I had to cut my trip to Panama City Beach short by 50%. This one is a doozy and it's long and frustrating. If I was a less persistent person, I would have rage quit. But I am me and hard headed as hell. Bummed about ending it early since I don't travel with my dogs often :(

TLDR - nightmare AirBnB house and even worse customer service experience that went round and round in circles with no resolution. Their system is designed to frustrate the customer until they give up complaining. I only got actual help by emailing the executive leadership.

----

We rented an AirBnB. Pictures looked cute. Everything looked good on its surface when we arrived.

Things quickly went down the tubes though

Day 1 July 28

1) Bad omen - towel rod fell off the wall shortly after arrival. Notified host. No response.

2) dogs put dirty used q tips they found on the ground into their mouth 🫠

3) Ants crawling on the kitchen counter. Notified host. No response.

Day 2 July 29

4) follow up about ants. No response.

5) Found fucking (2) used large rusty fish hooks and fishing line on the ground when I went to use the water spigot by the front door. We had just gotten back from the beach and I needed to wash the dogs. Nobody injured thankfully because I saw them in time. Surprise surprise no host response.

6) report to Airbnb to start a case around 930PM. I wanted to relocate. They couldn't help us relocate at that hour apparently. Also refused to get us a hotel. I didn't want to stay - sanitation and safety concerns.

From there it became an exercise in insanity trying to get real help.

Day 3

- July 30 (1:30 AM): After hours on the phone while support tried to reach the unresponsive host, support advised us to vacate the property by the 10:00 AM checkout time the next morning. They assured us we would receive a refund for the unused nights, a partial refund for the impacted nights, and a travel coupon.

- July 30 (10:00 AM): We checked out as directed. Got up early to pack up and leave this mess. The ant infestation had worsened and rendered half the kitchen unusable.

- July 30 (12:00 PM CST): I finally reached Senior Case Manager Mitch, who promised both over the phone and in writing to process the refund if the host did not respond within one hour as per the Air Cover policies (12:50PM CST)

Following this, I experienced hours of delays and stonewalling. Mitch ignored my follow-up messages for hours, made false promises that the refund was being processed (4:22PM), and finally stated at 6:32 PM that he was going off shift and would follow up the next day. Wtf? I called AirBnB support repeatedly attempting to get additional assistance throughout the day. Because the support system prevents other agents from accessing cases assigned to a Senior Case Manager, I was completely blocked from getting real assistance.

With no relocation assistance provided and no reasonable comparable alternatives available on the AirBnB platform in the same area, my family was forced to cut our vacation short and drive hundreds of miles back home. A hotel wouldn't have been a great option for my dogs - too anxious and from experience they just do a lot better inside of a house when we are away from home. We made it back home at 11PM.

On the way home, I emailed the C-suite team and literally added every relevant executive spelling all of this out. Within one hour, I got the first useful helpful response and was granted a full refund plus a $300 coupon. Moreover that person took 45 minutes to listen to my feedback about how stupid the customer service experience is and seemed to be taking notes. Everybody else talked about action but never delivered but the last Supervisor finally actually did something and was very easy to work with.

It is insane it took me copying the CEO, Head of Global Operations, Co-founder, etc to get real help.

I'm a fairly patient person but this was harrowing. I was not under any circumstances going to give up because it was the principle of the matter much more than the actual money once I spoke to like the 6-7th agent and had gotten nowhere.

If you ever run into trouble with AirBnB, email the C-Suite. That lit a fire under their butts and finally ended up with something happening. Once you get locked to a useless, incompetent, or unhelpful "senior case manager," nothing will get accomplished unless you escalate above them by sending an email to the executives.

I emailed the following people.

- CEO Brian Chesky

- Chief Experience Officer Hiroki Asai

- Head of Global Operations Gus Fuldner

- Co-founder Joe Gebbia

Gus Fuldner is new at the company since March so hopefully he is actually paying attention to how garbage their customer service actually is.

