AirbnbReviews 2,101

I have tried to book a few properties for next summer on Airbnb recently, and have had similar replies. Either the rates are wrong, or the property isn't available for some reason.
However, when I look at the same place again the cost to book it has risen considerably.
In the UK we have a law that says if you see something advertised, the price you see is the price you pay, or you can sue them. It appears this does not apply to Airbnb.
This is my first experience of using Airbnb, and I am beginning to think there are a lot of crooks and con artists on it.

I strongly advise you to be very careful with Airbnb. It may happen that you booked a vacation home in advance, a few months or even a year before the trip, and when there are two weeks left, the Airbnb suddenly cancels the order. Naturally, in such a short time you will not be able to find an equivalent replacement.
This is exactly what happened with my guests, who were going to come for a month and a half. Without any explanation, Airbnb canceled the reservation and returned the money. Never any explanation has been given by Airbnb.
And here is what one of my colleagues writes about his case: "I had some of the booked guests frantically call and email me as Airbnb cancelling on them was screwing them out of their vacation as the town was sold out of hotels and other vacation rentals and their trip was just a few days away. I had to explain how I had nothing to do with this and express my apologies and told them to contact Airbnb and ask them to reinstate the booking. They said they tried and that Airbnb just gave them the run around and showed no sympathy for their situation, even though they (Airbnb) were the ones who caused it."
I think you can take a chance with airbnb if you are going to stay for one or two days. I seriously advise you not to rely on Airbnb if you want to find accommodation for a long time during your vacation.

Someone stole my sons debit information and used my sons debit card to book trip and He doesnt have account with them and is not even old enough to have account with them. And when I called to get help to find out who used his information, they said they don't have a system set up to tell me who used it. So they don't have secure website and/or system setup to protect people from fraud/identity theft. They only care about the money

I had a problem with a host who was unresponsive, not answering messages. Finally, he responded the day before the booking. He was completely disorganized; he wasn't going to be at home the day I was arriving. He said he would talk to his friends and try to get someone else to be there. I complained about this to Airbnb. It took hours and hours to get through to them, and they generally unhelpful. But finally I spoke to a case manager, telling that I wanted to cancel. She talked to the host and then phoned me to say that he had agreed to the cancellation and she promised me a full refund. I was so relieved, but this turned out to be just a lie. I received an email later saying that my request for cancellation had been denied. I only received a 20% refund. The people that work at Airbnb will say anything to you. They sound sincere, but they're not. You're just a jerk at the end of a phone line to them. You can't trust a word they say.

We just came from Europe trip and booked all reservation from Airbnb and had a issue with host in Belgium, notify the same day to Airbnb about the issue and they promised to refund me the reservation amount, but still not refunded calling many time and sending emails even updated chat messages but still not responding, called yesterday and talking over one hour they transferred to three different departments but still not resolved the problem.

If you're taking the risk of listing your property on airbnb, PLEASE be very careful and always TAKE deposit from guests especially if they don't have good reviews or a large group.
I've been listing properties on airbnb since 2016. Earlier, they used to take good care of hosts but lately, their TRUST and SAFETY assurance is of no use. They want you to make police complains and harass you so much for paperwork that its impossible to get them to settle any claims if the guest doesn't respond.

I recently cancelled a Christmas stay in Kihei Hawaii due to family financial issues. I gave four months notice. I was only refunded half of my $1200 deposit due the hosts (Joe) strict cancellation police which is backed by Air bnb. Also the host had the time period we had rented within two days from the date of cancellation. I feel violated and ripped off. If you are silly enough to use this convoluted travel site be sure to find and read their cancellation policy's to avoid any disappointment and aggravations

First, communication with airbnb is a real nightmare. Direct email is best, but messages seem to be flying about in some ethernet and I have no confidence that all messages are being received, read, and responded to.

Second, I have multiple times stated the basis for my displeasure with the property and the way airbnb has handled things. Airbnb is misleading from the get go. The "Hosts" are not Stephan and Stephanie. The property is owned by someone else, and airbnb gives the impression that these two lovely individuals who love their property will be the hosts. Not true, and it is impossible to ever communicate with them.

Third, it is very misleading to include one little sentence in the listing that the property is "not ADA accessible", and leave out that the main living floor requires 20 steep stairs and then another 15 steep stairs to the third floor or that the room containing the pool table requires the guests to go up and down the 20 steep stairs and go outside and around the house to another room! It is also misleading to list the property for 12 guests but not inform the guests that they can't sit together for meals when the only eating tables provide 4 chairs and two of the tables are in a separate room! This doesn't provide for group (in our case, a family of 10) togetherness. It is also misleading to indicate two TVs but that there is only seating for 3-4 people for one of the TVs and the second TV is on the third level with no seating!

Fourth, this is a very old property that has been added to in a piece-meal fashion by non-professionals. For example, access to the third floor bedroom is through the kitchen and there is no bathroom on the third level. Also, light switches are placed in bizarre locations. The hot tub is outside under very large pine trees where they drop their "needles" onto and into the hot tub. It is weird at best.

Fifth, there is no way this property should rent out at $850 a night! At best, it should rent for no more than $250/night!

You cancelled on my 30 day stay with zero notice. The "help" I was given was a $200 credit and a link to other "options" that were nothing like what I had booked. If I had cancelled on you the day before my stay, I'm certain it would have been a lot more than $200 cost to me. That's unfair and you've broken trust with me.

Frankly, a terrible customer experience, and one I'm telling everyone I know about. If you'd like my business in the future - and that of customers like me - you need to fix how you handle cancellations. I don't want to hear "We didn't cancel on you - the host did." And I don't want the cop-out that Uber uses of "we're a technology company, not an accommodations provider." If you're trying to disrupt the hotel industry, guess what? That de facto makes you part of that industry. When Westin cancels on me - which they don't - they re-accommodate me (at their own expense), and fast.

I'm now a professional adult having to ask friends if I can use their spare guest rooms for longer than anyone would want a house guest. It's embarrassing and was entirely preventable.

I get it, there is strict cancellation guidelines to Airbnb's. However, if you cancel and give them over a months notice due to family illness, I would think that they could give you a full refund. However, that is not the case after my experience. The problem is they refused to even talk with me about it and told me it was against guidelines. I could not even get the host "Gary" to get me a "full"refund as he pointed the finger at them. I will never purchase from them again and hope people take in consideration of how much sticklers they truly are. This was to Vegas at the Wyndam and I should have really known.
This is where it was at and the host Gary:

Sep 6-8 · 2 BR Lockoff Wyndham Grand Desert Las Vegas

Gary
Clearwater, Florida, United States
On Airbnb since 2016
You should receive this money in your account for this reservation within 5-7 business days.

AIrbnb customer service is Horrible Horrible Horrific! They don't give a damn about Hosts property. You are taking all the risk. If you have a problem with a guest you have to call and talk to a foreign call center then wait for a response. Whenever you call they are sending your call to India, Asia, South America, Africa. They don't give a damn about our country or what they are doing. They just want to take commission off your property and efforts. The insurance is a complete lie. They are backing it and it is up to their discretion whether they will reimburse you. They are lying about checking the guests background. All anyone needs is a generic email, gift card and they can gain access to your home. It is absolutely insane! We are risking 100,000 of dollars just to make a hundred or so. Now they don't require a photo and won't even show you the people who have photos for you to decide if you want to take the booking. They don't collect a security deposit like they say they do. Again it is them who is backing it. Their website is clunky and disorganized and unintuitive. On mobile they hide the details of the listing which caused even more confusion and problems. I regret ever getting involved with Airbnb!