Need to know
- An Airbnb customer was denied a full refund for uninhabitable accommodation
- Customer service first gave him the runaround, then let him know that a half refund was all that was on offer
- When CHOICE contacted Airbnb, the company changed its tune and the customer got all his money back
When Chris went on a family holiday to the Netherlands to visit relatives late last year, accommodation had to be arranged for his 75-year-old mum. With over five million potential places to stay around the world and gazillions of bookings on record, Airbnb seemed like the right choice.
Chris and his family ended up plunking down around $6832 for a three-week stay in the small town of Haarlem, in an accommodation that came across as appealing on the Airbnb profile.
Upon arrival, the difference between online appearance and reality was stark.
"When my mother turned up at the property it was nothing like described," Chris says. "Instead of being a quaint comfortable residential premise, it was a disused shopfront that had been converted to accommodate Airbnb guests. It had cameras inside and outside, exposed wires everywhere, a toilet within a makeshift kitchen, blood on the bedsheets of the cheap beds that had been installed, and a few other items of broken and filthy furniture scattered throughout."
There was also a list of rules posted inside the accommodation that stipulated that if the property was used for drugs or sex work there would be extra fees.
Instead of being a quaint comfortable residential premise, it was a disused shopfront that had been converted to accommodate Airbnb guests
Airbnb customer Chris
The place was all but uninhabitable, but his mum had no choice but to stay for one night before casting about for other options.
When the Airbnb host was contacted and informed of the situation, they were apologetic but offered only a partial refund. Chris and his family refused the offer and instead filed an official Airbnb complaint – which included photos detailing the squalor of the accommodation.
"Airbnb replied a few days later insinuating a full refund would be issued along with an apology," Chris says. "Based on this representation, my mother took up a hotel for the three weeks, but her trip was ruined. A few days later, Airbnb refunded half the full amount. When challenged as to why only half was refunded they refused to elaborate."
Chris's mum had paid for the hotel with money she assumed would be replaced by the Airbnb refund.
Texas disputes team says 'take it or leave it'
At this point, Chris went into action on the Airbnb support line, refusing to cave in.
"Eventually, after huge efforts, I was contacted by someone from the disputes team of Airbnb in Texas. They said they will not be providing any further explanation and told us not to contact them again, in as many words."
Chris is sure he and his family are not the only victims of Airbnb's poor customer service. Chris says it's as if Airbnb's policy is to "just pull up the drawbridge and not communicate or assist consumers".
All attempts to reach Airbnb and request an explanation as to why they had done this were met with automated chatbot responses and a complete cessation of communication
Market researchers estimate Airbnb's 2024 revenue to have been around $US11 billion, with somewhere around 490 million bookings worldwide. But its perceived worth on the capital markets far exceeds its revenue or actual assets, coming in at approximately $83 billion. This company has considerable resources, but how much they put into customer service is open to question.
In the end, Chris's mum was out of pocket around $2294 dollars.
"All attempts to reach Airbnb and request an explanation as to why they had done this were met with automated chatbot responses and a complete cessation of communication," Chris says. "It was genuinely quite bizarre, to be frank."
Full refund provided following CHOICE involvement
We contacted Airbnb in early March to discuss this case and were told that its "host reliability standards" require accommodations to be clean and free of health hazards, among other things.
Issues like this are rare, but when they do happen, we take them seriously
Airbnb country manager Susan Wheeldon
Susan Wheeldon, country manager for Australia and New Zealand, tells CHOICE that Airbnb has reconsidered Chris's case following our contact.
"Issues like this are rare, but when they do happen, we take them seriously," Wheeldon says."In this instance the guest was initially provided with a partial refund and following a further review of the circumstances a full refund has been provided."
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