The thing that bothers me most about this story is that the host wasn't allowed to have an Airbnb in the house in the first place and just happily ignored the rules. I'm glad OP put a stop to this, Airbnb is one of significant contributors to a lack of affordable housing in many places, just use hotels, please.

I don't do AirBnB or VRBO. Like others said, why gamble on a vacation? I have heard tons of horror stories about hidden fees, messy houses, and broken items. The last thing I want to do on vacation is worry about cleaning a house before I leave. And if it is illegal to rent out your unit based on your association bylaws, get it shut down! People pay good money to live in their condos and feel safe in their community. I wouldn't want to live in a condo below someone that rents it out weekly and have anyone and everyone walking through the halls or making noise at all hours of the day

Here’s some advice. Check every review you can find, scroll very far, once I stayed at a hotel on salt springs island, it was a dump, it was so gross and not cleaned very well, rot in the shower, so gross. I feel so bad for this woman and I’m glad she got to get revenge. This was a good story.

I am an air bnb host and a traveller who uses air bnbs. The minite the host told this woman to lie she should've called air bnb and they would not only have made sure that she was refunded, they would have found her another air bnb and or hotel . Their resolution team is very responsive. Same thing with any issue including if you check in and feel the place isnt clean. I would say to any traveller: do not wait until the end of your stay to complain. I hear alot of people saying that they have returned to hotels but my experience is its a c**p shoot either way (air bnb or hotel) . Hotels are understaffed and unable to provide the high standards they used to. When i check in to hotels I come with my own clening supplies, sorry to say, and I wipe everything down. More often than not, it is the hotels that have filthy counter tops, unvacuumed areas and burnt out staffs. This is an unfortunate reality following Covid. Customer service has suffered due to staffing issues.

This was a terrible host. But I put some responsibility on the guest. 4.5 stars? That is a HUGE red flag. In the Airbnb world, this is essentially a failing grade. They never should have rented the place just on that alone. And telling them to lie and say they are staying for a month? Also a huge red flag. Don't rent with them. My wife and I are hosts and we bend over backwards to accommodate everybody. Sometimes things happen but how you respond makes a difference. We have guests returning 6 years in a row. This was a terrible host but the guest chose to rent from a terrible host that was evident from the 4.5 rating. Just read the reviews for a 4.5 host and you'll see that the warning signs were there- my guess is that it said that the place was dirty, things were broken. We won't stay at an Airbnb or VRBO with a low rating like that. Also, I agree that hotels are often a better choice when you are staying in a single room. Still prefer short term rent for a whole house for a group.

As someone who has used AirBNB for years, I am astonished that people have had bad experiences. Looking back at my history, I have stayed at over 40 places with not a single problem. I wonder what makes experiences bad for some people.

I love airbnb but I never book a place with less than 4.95 star reviews. I've used it dozens of times over the last 9 years, albeit only in the USA and Canada. I wouldn't want to gamble on possibly having a bad experience in another country.

I have been using Airbnb for 6 years. I have stayed in private residences, self-contained apartments, one illegal in that the law said the owner must live on the premises, and she didn’t. I have never had a bad experience. Used it in Paris, Florence and Montreal. Everyone was gracious, responsive, friendly and helpful. All places were clean. Only once did I have an inconvenience of not being able to open a door because the battery had run out on an electronic lock. I called the landlord. He wasn’t home. I called Airbnb, they tracked down the landlord and his wife showed up a half hour later to replace the batteries. At one place the wifi didn’t work and it was fixed promptly. I read about these experiences as if they are on another planet. I’ve never had absurd cleaning charges either. I can’t imagine anyone who runs a business behaving like this.

This sounds like a propaganda campaign against airbnb. I never had a bad experience and i always met incredible people who i was helping to have an income. I love airbnb. If it wasn't for airbnb I wouldn't be able to travel period as hotels are very expensive. And i felt the true city life i of the places i visited. Airbnb is an incredible and unique concept and the fact that people are here trying to s**t on something that was so innovative and helps so many people around the world is disturbing to say the least.

