There are so many common scams regarding Airbnb rentals that it makes people scared to even use their services in the first place. Take a look around social media and you’ll probably find a handful of people who have experienced a bad Airbnb stay. A common scam involves a bait and switch, where the host will list a property for rent but then put travelers in a lower-quality property. That’s exactly what happened to a man who stayed with some other individuals at an Airbnb in Hawaii. Now he’s sharing the story of his horror vacation trip that didn’t turn out anything like he initially expected.
TikToker @imfalls is currently staying with five of his friends at an Airbnb they rented in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. They are visiting from Arizona and realized way too late that the Airbnb listing they reserved was a total scam. He shows that the initial reservation was not actually real. They booked a beautiful resort that was able to house the demands of six people but, upon arrival, the front desk lady stated, “I think you guys are in the wrong spot.” She couldn’t find them in the system. Why? The host on the Airbnb made a scam listing. They showed photos on the listing of their time share property, and not the actual place where this TikToker and his friends would be staying. It’s a complete and utter scam and should never be permitted.
This TikToker said that they were left without a place that could actually accommodate them and started walking with all their luggage through Kona. He made a ton of phone calls, trying to locate a hotel but all of them were booked. On top of that, they lost out on $2,000 due to the scam listing! He was able to get ahold of an Airbnb to host all six of them for $500 a night. However, they could only stay one night before other bookings coincided with their stay. After hours of searching, they were able to find a “325 square foot dojo” to fit all six people. That’s SO unacceptable at that size. To make matters worse, he says that there is no air conditioning in the dojo. That’s right… In Hawaii.
@Imfalls says, “To call it close quarters is an understatement. This is like a couple’s getaway. There’s no doors; there’s no privacy. It’s a very tight situation for all of us to be in.” I can’t imagine spending so much money upfront to ensure you have a place to stay, only for this to occur. All the money they threw away on the trip already has made their stay less than satisfactory. This just shows how easily Airbnb scams take place, and yet it seems like the company wants to do very little to remedy this. Now, this TikToker is begging for the company to take action so nobody ends up experiencing the same thing he has.
One commenter asked in total surprise, “Why doesn’t Airbnb have an immediate procedure for scam listings? This happens a lot.” Another shared their personal experience, “This happened to me in Hawaii two weeks ago. Thank god I happened to for once book through Capital One Travel. I was able to get a full refund. However, unfortunately, the host seems to have no consequences.” This is just wrong. It leaves so many people out of money and no place to stay. It pushes them into a situation where they have to desperately call around for the next best thing while they’re trying to enjoy themselves. Airbnb needs to take responsibility for this.