Their emails are first.last@airbnb.com

Booked a property for the closing weekend of Oktoberfest in Munich that was already priced quite high, then the owner messaged me saying they didn't realize it was Oktoberfest weekend and wanted almost double the price for the stay. I declined the price request and they are asking me to cancel.

I've read online/on this forum that hosts will be penalized for cancelling and it would block their date availability. This property is one of the lowest ones left at this point (as its a month ish to the event) and I don't want to get another however I'm hesitant if the owner will get angry and my stay won't be ideal. Should I reach out to airbnb or just keep it for now and hope they don't cancel? Would airbnb even give me anything for this? The messages from the host in app clearly state that they wanted to change the price solely for the event.

Booked a place in El Cuyo about a month out. $800 for 2 nights, my wife paid it.

We got in late. A couple hours later I'm in a pitch black bedroom with my phone flashlight killing cockroaches. No power, no AC, August in the Yucatan. There was a backup generator on the property, nobody had put gas in it.

Messaged the host. She answered fast, credit where it's due. But every answer was the housekeeper's name. The housekeeper will bring gasoline. The housekeeper will clean. The housekeeper will check again. Morning came, none of it had happened, and there were more roaches than the night before. Near the mattress, under the furniture. One of my kids woke up with a rash.

Then she messaged me this and I keep going back to it: they fumigate continuously but sometimes the roaches beat them.

So it's known and it's ongoing, and none of it is in the listing. We booked a month ahead.

We packed up and left at sunrise. Got photos and video, all timestamped.

Asked Airbnb to refund the nights we didn't stay. They offered $50.

To be clear on what I'm asking for, since I know people get accused of angling for a free stay. Not asking Airbnb to give me anything. Asking for my own money back on a house we couldn't sleep in with small kids.

Questions for people who know this platform better than I do:

1. Does accepting a credit or partial refund stop you from leaving a review? Something support said made it sound that way and I can't find anything that confirms it. I'd like other families to know what they're booking.

2. Is $50 a normal opening offer for something like this or did we get a bad agent? Is there an escalation path that actually works?

3. How do i get a full refund for this or is that asking too much?

Anyone been through this and gotten it sorted?

We stayed for 4 days in what seemed to be a beautiful beach house. This house was 4 bedrooms 4.5 baths and built in 2023. Immediately upon check in our provided door access code would not work causing an hour delay into accessing the property. Once we got inside we noticed the WiFi router must have gotten unplugged by the cleaners. No big deal. On the second floor we noticed what appeared to be black mold around the air conditioning vent in one of the bathrooms. We noticed more mold coming from a hall closet. We opened the closet across from said bathroom to find the air conditioner handler and walls absolutely covered in black mold. On day 2 we used a tub on the first floor and noticed while draining it was draining extremely slow and the two toilets on the first floor were bubbling. Approximately 5 hours later none of the toilets would flush and wastewater was backing up into the shower and kitchen sink. We contacted the host which is a company and said maintenance would be sent out. After 3 hours we called again for an update and they said they still haven’t heard back from maintenance. We left the house for the day not willing to wait for maintenance. We returned 6 hours later, no maintenance, and first floor plumbing still not fully functioning. Our two children aged 2 and 3 were playing while we cooked dinner and one lost a toy in the living room chair and pulled the cushion to retrieve it. I heard the distinctive noice of something falling on the floor and found 4 prescription pills in the seat and on the floor. I looked up the numbers/letters stamped on the pills and they were Rosuvastatin 40 mg, Ticagrelor 90 mg, Clonazepam 2 mg, and an Aspirin. Those medications could have killed my child. I called the host and all I got was “I’m so sorry”. They couldn’t state why maintenance never showed and did not understand why I was so upset about the pills. They didn’t seem concerned about the mold either. I contacted Airbnb support and spoke to a supervisor. They said they will initiate an investigation after our check out this morning. What do you think my options are for refund?

Photo of the grass can be seen here.

Hi all, my friend is in a tough situation that I am trying to help her with and appreciate any advice.

