Airbnb Hell - Compensation help needed

GlobetrotterLady17

I had an Airbnb horror story a few days ago, Airbnb safety team had to get involved as did the police. I was scared, frightened, locked in and kicked out of a booking I had paid for in full for 9 nights (I am a mother travelling alone with a child, and had nowhere to go). It was meant to be an idyllic and peaceful Greek island experience, it was far from it.

The full story is below, my question is regarding compensation Airbnb have refunded the cost of the accommodation (fair enough I was kicked out!) and paid the difference to move us to suitable accommodation, that's it. That doesn't factor in the fact that 2 days of our holiday were lost, my phone bill calling and receiving calls from Airbnb all night/morning and the wasted cost of the taxis to and from the destination, the lost sleep, stress, upset etc.

I love the ethos of Airbnb and have used it twice in the UK & had experiences that exceeded my expectations. The host's went above and beyond to make my stay a happy one.

With that in mind I booked an Airbnb by the sea in Crete. I was travelling with a child for 5 weeks and as there was a lot I simply couldn't carry, I made sure our accommodation had amenities important to us. Simple things like an iron, a kitchenette, pots and pans etc. After 5 wonderful nights by the sea booked through booking.com, we moved into our next stop in a different part of the island - an Airbnb. The host hadn't been brilliantly responsive prior to arrival, often not answering questions so I had a bit of a red flag as previous hosts were very responsive and helpful prior to arrival.

Upon arrival, it was not the host who showed us to our studio but his brother who could be described as grumpy and aloof at best, so much so that even my 8 year felt the need to ask me whether I'd noticed how unfriendly he had been. First off the bathroom was abyssmal and not what I had booked at all, the pictures on the booking were of a completely different space! The photographs showed a shower curtain, a shower head, a full sized sink with a ceramic base ... instead we had no shower curtain, no shower head, brown stains on the door frame, the flush was a poo stained piece of rope, no bath mat, the bottom of the sink had sharp rusty wires sticking out in all directions (very dangerous for a child), there was no window and the ventilator on the wall was not working and caked with dust and to top it all off, no hot water! That night my son showered in freezing cold water and spent the rest of the evening shivering and complaining of feeling cold whilst I simply slept in sandy skin as the measly trickle of freezing cold water was not sufficient to wash an adult body! The shelf over the sink was precariously balanced on rusty hinges at a slope so anything you put on it slid right off and fell on your foot!

And that was only the bathroom! The kitchen area had been advertised as being stocked with 'everything two person's could need'. In the photograph there was a full size kettle, coffee maker, toaster, chopping board, lemon squeezer, napkins and a kitchen cloth. Under amenities they say you can make your own meals (so I was expecting a two ring hob (as is standard in Greek self catering rentals) and they said that they provide the basics, salt, oil, pots and pans. When we arrived there was a camping kettle, 2 plates, 2 bowls, one mug and a few glasses. THATS IT!! I did express confusion and the guy checking us in (the owner's brother) said he didn't know where the toaster had gone and that he would go look for it. His tone was disinterested and I was sure that he wouldn't and of course, I never heard from him again!

On the floor in entrance there was a stain of what looked like a big blob of blood. On the floor by the kitchen there were multiple stains, had it even been cleaned? It didn't look like it.

The balcony was advertised as a lovely space where you could chill out taking in the sea air and hearing the waves. In reality, one of the balcony chairs was broken and dangerous and the wall between me and my neighbour was broken so I could see straight into his balcony, there was no privacy or sense of security. Unfortunately for me he was also a slob and used his balcony floor as an astray and dirty laundry dumping ground. He would leave plates of food out for hours on end attracting the flies. Also, beneath our balcony seemed to be the local yobs hangout, they blasted music out at all hours and fought with each other, shouting and yelling. There was no sound of the waves to be heard at all. With my slob of a neighbour seducing an inebriated girl practically on my balcony there was no peace to be had. I didn't feel safe to sit outside of an evening and read a book or to leave the doors open for ventilation, there was no other window.

The amenities listed an iron, which I needed upon arrival. Again, no iron. I asked for this and everything else to be sorted 3 times! First at check in, then I went down 30 mins after check in a
- I was told it would be taken care of - then on my way out I bumped into the owners brother who at this point was my only contact and asked if he could please come up and see the problems. He simply gesticulated in annoyance and said he was busy, pointing at the children he was with. Nobody, not once came to replace a thing, attempt to apologise or help in anyway.

