One of the biggest changes in the travel landscape has been the growth of Airbnb and other property
rental services.
Like ride-sharing, these services have changed the way we book travel, and in many situations,
have made it more accessible to travel further and more affordably.
However, there’s also no shortage of stories where travelers have been victims of scams.
Hey, how’s it going everyone?
It’s Ernest from Trip Astute.
In this video, I want to share some tips on how to avoid getting scammed by an Airbnb
rental, and what to do if you find yourself in this situation.
Getting scammed is a terrible feeling, and it’s even worse when you’re traveling
on vacation.
A lot of people prefer hotels over Airbnbs since there is generally an expectation of
quality that comes with an established hotel or inn.
Though it often makes more sense to reserve an Airbnb when you’re traveling in a big
group or want to get a more local experience.
Also, there are some incredible Airbnb properties around the world that can give you a more
unique experience.
Fiona’s sister recently stayed in one in Joshua Tree and we are hoping to visit soon,
and it looks amazing.
Though with anything, there is a level of risk involved.
So today, I want to review how you can improve the odds of having a great Airbnb experience.
I’m going to cover three main topics.
I’ll focus on what to look before arriving, what to do if you think you’ve been scammed,
and also some general tips to keep in mind.
But before we get started, if you’re new here, welcome to our channel.
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Let’s start with things that you should look for when booking.
These are generally red flags that you’ll want to look for prior to arriving.
1.
Listings that are “too good to be true”: As the old saying goes, if it looks too good
to be true, then it probably is.
If you’re looking through the site and notice a listing that looks incredible for a price
that seems unreasonably low, then it should be a red flag.
Also, watch out for lavish amenities.
While it’s possible that your Airbnb has a private hot tub or pool in New York, it’s
more likely to be a shared pool or hot tub.
If you have an address or even an idea of the location, it’s worth doing a search
on Google Maps and investigating the area and building.
It’s not foolproof, but getting a street-level view can help give you an idea of the overall
building and look of the neighborhood.
2.
Short or undescriptive listings: Another red flag to watch out for are listings without
a lot of information.
This also applies to listings without many photos.
There have been cases where scammers will get staged open house pictures and post them
in their fake listing.
If you’re left wondering what’s provided or not shown key parts of the property, then
it might be worth listening to your suspicion.
3.
Unresponsive hosts: A common behavior found with scammers is being unresponsive.
Most hosts will reach out to you before your arrival to work out any logistical questions
or procedures.
Most important is knowing how you will enter the property.
If don’t get any information prior to your arrival, then I recommend reaching out to
your host.
If your host doesn’t respond or gives vague answers, you may want to consider reporting
it to Airbnb.
4.
Hosts that ask for your personal contact information: One big red flag is being asked to communicate
outside of the Airbnb platform.
While it may seem harmless, Airbnb wants you to keep all your communications on its platform.
This gives them a record of your conversations in case an issue arises.
Also, shady hosts will sometimes ask you to respond to urgent messages via email.
As with any email link, you’ll want to be careful clicking on any links and providing
specific information, like your login.
You could be directed to a spoofed Airbnb site that is meant to steal your information.
I think you’re better off keeping all the communications on the platform so you can
reference them if there’s an issue.
5.
Inconsistent reviews and excessive cancellations: Reviews are probably the best way to gauge
the credibility of your host.
You’ll want to spend time reading the reviews for any trends.
For example, we stayed at an Airbnb a few months ago, and were surprised by the lack
of instructions provided by the host.
When we revisited the reviews, it was clear that others had the same issue.
We disliked having to figure out how to access and operate some of the features in the house
like wifi or the pool.
Even though the property had a high rating, it was clear that others shared our frustration.
In retrospect, we should have read the reviews more closely to look for potential trends
and issues.
Another thing to be cautious of are cancellation notifications.
If the host cancelled the booking, it’s recorded in the host’s history and reviews.
While this doesn’t mean that the host is a scammer, it can identify hosts that might
be unreliable.
The last thing you want is for your host to cancel at the last minute leaving you without
any lodging.
