Airbnb

zoemk12

Hi

Without going in to the detail I’d like to take Airbnb to the small claims court. I live in England & they given a service address in Dublin- can you use small claims instance? They do have an office in the UK as I found one online. They’re very devious & I don’t want them to have a reason to reject the summons. 

Many thanks 

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

Hello OP

I'm not sure on the answer to your queston but does the issue relate to problems with accommodation? The contract for accommodation is between yourself and the host rather than with Airbnb, just worth a mention

Aylesbury_Duck

zoemk12 said:

Hi

Without going in to the detail I’d like to take Airbnb to the small claims court. I live in England & they given a service address in Dublin- can you use small claims instance? They do have an office in the UK as I found one online. They’re very devious & I don’t want them to have a reason to reject the summons. 

Many thanks 

Without the detail it's difficult to advise.  You'll need to know which entity you have a contract with.  That could be Airbnb in Dublin, Airbnb in the UK or as suggested above, the whole thing could be moot if your contract is with a third party.

tacpot12

If you have home insurance and have legal expenses cover, you can ask the Legal Helpline provided by your insurer to review the relevant contract(s) and confirm which jurisdiction can hear the case you want to bring. 

zoemk12

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hello OP

I'm not sure on the answer to your queston but does the issue relate to problems with accommodation? The contract for accommodation is between yourself and the host rather than with Airbnb, just worth a mention

Sorry for the delay, i was travelling all day yesterday. 

In a nutshell our accommodation we booked months ago was completely unsuitable- black mold everywhere plus lots of other issues. Airbnb agreed, they were intially great- agreed to pay for a hotel for one night as it was late and they would help us find alternative accommodation the next day. 

Aircover states they will do this. We really struggled to find anything of the same price on or near the area we were staying. Airbnb said (verbally), they would cover the difference. The next morning we waited for them to call and nothing! We had to check out to the hotel and had nowhere to stay. At this point we’d paid for the previous accommodation £1500 & the hotel £300. 

As I said it’s a long story but my complaint is about them leaving us high and dry with nowhere to stay. Making numerous promises etc help, we do have a lot in and calls are recorded. We incurred loads of out of pocket expenses- eg in the end we had to call them- those 3 calls cost £89! We had brought food shopping for the previous place which we had to throw away as we had no refrigeration. We were outside all day from 11am till 4pm with nowhere to go. This was a Sunday too so not the ‘ideal’ day to be homeless! They just kept taking us round in circles, asking us to explain the issue again (different agents). Honestly it was so awful & im not even giving all of it. 

In desperation we finally found a property outside of Airbnb who answered on a Sunday! This place was 117km from where we originally booked. So we also had to cover the fuel cost of that. We had a lot plans in the area we booked that had to be abandoned as it was too far to go back and forth so we had a completely different (not as good) holiday and we lost out on the tickets for an event we’d prepaid for. 

Honestly, I’m so angry I’d like to take them to small claims in the hope it attracts press attention. We’ve used the for years with no issues but this was a real eye opener. I’ve read this sort of thing happens a lot and they seem to be immune to any consequences which is while they feel impowered to behave as they do. 

We have been given as refund on original accommodation (although we’re yet to receive it)

a refund for the hotel after much arguing 

offered £166 compensation which doesn’t even cover our extra expenses.  

user1977

zoemk12 said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hello OP

I'm not sure on the answer to your queston but does the issue relate to problems with accommodation? The contract for accommodation is between yourself and the host rather than with Airbnb, just worth a mention

my complaint is about them leaving us high and dry with nowhere to stay.

Contractually it's the host who has done that though, not AirBnB (albeit AirBnB might have tried to find a solution for you). So your claim is against the host, wherever they are.

zoemk12

user1977 said:

zoemk12 said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hello OP

I'm not sure on the answer to your queston but does the issue relate to problems with accommodation? The contract for accommodation is between yourself and the host rather than with Airbnb, just worth a mention

my complaint is about them leaving us high and dry with nowhere to stay.