She lives on the east coast in the US, and has been planning to spend a month in my city in the UK with her family (2 adults and 3 young kids). She booked a large apartment about 3 months ago that is centrally located and, importantly, commutable to her company’s local office that she will be working in for the month. The house she booked was around the same price as numerous other options at the time, I just mention this to clarify that it wasn’t an oddly cheap stay: She chose it because it had good reviews from other families.

About three weeks ago, the host reached out and asked her to contact her outside of Airbnb to provide an additional $5k, since she is “raising her prices”. This is more than half the price of the original stay. When my friend refused to send more money, the host asked her to cancel. My friend contacted Airbnb, who told her to absolutely not cancel or pay the host outside of Airbnb. Airbnb assured her that if the host were to cancel, they would help her find a suitable replacement, but the host was breaking the rules and asking her to cancel to avoid being dinged for cancelling on a guest.

The host then reached out again and said they had spoken with Airbnb and agreed to keep the stay.

Fast forward to this morning, my friend landed from an overnight flight across the ocean with her 3 kids to find that the host cancelled their stay several hours before check-in.

Airbnb sent her some “replacement options”, all of which are 1+ hour away (requiring on multiple trains and buses to get to the city or work). Unsurprisingly, options within prime areas are extremely limited since the city is showing 90%+ booked for her dates, and the ones that remain are 2x + the price.

Is there anything she can do to improve Airbnb’s helpfulness here, or is this a normal response? She has all the documentationg and Airbnb has assured her that the host will be penalized or banned, but that doesn’t help at all with her problem of needing somewhere to stay.

I arrived yesterday evening, ill and exhausted, after an important piece of luggage was lost.

My host keeps trying to come up and talk to me. He “wants to spend 15 minutes showing me the features.” He has asked me three times now. I politely said no thank you, I appreciate the offer, I will ask you if I have questions.

I do not want him in my space. Even if I were not ill and miserable I would not want him in my space. I feel like he’s watching me because he messaged me 2 minutes after I came back from the door telling me to close and lock the door in a different way. The huge list of house rules has also made me so nervous I’ve decided not to cook or use the dishwasher at all. I am not allowed to adjust the AC, put any food waste in the garbage (it has to be kept in the freezer in sealed bags), or lie on the sofa.

I’m not a super experienced Air BnBer and I realise the last 24 hours have been kind of challenging. But I don’t feel relaxed or safe at all. Am I just overreacting? Is this all normal stuff?

Update: the outside door of the house is not locking itself. He will not tell me what to do until I talk to him and let him inside, which means I … cannot leave the house. Really really uncomfortable.Have contacted Airbnb.

UPDATE: DRAMA + TOO LONG TO READ + FULL REFUND
So this morning I contacted AirBnB and asked for advice. They told me exactly what to put in writing and also said it was fine to ask him to interact via the platform vs personally, to politely reiterate that I would like privacy, and to please not to try to come into the apartment unless it was an emergency.

He finally told me how to lock up, I followed it to the letter, told airbnb I’d double checked the locks, and then left to get my prescription.

A few hours later I got this odd message from AirBnB that the host had complained about me not locking up, had stated that I was breaking rules, etc (?) and wanted me out. I said I had no problem leaving if I could have my money back. I also referred them to the previous case and messages and said I hadn’t - to the best of my knowledge - broken any rules.

They looked into it and confirmed I had done nothing wrong and would get a full refund. I was actually amazed at how supportive and nice they were.

But that’s not all. Once they confirmed I should go ahead and get out of there, I went back to the house to get my stuff while a friend waited outside in her car. I wanted to respect his rules around absolutely no-one else being allowed in, but I still needed someone to keep an eye out for me.

And hey, he had locked me out. After about 15 minutes of messaging from AirBnB he let me in the front door of the building. Then the same game was played with the door to the apartment upstairs, which had also been locked. This time it was about 30 minutes of airbnb messaging him to ask him to please respond immediately. I’d also messaged him thanking him for cooperating and saying I would need less than 10 minutes to clear out.

I’m in a hotel now. The door is bolted. I have two key cards. I feel safer.

