Airbnb host mixes up check-out dates, dumps guest's things outside
A guest returning to their Airbnb was shocked to find their possessions — including their passport — dumped outside after the host mixed up their check-out date.
The guest, PM, told The Guardian that they were returning late on their last night in Washington, DC, when they found their things “dumped in the street outside the apartment in carrier bags.”
“Eerily, the apartment had been cleaned,” they stated. “The host arrived and told me I had to leave since someone else had booked that night. By then, it was midnight.”
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After showing their booking confirmation, which clearly stated that their checkout was at 11 am the next day, PM said that the host “looked sheepish.”
“No guest materialized since the host had clearly muddled her dates, and I was allowed to stay the night,” said PM.
According to them, Airbnb only has three options in an emergency: call the police, contact your host, or ask for a partial refund. PM stated that Airbnb doesn’t have a phone number that guests can call, just an option to request a callback. In this case, they didn’t get the callback until 3 am when “mercifully, I had made it to bed.”
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“Airbnb repeatedly tells me it can’t help, which raises the question: what is the service fee for?” asked PM, who added that the host is refusing compensation, claiming that it was a mistake anyone could make.
An Airbnb spokesperson told Daily Hive that they believe the incident was “a genuine misunderstanding from the host, who is a Superhost and has not received any previous complaints of this nature.” The host has since received a warning about the way they managed the situation.
They added, “Our original handling of this case did not meet our high standards, and we have issued a refund and additional compensation to the guest to help make amends.”
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