Contractually it's the host who has done that though, not AirBnB (albeit AirBnB might have tried to find a solution for you). So your claim is against the host, wherever they are.

I’ve read elsewhere that Airbnb are the ‘landlord’ ? Technically it is both the host and Airbnb? Surely Airbnb have some sort of obligation to ensure their hosts aren’t blatantly lying? Furthermore we paid Airbnb who in turn pay the host? 

user1977

zoemk12 said:

user1977 said:

zoemk12 said:

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head said:

Hello OP

I'm not sure on the answer to your queston but does the issue relate to problems with accommodation? The contract for accommodation is between yourself and the host rather than with Airbnb, just worth a mention

my complaint is about them leaving us high and dry with nowhere to stay.

Contractually it's the host who has done that though, not AirBnB (albeit AirBnB might have tried to find a solution for you). So your claim is against the host, wherever they are.

I’ve read elsewhere that Airbnb are the ‘landlord’ ? 

Where have you read this? The terms are reasonably clear:

"When you receive the booking confirmation, a contract for Host Services (a "Reservation") is formed directly between you and the Host..As the provider of the Airbnb Platform, Airbnb (or its affiliates) does not own, control, offer or manage any Listings or Host Services. Airbnb is not a party to the contracts entered into directly between Hosts and Guests, nor is Airbnb a real estate broker, travel agency, or insurer."

The fact AirBnB collect payment on behalf of the hosts doesn't change that.

zoemk12

@user1977 I’ve read so many thing and now I can’t see this so perhaps I’ve misinterpreted. 

I understand this clause but there are other which suggests they’re not completely free from any responsibility. The fact is they promised to help, I Jane this in writing and it will be on the calls and then left is stranded- this is not on the host. 

I will proceed. I wasn’t asking if I had a case, I was just asking if I should use the Dublin address, I won’t - I’ll use the London one. 

If I lose, I lose but I’ll try and make as much notice as possible in the process. 

Okell

So on your Particulars of Claim against Airbnb, what will you say is the legal basis for your claim, given that your contract is with the property owner, not Airbnb?

(I'm not suggesting you will necessarily fail, but the court will likely chuck your claim out if your POC doesn't demonstrate that you have a claim based in law against Airbnb, by reference to statute or to decided cases)

Alderbank

You refer to AirCover.

For those who are unfamiliar, AirCover is a service provided by AirBnB

How AirCover for guests works

AirCover for guests provides support for serious issues with your booking or during your stay.

Your Host is the best person to contact if anything comes up. You can message your Host directly to let them know what’s going on.

If an issue does come up during your stay [and] your Host can’t resolve the issue or doesn’t respond at all, contact us as soon as possible.

We’ll review it and if we find it’s an issue that’s supported by AirCover for guests and you’d like to leave the place, we’ll help you find a similar place to stay, depending on availability at comparable pricing. If a similar place isn’t available or you’d prefer not to rebook, we’ll give you a full or partial refund.

You say that no similar place to stay was available within 100Km. They have offered refund of the booking, refund of the emergency hotel accommodation also £166 compensation.

They don't (and realistically can't) guarantee similar accommodation nearby. What they say is that if such isn't available they will refund you. As far as I can see they (AirBnB through their service AirCover) are complying with their terms so you have no claim against them.

You might perhaps have a claim separately against the Host (not AirBnB) for your consequential losses of any perishable food you had brought with you and the extra travel costs to get the the alternative accommodation you chose, but liability for consequential loss can be difficult to prove.

What did the Host's description say about provisions? If they said the accommodation is 50Km from the nearest shop which is closed all day Sunday you might have a case. If they said fresh food is available from the village shop 1 mile away, less so.

Can you say more about the 3 phone calls at £30 each?

Finally, you say 'Honestly, I’m so angry I’d like to take them to small claims in the hope it attracts press attention.'

Honestly, that is bonkers! Small claims court has no reporters and does not publish its decisions.

If you want press attention you would be better supergluing yourself to the doors of AirBnB's offices (note: nobody here will ever endorse any actions like that). Your consequent hearing in the local magistrate's court might possibly get a mention in the local paper.