Basically as the title says. Our group stayed at an airbnb last weekend. The host left me (my reservation) a positive review saying "X's group was great." These are important to me as I frequently use Airbnb for large groups which many hosts are wary about, but the reviews let them know our group causes no issues.

I left a review (4 star) because of incomplete check in instructions, broken appliances in the kitchen (nonworking freezer & ice machine, can opener broken and cut a guest, Glad lid to pot that was cracked, etc minor things) and mentioned the fact the twin beds were quite uncomfortable and not fit for adults, so keep that in mind when booking (listing says specifically sleeps 10 so I thought it's good info to read in a review- I would have loved to know that when booking and no reviews had mentioned that at this point, and we had adults who picked couches over the twin beds and so they didn't feel it was worth the price). I still said if they fix/replace those items and people know it should really only be sleeps 6, I'd still recommend it (hence 4 stars).

Less than 10 minutes after leaving this review, the host deleted their review of me as it was "inaccurate". This is clearly retaliatory as I didn't leave a 5 star review of them because the only thing that changed was the fact they read my 4 star review. How does airBNB allow this? Support is saying they can't put the positive review of my group back up on my profile and I can't edit to add to my review that this is how the host reacts to anything less than 5 stars.

Doesn't this defeat the entire point of having reviews both ways and the reviews be anonymous until both sides posted? Is this the host being petty over 4 stars? Am I missing something here because I don't understand how this would be allowed or okay. Ultimately I have multiple positive "great group" reviews on my profile so it shouldn't affect my ability to continue to book airbnb, but dang what a weird experience.

TL;DR: First time using Airbnb. I paid $1,700 for a pet friendly beach stay for my mom’s 70th birthday, including a $300 pet fee for our two small dogs. I specifically skipped properties that disclosed no pets or pets couldn’t be on furniture/beds because our dogs sleep with us. This listing had a detailed pet policy but never mentioned that restriction. The handbook provided after booking says “no pets on any furniture/beds” and the AC must stay between 70–75°, neither of which were disclosed before booking. We check in today, so I asked if I could bring my own linens and completely cover the beds, and the host agreed, which I appreciate. But now I’m bringing bedding, blankets and fans to make the stay work. Had I known these restrictions beforehand, I wouldn’t have booked it. Am I unreasonable for feeling blindsided, or are these rules that should have been disclosed before booking? Help with options, suggestions, advice. Thanks.

Location: florida

Full Story: Hi y’all. So I booked a pet friendly Airbnb as a surprise for my mom’s 70th birthday. It’s about $1,700 total, including a $300 pet fee for our two small dogs. When I was searching, I specifically skipped properties that either didn’t allow pets or said pets were allowed but couldn’t be on the furniture/beds. Our dogs sleep with us, so I knew those properties wouldn’t work for us. The Airbnb listing for the property I booked had a pretty detailed pet policy. It listed the pet fees, number and size of dogs allowed, housebreaking requirements, additional cleaning fees for pet messes/stains/shedding on linens, leash rules, etc. Nowhere did it say pets weren’t allowed on furniture or beds. We check in today, and this is a surprise trip my mom is incredibly excited about. When I finally sat down to read through the house handbook, I got to the house rules and saw in bold: “There are no pets allowed on any furniture or beds.” The handbook also says the AC has to stay between 70 and 75 degrees, which was not disclosed in the listing either. I’ve slept in a very cold room since I was a kid, so that actually matters to me when choosing somewhere to stay.

Had I known either of these restrictions before booking, especially the pet restriction, I honestly would have chosen a different property. At that point I was freaking out trying to figure out what to do without ruining my mom’s surprise the day before the trip. I messaged the host and asked if I could bring my own linens and blankets and completely cover the beds so the dogs could sleep with us. She agreed, and I genuinely appreciate her working with me. She’s actually been pretty nice but now I’m packing my own bedding, blankets and fans to make the stay work, and the more I think about it, the more frustrated I am. I paid $1,700, including $300 specifically for the dogs, and I feel like I’m finding out important conditions after I’ve already committed to the reservation.

This is also my first Airbnb stay, so maybe there’s something about Airbnb etiquette or expectations that I don’t understand.

