To warn you about Airbnb...

[RuggeryBuggery]

Have been really genuinely surprised at how Airbnb have acted here and wanted to warn others.

Booking made for half term some time ago, all manually confirmed by the host and paid upfront.
She contacted me yesterday to explain there had been errors with the booking/pricing, was sure she had done something wrong but not sure what and had been sooo busy so didn’t notice earlier that rate was wrong for school holidays and a promotion had been wrongly applied. She was prepared to let the rate stand but wanted another £150 for the promotion. I initially said we still wanted to come and she had confirmed the booking... suggested she take it up with Airbnb.
Bit more toing and froing then I said I thought I should contact Airbnb for advice.
Next thing I get a text through from Airbnb saying it’s cancelled.
I assumed by her.
Then saw she was readvertising same dates at 33% higher price.

I queried this with Airbnb as had been let to believe hosts aren’t allowed to readvertise dates when they cancel.
Host told me it was Airbnb that cancelled and they have confirmed this!
They didn’t even call me.

I’m obviously still (trying) to follow it up with them but just wanted others to know as am really shocked they would do this and leave us high and dry. Obviously there is nothing affordable or decent left that I can see tho am still looking.

They’ve offered me a 10% coupon for the inconvenience and promised a call to help rebook somewhere... but nothing yet.

Sounds like Airbnb will find you something else. Start tweeting then if you need to move things along.

I've given up on Airbnb. I've had some great stays through them but also had 2 reservations booked well in advance cancelled at very short notice. One wasn't too bad, we found other less good accommodation so at least had a roof over our head but for the other one we ended up sleeping in our hire car overnight.

@Lockheart

Air BnB is a very successful website that is used by millions with no problems. Not sure a warning is needed. I'm sorry you've had a bad experience but I don't think you're typical.

AirBnB is great until it’s not. We used them several times and it was great. Then. Had a booking made 3 months in advance that was cancelled 6 hours before our flight. AirBnB offered us a replacement which we agreed to. Flight landed. No confirmation, then cancelled. Sat in airport cafe with kids and luggage for 2 hours. Offered another property which of course we agreed to. Arrive at property to find it filthy, broken shower, broken oven, dirty bedding, no heating, no hot water, opposite an all-night bar, broken glass on the floor, etc. Clearly an uncleaned stag party type flat. Definitely not the luxury family apartment we’d wanted. Complained, contacted owner, contacted AirBnB etc, got zero help, eventually got a 10% refund...

There is no consumer protection with AirBnB. My advice is to always book directly with the owner.

We have had a holiday booked with Hoseasons since June 2019 which obviously had to put back by a year bit all paid it full . They called us last week to say sorry but the property has been sold and is no longer available.
After spending hours on the phone they have found us something else but l won't book with them again either.
And Booking.com cancelled something l booked months ago with no explanation. So infuriating.

Go on Twitter
whenever I’ve had a problem with AirnB I’ve complained via Twitter and got pretty much exactly what I want
They hate complaints on Twitter for everybody to see
Also Reddit AirnB has lots of really good stuff on there with regards to complaining and getting a good result
Failing that trip advisor review but use her exact words on the advert to ensure it ranks high in the listings on google

We’ve used them three times, each time very happily, good value and nice people 🤷‍♀️

@LibrariesGiveUsPower45321

“ As a host you can cancel by saying you are uncomfortable hosting. This doesn't impact the availability or penalise the host but you can't do it frequently or you start getting charged. I appreciate you are disappointed by the same token she runs a business and if she thinks she can get more money then that's what she will do.”

That’s an appalling way to run a business. If I did that to my clients I’d loose my business.

It’s so appalling I’m starting to wonder if @gottakeeponmovin realises that and is actually trying to put people off.

yes i read your other thread dont know why it was deleted-but airbnb dont seem to really care do they as long as they get their fee

Sorry you’be had such a nightmare OP.

I absolutely love Airbnb and it’s enabled us to stay places with more flexibility, as it’s generally easier to book a couple of nights here and a couple of nights there rather then fixed blocks of 7 nights. And places which are just much more interesting and in a greater range of locations than you find on other booking sites. It’s not for everyone but we’ve lived staying in peoples homes rather than typical holiday lets (though we’ve booked some of those via Airbnb too).

The only complete holiday disaster we have had was with another booking site where we turned up where we supposed to be staying and found another family was there - they’d managed to double book the cottage for the week.

This sort of thing is exactly why I have never used AirBnB.

I have no interest in paying £££££ to stay in someone's personal house or be bothered by intrusive and ridiculous owners out to make a quick buck rather than renting to proper tenants.

Air B&B Property owners are on a par with people who breed regularly from their own dogs to sell the puppies.

It's a lazy, shitty way to make money.

Stay in a hotel or a park lodge or caravan OP. Much easier and probably cheaper.

Didn’t your last thread get deleted because you called the host a fucking bitch and named her business?

I also want to comment that as a small business owner she should absolutely know her pricing structure. She should have picked up on any errors at the time of your booking/paying. If she can't manage this then she's probably unsuitable to run a business.

Like many others on here, I run a small business and I know my pricing structure inside out. It's one of the most crucial aspects of my business, along with my reliability and reputation....