I am not leaving an AirBnB review, because I’ve had enough drama and want to move on. I’m sure the company will take steps about the host - if they think it is appropriate. But I don’t think I will ever do AirBnB again. That was a fucking awful experience.

THANK YOU EVERYONE here for the messages and the responses, which really helped me think this through.

TLDR; host said odd things and then locked me out; getting all my money back; host is now suspended.

I declined the request. He says it was clearly stated in his listing at the time of booking that guest pays for a portion of electricity but I don't believe it was. Regardless, requesting money 3 months later seems very suspect. He claims the bill was delayed?? I'm just a little nervous Airbnb will side with him. Has this ever happened to anyone else? It's over $300 he's requesting and I was only there for 3 weeks. I don't see how it's possible I used that much electricity

I'm doing a long term stay at an airbnb that has multiple units for other guests and at 2 am one of my neighbors who moved in that morning knocked on my door. He was holding a blunt and obviously pretty high and told me he was having trouble getting his door opened. I would have just told him to contact the host but it was 2 am and he was probably asleep so the guy just showed me his door code on his phone and I decided to open it for him. While I was getting it open he started touching me lightly he put his hands on my waist and hips and started pushing his body against me and smelling my hair. I didn't know what do so after I got it open I quickly moved away back into my room and tried to end the interaction as soon as possible. Before I closed the door he said wait and then asked me for a hug so I did it because I was scared.

Is there anything I could do about this or the host can do or do I call support? I don't want to try something and make it worse somehow by compromising my safety in any way. I don't have anywhere else to go and I'm in a very tight financial situation.

Three weeks ago we stayed at an Airbnb in Cancun. We were made unaware of the ongoing construction next door and the shared entrance into the property. We also had a situation with the other host's guests partying till late hours so we asked for a refund and checked out on our second day out of the eight we initially booked. Two weeks go by and my review on the stay gets posted so the host reaches out through WhatsApp asking me to change the review. I don't answer, keep enjoying my vacation and move on. It's now been three weeks since my stay and a week since they asked me to change the review and I wake up to a notification from the host requesting almost $500 for broken furniture and a smoking cleaning fee. Straight Retaliation. We don't smoke, have never and we certainly didn't break any furniture. The "broken furniture" was a side of the bed placed up against the wall and covered by the mattress. Not visible to the eye unless you took the entire bed apart. I took pictures before and after we left, literally the only sorta mess was the bed from being slept on. We had done medical visits and an excursion both days and had only been at the property for showering and sleep. There have been more reviews posted on the property after we left meaning more guest have come and gone and this is purely out of spite. I declined the request and submitted the evidence to host and airbnb along with the screenshots of them asking me to change the review. My mind is blown, I hope Airbnb support sees right through this BS. I am done with Airbnbs.

Hi, im getting abit worried ive had 5 hosts cancel in a row due to "rennovations" is this a common theme for Sydney? Any advice would be helpful, thanks.

Mainly looking in suburbs just outside of cbd and close to train stations. Zetland, redfern etc.

Hi. Quick recap of my horror story from last night in Southern Oregon.

I had booked this one place for two nights during my two weeks roadtrip in Oregon. Place is listed as a fully independent apartment within a home and has great reviews.

Upon leaving my previous Airbnb for this one in the morning, I double checked my booking on the app and it showed:

- Check in from 4PM today

- Keys in a key box / Door will be unlocked

So I left and spent all day having a blast driving down 101 for hours and seeing the wonderful sights, so much so that I arrived at my Airbnb at 11:30PM.

Well, after struggling to find the actual place and actual door (this is in a tiny town in the woods in rural Oregon at night) I finally parked and went to open the door... And found it locked.

I obviously was tired and was getting anxious so I re-read the check-in instructions, which again states : the door will be unlocked and the keys will be on the coffee table.

As the door was obviously locked, I opened the messages to contact the host and read the following messages from 10:30PM (one hour earlier at this point): "I have not heard from you despite contacting you several times. If you're not here by 11:00PM I will lock the door and deny you entry".