This is actually sad that someone is paid to write stories like this. You get one or two bad experiences and write horrible advice without any real proof hahah in the 1st picture it looks like a hotel room with some sheets on the ground hahahaha....yeah ahhh that's normal. Then you got the tv in the same picture on the wall and then the broken tv on a stand. It's like your some sort of propaganda journalist working for hotels. " Oh and by the way next time I'm staying in hotels". Did you know every single day people kill themselves in hotels and motels and the next week they clean it up and rent it again. You think that can happen in an Airbnb. Come on now. Save your time and stop writing about Airbnb they save millions of people from loosing their homes everyday.

I live in a lovely older neighborhood in South FL, everyone takes good care of their homes. My newer neighbor now rents his house out via Airbnb, and has had difficult renters, who have damaged his home and cost him way more than if he lived there himself. He told me the renters aren't vetted, and this really scares me. Thank goodness for security cameras etc. If I wanted to live near a hotel i would have purchased near one.

I hate airbnb! I rented in Fayetteville, TN. First time with airbnb. Never again! That women was such a _itch! I would definitely rather sleep under the stars then give airbab another penny. To bad one _itch apple can ruin it for everybody.

I've had one horrible experience and one amazing one. Major hurricane heading to FL 5 years ago we left state and got an ABB. It had a good rating, but idk how. It was filthy, a lot of stuff broken, rats and rat c**p everywhere... Rats chewed wires. Turned on a light and exposed wire started sparking. We contacted ABB immediately with pictures as proof and were refunded. They even found us a hotel that accepted the dog and cat. Tbh it was actually cheaper although we still had to have multiple rooms. The amazing one was this cabin in NC that was clean and beautiful. The fireplace had to be connected and bc she didn't want us to do it, she sent someone out immediately. We left her a great review and she left us one as well. We researched that one for MONTHS ahead of time and she constantly sent us pics of updates to the cabin as they were completed.

I hated ABB before it was cool. About 8 years ago, when ABB was “good” my new husband and I stayed in one in San Fran. Some dude was renting out his mom’s basement where he (probably) lived. Bed sheets/pillows stank-no washer. It was cold, but we weren’t allowed to touch the thermostat. So many rules (cuz his mom lived upstairs) about using the kitchen we didn’t bother-just had to eat out all the time. And the number one reason I hate ABB-no fresh towels. At home I use my towels twice and wash. This guy had 2 towels, no washer available and we stayed for 5 days…

When bad Airbnb hosts and bad guests collide. My rules for Airbnb is you only use it for stays 3 nights or longer, and only use it for vacation destinations, not for regular travel.

I hate click bait titles like this. The woman's story was terrible but she has no idea what happened after complaining. But the people posting this had no problem stating it like a fact 👎

The one thing first and foremost people don't understand about ABB is it's nothing more than an illegal operation in itself. Hotels/motels have regulations they have to abide by to sell rooms. ABB bypasses all rental laws by not actually owning/operating any of the properties. Because the properties are actually privately owned, they don't have to answer to health codes or any other basic business requirements. Many locales are beginning to crack down on this but it's too little, too late. ABB needs to be outlawed.

I am not a big fan of Airbnb, but it is soo obvious that this is a targeted post.

I stayed at at AirBnB and discovered that the "window" in the bathroom was actually a two way mirror into an alley that was only accessible to the owners. Made me wonder if they were video taping us. I reported it and also posted about it on AirBnB.

