Airbnb was once touted as the brightest and most innovative way to travel. No more worrying about checking in at a hotel front desk, chatting with a friendly receptionist, receiving free breakfast with your stay, and having access to a pool and comfy beds. Instead, you can search in the dark for 10 minutes outside a stranger’s apartment until you find their safe, stay in their place which may have been cleaned or not in the last month and clean it up when you leave or you will receive a negative review. Oh yes, and don’t forget the cleaning fee of $85 per night.
In recent years, more and more travelers have opted to use other companies or simply stay at a hotel, rather than booking through Airbnb. And in this article, we have a story that could make you give up the rental service for good.
Below you will find a guest detailed account of a terrible experience she had recently with a negligent Airbnb host, which she later shared on the Petty Revenge subreddit. We’d love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments, and feel free to share whether you love or hate Airbnb. Then if you are interested in checking out another bored panda article highlighting some of the problems with Airbnb, look no further than here!
After Dealing With A Negligent Host Of An Illegal Airbnb, This Guest Set Out For Meanly Revenge
Picture credits: daryl_mitchell (not the actual photo)
Picture credits: Nessip (not the actual photo)
Picture credits: 29akash (not the actual photo)
Picture credits: MegatronsJuice (not the actual photo)
Picture credits: hippopx (not the actual photo)
Picture credits: Anna Tarazevich (not the actual photo)
Credits: riddix
Later, the guest answered the burning question of why she was willing to replace her host’s TV.
I loved Airbnb and have stayed there countless times in various places around the world. However, I have to admit that in recent years I’ve been opting more for hotels and hostels rather than staying in self-catering apartments. One of the main reasons I’ve started to support Airbnb less is because of the ridiculous prices for stays, but there are plenty of other reasons why the service isn’t as appealing as it used to be. For one thing, illegal stays might be more common than you think. The guest in this story didn’t feel completely comfortable staying in a place where she had to lie, but it seems many hosts around the world don’t mind that.
In fact, illegal Airbnbs have been in business for many years. Apparently, in 2014, 72% of Airbnb rentals in New York were illegal. According to American News, it can be a complicated process to ensure that an Airbnb is run legally. This includes understanding the regulations for the site and where the host lives, the host must be renting legally, and they must have the appropriate insurance to host an Airbnb. If you’re staying somewhere illegal, there’s always a chance that the landlord or building owner will come knocking on the door, and that confrontation is the last thing you want to deal with while on vacation. Sometimes it’s safer to book a regular hotel instead.
Airbnb’s ethics are also questionable in many places. When too many apartments and houses are snapped up and then rented out to travellers, it becomes increasingly difficult for residents to find accommodation. And even if they do, there’s always a chance that the apartment next door will become an Airbnb, where a variety of strangers will come in and out every few days. In 2019, ten European cities (Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bordeaux, Brussels, Krakow, Munich, Paris, Valencia and Vienna) banded together to ask for more help from the EU due to the “explosive growth” of Airbnb in their cities.
“European cities believe that houses should be used primarily for living in,” the cities said in a statement released by Amsterdam City Council. “Many suffer from a severe housing shortage. Where houses can be rented more lucratively to tourists, they are disappearing from the traditional housing market.
We all love to travel, but there’s no point in visiting a place if you just become a burden on the residents. So if you are looking for a slightly safer option than Airbnb but will still provide you with a comfortable place to stay, why not check out Vrbo, Booking.com, the Plum Guide, Agoda Homes, Homestay or Sonder? These platforms are similar in that they are extremely easy to book, but they tend to be a bit more scrutinized than Airbnb. Hotels never guarantee you’ll get exceptional service, but they tend to be less risky than Airbnbs. And if you still want the experience of staying somewhere more comfortable than a hotel, there are plenty of options on these sites.
This particular story makes me hesitant to book an Airbnb again, but I hope no one else can book that particular one as it looks like it will be closing soon! We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation, pandas, and if you want to check out another article that might inspire you to become a loyal Booking.com user, you may find that here!
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