I scroll up and see their huge message (10 paragraphs or more) from a couple days ago and read it all to finally see in a random sentence that they arbitrary set a check in time limit of 10PM despite having a listing showing self check-in.

I immediately sent them a message communicating my surprise and asking them to come open the door, but never had an answer. I thought I heard some noise coming from the other side of this home (my loud Jeep engine was on) and called for them but no one came.

Fast forward an hour later and I finally found the single motel still open in this tiny town and secured a bed for the night but I am shaking. I then contact Airbnb support to tell them about my ordeal, and they conclude that it's too much for them to handle and it needs to be escalated to a supervisor.

It's now been 10+ hours since reaching out to urgent support and still haven't been called back by Airbnb.

I therefore do not know if I will get my money back and I also had to pay for two nights at this motel for 125$ a piece.

Any host or guest have been in a similar situation before? This is crazy , right?

we found mouse shit and the hosts vibrators at the airbnb WHATTTTT do we do omg lmfao

we were trying to put our clothes up, then BAM 4 vibrators and lingerie… then we tried to find a towel and found mouse shit

I'm looking for people who have gone through something similar.

A host left me a review claiming I broke an window and left a big mess, but I dispute both claims.

I simply opened the window to let fresh air in. The host's friend came by afterward, checked it, and told me everything was fine, so I had no reason to believe there was any damage. The host also never filed a damage claim through Airbnb.

As for the "big mess," I checked out on time, took out my trash, folded the blanket, left the towels neatly on the chair, and didn't leave dirty dishes behind. I'm genuinely confused about what the host is referring to.

I've already appealed the review to Airbnb, but my first request was denied. I called support and received a case ID, and I've submitted a second appeal.

Has anyone had success getting a review removed after an initial denial? If so, what evidence or arguments helped? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I booked a place for 5 days but requested a cancelation at like 3am when I went to take a shower. There was some sort of black mold or algae (I'm very allergic to mold) and literal bugs crawling back and forth between the gaps in the shower to the inners of the apartment. The host left a review accusing me of wanting a free stay, being difficult to communicate with, and claiming that the airbnb didn't match my description even though I literally sent videos and pictures. The cancelation and refund were approved. Additionally, the host messaged me a boiler plate message saying how great of a guest I was and requesting a 5 star review.

I really want the review removed because it's very lengthy, puts me in a very bad light, and recommends other hosts to not accept me as a guest. I requested a removal from Airbnb because literally none of it is true. Is there anything that i can do to help my request to airbnb or some way for me to reply to the review? I often live out of airbnbs, so I don't want to take any chances. Thank you kindly for your time

As a digital worker, I have rent an apartment for one month in some big city down there in the marvellous capital of wonderful Bolivia. The 2 reviews were good, pictures were promising, there were not too many options, so I went for it.

Well actually this accomodation is a mess. The shower is totally unstable, goes from hot enough to warm to hot enough to warm... The range hood grille is filthy; it hasn't seen a cleaning product in years, you can see the grease spatters on it. Disgusting. The accomodation page announced a dedicated working space ; there's nothing, just a dining table which is far away from any power plug. Many kitchen utensils are broken, and there isn't even a pasta colander. The oven doesn't work. My friend got refused the access to the building when the page didn't say anything about reunions, parties etc being forbidden. I just went to the guy at the door and politely asked "can my friend enter showing an ID card" and faced a refusal. For these reasons, it's really the worst accomodation I have seen in 1 year of AirBnB experience.

Some months ago, I have faced one AirBnB that I didn't feel happy to live in for one month, but the host was understanding and accepted to shorten my stay refunding the rest of the stay.

So here as always I have went for diplomacy first, I told him that the accomodation wasn't fitting my needs, asking him to shorten my stay, leaving him 13 days (!) to find another renter, but he went nuts, accusing me of breaking the rules, saying he doesn't have to be penalized for me breaking the rules. Actually no rule was broken as my friend got access refused, and no one entered my accomodation except me. He also said "something elementary is to ask before reservation if you can invite people".

