I guess if you get that kind of emergency cancellation you should ask to see the unit to be able to decide yourself if you can stay there. You would already have the address, right? It’s hard to argue with a plumbing flood, but you can say that you know people who have been scammed this way before and you need to check.
Also, directing the guests to a more expensive unit sounds like bait and switch to me.
I was offered a more expensive unit for the same price by a recent ABB host in SE Asia. I took it 
I started renting houses/condos/apartments on VRBO years ago when my kids were little because usually for the same or less money we could have an entire dwelling rather than just be packed into a hotel room. After doing that a few times and having great experiences, none of us wanted to go back to a hotel. We got too used to having some extra space, privacy, a kitchen and a washer/dryer. Even now when I travel with just one kid or a friend - or even by myself like when I’m dropping off my son at college - I tend to rent VRBO or now Airbnb since having a washer/dryer lets me pack super light.
We’ve stayed in VRBOs and Airbnbs all over the US, several countries in Europe, Hawaii, the Caribbean and never had a major problem. There were one or two that were odd or had something minor that was unexpected but nothing major. Ironically, during that time I have had a few major issues at hotels… like the Marriott we stayed in for a conference that didn’t have hot water for almost 2 days, one that overbooked and couldn’t find us anywhere to stay when we arrived at 1 AM, etc.
No system is foolproof but I think with a small amount of common sense and some basic safeguards renting an Airbnb is not significantly riskier than renting a hotel room.
I think the issues go both ways, though. Over the past 2-3 years I’ve noticed a change in how hosts are now trying to screen out potential troublesome occupants. Most will ask for a description of what you’re planning to do on your trip, will check the ratings other hosts have given you and many won’t rent to groups like bachelor parties. Some of the hosts are even doing a quick check of the potential renter’s social media before deciding whether to rent. I’m OK with that and think if an owner cares enough to ask questions like that it’s an indication that they keep things nice.
Finding lodging on Airbnb is in some ways similar to buying something on Craigslist or from a thrift store. There is junk out there and you have to use a little common sense, but if you are willing to put in a bit of work you can end up with some fabulous deals on great places or extra amenities for the same price you’d pay for a basic hotel room. If you’re not willing to do a little legwork or don’t have street-smart type common sense, just stick to hotels to be safe.
@milee30 wrote “I tend to rent VRBO or now Airbnb since having a washer/dryer lets me pack super light.” - Exactly - in fact yesterday, my (adult) D who is meeting me overseas later this month called me to ask if the Airbnb had a washer because she is going to continue her travels for a few days after me, and wants to do laundry before then. It does, and she’s delighted (and I sent her the link to the apartment).
In the aftermath of the Halloween shooting, Airbnb tries to do some damage control (after all, that coveted NASDAQ listing will allow someone to finally hit that ISO jackpot):
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/no-arrests-after-california-halloween-shooting-kills-4/
I don’t really blame Airbnb in this case. The company is a victim, too. A house party can occur anywhere, and a shooting can occur anywhere. However, the show I referenced earlier about fixing up Airbnbs had a segment where they advised a woman who was renting her entire house to buy some kind of decibel reader so that she could monitor the noise level at the house when she was gone. It doesn’t hear what’s going on in the house but does measure the level of noise. I’d never heard of such a thing, but it sounded like a good idea to protect the house and keep neighbors from being disturbed.
Never heard of that, but a decibel meter definitely sounds like a legitimate tool. Installed outside of the house, it can be a great tool.
Airbnb fought municipal regulations of short-term rentals a bit too much… and it looks like it still fighting…
I can’t read behind that paywall, but I’m OK with limiting the number of units.
We’ve used AirBnB successfully in the US and a few in the EU. Our experiences with hosts who live in or near their property have generally been better than those who manage multiple properties.
Some quirks we noticed on recent inquiries:
-We saw a number of “super host” designations for properties that had no reviews posted. How could they even qualify for super host designation?