As my son slept I began to do my research and posted onto a forum for female lone travellers asking whether anyone had, had a similar problem using Airbnb and what my rights were. I was informed that I had a 24 hour get out clause and that Airbnb took host's misrepresenting the property very seriously. I could get my money back in full and be helped to find alternative accommodation, so, armed with this information, at 2am local time I sat on the toilet with the door closed and called Airbnb - the only safe place to sit without waking my son !

I got a lovely case manager on the phone who assured me that they would contact the host in the morning and that they could help me find alternative accommodation. Travellers who helped me in the forum said that I needed a paper trail and to prove that I had given the host ample chance to rectify the problems, so, I set about writing and detailing the list of amenities I had been informed were there and what was missing and how I had asked for help numerous times and had no response. Then I set about looking for alternative accommodation, it is high season and I knew that practically nothing in my price range was available and so I got next to no sleep at all, maybe 2 hours at best.

Come the morning, Airbnb had obviously contacted the host who responded to me aggressively by message and demanded that I leave the property in less than 2 hours! He said 'shame on me' for asking his brother to help when he was with his children! It is a family owned restaurant, was it really that difficult to leave the children in the care of their own family and come next door for a few minutes and help me? And what about my child for that matter who had to shower I. Freezing cold water with basically a garden hose? His messages were rude and aggressive in tone and he demanded that I get out! I was in shock.

I called the owner of the previous hotel we had stayed at, also in Crete and she gave me the telephone number for the police and said that there was a tourist law and as I had paid, legally he couldn't kick us out. She said that we should stay put until alternative accomodation had been found (unfortunately she was fully booked!)

Again, I had to call Airbnb and we set about finding alternative accommodation and negotiating with them, the case manager u spoke to in the night was a delight and knew what he was doing but he had clocked off. In the morning I had to start alll over again and the lot I got on the phone were not as in the ball, it was slow progress. I had to explain everything from the start and push hard for what the initial case manger had promised. I wrote to the owner to say that whilst I wanted to leave I would not make myself and my son homeless and was working with Airbnb to find somewhere to go and would leave when that had been found.

The host cancelled my booking and demanded I get out, I was re-packing frantically whilst giving my son breakfast (no toast as no toaster!) scouring Airbnb and booking.com and on hold to Airbnb helpline. With next to no sleep, sand and sea water still in my skin! Nightmare!!

I left the key in the door to stop the owner coming in forcibly before I had found us somewhere to stay as by this point he had sent me a number of rude messages and kept telling me to get out, I was frightened. Eventually a last minute booking was made, Airbnb would refund me the full cost as well as pay the difference for the booking.com listing. BUT the door to the studio wouldn't open, the key wouldn't turn, nothing. As I had been on the phone I had heard someone outside our door but was too scared to go out! Interesting that before I had written an email detailing the problems to the owner the door worked, and now, miraculously it didn't. Another phone call to Airbnb, by now I'm in tears, exhausted and scared. Airbnb call the host who refuses to help, he says he's not at the propery, despite the fact he owns the restaurant next door and the staff run the accomidation. I tell Airbnb this and they can see his aggressive messages and put me through to their safety team who advise me to call the police. And so I do, but the owners brother manages to get to the police officer before I do and sell him a story about it being a dodgy lock! There was no way out or no way down and if there had been a fire we would have been trapped. I was terrified and in tears. Eventually the owner sent a lad from the restaurant who let himself into my neighbours studio, climbed over the balcony and fought with the lock for 10 mins - a big strong, strapping lad. I'd never have been able to do it myself.

The owner had sent me messages claiming I was pretending to be locked in and was making the whole thing up. The police officer apologised profusely and said he was ashamed to call himself Greek when he saw the way his fellow countrymen treated tourists. He carried all my bags downstairs, made sure there was a taxi waiting and that I was safe to leave.

Airbnb have made no offer of compensation at all. In my mind the accommodation costs are not compensation, I had paid for 9 nights with safety, security and amenities and none of that was available. Plus I was kicked out!