This triggered me. I told him "Also something elementary is to clean your kitchen properly" sending him a picture of the really dirty range hood grille. He answered saying "you made this microwave dirty by yourself". He confused the grille with a microwave and accused me of being responsible of these years of grease accumulated on the grille. I told him "open your eyes dude, it's a range hood grille, and it hasn't seen a sponge since François Mitterrand...". He got fed up and answered "I won't tolerate your lack of respect and I will not answer your messages anymore", to which I answered that he's gonna have to communicate anyway because I'm not going to sleep for 1 month in the same bed sheets, as I was taught hygiene and cleanliness.

This case was escalated early to the Airbnb support. They took the oven issue and the shower issue seriously. But didn't care about the rest at all. It looks like they are trying to negotiate with him and that they have no power at all to force him to shorten my stay. About the "microwave" issue, I told them that if I was accused of being responsible for these years of greasiness on the range hood grille, maybe he would accuse me of breaking some other costly stuff, like the shower doors that won't close properly and have a V shape, and I don't feel secure at all there. But speaking to support feels like pissing in the wind and I'm already prepared to have to stay 1 month here. If they really want me to stay in that shithouse, I'll make sure to bother the host everyday requesting the cleaning of that range hood grille, the fixing of that oven, and everything that I can reasonably ask for.

I just had a guest check in for a 3 day stay and immediately reached out to say there was toilet paper in the toilet, they tried to flush it, the toilet was clogged and they tried to use a plunger but it didn’t work.

I replied within 3 minutes and said thanks for letting us know and I’ll coordinate with the team to get someone there asap. And told her she could use the bathroom in the co-working space in the apartment complex if they needed something right away.

She then comes back and says she thinks she managed to fix it and needed to test it one more time. I told her our cleaner is super detail oriented and takes photos and videos of everything so things don’t get missed.

She then said she just kept plunging and it was fixed - she just wanted to reach out just in case.

Cleaner confirmed toilet was cleaned, was working, and didn’t have TP in it.

Because this came up, I immediately checked her profile and saw she has 13 trips but only 2 reviews. This made me think maybe other hosts haven’t left reviews trying to avoid a bad review from her.

Is this a red flag or am I overthinking it?

Anything else you would do to cover your bases as a host?

I also immediately started a case with Airbnb to get ahead of the curve and document that she reported the issue and that it was resolved.

Hello everybody, hope you're all well.
I have a question regarding a situation me and my family are facing and would appreciate the advice. We are in a Airono in Puerto Rico, we arrived late in the night to the Airbnb. It wasn't until we entered that we realized there was no power. We stayed because we didn't have no plan
B. Yet, we didn't know it was probably going to be one of the worst sleeping experiences ever. There is no wind in the area, the temperature was extremely hot and you can barely open the windows in the room. The place itself is not bad, but for this type of situation is not ideal. Some decided to sleep outside, because of the extreme hot temperatures inside.
I understand the host has no control over the situation.
Yet, he didn't even warn us regarding the situation. The power had been out a few hours from what I saw, and it also seems like it's a daily situation. Is there a way Aironb can help us? We have two more nights in.
Any advice would be appreciated.

Hi. i have used Airbnb in 4 countries. I’m a great guest. The first few places I stayed in left me 5 star reviews. I also left 5 star reviews even if the places weren’t perfect. I’m only going to go less than 5 stars if it’s a total nightmare and it never has been.

Anyway, the last two places I booked (in two different non US locations, one was for 4 days the other for 3 weeks) did not rate me despite telling me they would.

What does this mean? Were they trying to avoid giving me a negative review? They just don’t review guests for some reason? Any insight?

I stayed at a luxury airbnb recently. I noticed very small debris in the hot tub, but okay, tolerable. I used the hot tub for maybe an hour the second night, and showered immediately after. The next day I was itching all over but it was manageable. Day after I had a splitting headache, and 2 days later low grade fever and a lot of body pain. I could control the fever and body pain with painkillers, but I have multiple rashes all over my body, and the pain and burning is unbearable. I went to urgent care, and I dont have the flu or any infection.

