AirbnbReviews 2,101

My wife booked an AirBnB in SF on her phone app... It was her first time ever using the system/service and did not see that the property owner had cats... My wife is an asthmatic and is triggered by cats... So she canceled the reservation, only to find that not only had AirBnB taken and processed the deposit, but the amount of the entire weeks rental. My wife called, AirBnB and found that their Customer Service beyond "non-existant", but just plain rude... 1.The CS agent was from the philipeans and did not understand or have a command of the English language... 2. Only could read from her script and 3. When we asked for a Supervisor, were put on hold (and this is no exaggeration) over 40 minutes and still no one came on the line... Instead we called Paypal, explained the situation and they offered to lodge a complaint that would require a 100% refund, and if AirBnB only gave a "partial refund", Paypal (through their customer satisfaction guarantee) would replace the missing balance... So, if you are going to use this defective system, always book through Paypal... your only customer service friend!

I am a host, hosting, in South Lake Tahoe, 5 starts, with Airbnb since 2010.
Airbnb's customer service is almost non-existent. People are nice but have no idea how the business works. It always takes a lot of time to get any issue resolved becasue they have no experience or the power to resolve the issue (in comparison, VRBO's customer service is much better).

Airbnb is obsessed about the security or, I would say, secrecy. They never share, even after the booking is confirmed, emails or phone numbers. At the same time, they allow booking with a guest that has no name, just a "user". How in the world a host should let somebody stay in their property of significant value if the person doesn't even has a name?

It used to be that if somebody contacts (not a request for booking, but with a question) me via airbnb's conversation, I can reply or do pre-approve (my choice). Now, I don't have a choice: there is no "reply". I can only do "pre-approve", or "decline" or "make an offer".
It bothers me because it's rude not to give me a choice and the company comes through as only caring about the bottom line (big fees) and not for their clients.

I have to say that most of my guests who booked via Airbnb were very good guests and were kind to my property, no problems with that. But Airbnb is a callous company that knows how to do a good marketing.

They don't deserve even one star. We booked a fully furnished apartment in Hollywood Boulevard for our vacation. Our booking was from May 13-May 19. We'd booked one month before we were due to arrive in Los Angeles. We received several confirmation emails, and then suddenly, less than 24 hours before we were supposed to arrive in LA, we received an email saying that our reservation had been cancelled. I spent the following night, searching as hard as I could for a replacement reservation, this was very difficult as we had only a day's notice. My husband and I are hard working doctors from Sydney Australia, this was a terrible occurrence to happen on our holiday

I booked a trip to California about 3 months ago Leaving on my trip Tommorrow morning without warning or a heads up airbnb deactivated my acct for no reason leaving me high n dry for my trip because it cancelled my trip I had planned with my daughter and wife they said someone would be Calling me that was a week ago and no one still has called I will never recommend airbnb and will never be using them again I will recommend using vrbo.com as they have been good to me for decades now won't happen again thanks alot airbnb for ruining my trip.

We had planned a week in May in Manhattan. The reservation was made in January. While we were in Turkey, two days prior to the commencement of our stay we were notified that our reservation was being cancelled because of plumbing problems. Airbnb told us that are money could be returned or we could try to book another place with them. Enter Burak. He had a place, not in the area we would have liked, but being thousands of miles away, we had little choice. So the deal was set, we thought. We advised Burak that our plane would be arriving at JFK at 5:30 PM and we would meet him at the apartment at about 7:30 to pick up the key. He said that would be impossible because the key could only be obtained between 1 and 5. We tried to explain that our plane would not even be on the ground then. He could not alter the rules. We called Airbnb but they told us Burak was the person with whom we had to deal. As a matter of fact, an Airbnb agent hung up on us.
So we checked into a hotel at the airport and contacted Burak saying we would meet him at the apartment the next day at 1:30 PM. Burak said that was impossible. The key would only be available between 4 and 5 Pm.
Our concerns that we raised to Airbnb were ignored. We lost all the money we had paid for our week's stay, thus far.
I have booked with Home away and with 9flats and had only had positive experiences.

There are a few things that make airbnb very unfriendly for business travellers. The first is that it is impossible to contact airbnb. I have not been able to find a phone number or email address. It may be there but I haven't been able to find it. I once spoke to customer service when they canceled my reservation at the last minute. Second, they charge the credit card the day you make the reservation. This wreaks havoc since my company requires resolving an outstanding charges within a few weeks. This limits me to booking last minute. Finally there is no flexibility. If you change they charge there service fee (assuming you book a place with liberal refund policy). This is also a problem for expensing.

This was my biggest disappointment ever in my whole life of travelling!
Booked 7 Nights in Paris, France ( Studio), paid $ 741.00 in Full, Pictures, and reviews showed nothing could be better deal for this type of Rentals, and we faced an UNFAIR
" Strict" Cancelation Policy, that you have to do it on max. Of One week, before hitting your destination! And when me, my wife arrived at the place, it was way behind our expectations, very strong smells of Old walls ( Humidity, others), dirty sheets, Not even hand wash soap, Broken window Blinds, and the most important, for a Heart Patient like me ( I even asked this Question, and the answer was misleading) a very Steep, dangerous stair steps, leading to another more dangerous 3 Steps to get inside the Studio, and you have to be very lucky to step out, without falling ( Inconsistent steps, very tricky)
I was shocked of the Quality of the place, we could not stay, especially the cleaning was not done, by the time we reached ( Noon, Saturday). I called the owner to inform her that we canceled our stay, but she pretended that she did not understand, and cleaning will be done around, after 2 PM. Our Cell Phone were not working properly, then we had to call her again, and she answered that she will reply thru an E mail at Web. ( Airbnb), but she did it after 3 days ( we Found Hotel to stay, after 5 Hours of search, paid what`s so ever they ask me to pay, just to save my Trip & Plans fro 7 Nights in Paris!
Now I am disputing the amount of money that I paid for Nothing!
And I`ll go to the end for it...!

