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A group of six women visiting Philadelphia found themselves stranded outside their Airbnb for nearly eight hours after the electronic keypad on the rental door suddenly died. The guests were unable to get inside and had to spend the night sitting and lying on the sidewalk.
The woman who posted the clip on TikTok shared the full story in her caption, explaining that she and her friends had left the property around 10 p.m. to take a walk near the waterfront. They left their wallets and keys inside and locked the house using the keypad. However, when they returned an hour later, the lock first refused to open and then died completely.
More on What Happened
According to the woman, the group tried to get in contact with the host to ask for help, but couldn’t reach him. Airbnb’s customer support was also unable to assist. They even purchased new batteries for the keypad, but later found out it “needed to be reset through the host.” As the hours passed, their phones began to die, and they grew increasingly anxious about being outside late at night.
“We even called 911,” she recounted, “bc we’re 6 girls alone on the streets of Philly and our phones were dying, and they couldn’t help.” By early morning, after trying every option they could think of, the group decided to call a locksmith. At around 7 a.m., after finally getting back inside and paying roughly $300 for the service, the host eventually responded. He allegedly said, “Why were you texting me at 12 in the morning?” which she thought was very rude and dismissive.
Despite the ordeal they went through, the woman said they received no refund, no apology, and not even acknowledgment of the safety risk they endured. “I’ve stayed in so many Airbnbs over the past 10 years and never experienced anything like it,” she added.
What Netizens Are Saying About the Philadelphia Airbnb Incident
Many TikTok viewers found it outrageous that the host refused to take responsibility. One person suggested, “Leave the review!!! Airbnb customer service do NOT play with these hosts! They will block him from further renters.” A second urged, “You have to dispute that that’s crazy 😳😭.” A third commented, “Oh absolutely not. Call Airbnb support ASAPPPP.” A fourth said, “Scream at Airbnb and demand the host pay for that locksmith and send them this video. Airbnb will refund your money and block his account until he pays them back.”
Some also focused on how stressful and frightening the experience was. “That’s actually an insane situation,” one viewer remarked. Another wrote, “I would literally lose my mind.” Someone else added, “This was so dangerous, especially if the neighbors would’ve called the police on a group of Black people drunk laying around at those hours of the night.”
