** Airbnb queries & info **

appfry

I was looking for a number or an email to complain to AirBnb about the tedious and time consuming underhand tactic employed by more and more hosts now where you try to book only to get a reply saying the price has doubled or tripled. They need to leave out properties which dont have the correct price on them from my search. And ban the people doing that.
The reason i liked Airbnb before was i could filter based on my budget but now thats just a waste of my time.

All I could find on contacting them was this.

https://www.quora.com/How-do-you-email-Airbnb-customer-support-Does-Airbnb-deliberately-try-to-prevent-people-from-emailing-them

So Im finished with AirBnb now anyway. Imagine if you arrived at wherever you are staying and the place either didnt exist or wasnt fit to stay in. Good luck trying to get a hold of Airbnb. You'll be standing out in the cold in the middle of the night cursing them for leaving you high and dry. No thanks

pilly

Okay, I am getting worried now. I could be stuck very close to Christmas with only a kip of a motel to stay in. I'm considering cancelling. There are still no reviews for the property I booked on the website.

the watchman

Hi, I was thinking of joining the AirB+B site so that I could use the service for cheaper accommodation. I was reading the requirements for signing up and it seemed to me that Air B+b want to put you on Facebook if you sign up. Have I got that right. would they create a facebook page for 'me'. I am not currently on Facebook and nor do I wish to be.
Am I understanding this correctly.

Any comments welcome .
Thanks in advance.

killbillvol2

There's no need to connect your Facebook page to AirBnB (or in your case to create a FB account).

huskerdu

When you try to register you will be asked "would you like to sign up using your facebook page".
Answer no and you can register as normal.

pilly

the watchman wrote: »

Hi, I was thinking of joining the AirB+B site so that I could use the service for cheaper accommodation. I was reading the requirements for signing up and it seemed to me that Air B+b want to put you on Facebook if you sign up. Have I got that right. would they create a facebook page for 'me'. I am not currently on Facebook and nor do I wish to be.
Am I understanding this correctly.

Any comments welcome .
Thanks in advance.

I think you still have to upload a photo of yourself even if you don't connect to FB though. They insisted I upload a photo before I made a booking.

amber2

Last night found an apartment which I was interested in renting it was €78 per nights for 9 nights, coming in at 800 odd after charges. I messaged the host
To enquire how many Minutes walk it was from city centre was & received a "special offer" for €1244 & no response to my question. I now can't get back into the original price as it's coming up complete booking where the request to book icon is. Anyone ever had a similar experience or have any advice.

pilly

amber2 wrote: »

Last night found an apartment which I was interested in renting it was €78 per nights for 9 nights, coming in at 800 odd after charges. I messaged the host
To enquire how many Minutes walk it was from city centre was & received a "special offer" for €1244 & no response to my question. I now can't get back into the original price as it's coming up complete booking where the request to book icon is. Anyone ever had a similar experience or have any advice.

Jesus that's expensive, what city is it in?

appfry

amber2 wrote: »

Last night found an apartment which I was interested in renting it was €78 per nights for 9 nights, coming in at 800 odd after charges. I messaged the host
To enquire how many Minutes walk it was from city centre was & received a "special offer" for €1244 & no response to my question. I now can't get back into the original price as it's coming up complete booking where the request to book icon is. Anyone ever had a similar experience or have any advice.

All the time with Airbnb now.
People are just putting teaser prices on. When you try to book they say that the price was a mistake and double it.
In doing that they out a lock on your credit card and you have to wait 24 hours for the request to book to expire before you can try another one. Then its the same on the next one.
AIRBnB has gone from being excellent and easy to use, to a pain in the hole to use with all the false prices advertised.
Total waste of time now trying to book anywhere on it so I dont even bother with it. Its only been like that a few months, but already it has ruined the site.

masterboy123

Hi,
Looking to use AirBnB for the first time in USA and wondering if it's safe enough to use it? Of course going to pick up a place with good reviews.

Also, are the"additional charge" i.e. cleaning charges and service fee applies on daily rate or once off at the check out? And do they provide towels everyday? Given i am looking to get the whole place for my stay.

Thanks!

athtrasna

It depends on the city, AirBnB is illegal in some US cities and it is a risk to book it for those cities.

T-Maxx

Maybe ask the specific place?

KilOit

Used Airbnb in many countries, each individual place is different you have to read what they supply and read reviews. Generally can't go wrong with a place with over a dozen perfect ratings. Any place I had the entire apartment or cabin I had my own towels etc but no 2 are the same

masterboy123

San Francisco and Las Vegas

T-Maxx wrote: »

Maybe ask the specific place?

dennyk

masterboy123 wrote: »

Hi,
Looking to use AirBnB for the first time in USA and wondering if it's safe enough to use it? Of course going to pick up a place with good reviews.

Also, are the"additional charge" i.e. cleaning charges and service fee applies on daily rate or once off at the check out? And do they provide towels everyday? Given i am looking to get the whole place for my stay.

Thanks!

It's generally as safe to use as any other vacation-rental-by-owner service. Just look for a place with decent reviews, preferably over a reasonably long period of time, detailed, and from users who have reviewed multiple AirBnBs, to avoid potential scams. While it is illegal to operate an AirBnB in some locations, as athtrasna noted, you cannot get in any legal trouble for staying there as a guest; it's the owner of the property who would be subject to fines or other legal consequences if they are operating an illegal holiday rental.

