Man Books Airbnb & Makes Payment, Only To Discover Property Sold 2 Years Ago: Here's What Happened Next

Ever booked an Airbnb after meticulously reading reviews, only to be disappointed? One man's recent unpleasant encounter, in which the Airbnb itself turned out to be a property sold a couple of years back, has sparked a wave of shared experiences in the comments section, highlighting a common frustration among travellers.

Booked Airbnb but property didn't exist

Taking to X, Bo Erickson, a CBS News reporter, shared his recent experience renting a place through Airbnb for wedding festivities in New York where he discovered on arrival that Airbnb had sold the property a couple of years ago.

Bo Erickson/ X

Erickson recounted, "Pulled up and a man walks out. Says home was sold 2 years ago by AirBNB host & this is his house. Now on 4th call w/customer service who just keeps passing us around, asking how our day is going???"

Also read: Airbnb's New Security Camera Rules To Come Into Effect From April 30: All You Need To Know

He followed this up with, "2+hr update: after 4th @AirBnB representative told us he was working on finding an alternative location, a 5th representative called and said, no, they will not be rebooking us an alternative location. We have to find a place avail for this evening."

He emphasised, "This place had reviews from last summer. We were charged by @Airbnb for the unit. We received confirmation this week of the rental place (picture). We flew from DC to upstate NY."

Check out the post here:

.@Airbnb nightmare: Rented a place to stay for wedding festivities in upstate NY. Pulled up and a man walks out. Says home was sold 2 years ago by AirBNB host & this is his house. Now on 4th call w/customer service who just keeps passing us around, asking how our day is going???

¡ª Bo Erickson CBS (@BoKnowsNews) May 24, 2024

People share their own 'horror stories'

In the comments section, individuals shared their personal encounters with Airbnb.

One commenter expressed, "Airbnb is magical when it works! But when you need to call customer support, you've already lost."

Airbnb

Another cautioned, "Airbnb is too risky for peak season: any problem, can't rebook you; host can book a higher rate guest, claim plumbing problem, and cancel on you; refrigerators, a/c, pool heaters etc. don't get fixed on holiday weekends. A hotel has onsite maintenance staff, parts inventory, or can move you to another room."

Yet another individual voiced, "In my opinion we need to: Stop using @Airbnb because they ruin neighborhoods several ways. Too many "hosts" own multiple units that have had substandard renovations often in historic communities."

Another commenter shared, "We want to go on a trip and my friend said "air bnb" and I immediately shut her down. I've been seeing horror stories about hosts scamming so many people and their customer service is useless there. Better to go to a hotel."

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