To say be VERY careful when booking an Airbnb

[Shineynew]

Just an Airbnb word of warning...
We stayed in one in London lately. Apparently it was ‘newly renovated and chique’ (I think he meant chic).
Anyway - it was neither.It was dirty and mouldy and the sofa bed was broken so I had to sleep on an air bed which kept deflating.
I won’t go into the million and one things that were wrong with this place but fortunately Airbnb refunded us half so we were ok with that...
Ffwd two weeks and the listing is still there. They are still selling this mouldy flat as ‘newly renovated’ and ‘chique’. There is another review after mine saying exactly the same things. I contacted Airbnb who said ‘if we have a number of similar reports we will talk to the lister’. How many people does it take to say the place is a dump before Airbnb will pull it? More than 2 apparently.
And in the meantime, people are still booking it!!
Beware of Airbnb guys especially in London. I’ve attached some photos of this ‘chique’ place for you to judge for yourselves...

Many airbnbs are lovely so yabu to suggest all are bad because you had a bad experience. Surely bad reviews and poor spelling was a clue?

How much was the rental cost though? Some people are happy to get a dump for a cheap price, particularly in London and if they plan to spend 99% of their time in London outside the Airbnb

I didn’t say all Airbnbs are bad. I said to be careful when booking one.

And the poor review is since we stayed.

I let him off the spelling cos I’m nice like that.

Rental was nearly £300 for 2 nights which is the going rate for the area.

Does the cost matter though if it’s advertised as ‘newly renovated’ and it’s a dump with an air bed?

Maybe I’m fussy?!

You’re absolutely right- they remove negative comments. There’s one near me that costs thousands a night and is used for weddings / parties etc. It gets pretty consistent detailed feedback about the poor condition of the house / lack of Basic equipment such as cutlery / major things not working (heating / swimming pool) etc etc. They’re always removed so that overall feedback profile is positive and Air BnB continues to earn its very healthy commission from unhappy renters

Where’s a DM journo when you need one?

You’re right! We went to one in Madrid and it looks lovely and modern on the pictures and when we arrived it was a dump. There was blood all over the sofa bed (covered up by the cushions on the sofa)

Obviously the cost matters, as an example replace that with a £40 per night price tag and it would be sold out! Some people just won’t care if the price is right. You even mentioned in your OP that you were okay with a 50% refund

I wouldn’t pay £150 per night for that, looks like it’s in the middle of a dining room. Did you see any photos before booking? As it’s London, I would have just found somewhere else to stay.

Did you mistake AIBU for TripAdvisor or something?

Can you post the photos that were on the Airbnb site about the flat so that we can compare? Your photos look awful so I don't blame you for being annoyed!!

The spelling would have raised concerns for me.

Have they wall papered over the light switch?

Yes I have just returned from an Air BnB which was vastly different to how it was described. Considering how high the fees are on the platform now, standards should be enforced.

I don't know why anybody uses them anyway.

But how can you be careful, what would you have done different OP? If they remove the negative feedback then it is impossible to to know what you are getting. You can only go on what is there in the details

We went to one in Montenegro which said it had a lift to the apartment, it didn’t. On the third floor but no problem for us, but imagine turning if you or one of your party had mobility issues or was in a wheelchair.

Saying it was still lovely and we’ve stayed at a few in other counties and the UK and they were amazing. Maybe we’ve always been lucky 🤷🏻‍♀️

Owners do remove negative comments and nothing is done about it. My husband uses them a lot in London, it's 50% fine and 50% shit but you can't tell which until you get there.

otherwise STFU bit unnecessary

Wtf @ScarlettBlaize no need to be so rude

Omg Scarlett Blaize, are you the owner of a dump. No need to be so rude

This reminds me of the worst place I have stayed, I wont say which is my review here but if you look at the photos and reviews I think you will realise even a hotel can be worse than an AIRBNB

www.tripadvisor.co.uk/Hotel_Review-g187069-d10264788-Reviews-Birchfields_Guest_House-Manchester_Greater_Manchester_England.html

Is it the one described as being 3 minutes from Oxford Street? Comes up on the first google. I suspect OP is actually advertising their own property as people will search and then find one which they might book - which just happens to be the OPs.

Wired magazine had articles about this recently - the high rate of 'scam' AirB&B landlords: www.wired.co.uk/article/airbnb-scam-london
and www.wired.co.uk/article/airbnb-london-short-term-rentals

Omg. For £150 a night, you could stay in a decent hotel even in London. What area was it?!