The last AirBnb I stayed at they has hidden cameras installed all over the space, it wasn’t until several months later that a friend forwarded a link to me of my partner and I showering, using the restroom and more intimate moments of our stay at that AirBnb that was posted online to a website for amateur pornography. We felt so violated that we ended up calling the police and having the hosts charged and even served jail time. We reported it to AirBnb but they seemed to be very unsympathetic and we are currently in litigation with them regarding this. We took photos and videos of ourselves with friends in the unit so they could not say it was not that host or space in the videos posted online by the host and after a time the hosts of the Airbnb admitted to what they had done, how much they profited from the videos and how many others were affected by their actions previously. We will never again use AirBnb and the fact that we are still in litigation with them is disgusting!

Bored Panda Retractions needed: Subject:Airbnb Host Ruins Woman’s Vacation So She Ruins His Illegal Business Adelaide Ross… There are many comments youve made factual in your intro about Airbnb that are not factual. I am an Airbnb host. You state in this story that you have to pay a nightly cleaning fee.. This is all based on the place a person chooses. Not every air bnb charges a cleaning per night. Additionally you are not required to clean the entirety of a property for checking out-this is subject to where you stay and what the expectations are of said place. I’m asking you to retract these statements. You have not done the proper research to state this and I know my Airbnb is going to struggle financially because of your statements. If you do not remove these comments-I will sue this company for your libelous statements!

I hate to destroy an entire industry, but it's time the govt passed reform on these things. Hotels are subject to regulation, inspection and have standards which must be maintained to operate. It's incredibly difficult to abide by them when you're running a B&B but even tougher for absentee B&Bers which is what air b&b essentially is. Govt oversight of this industry would shut it down. They don't want to hurt small business I know, but this particular small business industry has caused so much havoc in the housing and rental markets making it not only ridiculously difficult for a lower income family to afford to buy a home, but dang near impossible to find one in many markets. There is a direct correlation between the homeless epidemic and rise of these side hustle landlords and it's gotten out of control. Time to crush them under their own weight.

The single best title for a post

I saw problems from the start with the start of Airbnb, Uber and now the rental of your personal vehicle. People complain of having to clean like this person shen checking in, taking care of pets thru didn’t know about, people moving in turning into squatters, parties, theft. Uber/Lyft car jacking robbing of drivers. Then the one where you rent your car is a bad idea.

Well, Im surprised of this experience. When I travel I compare prices with Airbnb and hotels. I rented a condo once and they gave us very detailed instructions, like not being too loud after 10pm. But I am a host also Airbnb is adding their fees to the the daily rental fees making them higher. I charge a cleaning fee and charge the amount that I have to pay my cleaner to clean. Sounds like this guys cleaners are not cleaning as expected and he is not checking periodically. Smh. Sorry for your experience. I would say if an Airbnb looks like they have old furniture do book them. If you are having problems the first day, just find something else asap if you can.

As an air bnb host I’ve had experiences with guests and ask, how do guests think the things they do are acceptable ? examples: guest rearranged the furniture in living room and bedroom and hid the house manual , TV remote check out and WiFi instructions. I had to phone her to ask where everything was ? She hid them all in a drawer that I didn’t even know existed . A guest parked car and set up extension chords and spotlights while they did bodywork on it at night in driveway . Another guest brought the entire harvest from her garden and wanted to make soup and asked me to provide a food processor. After checking out I spent 2 hours scraping tomato skins and seeds off walls ,stove and floor and vacuumed out the dirt from dirt root balls in the refrigerator, coffee grounds on floor next to the waste basket and dripped coffee stains on cabinet doors and floor . And that was BEFORE I could begin routine Covid cleaning ( next guest arriving in 4 hrs) . but the worst thing was the pile of toenail clippings on the coffee table ! Disgusting ! Another guest complained about the heat not working.(the thermostat all the way up .it was 72’ in room ). I asked how hot they expected it to get ? They were barefoot and in t-shirts in winter! They said .at least 80’. Most people at least wear a blouse / sweater and socks or slippers . Or the guest who turned heat up high then left exhaust fan on all day durning 12 ‘ day - sucking heat out and furnace running all day . And I can’t ask for compensation? The cost of stay does not cover a tank of heating fuel

Out of a dozen or so Airbnb or VRBO rental experiences over the years, about 10% have met expectations and been problem free. The hosts have gravitated between completely misleading and negligent to helicopter control freaks who put little notes on everything and expected us to do far too much cleaning and housekeeping given the exorbitant cleaning fees added on.

