Help, am I being scammed?!

[amijustnaive]

I have an Airbnb booked for just over two weeks time in France. It’s a small studio, basement, air con but no windows. It cost £350 for 5 nights.

I got a message from the hosts via the app today to say that they were very sorry but the aircon has broken. They gave me two options - stay and get a partial refund, or they would transfer my booking to another of their properties. They apparently can’t get an engineer to fix it until the end of August, after my stay is done.

They explained that the studio was unbearable without the aircon and they would recommend switching. I switched.

I am now in a much nicer property and it was more than double the cost of the original one. It’s in a better location, bigger and brighter.

The booking is now all confirmed in my app, and looks legit. But now I can’t help but wonder if they’re scamming me?! They refunded me and I booked into this new apartment for the same cost as the previous one. They had the thing turned on where you basically have to ask them to book and they decide if you can or not.

Help! Am I being scammed or are they just really good Airbnb owners?!

YABU - they’re just nice people. Chill out.

YANBU - phone Airbnb support tomorrow and get them to check it out

I don't understand what the scam is if you're being scammed?

My gut feeling is that I could turn up and not be able to get into the property

The original apartment was £350. This new one is £755, so I’ve got a £400 discount because the aircon has broken.

What do you think the scam would be?

I think the air con is broken and they have moved you.

Presumably they are hosts with plenty reviews and it is the same host nor both properties?

Yes, they have really good reviews. I guess I’d just have expected them to put a fan in the property and say “there you go”, not move me to a much nicer place!

Also not being able to find anyone for the whole of August is throwing me off a bit - why is there nobody available?!

It is impossible to get any repairs or similar work done in Paris in August, so that rings true.

Do they have reviews?
Contact Airbnb Now!!!

What, why? This is what’s throwing up such a huge red flag to me. They seem quite a reputable company so surely they have a team on standby for this?

Have you Googled the new place to check it isnt still a building site?

Because lots of workers will be on holiday, plus with the extreme and prolonged heat across Europe, it is likely lots of people's air con systems need attention. It is also largely impossible to get replacement units due to lots of people ordering them

From what I can see on street view it all reflects what I’d expect to see from the listing, the outdoor area matches up with what I can see, the location and the building, and the pictures are fairly recent!

I'm struggling to get past the fact you booked a basement studio with no windows to start with. I feel a bit ill just thinking about that!

Contact AirBnB to check it's legit.

If it was a scam would they have refunded your money to rebook. Doesn't sound like it

I just wanted a base to sleep in. I’d not be spending much time there at all, I did it once in London and I slept like a baby because it was so dark!

August is holiday month in France, so this is an extremely common problem, plus Aircon engineers are like hens teeth this summer anyway.

France does tend to stop a bit for August. They sound like very good hosts.

I’m in France. Can’t get a quote for aircon installation until September!

Sounds legit to me. The vast majority of working people in France take at least a good portion of the month off, either in July or August. That, plus it's been very hot so any AC techs are probably fully booked.

No! It's not Airbnb that would organise repairs, it's got nothing to do with them. It's the owners that would have to arrange for the aircon to be fixed.

This isn't a random person renting out their room, this is obviously a business to the owners. A basement room with no windows and no aircon in the heat doesn't sound very safe! If you're concerned, contact AirBNB, but I suspect you've just lucked out.

Yes I mean the Airbnb is owned by a company!

Everything in Paris closes or reduces to skeleton staff in August. Millions of residents leave the city and businesses close. It goes back to French labour laws. It really is a well known tradition.

I’ll call them in the morning but it really does seem like it, which is a lovely little treat

Call them and say what?

I am worried about something that I can’t articulate and I want you to tell me if you think something will happen of which I don’t know, before it happens please?

Huh 😂

It sounds fine OP. Lucky you 😊 And if it’s not then you will have to deal with that at the time but I don’t think anyone can tell you in advance whether that will happen.