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.

Oh look borderline illegal not fully insured businesses turn out to be dodgy. Again.

That’s air B and B for you.

@fiheka there is no where that I would less like to stay than a B&B - one bedroom and shared spaces with a few other guests - no thanks. I would rather have a house to myself. Some people prefer hotels and some prefer a villa or house or chalet. There's room for everyone but most hotels I have stayed in don't put in the same effort as we do with our Airbnb - and I've stayed in some very nice hotels.

I had an Air BnB host cancel on me once. I got a refund of the holiday cost, but might be booking fee. It wasn't much, but I felt it was unfair

I have had other trips go ahead without difficulty

YANBU
AirBnB is cheap because it’s accommodation run by amateurs. They don’t have to abide by any hotel safety laws like fire safety, or carbon monoxide safety, safety from intruders, hygiene laws, DBS checks on hosts/staff or any thing.

It’s like paying to stay at a friend of a friends roommates place. And that roommate could be a drug addict, or a pedophile, or a rapist, serial killer, or just disgusting at housekeeping and put you in a fire trap. You take on all the risk as the buyer. And it’s supposed to be ok because it’s so much cheaper!

So yes, I have never used AirBnB and never will.

Wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole.
Laws are there for a reason:
www.brightonandhovenews.org/2018/07/16/nobody-investigated-airbnb-balcony-collapse/

@gottakeeponmovin I know there are some gorgeous airbnbs. The issue is that it is just an advertising site, there is no guarantee of quality and it can be hard to tell which are the duff ones. Because I have stayed in 5 star review ones that were terrible.
B and Bs can be lovely. Like the one in Ireland with a large gorgeous room, a big shared sitting room and the host met you back from a day out asking if you would like cake and tea on the lawn or in front of a wood fire - all included in the price. And the best breakfast I have had anywhere. But I would not stay in one for a week. We stayed there 2 nights. I would not stay in one without a large sitting room and garden. But a decent one is like a small hotel.

I've only ever used Airbnb for 'have the whole place to yourself' stays so not the traditional B&B 🤷‍♀️

Not trying to defend the indefensible, but I've often ended up using Airbnb instead of booking.com just because it's easier to filter out stuff which doesn't meet my needs.

I don't expect any level of quality guarantee from any booking website. I take a punt based on the reviews available. I'd really love it if there was a site which offered any such reassurance @fiheka if you know of any? I thought they were all just booking platforms?

@lochroy Which have an article about the best companies www.which.co.uk/reviews/holiday-cottage-company-reviews/article/holiday-cottage-company-reviews-aluxM5N5Bhg4

But AA and VisitEngland inspect cottages and rate them. So you can use that to choose somewhere good.

@fiheka Thank you - very helpful, I didn't know about inspections. Now I know where to start my next search!

Good luck. There are some lovely places out there.

Was happening a lot last summer. Also hosts cancelling through Airbnb and asking people to rebook direct

I think at a minimum airbnb should be insisting on basic health and safety standards.
I have also seen flats advertised on air bnb where people are asked not to mention to neighbours that it is an air bnb as it is not allowed in the building.

Why are there two threads please.

I used to use airbnb all the time. But i was looking for a holiday cottage for this summer and got depressed at how drab and dingy and cut off the things in our price range were. I randomly checked a local holiday rental company and found a beautiful place exactly where we wanted to be at a fraction of the price. Airbnb used to be great value but it's become a greed machine.

Hope you find somewhere better OP.

I think a lot of of property owners have joined Airbnb to get extra income now because covid and brexit and a lot of people are booking because covid.
Book with people who have lots of reviews. They know what they’re doing

@SunscreenCentral that advice used to work with air bnb. But I stopped using it after booking with a place with a range of 5 star reviews. The place was grotty, totally filthy. I suspect the reviews were all fake and the photos had been taken some years earlier.

I've used AirBnB loads and never had a problem - but I was a student. Was always aware though that dealing with amateurs was the reason for the low prices. There's no free lunch.
These days travelling with family no way would I even consider one

*no such thing as a free lunch

@TheLastLotus the problem is that prices on air bnb are no longer low.
I was happy with air bnb when they were low. I stayed in peoples spare room when travelling to visit somewhere. I would never have booked it for a family holiday. But when paying more youth hostel prices for a room, it was fine.

One of the many reasons I don’t use them!

I don't have shares in Airbnb and I am getting plenty of bookings so it's irrelevant to me whether some of you choose not to use them but for the record. You absolutely can not post fake reviews, the guest has to have stayed and paid you. Most people use Airbnb to rent full houses now - it's no different from renting on any other holiday cottage website and most of us use more than one platform ie booking.com, home away and all the others mentioned on here (although Airbnb is the most successful for me) We are fully insured and have fire extinguishers etc as with any other responsible holiday let we really want great reviews and people to return so we go above and beyond .it sounds like the host cancelled because a promotion was applied to her offer that she wasn't aware of which means she didn't make the money she needs to in a peak week to cover her costs. I don't know why this happened - it has never happened to me. I'm sorry some of you have had bad experiences but I have let for six years now and people have had a brilliant time with the freedom of a whole house to themselves - that's what some people like in a holiday. If you don't that's fine too there is room for us all

I have an electrical certificate, and get a gas check every year. I am also fully insured. I declare my airbnb income.

Most of my reviews are five star but I do sometimes get one that’s not. I read the comments and acknowledge any justified criticism and act on it. If I feel any are unfair I will reply to the review stating the star rating the guest has given with my comments. There is an add on that can be downloaded to use alongside airbnb - with one click you can see previous reviews guests have written and been given. Many hosts including myself use it to dodge rude or dirty or entitled people.

Yes there are not only bad airbnbs there are bad guests. The main problem I have is that they don’t read my property description and house rules. I only take single women as guests, but I have had turn away a few guests that have turned up with extra people or children - even a dog. And Airbnb have let me keep the money because I am very clear that my accommodation is for one person only and that I don’t accept pets.

A host can ask a guest to leave at any time. I would not want to do this to a lone woman traveller, and thankfully have never had to. A friend (who I have to say I would never allow to stay again in my house,) had her booking terminated by a host. Remember you are staying in someone’s home, so be polite!

On the first thread hosts were criticised for charging extra for early check in / late check out. I have had guests wanting to come at 9am which means I can’t let the room the night before, so they should pay extra but none of them can see that. I also must leave a gap between bookings so that I can clean properly and open the windows - even before Covid there was no way I would allow anyone in before I had done this.

I also use airbnb sometimes when I travel, and have never stayed in a bad one. Looking forward to a much needed break in a couple of weeks. I’m getting bookings and it looks like I am going to be busy this summer.

Booking.com is rubbish when looking for suitable accommodation for a family of 5.
On the Airbnb website you can see the bed configuration in the bedrooms. Booking.com just confirm that 5 will fit, with little stick figures showing numbers of adults and kids. it’s only when you dig further that you find out 2 children are on a sofa bed in the lounge and 1 on a camp bed in the airing cupboard!