I had a very bad experience with a host of an Airbnb as well. The house didn't seem old but it smelled old. The room beaide the bathroom flooded overnight. The sliding door was so hard to open even for an adult so when my nephew(10yr old) opened it, the silicon attaching the glass loosened and the side metal. We told the host thatvwe would fix it but the host wants us to pay for the replacement of the entire sliding door!!! We took it up to Airbnb and said they would investigate. They did help. They tried to ask the host of the cost of the repair and put it in writing, but the host didn't provide them with any. So the Airbnb said that this issue was settled because they didn't hear from the host but voila! I was left with a bad rating from the host and my ratings went down with it. I have had a very good rating with the Airbnbs I rented before so this was unacceptable for me. My family had a bad experience and I was the one who had a bad rating???? So unfair!!!!

The fact that she agreed to lie just to save some money makes her an accomplice. So far, no AirBnB host has ever disappointed me. This one is very dodgy and I can't believe places like Canada, a supposedly "developed" country would have this. Even in the Philippines, I've never encountered such dealings. I've been to some really dodgy hotels as well and for what your get for paying a bit more, I'm sticking with AirBnB where it makes economic and ethical sense.

I think the hotels are spreading negative spear campaigns against Airbnb. I am sure there are many horrible events from staying at hotels can could be reported as well. As a Airbnb host and traveler I have found the organization to have a zero tolerance for owners and guests violating their policies. And owners live and die on negative reviews so must be diligent with their cleaning and amenities top notch.

To save you the hassle only book with air bnbs that have your back illegal air bnbs you shouldn't even consider. I hate you've had a past bad experience

As a legal AirBNB & VRBO host with 4 properties & more than 1,000 4.5+ star rating, this article is clearly written by a hotel lobbyist. The claims and actions taken by the guest during the stay are over the top and highly unbelievable, considering her claim that the property came with such high reviews from multiple travelers. This is not unlike the numerous instances of hotels renting properties for multiple tenants only to have press and film crews ready for planned parties & aftermath. The positive experiences for families far out weights the rare occasions such as described, & the.inability to fact check such claims. By all means go back to high hotel prices with 3 & 4 lodging taxes, inflated parking fees, resort fees & rooms with the inability to prepare basic meals. There’s a reason professional athletes families, traveling theatre performers, state department representatives, and average US families choose home sharing -cost/convenience/experience. Tim

I definitely hate to hear these horror stories concerning Airbnbs. Most of my experiences have been good. I however, did have one bad experience. The way I see it, Airbnb themselves need to do a better job in vetting these hosts. They should be required to maintain a certain rating. They must also verified that their places are thoroughly clean. Guests should be given 48hrs from the time they check to thoroughly inspect the place. If dissatisfy, the guest should receive a full refund and help with new accommodations. Since COVID happen, hosts are definitely price gouging and Airbnb should be monitoring these prices to make sure they're compliant.

My daughter, grandson and myself at Kalahari in Wisconsin Dells. The room was $500 a night with a long list of things that you had to do before you checked out and one of the things was to make sure that it was clean or you would be charged extra $200 so I was first a hotel are you 630 get all the convenience or if somebody’s home where it’s basically just potluck

I am an owner of a vacation rental in Gilbert. AZ. We have a management company to help us with the booking side and money. They have strict guidelines and requirements and we appreciate their help. We are the guest contact and always reply fast and get any problems solved in a timely manner. This is our Pension our investment and we pride ourselves giving our guest a 5 star experience. I wish that all owners made this a priority and hate seeing these horrible reviews. We stay in many vacation rentals and take notes of what not to do and what to do! We work to enjoy our retirement!