Anyone with experience of how to handle or word something to Airbnb asking for some form of compensation? I was shaken for days after and struggled to sleep ... the new accommodation found was also far from ideal, the owner dislikes children and made that clear within 2 mins of our arrival! I almost walked out without checking in but she soon changed her tune when she could see that she would lose her €500 +!! It is unpleasant though having your son told off for skipping happily along the corridor (he's happy to be safe!) and being told 'this behaviour will not do, its not welcome here'! Well welcome to you too!!

Thank you in advance for your help, any and all advice appreciated,

Globetrotter Lady xx

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

GlobetrotterLady17 wrote: »

I had an Airbnb horror story a few days ago, Airbnb safety team had to get involved as did the police. I was scared, frightened, locked in and kicked out of a booking I had paid for in full for 9 nights (I am a mother travelling alone with a child, and had nowhere to go). It was meant to be an idyllic and peaceful Greek island experience, it was far from it.

The full story is below, my question is regarding compensation Airbnb have refunded the cost of the accommodation (fair enough I was kicked out!) and paid the difference to move us to suitable accommodation, that's it. That doesn't factor in the fact that 2 days of our holiday were lost, my phone bill calling and receiving calls from Airbnb all night/morning and the wasted cost of the taxis to and from the destination, the lost sleep, stress, upset etc.

I love the ethos of Airbnb and have used it twice in the UK & had experiences that exceeded my expectations. The host's went above and beyond to make my stay a happy one.

With that in mind I booked an Airbnb by the sea in Crete. I was travelling with a child for 5 weeks and as there was a lot I simply couldn't carry, I made sure our accommodation had amenities important to us. Simple things like an iron, a kitchenette, pots and pans etc. After 5 wonderful nights by the sea booked through booking.com, we moved into our next stop in a different part of the island - an Airbnb. The host hadn't been brilliantly responsive prior to arrival, often not answering questions so I had a bit of a red flag as previous hosts were very responsive and helpful prior to arrival.

Upon arrival, it was not the host who showed us to our studio but his brother who could be described as grumpy and aloof at best, so much so that even my 8 year felt the need to ask me whether I'd noticed how unfriendly he had been. First off the bathroom was abyssmal and not what I had booked at all, the pictures on the booking were of a completely different space! The photographs showed a shower curtain, a shower head, a full sized sink with a ceramic base ... instead we had no shower curtain, no shower head, brown stains on the door frame, the flush was a poo stained piece of rope, no bath mat, the bottom of the sink had sharp rusty wires sticking out in all directions (very dangerous for a child), there was no window and the ventilator on the wall was not working and caked with dust and to top it all off, no hot water! That night my son showered in freezing cold water and spent the rest of the evening shivering and complaining of feeling cold whilst I simply slept in sandy skin as the measly trickle of freezing cold water was not sufficient to wash an adult body! The shelf over the sink was precariously balanced on rusty hinges at a slope so anything you put on it slid right off and fell on your foot!

And that was only the bathroom! The kitchen area had been advertised as being stocked with 'everything two person's could need'. In the photograph there was a full size kettle, coffee maker, toaster, chopping board, lemon squeezer, napkins and a kitchen cloth. Under amenities they say you can make your own meals (so I was expecting a two ring hob (as is standard in Greek self catering rentals) and they said that they provide the basics, salt, oil, pots and pans. When we arrived there was a camping kettle, 2 plates, 2 bowls, one mug and a few glasses. THATS IT!! I did express confusion and the guy checking us in (the owner's brother) said he didn't know where the toaster had gone and that he would go look for it. His tone was disinterested and I was sure that he wouldn't and of course, I never heard from him again!

On the floor in entrance there was a stain of what looked like a big blob of blood. On the floor by the kitchen there were multiple stains, had it even been cleaned? It didn't look like it.

The balcony was advertised as a lovely space where you could chill out taking in the sea air and hearing the waves. In reality, one of the balcony chairs was broken and dangerous and the wall between me and my neighbour was broken so I could see straight into his balcony, there was no privacy or sense of security. Unfortunately for me he was also a slob and used his balcony floor as an astray and dirty laundry dumping ground. He would leave plates of food out for hours on end attracting the flies. Also, beneath our balcony seemed to be the local yobs hangout, they blasted music out at all hours and fought with each other, shouting and yelling. There was no sound of the waves to be heard at all. With my slob of a neighbour seducing an inebriated girl practically on my balcony there was no peace to be had. I didn't feel safe to sit outside of an evening and read a book or to leave the doors open for ventilation, there was no other window.

