Family member booked an AirBnB rated 4.92 stars and the host is a super host.

They made the booking and received a confirmation email. Family member then received a message from the host requesting they send photos of ID through the chat.

I’m extremely uncomfortable with sending ID to some random person over the internet. With data breaches every other day, that seems like a huge risk for identity theft and it’s insane to me that hosts think they’re entitled to that.

There was nothing in the listing/house rules saying it’s required, and as far as I can tell it’s against AirBnB policy for hosts to ask guests to send PII (we’re not in a country that legally requires guests to provide ID).

When we replied saying we’re uncomfortable, host said “providing identification was a condition you agreed to before we accepted your booking. As agreed, we require photo ID for all adults staying at the property.”

I don’t know what they mean by we “agreed” to that as it wasn’t in the listing?

Is the host really entitled to ask for this? And if we cancel the booking, will we get penalised?

EDIT: There is no government or legislative requirements for hosts to collect guest ID in Australia

I wanted to know if I am allowed a refund/if it’s worth asking. My sister and I are staying for 9 nights here, we arrived Saturday night and on Sunday, we noticed that the bed was dipping in the middle until it became really noticeable. We checked and the frame had bent a lot in the middle and the supports weren’t touching the floor anymore, we told the hosts and they said they’d send a new one, it arrived today on Tuesday.

We expected someone to assemble it and take the old one but we were too optimistic 🙂 they literally just left the frame outside and expect us to assemble, it has sooo many parts, it would take us hours to do it. Honestly, this isn’t the experience that I paid for, it wasn’t even cheap, I just expected a normal bed, we thought about putting the mattress on the floor but the apartment isn’t that big and i dont know where to put the whole frame.

UPDATE: Frame was delivered at 8am, we left at 2pm without having any type of resolution from the host. i told her that we got the frame and all but she just said enjoy, I asked what were we supposed to do either that? No answer.

Around 5 minutes ago (it’s 8:24pm), she sent me a photo saying that it’s assambled, I know it’s the room because that’s my nintendo switch 2 on the table and some other of my things. Are people just allowed to go in when I’m not present? I wasn’t even informed or asked about this or what time they were coming or anything. I haven’t been able to check because my sister has the keys and she isn’t here yet but I actually think is quite jarring 😭

I am AirBnb user for a long time. I have a stellar review on all my trips. I loved this. But as I grew older with family, the stress of cleaning the place and making sure everyone does really was difficult. Still I book Airbnb for cabins and cottages. But short term stays I prefer hotels. Its much more convenient. 

When AirBnb was started I loved the decency of leaving the place super clean as an option. I always left the place clean and it reflected on my reviews. It was a good experience. 

Then hosts started dictating with instructions sometimes felt super rude and judging us as though we wont leave the place clean. I agree there are some bad experiences with some people staying at your place. But why would the responsible people be treated with that instructions. It killed the vibe. 

Then on top of that ridiculous cleaning fee. 

So high cleaning fee + Instructions that feels like command killed the total vibe of AirBnb.

This is my third experience where I booked a stay by filtering for the amenities I need and want and access to a washer and dryer or refrigerator are not provided as listed. Ratings for the listings I book are 4.8+ stars. One host ignored my question about a missing washing machine and refrigerator. Another host didn’t provide a key to the on site laundry room and said they’ll provide a key after I asked. The hosts ended up forgetting twice and never ended up delivering the key. I would understand if maintenance or a replacement was needed last minute, but the hosts never communicated prior to the stay. Does Airbnb keep allowing these hosts to list properties without actually providing said listed amenities or are they penalized or listing auto revised?

We are in a 3 month stay at an airbnb (about 1.5 months ) while my house is getting finished up. The host has asked for access 3 times in the last 2 weeks to "repair windows screens." That were apparently not ready to be replaced before we arrived but were in the progress of being replaced. However, each time they have been here ALL day. Both me and my oldest staying with me work from home and have small dogs. Its honestly just incredibly annoying for something not needed. We arent even opening the windows. He is asking to come back again. Is it inappropriate to ask for them to just wait until we are checked out?

Mr. Founder Mode Brian,
You failed me. I’m so disappointed by you!
Like many others, I joined Airbnb after hearing the inspiring stories about how you founded the company. But after working here for years, I deeply regret having worked for someone whose actions seem so inconsistent with the values he publicly promotes.

You constantly present yourself as a person with high moral standards. I used to genuinely believe in you. I even told all my friends what a great CEO you were. But when I personally experienced what was happening inside the company, I realized how disconnected you are from the reality your employees face, and how little attention you seem to pay to equality and fair treatment.

It is no secret that the HotelTonight team is deeply dysfunctional. The director, senior manager, and manager have all demonstrated serious incompetence. But perhaps that is to be expected. You rarely take a close look at what is happening within your engineering teams. I can only imagine that similar problems exist throughout Airbnb, so perhaps I should not even complain about poor management.