I think you can have problems with any online booking platform. When covid hit I had to cancel two stays, one with airbnb and one with booking.com. Airbnb refunded my money immediately no problem. Booking.com said they were working closely with hosts/owners to do everything they could but couldn't refund our money. It was a booking abroad, we had no idea when we'd be able to go and just wanted a refund, I contacted them on the chat box, they said they couldn't do anything except change my booking. So I then contacted the hotel owner myself and asked if they could cancel the booking as they weren't actually open, the host cancelled it no problem and then I was able to get a refund. Why I had to go via the host to cancel it and booking.com who were supposedly 'working closely with them' couldn't really pissed me off.

I've had a lot of great stays in apartments in European cities with airbnb, my advice would be just to not stay anywhere without reviews and read the reviews they have. I often prefer it to a hotel because you have much more space and cooking facilities.

The only difference between Airbnb and booking.com or owners direct etc is that Airbnb lets people list spare rooms in their home. If you're booking a holiday let the host can cancel whether it's through Airbnb or any other platform.
The 'I'm uncomfortable with this guest' proviso can't be invoked randomly. You'd need evidence. Creepy messages, an online presence that indicates they are dangerous or racist or something like that.
I also struggle to accept that Airbnb cancelled this without the host asking them to. As a host I've had to deal with a dodgy guest once and they wanted to avoid cancelling the booking on my behalf at any cost. If Airbnb cancelled a booking on my behalf without me asking I'd be furious. This doesn't add up.

I posted on your other thread.

Used them once. Host cancelled and re advertised at over twice the price (he'd realised there was an event in the area). No sanctions against host and never understood how they were able to re advertise the same dates.

Never used them again simply because I didn't trust them not to cancel and leave me high and dry.

Just had our summer holiday (booked 5 months ago) cancelled by our air bnb host. He’s “just realised it was double booked.” I don’t believe a word of it, rather he’s realised he could get a bit more money for that week now it’s closer to the time. He had the cheek to ask me to cancel the booking myself (to save him the fee) I refused and at least have the satisfaction of knowing that air bnb do at least charge a fee if it’s the host that cancels. 😞

@THisbackwithavengeance

This sort of thing is exactly why I have never used AirBnB.

I have no interest in paying £££££ to stay in someone's personal house or be bothered by intrusive and ridiculous owners out to make a quick buck rather than renting to proper tenants.

Air B&B Property owners are on a par with people who breed regularly from their own dogs to sell the puppies.

It's a lazy, shitty way to make money.

Stay in a hotel or a park lodge or caravan OP. Much easier and probably cheaper.

How bloody offensive, reported. I am an ex Airbnb host and had nothing but 5 star reviews and never treated anyone badly, never mind my dog.

I use AirBnB all the time because I thought this type of thing couldn’t happen to the consumer: I read your earlier thread too. Won’t be using them again unless they fix this and clarify they’re going back to the usual policy.

I've had many good experiences with Airbnb but my last one was a bit shit. I hadn't realised reviews only show when you both review each other, so if a host knows you had a less than great time they can just not review you, thus avoiding ever getting negative feedback? Seems wrong.

@Crowsaregreat

I've had many good experiences with Airbnb but my last one was a bit shit. I hadn't realised reviews only show when you both review each other, so if a host knows you had a less than great time they can just not review you, thus avoiding ever getting negative feedback? Seems wrong.

No, reviews show after 14 days OR after you both review each other. If you review and the host doesn't yours will appear after 14 days and they won't be able to review you after that

My sister swears by AirBnB but I am less of a fan. I used it last year for a holiday in the south of France and it was great, but I tried to book the year before for a holiday in Brittany and it was cancelled with no reason. We also went to a property in Normandy which was filthy and not in great shape, we were really disappointed, although it was very calm. I've had a few other OK experiences but nothing to write home about.

Now I'm a bit older I feel like it's too much of a risk, I prefer booking using hotels at least it's more secure! I had a knot in my stomach the whole trip last year because I was worried I had been scammed or the booking would be cancelled!

I have previously had two bookings cancelled by the host leaving me high and dry, both happened to be in Scotland - one at new year, and one during the edinburgh festival. The new year host told me they had some sort of emergency with the house, and were having builders in over new year so it wouldn't be habitable. As it happens I managed to get a house in the same town, and walked past the original house on New Year's Day to see that there were people staying there and the bins were overflowing with bottles and cans - they had obviously rented it out to someone else. The one at the festival cancelled 3 days before arrival when I'd got loads of tickets booked. Never quite trusted air bnb since then.

@Wegobshite

Go on Twitter whenever I’ve had a problem with AirnB I’ve complained via Twitter and got pretty much exactly what I want They hate complaints on Twitter for everybody to see Also Reddit AirnB has lots of really good stuff on there with regards to complaining and getting a good result Failing that trip advisor review but use her exact words on the advert to ensure it ranks high in the listings on google

Just coming on here to exactly this - Twitter is your friend @RuggeryBuggery for this because it’s a public airing of their conduct, especially if you use plenty of hashtags so it gets highlighted in relevant places, such as #consumerprotection #tourism #airbnb etc etc. Emailing or calling doesn’t encourage the same effort to sort it out.

Thank you for the tips, I have tried Twitter but wasn’t sure on hashtags. I did get a response from Airbnb but they just said they’d asked the case to be prioritised and I would be contacted, but still nothing ☹️

@TheUndoingProject

Didn’t your last thread get deleted because you called the host a fucking bitch and named her business?

I thought this as well. Last thread was encouraging people to book and then cancel last minute and also directing insults at the host.. It was nasty