaving a 1 star review after this. ...why wouldn't you? Do you want other people to see "well at least they got a 3 must not be too bad" and go through the same thing?
I'm not "uncomfortable," I'm inexperienced. The new room is actually fine, even if the first night was unforgivable. Unlike the places in the story article, the room isn't trashed or anything and if I hadn't been misled, gaslit and shuffled, I would have had no reason to complain.

This place only has five reviews, which indicates that the person with 68 other properties ("Andrew") is pulling the listings whenever they get bad reviews and just posting it up again as some other fake profile.

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