But there is one thing I cannot forgive.

During the same performance review cycle, Ashutosh Joshi sabotaged the reviews of four Chinese employees. There were 12 employees on the team, and all four Chinese employees were the ones who were unfairly targeted. Every single one of them.

We reported this situation directly to you, yet you chose to turn a blind eye.

You give speeches on television about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), presenting yourself as a champion of those values. Yet when four Chinese employees raised concerns about discriminatory treatment, you failed to take meaningful action to address even such a fundamental issue of racial equality.

Is it because we are Chinese? Are Chinese employees simply expected to work hard for the company without receiving the same basic rights, fairness, and protection as everyone else?

I once believed that your public commitment to equality reflected your personal principles. What I experienced has completely shattered that belief.

You have failed us all.

I have a reservation tomorrow but can’t access my account because I am unable to receive SMS texts for verification while outside of the country. When I try an alternative way to identify, it asks for the CVC on an old credit card. It was lost and replaced recently. So… here I am unable to access my account. And, there doesn’t seem to be a way to contact customer service without logging in. The phone number I tried, doesn’t seem to work (maybe because I am abroad?). There is no chat. I have spent hours trying to fix this. Obviously, I have no way to contact my host outside the platform.

Any suggestions are welcome. Feeling very anxious.

I am at an Airbnb in Italy. It is quite dated and the power has gone out twice during my stay. I contacted the host the first time and didn't get a response for an hour after also discussing with Airbnb support. I then noticed issues with the power meter display, so I have reason to believe it is malfunctioning. I sent this to the host, and I have been left on read since yesterday. The power just went out again, contacted the host. The property is quite unclean too, I noticed unclean door handles, mold left in a coffee machine and the bath was not clean when I arrived. There are also no smoke alarms in the property, and with electrical issues this is slightly concerning.

Should I ask for a refund for my remaining nights (until the 1st), and look for somewhere else? Or should I stay and get a partial refund? I have a guest joining me so it would be an incredibly last minute search for somewhere to stay.

AirBnB (the company, not the properties that are actually owned by others) is a lot like Ticketmaster.

- Makes things more expensive for customers/guests

- Provides a middlemen service, not the actual entertainment/service

- Hugely profitable

- Introduces rules into the process of connecting customers and entertainers/service providers

Discuss. Change my mind.

(France) Hi all. A host contacted me the morning of my booking saying she accidentally double-booked me with someone who had booked using Booking dot com. She ended up canceling my reservation, because she said the other guests could get there first, complained to me about the fee she had to pay, and then I had to scramble around to find something else. She said she called Airbnb and they were supposed to call me, but never did. I guess I’m asking, is this scenario possible? Or did she lie? Thanks all.

I contacted the host five days before booking to explain that I wanted to reserve the property for a 30-day stay and asked if they could hold it until I received my paycheck. The host agreed, and we stayed in communication throughout the process, including the day before I booked.

After completing the reservation, the host mentioned that the carpet might still be wet from cleaning. This confused me because the listing I booked had no carpet. When I asked about it, I was told I would actually be staying in the neighboring listing instead.

This is disappointing because we specifically select Airbnbs that have non carpet floors, because we are traveling with a dog and vacuuming up dog hair during our stay is 100x easier on floors that aren't carpet. I also really hate carpet personally. The property we were given has carpet and a yard consisting of rocks and weeds. When the place we booked had a grass yard, which again something we wanted as we had a dog.

I would have completely understood if the original listing was unavailable, but I wish the host had told me before I booked so I could make an informed decision. I’m currently staying at the property and want to resolve this fairly without risking my accommodations or creating conflict with the host.

What should I do? What would you do?

I'm trying to get an apartment for a few months, too short for a regular lease but a bit long for an ordinary AirBnB stay. One business host, who manages many apartments available for long-term stays, says that they require an in-person viewing before booking. However, the AirBnB platform wouldn't let us exchange messages about scheduling an in-person viewing, saying we should keep it on the app.

But I can't find a specific mention of disallowing in-person viewings in AirBnB's policies, which only mention other online platforms or guests wanting to view the apartment before booking, not hosts requiring it. I said that I would be fine just booking it without seeing it, since there are good reviews, but the host declined. :/

So, are hosts allowed to require an in-person viewing?

Take a look at your app. It lets you book without even making sure you've seen the house rules/requests. Also, it lets you book without even seeing a cancellation policy. Kind of important when they're renting out somebody else's property, don't you think?

Booked 11 nights in Brickell icon building 3 (~$1,670) through Airbnb. The listing is run by a property management company, not an individual host. Stay was fine until yesterday (day 7).

The Yale keypad on the front door died completely in the morning, no lights, nothing. I had to leave, so I messaged them that the door couldn’t be locked and they’d need to lock it after fixing it. They sent someone, then told me twice in the Airbnb chat it was fixed and the door was locked with the keypad.