The amenities listed an iron, which I needed upon arrival. Again, no iron. I asked for this and everything else to be sorted 3 times! First at check in, then I went down 30 mins after check in a
- I was told it would be taken care of - then on my way out I bumped into the owners brother who at this point was my only contact and asked if he could please come up and see the problems. He simply gesticulated in annoyance and said he was busy, pointing at the children he was with. Nobody, not once came to replace a thing, attempt to apologise or help in anyway.

As my son slept I began to do my research and posted onto a forum for female lone travellers asking whether anyone had, had a similar problem using Airbnb and what my rights were. I was informed that I had a 24 hour get out clause and that Airbnb took host's misrepresenting the property very seriously. I could get my money back in full and be helped to find alternative accommodation, so, armed with this information, at 2am local time I sat on the toilet with the door closed and called Airbnb - the only safe place to sit without waking my son !

I got a lovely case manager on the phone who assured me that they would contact the host in the morning and that they could help me find alternative accommodation. Travellers who helped me in the forum said that I needed a paper trail and to prove that I had given the host ample chance to rectify the problems, so, I set about writing and detailing the list of amenities I had been informed were there and what was missing and how I had asked for help numerous times and had no response. Then I set about looking for alternative accommodation, it is high season and I knew that practically nothing in my price range was available and so I got next to no sleep at all, maybe 2 hours at best.

Come the morning, Airbnb had obviously contacted the host who responded to me aggressively by message and demanded that I leave the property in less than 2 hours! He said 'shame on me' for asking his brother to help when he was with his children! It is a family owned restaurant, was it really that difficult to leave the children in the care of their own family and come next door for a few minutes and help me? And what about my child for that matter who had to shower I. Freezing cold water with basically a garden hose? His messages were rude and aggressive in tone and he demanded that I get out! I was in shock.

I called the owner of the previous hotel we had stayed at, also in Crete and she gave me the telephone number for the police and said that there was a tourist law and as I had paid, legally he couldn't kick us out. She said that we should stay put until alternative accomodation had been found (unfortunately she was fully booked!)

Again, I had to call Airbnb and we set about finding alternative accommodation and negotiating with them, the case manager u spoke to in the night was a delight and knew what he was doing but he had clocked off. In the morning I had to start alll over again and the lot I got on the phone were not as in the ball, it was slow progress. I had to explain everything from the start and push hard for what the initial case manger had promised. I wrote to the owner to say that whilst I wanted to leave I would not make myself and my son homeless and was working with Airbnb to find somewhere to go and would leave when that had been found.

The host cancelled my booking and demanded I get out, I was re-packing frantically whilst giving my son breakfast (no toast as no toaster!) scouring Airbnb and booking.com and on hold to Airbnb helpline. With next to no sleep, sand and sea water still in my skin! Nightmare!!

I left the key in the door to stop the owner coming in forcibly before I had found us somewhere to stay as by this point he had sent me a number of rude messages and kept telling me to get out, I was frightened. Eventually a last minute booking was made, Airbnb would refund me the full cost as well as pay the difference for the booking.com listing. BUT the door to the studio wouldn't open, the key wouldn't turn, nothing. As I had been on the phone I had heard someone outside our door but was too scared to go out! Interesting that before I had written an email detailing the problems to the owner the door worked, and now, miraculously it didn't. Another phone call to Airbnb, by now I'm in tears, exhausted and scared. Airbnb call the host who refuses to help, he says he's not at the propery, despite the fact he owns the restaurant next door and the staff run the accomidation. I tell Airbnb this and they can see his aggressive messages and put me through to their safety team who advise me to call the police. And so I do, but the owners brother manages to get to the police officer before I do and sell him a story about it being a dodgy lock! There was no way out or no way down and if there had been a fire we would have been trapped. I was terrified and in tears. Eventually the owner sent a lad from the restaurant who let himself into my neighbours studio, climbed over the balcony and fought with the lock for 10 mins - a big strong, strapping lad. I'd never have been able to do it myself.

The owner had sent me messages claiming I was pretending to be locked in and was making the whole thing up. The police officer apologised profusely and said he was ashamed to call himself Greek when he saw the way his fellow countrymen treated tourists. He carried all my bags downstairs, made sure there was a taxi waiting and that I was safe to leave.

