Account Hacked, Payment Withheld by Airbnb

Posted on December 4, 2016

My account was hacked sometime before October 17th. I realized something was wrong one week later, because I could not receive the emails my future host was sending me, and I wrote Airbnb asking for help. There was no reply. On November 6th I realised, entering my account via Facebook, the system didn’t recognise my email, my account had been hacked, and my email address had been substituted with another. I was not able to change it back again, because I was asked for a password that I didn’t have, as it had been changed as well by the hackers. From that moment on I wrote six emails to safety@airbnb.com and never received a reply. I kept calling the assistance number in Rome and every time I was kindly told that they would take care of the problem.

On November 23rd, as no one had helped me yet, I tried something different: I cancelled my account. I could do it with no password, just a click. Then I called the number again in Rome, fearing that I would not be paid the following month, for the guest I am currently hosting, and again urging them to find a resolution to my case. I received two different replies: according to the first person I talked to, I wouldn’t receive any payment, because my account had been cancelled; it didn’t matter if my guest paid and or if I was out there without an account. Airbnb had my IBAN. That made me furious. The second person I spoke to told me to keep quiet, because I would receive my payment on time, even without an account. Well, I waited until today, because my payment was due yesterday. In the meantime I wrote two more emails to safety@airbnb.com, telling that I had cancelled my account, yet I was expecting a payment. There was no reply. Today I have called again and have been told that the payment has been blocked by them and there seems to be no way out other than to keep waiting for Airbnb to solve the problem. I have a long-term guest, who will stay here until June for 600 euro a month; she can’t cancel, because she would have penalties that we were not able to measure. So for the moment she is paying Airbnb for a month’s rent and they are not forwarding the payment to me. I am really angry and don’t know what to do…

Airbnb will Take your Money then Cancel your Account

Posted on October 17, 2016

We booked a three-bedroom unit in London for a week, with our host, “Caroline”. After a few days, Caroline informed us via the Airbnb email system that she was cancelling the reservation because the unit was booked on another website. Really disappointing, but I guess that happens. So we started over and found another three-bedroom unit we liked with a new host, “Lola”. Lola had some great reviews. Again, I prepaid the entire reservation on my Visa and it seemed like we were all set. Then we received another message from Airbnb stating that our payment method was not valid, our new reservation had been cancelled, and our Airbnb account was to be closed immediately. Our payment method was certainly valid and in fact Airbnb had now charged us for two reservations. I called our credit card company (Citibank) and they said that no refunds had been processed. Now, I’ve booked a hotel and I’m fighting with Airbnb to get my money back. They say they have processed the refunds, but Citibank says they have not. What an amazing scam… I mean service.

Extortion Results in Airbnb Superhost Punished

Posted on September 20, 2016

I have a story for everyone in the Airbnb community. I am a superhost with over 180 glowing reviews and have listings – had, actually – in Quito, Aruba, and Miami. Last month I received a request from a group of first timers: no reviews; two women, one man. The interaction during the booking process was strange but I figured someone has to give people their first chance. They requested one night. They arrived at 6:00 AM when check in is 3:00 PM, spent all day out, and left early the next morning. The following week one of the women wrote to me: “Hi, your father touched me inappropriately. I am offended. Refund me.” Mind you, my mom and dad are in their 70s, married for 50 years, and there is a full-time maid at the house. I contacted Airbnb customer support to ask them to handle the extortionist and I did not engage with her anymore. The guest kept asking for money several times.

I received a message from someone at Airbnb saying something along the lines of: “I am a neutral third party, an innocent and nice person. Oh, and we are canceling all – yes, ALL – your bookings for the next month while we investigate.” I wrote back and told her such action was not neutral. I really dislike hypocritical polite statements. I work for a large airline so I know better. I kept calling for updates; they claimed they were having technical difficulties and I should call back. I wrote to the representative telling her it does not make any sense to shut down listings in different parts of the world; if anything, I could understand they might remove the listing where the complain happened “while they investigated.”

Nothing happened for another week and I called some guy at Airbnb’s office in Ireland and gave him a piece of my mind. I told him they failed to protect their most valuable assets, a host like myself. I demanded the issue be addressed immediately as I was suffering undeserved consequences. I asked to what degree the extortionists were being investigated. The next day I received an email saying: “We are now canceling all your future bookings, removing the listings of your properties, and preventing you from contacting guests.” Fortunately, I had already printed all booking details and told my guests we were in the middle of a dispute with Airbnb; there would be a chance we would migrate elsewhere. It was the smart thing to do given the very strange behavior of the people in charge of our safety.

One representative wrote: “We are under no obligation of explaining our decision to you. Goodbye.” Fine, I am taking my bookings with me, and I have already recovered over $12,000 of what they canceled… and counting. I’ll make sure my guests have a fabulous experience. It is surprisingly easy to take my guests back… it must have something to do with Airbnb not being the owners of any property, not being the hosts nor the talent. They have no product. We are the product. Anyways, I will just take my $50,000 in bookings elsewhere… a couple places actually, as a precaution. It’s not good to keep all your eggs in one basket.

My advice to people after this glorious experience is to list your properties on sites other than Airbnb in case you host an extortionist or any other vindictive person. Happy hosting.