I’d genuinely like your perspective:

1. Am I being unreasonable for feeling blindsided/frustrated by this?
   
2. Would you consider “no pets on furniture or beds” and a 70 to 75 degree thermostat restriction rules that should be disclosed in the listing before a guest books?
   
3. Is it normal for additional restrictions like these to first appear in a house handbook provided after booking?
   
4. If this had happened to you, what did you do, what are the options?

I’m not upset that the host has rules. It’s her property, and I completely understand that. My issue is that if I had known the rules before booking, I wouldn’t have booked the property.
Any advice is appreciated.

We stayed at a VERY expensive place in Spit. Family of 6. We are two retirees and our grown kids with partners.

The description was accurate in terms of views, location and space (I am not going to link it, but it's easy enough to find). 5 stars for those elements. There were decent beds, and it was clean and looked nice at first glance. At the very obvious second glance, there were so many visible signs of non-maintenance.

-*badly* soiled sofas with rips and beer stains. It seems the place is a party pad. That's great if you want to sit on gross stains on the sofa, but for the exorbitant amount of money, I expected LUXURY, as advertised.

-scuff marks all over the walls.

-bashed up corners of walls.

- rotting wooden windows, several of which didn't open properly.

- bottles, trash bags, cigarette smoke in the dark and dingy hall.

- I asked if there were extra pillows (because there was literally one per person) and the owner said "use the pillows off the sofa." I am not putting my face on beer stained throw pillows.

- Bar music vibrating up through the walls on Saturday night (there is a fancy bar/club next door), even though it's on the top floor of the building. Thank goodness we only had to endure that for one of our three nights. I didn't see the music mentioned in any reviews, which sucks.

I didn't want money back. I didn't see a reason to immediately submit photos of the clear lack of maintenance to Airbnb because the place was habitable. Seems that was my mistake, because then the owner wouldn't be able to come back and say we caused damage.

Why didn't I leave a review? Because of this sub. Because I read more than once that if I posted a truthful review, the owner might retaliate by claiming I caused damage. Because people here say "leave 5 stars, it really harms the owner to leave less." If I left anything more than 3 stars, I am being dishonest to potential guests. I am not leaving 5 stars for beer stains and literally many hundreds of euros per night (Over 500). I expected it to be amazing, and it was not. I guess I am the fool because I paid for the view, which I got.

In hindsight, it's now clear why the place wasn't listed anywhere but Airbnb. Airbnb reviews are meaningless. No one dares write the truth. In fact, I read here that if a property gets an aggregate of anything less than 4.3, it is removed from the site. I always read as many reviews as I can, so I generally know if a place is near a road, or a market, or if the church bells ring (which the reviews of this placed mentioned, but at least I knew about it beforehand.) I can live with church bells, but not beer stains. Just so shabby. The host doesn't care at all. Do better Airbnb!

A friend booked an Airbnb in California, and the host showed up late at night without warning. Some things were said that made her feel uncomfortable enough to pack up and leave immediately. She’s physically fine but pretty shaken. Airbnb refunded her stay, and that’s all that’s happened so far. Is that really the end of it?

She’s staying at a hotel for now and wants to know if she has any other options. She asked me not to share the details, so I’m keeping this vague.

My family and several others in our group recently had to evacuate a house on an island in Florida due to Hurricane Isaias, five nights into our seven night stay. Legally, we were not allowed to stay any longer. Also legally, the host cannot rent the property when an evacuation order is in effect.

Silly me, I assumed briefly that our host would be a decent person and refund us the two nights we were unable to stay. She refused, pointing out that our rental agreement did not obligate her to refund us anything in any scenario for any reason, adding that we should have bought travel insurance. This person is a parasite. Everything wrong with people who use property as investment vehicles wrapped up into a single individual. No soul, no decency, just driven by profit and shielded by legalese.

I was relieved to later read about the Major Disruptive Events policy (for which my situation clearly applied, i.e., government-mandated evacuations) ​but after lengthy back and forth with Airbnb customer service reps, they essentially said that this person's rental agreement prevented Airbnb from providing any actionable relief. Basically, they admitted their MDE policy has no teeth. "We cannot force the host to refund you."