Airbnb have made no offer of compensation at all. In my mind the accommodation costs are not compensation, I had paid for 9 nights with safety, security and amenities and none of that was available. Plus I was kicked out!

Anyone with experience of how to handle or word something to Airbnb asking for some form of compensation? I was shaken for days after and struggled to sleep ... the new accommodation found was also far from ideal, the owner dislikes children and made that clear within 2 mins of our arrival! I almost walked out without checking in but she soon changed her tune when she could see that she would lose her €500 +!! It is unpleasant though having your son told off for skipping happily along the corridor (he's happy to be safe!) and being told 'this behaviour will not do, its not welcome here'! Well welcome to you too!!

Thank you in advance for your help, any and all advice appreciated,

Globetrotter Lady xx

If you were under threat, the police should deal with it or as you have said, what compensation do you want?

vikingaero

First port of call would be to contact AirBnB and ask for compensation.

photome

Sounds terrible, but they have covered yor rental costs.

You could ask Airbnb for the taxi costs and costs of your phone calls.

What is it you want above that

hollydays

I think the problem is people often don't appreciate the fear element with a woman , particularly when she's with a child.
I think you do deserve something for your experience, I'm not sure if you'll get it.
Normally I'd suggest using social media, but in this case , I'd want explainstiona from air b nb about how he was allowed to get away with this, and what's been done to stop it happening again, , before I did anything else.
I think you need to take thosebfirst steps, and they will help if you do decide to post
Reviews at a later date.
It used to be that renters who left the property rapidly if it was too bad to stay were not allowed to leave reviews.

pinkshoes

Sorry you had such a rubbish experience...

... but airbnb have met nearly all of your costs, and paid the additional cost for your new accommodation.

Sounds like airbnb and the police were great.

Send them an itemised phone bill and ask them to reimburse you for calls made trying to sort out the situation.

Asking for additional compensation is your choice, but they will probably argue that they paid for more expensive accommodation as a replacement.

What was the new accommodation like?

elsien

If you're making a formal complaint take out all the unnecessary stuff (there's an awful lot of it) and bullet point the issues -your genuine complaints are getting lost amidst the creative writing.

I'm sorry if that sounds harsh but long walls of text tend to make people switch off and you need your concerns to be taken seriously.

hollydays

pinkshoes wrote: »

Sorry you had such a rubbish experience...

... but airbnb have met nearly all of your costs, and paid the additional cost for your new accommodation.

Sounds like airbnb and the police were great.

Send them an itemised phone bill and ask them to reimburse you for calls made trying to sort out the situation.

Asking for additional compensation is your choice, but they will probably argue that they paid for more expensive accommodation as a replacement.

What was the new accommodation like?

I must admit initially my thoughts were air bnb have done the right thing, but on reflection , I think maybe they haven't , because how can such a shambles of an outfit managed to get involved with air b nb.
I don't know the minutae of how the whole thing works, but something has clearly gone wrong, and I'd want to know how he passed the criteria for a renter.

Until recently, people who cut short their stay because the property was so bad weren't allowed to leave a review( so others wouldn't know the property had been vacated early numerous times) but air bnb were forced to change that.

OP, I just remembered I was in a similar situation many years ago when I had to go to the house if someone who had a serious mental health problem, and I hadn't been warned. I tried to get out of the property and couldn't open the lock. I can remember my feelings of fear today.

Mr_Singleton

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth wrote: »

If you were under threat, the police should deal with it or as you have said, what compensation do you want?

Did you REALLY need to quote the ENTIRE message to add those few lines?????? :mad::mad:

Takeaway_Addict

Mr_Singleton wrote: »

Did you REALLY need to quote the ENTIRE message to add those few lines?????? :mad::mad:

its wise because often posts go missing....

wesleyad

Its sounds horrific but I'm inclined to agree with the others that Airbnb have been pretty good. I'm not sure any compensation would be due from them anyway, they are just the middleman. You'd need to check all the Ts and Cs, might you might find liability falls on the owner?

Also you'd have to show losses (stress isn't a loss unless you were off work etc).

I'd personally chalk this down to a bad experience and move on, you will create more stress for yourself by going over and over it.

Did the place have good reviews? Maybe if airbnb were filtering bad reviews you'd have a case, but I dont think they'd do this (would be pretty dodgy)