My family and I stayed at an Air Bnb for the first time recently. Never again. We arrived to a bug problem, were unable to enter, came he next day, had no bedding, no towels, the property was misrepresented and my daughter even cut herself on a broken mirror on the floor (what? Why was that there!)

We had many altercations with the staff and got none of our money back after enduring their condescension, absurd complaint policies, and general ignorance about how to deal with a human. Never again. Would never recommend this service. The cost is inticing but this was the worst travel experience of my family's life. Never again.

I'm a Canadian who pays for a room in Toronto when I work. Airbnb lists a price for the room but as soon as I hit 'Check Availability' the price changes before my eyes.
My favourite room goes from $38 to $43!? My 'spare' room that I use when the other is booked jumps from $36 to $37 dollars.
I have no idea why the price would change in the first place and why one jumps $1 the other $5 per night.
Seems like a cash grab to me. The Canadian dollar is sinking so my regular room prices are soaring. So not ok with me so beware when you see the first price quoted... am I the only one who notices this?
Other than considering not renting a room anymore because of this discrepancy, its the principal of the thing, its making the prices too high.
Airbnb thoigh has been pretty handy as far as finding a room near work, my room in Toronto is perfect and the host is great.

I have used AirBnB quite a bit, initially as a guest, and more recently as a host. For those like myself who detest hotels, it is a great option when traveling. I have had nothing but positive experiences so far with the company, the hosts, and my guests.

Yes, in order to use AirBnB you do have to send them a photo of your ID, verify your email address and phone number, etc. But this is just due diligence on their part, to ensure a minimum level of safety for their hosts and their guests, and I would not use their service without these basic precautions.

Perhaps most of the AirBnB reviews here are negative because most people don't bother to seek out a reviewing site unless they have had a bad experience.

I didn't complete my profile several months ago when I thought I might try it for a trip I was planning. When they asked for my DL, I abandoned... who wants all of that info on the web? Last night I started getting texts from people all over the world wanting to confirm dates for my NYC apartment. I don't HAVE a NYC apartment. I called the Customer Service Number to advise them and take down my profile immediately. I waited 30 minutes on the phone and then the agent said she couldn't cancel my profile. Someone would call me in a day or so. TERRIBLE SERVICE and SECURITY. I will NEVER USE THIS SERVICE EVER! Still waiting for my call to confirm cancellation.

I began using this site in 2012 and initially found it good value for money because it was starting up and the fees charged in addition to the rental fees were reasonable. However, I've just finished a 5 month trip through South and North America and have terminated my account because of the many issues I encountered. The number of substandard accommodation we stayed in was appalling - no due diligence appears to be done by the site to ensure a reasonable standard or cleanliness, let alone value for money. Hosts varied from great to don't give a damn (other than getting the money). Prices charged were high, particularly when I compared the price for the same property listed on the airbnb site and another site (like booking.com). And, the icing on the cake, airbnb showed no ability to comply with its own publication guidelines, allowing false and defamatory comments to be posted on its site and failing to address the issue when it was raised. I spoke to a host who had once listed on airbnb and now used another site because she found the fees charged by airbnb to be steep and the customer service also non-existent. The site double dips, charging both hosts and renters hefty fees and offering neither any support nor service. Hosts, find another site to advertise on (like VRBO or Stayz). Renters, do your due diligence - check if the property is listed elsewhere, as it will likely be cheaper, and check tripadvisor for property reviews - better yet, use kayak or another booking engine to find what you are looking for.

Airbnb's website collected a lot of personal info from me, but then cancelled my reservation at the last minute, stating that it was not legitamate.

This was my first and only experience with and airbnb, and it will certainly be my last. Let me assure you that this is an insult and a major inconvenience. I am a legitimate person with a legitimate reservation!

I have repeatedly attempted to contact customer service, and received no answers!

Airbnb's inconsiderate treatment of me as a customer is unacceptable. This site is a DATA GRAB, collecting a great deal of personal info. Regardless of whatever policy they may have that justifies such decisions, it is a scam. Ultimately, we as customers, need to expose all of airbnb's actions and the end results to social media and travel review blogs.

The end result is that airbnb has ruined our travel plans and refused attempts to resolve this matter.

The Idea is great but the company is $#*!. The listing mostly are beautified and nobody can guarantee what you get and when you ask for a refund you need to waste 2 days just by clarifying why and what.

The customer service sucks. The line was disconnected many times and no one called me back. I asked to cancel my reservation and they said they will get back to me within 24 hours but that doesn't happen and I lost money from that.

I highly don't recommend this company and the system they are using.

Another think is the reviews system of Airbnb is confusing where if you were good or bad the other person would write the opposite review and deceive others.

DECEIVING SYSTEM AND TEAM.