So, suppose you find out that you have been scammed or are dealing with a bad host, what
should you do?
You’ll definitely want to report your issue immediately to Airbnb.
Airbnb typically processes and posts your payment to the host twenty-four hours after
you check-in.
This means that reporting issues in a timely manner can be critical.
Waiting too long could result in a delay in getting a refund, especially if they have
processed your payment and released it to the host.
Another thing is to document as much as you can.
As I mentioned earlier, keeping all your communications on the platform is key for record-keeping
purposes.
I would also recommend capturing photos and videos that you can provide to Airbnb if needed
for your case.
And finally, I wanted to share some additional tips to keep in mind when booking Airbnb stays.
1.
Check local laws: One risk when booking Airbnb stays is that laws regarding the use of property
rentals can change.
Many communities have advocated to restrict Airbnb rentals due to a variety of reasons.
Some don’t like the presence of strangers in the neighborhood, while others have concerns
with how it affects the availability of housing.
For example, in cities like Los Angeles, there have been laws put into place for hosts to
register their property.
Hosts that use a secondary residence for home-sharing can only offer rentals that are over 30 nights.
It’s important to research what laws may affect your rental and verifying with your
host if necessary.
Again, you don’t want to be in a situation where you arrived only to find out that your
booking was cancelled due to a violation.
2.
Give hosts an opportunity to resolve issues: While we talked about reporting serious issues
to Airbnb, if the issue is minor, I recommend giving the host an opportunity to solve the
problem.
For example, when we went to Boston a few years ago, we stayed in an old and historic
Airbnb property.
When I went to the bathroom during the middle of the night, I noticed that there were several
centipedes in the bathroom.
I sent a message to our host to report the issue, and she responded immediately and sent
someone over first thing in the morning to resolve it.
It turned out that housekeeping hadn’t fully closed the bathroom window, which was on a
subterranean level, which let the bugs in.
Our host not only resolved the issue, but left us a bottle of champagne and a dessert
when we got back to the Airbnb.
It was a very nice gesture, and we appreciated her responsiveness and generosity.
The moral of the story is that issues do arise.
If it’s something that your host can resolve, then it’s worth giving them the opportunity
to fix it.
Like with most customer service situations, the response is often more important than
the issue itself.
3.
Use a credit card to make a booking: We did a whole video a while back on why you should
always use a credit card instead of a debit card when traveling.
This is yet another situation where using your credit card can help in the event that
there is a serious issue and you need to request a refund or dispute a charge.
If you’re not sure why a credit card is safer to use than a debit card, check out
our video on the topic.
And finally number 4, build a stash of flexible points: You all know that I love to collect
credit card points to help offset the cost of traveling.
In fact, it’s a big part of what we discuss on this channel.
However, having points is also a great insurance policy.
In the event that you need to find another lodging option, points can be a lifesaver.
We actually encountered a situation a few years ago when we visited Mexico and had an
issue with our room.
When the hotel refused to resolve the issue, we decided to check out and spend the remainder
of our trip at the Andaz Mayakoba.
We basically transferred Chase Ultimate Rewards points to Hyatt to make the booking, and it
ended up being an incredible place to visit.
We did a whole video on the Andaz, so check it out if you’re interested.
Though the key takeaway is that having a stash of flexible points gave us options, which
can save the day or trip if you encounter a problem.
I hope I haven’t discouraged anyone from using Airbnb.
It is a great service, and we’ve had so many memorable Airbnb stays.
I still recommend using Airbnb for stays, but just being mindful of the tips that we
shared.
Plus, while I love hotel stays too, we’ve had issues with hotels and resorts as well.
You should consider both hotels and Airbnbs when booking trips to see what works best
for you.
Have you ever experienced an Airbnb issue?
Do you have any other tips for staying at an Airbnb?
Please let us know in the comment section below.
If you haven’t tried Airbnb but are looking to book a stay on your next trip, you can
get $40 off your first stay when using our link or code.
You can find the link and code in the video description or on our website.
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Until next time, travel safe and travel smart.