AirbnbReviews 2,101

Do NOT use Airbnb. They allow their hosts to double prices once a reservation is submitted. They have NO customer service... as in no email address, no address, and no phone number on their website because they do not want you to contact them. There is also no way to flag someone that is scamming people and doubling rates. Very shady practices. Why use a company like this when you can use many other companies that provide the same service and care about their customers.

Does anyone get these "star reviews"? They are misleading and frustrating for the host. My guests say all nice things in the review but give me less than 5 stars in each category. Never saying what the problem is... and i get upset with AirBnB's rubbing my face in it that my reviews are less than 5 stars, but the guests comments are not supporting the star reviews they give me. I dont know what future guests will make of the compliments in my reviews but then when they see the star ratings, they'll wonder what is going on... AirBnB needs to get rid of these stupid star reviews! And I give them 1 star as a result!

I have tried to use the site and in order to reserve a place, even if the owner does not require it, you must load a picture. I am a private person who does not want their picture plastered over the internet so I cannot use the site. I would be happy to say I am an older white woman if that helps, but the policy of adding pictures is not only invasive, but it also supports racism and xenophobia. If you are black, or color, muslim, etc. you will not have renters nor will some people rent to you. This is not based on a landlord requirement, but just in general. It is offensive and I would hope, illegal.

I just want to vent my frustration at the Airbnb website process. I understand the motives for checking out potential customers but the process of uploading documents, videos and looking for social media history(of which I have very little) is so time consuming and tests one patience to the limit. In my case it was beyond the limit as I gave up after hours of trying. I wonder how many more there are like me and how many bookings are being lost by airbnb hosts. On top of all that to get an email after the verification process had failed and the booking cancelled to be told that my account had been debited and that there may be a delay in refunding it to my credit card was a shock to me. An awful way of doing business and I will not be attempting to use this site again. If this is the mess that they make of the registration and booking process I wonder how secure their storage of customers data is. Beware!

Just tried to book my first airbnb and it will be my last. I was trying to book an apartment in Long Beach, California where we will be visiting my daughter over the Holidays. I chose a place within a few blocks of her house ("Retro Retreat," host: Matthew). After jumping through a bunch of hoops, including identification verification, I paid the amount ($767) through PayPal and made a tentative reservation (their words). The next evening I get an email saying that they were going to "release' my payment because the owner, Matthew, hadn't responded within 24 hours. Huh? That's how they do business. The owner doesn't even have the common decency (or business sense) to give me a response, so I don't get to rent the place? (I'm wondering since in the "Tell us about yourself" spot on the application I mentioned we were retired, there was some possible ageism involved.) Oh! And the notice said that the "release of the deposit" won't show up for a week. Thank goodness I paid through PayPal and they hadn't deducted my money yet. And, we are flush enough that we could proceed to secure another place without having to wait for our money. I know that's not the case for everyone. I would steer very clear of airbnb -- their business methods, in my opinion, are very shady. I was hesitant to reserve the place anyway because one of the reviews said the apartment wasn't clean and noted hair in the bed, the toilet and the bathroom sink (ugh). I should have paid attention to my instincts. I found a great place just a couple of blocks away through VRBO. I've used them before with no problems and will never stray again!

Our city has an annual event that draws people from all over the world, and during the 2 weeks you cannot find a room within a 100 mile radius. Our neighbors have their home up for sale and they are booking it for this summer. If their home sells it will be a HUGE disappointment for the people who booked it for this event. Even if they are notified months in advance they will not be able to find a place. So do your research because a lot of these homes are rented out because they are for sale and they are not selling.

Airbnb does not pay out the hosts enough to make hosting a room on their website to random strangers worth it. You take a massive risk with Airbnb, as their insurance does not actually provide any useful protection or insurance. Even to apply for such protection in the case of an emergency is a massive headache and time sink that does not equate the effort it takes to apply.

Airbnb takes 3% for their own cut, a standard 28% for taxes regardless of your state, and can randomly charge you all several additional penalties, such as $50 for any cancellation you might make, even if that cancellation is due to an emergency or because you feel highly uncomfortable with a guest.

Realize that you are unable to interview a guest by phone or email before inviting them into your home. Communication through Airbnb is highly restricted and censored. So you're just hoping that the person's Airbnb profile is accurate.

It's simply not worth the headache of hosting some stranger that you cannot interview before handing them the keys to your home with zero protection. Imagine if one of those guests who you so willing give your keys to for a measly payout goes an makes a copy of your key, and breaks in after their stay and robs your home--or much worse.

I feel terrible for guests for getting overcharged on the room, and much worse for hosts who have to put their lives and property at risk for a second petty income. If you need the money so desperately, do something else. Walk people's dogs, pick up a random babysitting shift, whatever you want to do -- just don't host on Airbnb. The payout is simply not worth the risk and the effort.

Awful stay at Hotel Gabrielle in Brooklyn, New York. The pictures definetely did not depict the home. The description was deceitful claiming there was two bedrooms when there was one. If you slept in the "second bedroom" which is truly a living room with a curtain, you had to sleep with cats. We got charged extra for a futon that was broken before we arrived. The place had roaches and you had to feed her three cats.

When we first arrived she had us waiting outside a cafe for almost two hours trying to get a key and ignoring calls.

I will never use air bnb again because they are useless mediaters. Never again!

This was my first experience and last with airbnb, i wanted to rent out flat so opted for the free session with photographer, he came took pictures, and never uploaded them to the site, i contacted airbnb 5 weeks later as he said it will take 4 weeks, they just messed me around, and said shall we send another one, i said no it's a waste of my time, they sent me emails weeks after the trail had gone cold...
I ended up getting a mate to do it, who done a good job, but nobody rented the flat anyway.
After reading the reviews I'm glad it was not rented..

I have a listing on airbnb and saw that they offered free photography sessions and put in a request for it. I was contacted by a photographer to set up an appointment. The home is our vacation home and is hours away from my actual residence so careful planning was required. I made certain accommodations for the trip and we scheduled it for Sunday at 10am. I contacted Zoe that morning at 7am to give her the gate code to be able to enter the residence and did not receive a response until 9:30am saying that she will simply not be making the appointment. No explanation was given and was only given less than an hours notice. I understand that it is a free service but the money spent on travel and cleaning total to over $400. I contacted airbnb and waited 30 minutes on hold just to get a rep to tell me she is going to forward my issue to another department and they will call me back. I still have not received a call back. I doubt any action will be taken toward the extremely unprofessional photographer, for anyone looking to request this service please beware.