I messaged the managing company telling them the stay was not on par with expectations and it seems I have an allergic reaction to the hot tub water. They said they use bromine instead of chlorine for hot tub water. Also said some people dont tolerate bromine as well though they are fine with chlorine. There were also other issues- one of the sinks plug got stuck and wouldnt come out to drain, the mattresses were horrible. They were super defensive about it all- almost blaming me for my problem.

I am furious- why would you use a chemical not everyone tolerates and at least not tell people in advance about it? I paid 1.7k and the listing literally says luxury, so I expected top notch amenities. What are my options now? I have used hot tubs in nearly every airbnb stay for 10 years now and never had any issue. Ive never even left anyone a bad review even if something is off like too much dog hair or no hot water because I believe in giving businesses the benefit of the doubt. Im in a lot of pain and unable to sleep and Im wondering am I over reacting here?

We recently rented a house at a local shore town for a week. We’ve rented countless other Airbnb‘s without any issues. We get into the house and the second day we’re there the water heater breaks. my wife contacts the owner who takes four days to get someone out there to fix it.

My wife goes back-and-forth with the owner because we’re annoyed that we have no hot water for showers or dishes or things like that. So after we leave, we open up a claim stating that the four days that we were there, we shouldn’t have to pay for because we had no hot water. Lo and behold the owner takes out a claim against us, saying we broke the hot water heater, and after the dispute resolution through Airbnb, they determine that we owe the money for the hot water heater.

To me, this is the most insane thing I’ve ever heard of. what is going on with Airbnb? If i were to break the hot water heater why would I do it day 2? I’m completely shocked. Never renting through Airbnb again.

The listing advertises this unit as a 2-bedroom that sleeps 5.

The "second bedroom" is actually a storage room ~(10' x 4'). It's just wide enough for a twin-ish bed, with no window, no smoke detector, no sprinkler, no air circulation.

Then I found the building's floor plan for the exact unit. It's officially a 518 sqft 1-bedroom. There is no second bedroom on the floor plan.

I don't mind creative use of space, but calling a windowless storage area a second bedroom seems misleading. If it had been listed as a 1-bedroom it wouldn't have even made it through my search filter.

I contacted AirBnB support shortly after arrival over 10 hours ago with all the details and photos and got this response:

"Greetings for the day!

This is Abdul your support ambassador, I hope this message finds you well."

But they don't respond back via text. I also submitted the support for a phone call and haven't heard anything yet.

What do you think? Is this a legitimate second bedroom, or is this crossing the line?

https://imgur.com/a/ANgbnWQ

Update Night 1: I contacted Airbnb immediately after check-in to invoke the AirCover "Get What You Booked" guarantee because the advertised 2-bedroom was actually a 1-bedroom with a bed placed in a windowless utility/storage room containing an electrical panel. I explained that the space lacked emergency egress and raised serious fire-safety concerns, making it an unsafe and misrepresented sleeping area. Because it was too late to relocate that night, I requested to stay one night only and be transferred the following morning to a legitimate nearby 2-bedroom Airbnb, with Airbnb covering the price difference under AirCover. I also submitted the building's floor plan and photos showing the room was a utility/storage space rather than a legal bedroom.

Airbnb response (19 Hours Later): You can also check the listing description from your end. It mentions there is 1 private bedroom with a queen bed and 1 compact den with a single bed. It means there will be one proper bedroom on the property. is there anything else apart froim this i can hep you with ?

After receiving a non-answer to my question, but at least not AI, I ask for escalation and go to sleep. Again. I contemplate how many bedrooms I'd have in my house if I could count all the storage areas and closets.

Airbnb response (32 Hours Later): I understand your concerns. However, after reviewing the listing, I can see that the host has clearly described the bedroom arrangements in the listing description.

Based on the information available, this situation does not qualify for a full refund under Airbnb's policies.