Get back and the keypad’s dead again, so now I’m locked out after a long day of work. Sat in the hallway almost 2 hours from 5-7pm being misled one way or another on how long it will take to get fixed. Couldn’t change and shower before a dinner meeting, phone died. Came back around 10pm, and it was dead again despite them sending a video of the working lock. Building security ended up letting me in with a master key that apparently existed the whole time.

Today (the next morning) they replaced the lock (changed the batteries twice too, for some reason once in the morning then midday randomly). They also offered to move me to another unit, had me tour two of them, then said the move wasn’t happening anymore since the lock works now even though it was working when they had fixed and offered the new better unit after knowing that. Smaller stuff earlier in the stay too: bathroom lights went out, key fobs didn’t work, AC keeps jumping back up a few degrees no matter what I set it to all documented in the chat; also a bunch of elevator issues with the building.

They offered 1 night back ($150). I asked for more and they’re supposed to call me. Not trying to get a free stay, I got the unit I paid for, but between the lockouts, the “it’s fixed” messages that weren’t true, and basically two days of calls and maintenance visits and being shown a way nicer apartment to then have it "taken away" and having to stay for what I paid for wasn't a great dopamine hit haha, 1 night feels low.

Is 2–3 nights a reasonable ask here? If they won’t budge, is it worth going through the Resolution Center, or does Airbnb usually come in lower than what the host offers? Anyone dealt with something similar? Only thing is due to the urgency alot of the conversation was on the phone and texts. Some is in the airbnb chat enough for context though.

At its roots, AirBnb offered a marketplace for people to share their spaces. It was an excellent option for both guests and hosts -- something different than hotels for guests and a way for hosts to share spaces, experiences, and make some money too. In some cases, travelers and hosts got to meet and share stories.

Somewhere along the line, AirBnB failed to adequately manage guest expectations. Guests do not see these houses as somebody else's property, and AirBnB has facilitated this perspective. Many of these properties were purchased through the hard work, effort, and risk of owners. They have deep attachment to these properties. AirBnB has managed to desensitize guests to this fact. They aren't connecting people to other people and their spaces anymore. AirBnB is selling guests hospitality that AirBnB rents from property owners. Guests, on occasion (multiple times per year for popular properties), leave large messes, destroy property on purpose, and destroy property unintentionally and hope property owners don't find out. Guests feel entitled because they pay a lot of money to stay there. After AirBnB fees, taxes, property management fees, cleaning fees, supplies, and repairs, many owners lose money on the venture. It is a bad investment, and effectively a subsidized vacation home where every vacation starts with the question of -- what is broken or missing this time?

Somewhere along the line, AirBnB failed to convey to property owners a consistent perspective, intentions, and permit property owners to make informed decisions. There is an ebb-and-flow of host-friendly eras to guest-friendly eras, likely depending on AirBnB balance sheets. It is now the most guest-friendly era I have seen (at least in my area), at the expense of property owners. On this, I share in the failure. I should have understood that, as a publicly owned company with shareholders, AirBnB will squeeze a captive audience (it's not easy to sell a house) to make money, and when they finally do squeeze one owner too hard, there is another poor soul who will step in her place.

Thanks for listening. Moments away from selling our vacation home and going to look at an RV.

EDIT: A little more of my perspective. I live in a suburb with my wife and kids and there are two rentals across the street, and one behind me. I support STRs in vacation areas, but not in family-oriented neighborhoods. And I understand drawing that line is perilous.

I have been looking on Air BnB for weeks but there isn't a filter to look for games room and even when I filter in hot tub it shows me places without hot tubs 🤦‍♀️

Are there any user scientists or human factors scientists out there who can critique AirBnB's iOS app?

I had to click "RESERVE" on a property before I was shown the cancellation policy. Essentially, AirBnB was forcing me to decide if I wanted to book a property before I was shown the cancellation policy. As you guessed, there was a strict cancellation policy and it caused headaches for me down the road when my trip dates were changed by one day.

From a user scientist perspective, is the iOS app designed to make it look like a hotel stay, or does it clue the user in on the fact that it is an independently owned property with independent rules?

Hi all. I run a short-term rental in Spain and lately I’ve been noticing how much some stays add to my electricity bill. A few times I’ve looked into it and found that guests left appliances running for hours for no real reason: A/C or heating blasting with nobody home, the water heater always on, that kind of thing. Since I cover utilities and the nightly rate stays the same, some bookings barely break even.

I’m curious whether this is common or I’ve just been unlucky. If it happens to you, which appliances tend to be the culprits and roughly what does a bad stay cost you? How have you dealt with it, whether that’s an extra fee, house rules, limiting something somehow, or something else? And if you’ve tried something that didn’t work, that’s useful to know too.

Thanks in advance, any experience helps.