It isn't like the host lost two days being unable to rent her property. She insisted on charging me for days she wouldn't have been able to rent anyway. The plain language word for that is -- say it with me -- stealing. Theft. This person is a thief.

I think this host is actually a sewer rat come to life, gleefully hoarding money she did not earn nor provide services for, because her rat-like contract language technically entitles her to be one.

I looked it up, and this particular area has been subject to a mandatory evacuation order for a total of 12 of the past 6,570 days (or 18 years.) My host would rather *steal* money from vacationing families than deal with the 0.0018% possibility that a hurricane temporarily prevents her from enriching herself.

This parasitic entity masquerading as a friendly facilitator of "5-star experiences" is the embodiment of amoral real estate baronry hiding behind legalese.

Rant over!

I remember there being more search options, like OMG or amazing pool. That's what I am looking for. An extravagant luxury pool with waterfalls and maybe a spa cave.....

Using the luxe button only gives me two options. Without luxe I am looking through hundreds of options. Each has to be opened to see if the pool is heated and fancy. It's a huge chore.

Do you have any advice when searching for something specific?

I wish we could enter search words. Like...massage chair!

Some of us are looking for an experience.

Thanks!

I don’t know how to proceed.

I booked an Airbnb this past weekend with no reviews, but I felt comfortable because the company had over 6,000 reviews, mostly 5 stars. When we arrived, there were some major issues. It was a great location and clean, but they advertised a lot more than what was there. They also didn’t have basic things, such as a shower curtain or linens for the pull out bed they know we were using (we had to confirm the number of guests multiple times).

We contacted them that night to let them know the WiFi didn’t work, that we wanted a shower curtain, and that there was no hand or body soap in the bathroom as advertised. We also let them know there were no linens for the pull out bed. They were responsive, but clearly all AI responses.

The next day none of their maintenance team showed up, and we were told housekeeping was on the way but hours later had not received our linens. We also noticed there was no microwave or dishwasher as advertised, and there were no handles on any of the cabinets or drawers in the whole place. There were also some other falsely advertised things we pointed out. Again, all apologies but no action.

The next day they reached out via text (not the Airbnb site) to offer us 20% off our stay. I politely declined and said that 20% was not enough to cover nights of sleeping without linens and having to buy our own. They said their housekeeper was in a car accident the night before and that’s why we didn’t have linens.

When we left I messaged saying I would be requesting a full refund and that I was upset at the lack of action. They said they’d forward our request to their team. Didn’t hear anything for over a day so I opened a case with Airbnb.

Airbnb reached out to them, they said they’d refund us 20%. I again declined and said we were requesting a full refund. They declined, so we were refunded 20%. After more back and forth with Airbnb, they agreed we deserved more and Airbnb refunded us more themselves.

I then left a one star, but pretty positive review. I pointed out the issues and said I was disappointed, but also said it had great potential and could be improved to be a great place.

Of course, today they reach out saying they had planned to reach out today but we had already left a negative review, and are now trying to fight with us to change our review. They sent pictures of the newly installed shower curtain and handles to prove that there was change. After back and forth multiple times, they keep insisting I change it. How should I handle this? Should I report it to Airbnb?

I’m currently in South Korea on holiday and have spent way too much time dealing with Airbnb instead of actually enjoying my trip.

I booked a place, clicked confirm and pay once, but somehow ended up with three separate bookings for the same property, dates and guests.

All three confirmation emails arrived within a minute (12:46–12:47). Airbnb even sent me a duplicate booking warning at 12:46, but another booking still went through at 12:47.

Airbnb keeps insisting I made three separate bookings, without really addressing the evidence I’ve provided.

The host requested cancellation of the two extra bookings, but I’m still fighting to get my AUD $1,772 back.

I also raised disputes with PayPal. One was denied because they said the transaction was only charged once, which isn’t even what I’m disputing. The other is still under review, and I’ve now involved my bank.

Honestly, it’s exhausting having to explain the same thing over and over while on holiday.

Has anyone dealt with something similar? Did you manage to get your money back?

Review was 'Very cold and strange person avoid at all costs'

I have stayed in nearly 100 apartments over the last 10 years and this is the only bad review I have got and it is an attack on my personality, is this usual or common? Airbnb will not remove it.