-We had to cancel once on a property soon after booking. It was within a day, easily within the designated 48 hour free cancellation period. It did not go well. There were no issues with the host, but before cancelling, we reached out to AirBnB for a clarification. AirBnB did not respond in a timely manner, so was going to charge us the management fee. It took a few days of correspondance with AirBnB to set things right. Under the reserve button it also clearly states “You won’t be charged yet”, but our credit card was charged immediately.
We’ve only had one unfortunate experience. We booked for one night in a very small EU city 2-3 months before planned arrival. About a week before our stay, the host said he accidently overbooked, and had to cancel us. My guess is that in reality he found a longer stay guest, and we happened to be in the middle of the time period. No assistance or alternatives given. AirBnB offered to move us elsewhere, but there were no other options in this city. We did receive a refund, but had to scramble to find lodging elsewhere outside the city. Overbooking is not uncommon with airlines. I hope it does not become common with accommodations.
@kjofkw The designation goes with the host not the house so they probably had other houses (with reviews).
Re: overbooking - happens with resorts a LOT, or so it would seem from the complaints I’ve seen in various travel forums. It seems part of the biz model for those that deal with package tours especially.
I was slow to get on the Airbnb bandwagon, for reasons already posted. But D1 has loved them, so we have booked them when traveling with her. She has great ratings and only rents from superhosts. We never do any kind of share, and we are usually booking a big beach house or mountain house kind of place. All have been really gorgeous properties and we’ve had zero problems. D1 and I booked a great apartment in Prague. No regrets whatsoever vs. a hotel room.
My best friend and I booked an airbnb house near Sausalito and it was spectacular.
So far I’m batting 100%. Expect at some point, we might encounter a problem property, but hopefully no fraud.
As to bait and switch-no way I’d pay more for a replacement property. This JUST happened to us. We booked a nice condo in a beautiful resort town. After we landed, we received a text from the property management company that the condo was uninhabitable and they were moving us. They booked us into a fabulous new four story condo with beautiful interior glass elevator, heated floors, steam showers, gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous. They didn’t even dream of asking us to pay the difference, and that’s good for them if they didn’t want a huge fight on their hands. This wasn’t Airbnb. It’s a well known property management company in that resort.
I was looking at a beach rental for a week at the very beginning of a season. I found it, asked the owner for a lower rate because it was only a few days before the rental and he was very rude an said no, that it was ‘high season’ (which it wasn’t). What was strange was that the listing disappeared and I could never find it again, not for that week or any other week. I suspect it was a scam.
I have only had good experiences using Airbnb. I only book from hosts that have many reviews. We have only used Airbnb in the US since H has been reluctant to use it when we travel abroad.
I like using booking dot com. They always ask for a review, and they want to know both pros and cons. That makes it easy to give a high number rating and still be honest about what could be done better.
I’ve mostly booked hotels through them, but also a couple of private houses.
Right, except Craiglist and thrift stores are not being run by a billion dollar corporation which is, by this report, shirking its responsibility. That’s the difference here.
https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/airbnb-announces-major-safety-changes-following-fatal-shooting-n1077406 This is timely.
I still don’t feel like that shooting was Airbnb’s fault, but I do think the more they can do to make sure listings are accurate the better. Sometimes, I get a survey after a stay where they ask to confirm things in the listing … Is there a separate entrance as advertised, etc. I like that they do that and it’s not seen by the owner. I feel like I can be more honest there.
The shooting wasn’t AirB&B’s fault but they are trying to prevent party houses. They usually do not allow big houses to be rented for only one night, especially a night like halloween. However, this was allowed as an exception because the renters said it was because of the fires in the area and they had family members who needed to get away from the smoke.
Fool me once…
But was that Airbnb’s decision or the owner’s?
It is the policy of AirBnb but I don’t know if the owner needed permission to override the policy.
It’s hard because some families do want a bigger house for an event, not a party. My family rented a big house for my father’s funeral. It worked well, better than a hotel, but was for only 2 nights, on a weekend, and could very well have been for a party as we needed about 5 bedrooms.