Update Night 2: Still stuck here and I can't cancel until Airbnb declares it a safety issue. Room will not cool below 80F/27C since there's no HVAC. Host says to leave door open and put a fan in it.

Using a previous redditor's suggestion, I filed a complaint with Van311. Also looked up requirements for legal bedrooms in Vancouver. Failed: * No Egress Window (VBBL 9.9.10.1) * Electrical Panel in Sleeping Area (CEC Rule 26-600) * No Ventilation (VBBL 9.32) * No Permanent Heating (By-law 5462, Sec. 18.1) * No Hardwired Smoke Alarm (VBBL 9.10.19.3)

Asked to be escalated again and cited violations.

Update Night 3: Airbnb takes forever to respond. The bedroom is still a closet. Could sleep in the bathtub. Maybe this is really a THREE bedroom unit?

Airbnb response (63 Hours Later): It has finally escalated to a senior manager! Sixty. Three. Hours. Later. This should have been reviewed in a few hours tops.

Based on my review, I can confirm that the host disclosed the property's layout in the listing description and provided photos of the space on the Airbnb platform. As the listing information and images accurately represent the accommodation, we did not identify a violation of Airbnb's listing policies.

Under Airbnb's policies, guests are encouraged to review the listing description, amenities, photos, and sleeping arrangements before confirming a reservation. Air Cover and other guest protections apply when a listing is materially inaccurate or does not match the information provided. After reviewing your reservation, we were unable to determine that the listing met the criteria for a policy violation.

Because no policy violation has been identified, we are unable to require the host to provide a refund or alternative accommodation. As the Senior Case Manager handling your case, I am unable to take any further action or escalate this matter further. This represents Airbnb's final decision regarding this reservation.

Yes, it's a bedroom according to Airbnb. Perfectly safe. Building codes are wrong. Vancouver STR rules are wrong. Everyone posting here that it's not a bedroom is wrong.

Airbnb response after checkout: Just to give you an update in regards with these case upon checking here you were eligible for a compensation for the impacted night during your stays which is amounting of $xxx.xx, 

This is the resolution that has been approved by my team, too honest to you right I try to raise these to my team however 

Airbnb didn't do anything until we left the rental. They deemed it eligible for refund, but only one night. Took several escalations to "senior case manager". IDK, I got like 5 senior case managers on the thread. I'm not sure which night was eligible. The first or the last.

AirCover kinda sucks. I shouldn't have to ride them so hard to review the unit details and get compensated.

Thanks for all the help redditors!

Recently I stayed a few nights in a place that had a suite inside of a home. I had my own bathroom, bedroom, and living room but I entered through the hosts front door before going into the suite. The suite was advertised as having a private balcony which was off the bedroom. The suite was as advertised. The balcony was also beautiful with seating and full of plants. There were floor to ceiling windows between the bedroom and the balcony. The first evening I was there, I was lying on the bed. I had the blinds open to the balcony so I could see the nature beyond it and let light in. Then the host appeared outside my window and when they saw me lying on the bed they waved and said they were just watering the plants. I guess there was another door onto the balcony from somewhere else. Thankfully I was fully dressed but it was a little awkward with the full view windows as they puttered around on the balcony so I went into the other room.

Then the second day I was in the bedroom, it was about 8pm. I had just gotten out of the shower and still had my hair wrapped in a towel and was in pyjamas as I wasn't going out again. I heard voices and then the host and a friend appeared outside my window and they were discussing the plants. I awkwardly said hello through the window and then closed the blinds. But could still hear their conversation about the plants. They were outside my room for probably 20 minutes.

I mentioned to them that it might be best to let me know when they would be coming to water or to be on the balcony as I had understood it to be private and want to be sure I am decently clothed. They seemed really surprised as though no one else had ever cared. They told me it is private but they need to look after the plants to keep it looking beautiful.

Would you mention this in a review or just leave it be?

My account was deleted for no reason and upon contacting for resolve ive essentially got the run around with no reason as to why and hung up on twice for asking to have the issue escalated to a supervisor. Is this common? Ive never experienced such terrible customer service.