The cleaning fee and the service fee are applied once per stay. Everything should be documented in the listing and paid via AirBnB; if the owner tries to assess additional undocumented fees or demands payment via some other method, then do not deal with them and report them to AirBnB.

For the linens, you'd need to read the listing or ask the host to be sure, but most whole-house hosts will not provide daily cleaning services or change linens/towels during shorter stays. Think of it as more of a self-catering holiday rental than a hotel. For a multi-week stay, some hosts might offer the option of periodic cleaning and linen services, but you'd have to ask.

CelticRambler

SonNo.2 is planning a trip to Dublin and looking for accommodation for five. On Airbnb's search page, a couple of appartments show up as "90€". Fair enough for a three-to-a-room student-type appartment on the northside.

But when you go through to the booking page the 90€ has become 91€ per night for no particular reason.
And 7x91 would normally be €637 but magically becomes €640, so altogether it's now 10€ more than it was a minute ago.

But there’s a 10% discount for a full-week booking, which will be 64€ right? No, it's 57€ :eek: WTF?

Then there’s a cleaning fee of 30€ and the service fee of 72€ which brings the total to 685€ making it 97€86 per night. The banner above the booking box proudly proclaims = 83€ per night.

I hope the Revenue don't rely on Airbnb to do self-assessments, because their maths isn't the best.

Incidentally, the same place booked through the .co.uk version of the site shows up at £77 per night on the map/search page, then becomes £80 a night when you try to book it. Anyone know what the story is behind this unexplained jump in price from one screen to the next?

scamalert

CelticRambler wrote: »

SonNo.2 is planning a trip to Dublin and looking for accommodation for five. On Airbnb's search page, a couple of appartments show up as "90€". Fair enough for a three-to-a-room student-type appartment on the northside.

But when you go through to the booking page the 90€ has become 91€ per night for no particular reason.
And 7x91 would normally be €637 but magically becomes €640, so altogether it's now 10€ more than it was a minute ago.

But there’s a 10% discount for a full-week booking, which will be 64€ right? No, it's 57€ :eek: WTF?

Then there’s a cleaning fee of 30€ and the service fee of 72€ which brings the total to 685€ making it 97€86 per night. The banner above the booking box proudly proclaims = 83€ per night.

I hope the Revenue don't rely on Airbnb to do self-assessments, because their maths isn't the best.

Incidentally, the same place booked through the .co.uk version of the site shows up at £77 per night on the map/search page, then becomes £80 a night when you try to book it. Anyone know what the story is behind this unexplained jump in price from one screen to the next?

havent used site yet just looked around globe,but could your issue be a simple one the cheap price could be for booking it for a week or some minimum stay amount advertised,thus if booking for day or two extra jump,since when looking any places usually its cheap,but when you got to put in stay say a week,then it goes up straight away.

Since seems airbnb uses simple advertising tactics,which isnt bad just shows lowest price taking into account if person was to book for longer term thus shorter stay less discount.

pilly

So, I'm just back from Toronto and my Airbnb was a bit of a disaster. When I booked it, it was definitely smoking allowed, the main reason I picked it.

When I arrived everything was lovely except for the fact that the door from the house to the basement opened straight into the basement if that makes sense so in theory I could have been running around naked and someone could come in the door at any time. That made me feel a little uncomfortable as I had booked it as a whole place, not a room in someone else's home. Anyway, kind of got over that and trusted that they wouldn't come in.

Later that evening I got a message from the renter that her Dad wasn't comfortable with me smoking in the basement. Considering now it was minus 18 degrees that evening I didn't fancy going up the stairs and out the door every time I wanted a smoke and the door made a loud beeping noise each time you went in and out anyway so I felt this would disturb "Mum and Dad". I tried suggesting a compromise in that I only smoke in the bedroom with the window open and she said that was okay.

Next morning however, she says that's not okay and "dad" still not comfortable. So I explained to her that the reason I had booked it was because smoking was allowed and she replied that she thought "mum and dad" would be away and so the decision was hers but they weren't so it wasn't!! She also thanked me for opening the window and lighting candles. Now I'm left wondering how she knew I had candles lit, had they peeped in during the night?

Long and short of it I found an alternative and told her I would like a refund. Paid 432, got 323 back so it cost me 109 euro for one nights very uncomfortable stay.

I kind of thought it was too good to be true from the beginning so always beware and double check these things.

Found it much easier in the end to book a smoking hotel room, it was a bit shabby but felt safe and private and at ease to do whatever I wanted within the law!!

Some Canadians I spoke to said "smoking allowed" probably referred to weed as that's more acceptable than tobacco over there!! Figure that one out!

CelticRambler

scamalert wrote: »

could your issue be a simple one the cheap price could be for booking it for a week or some minimum stay amount advertised,thus if booking for day or two extra jump,since when looking any places usually its cheap,but when you got to put in stay say a week,then it goes up straight away.

Nope. I'm used to looking on sites like Travellodge where the price is "from £29" and you see that there's one day available in a long weekend for £29 but the first one is (say) £69 so that's the price they use for each night.

But when I put the dates in, I specified exactly the dates my son is planning, the search page came back with 90€ (£77) - no ifs or buts - until they went to multiply it, when it was 91€ (£80 - not even the same invisible mark-up) times the number of nights. Then it's rounded up to the nearest ten for no particular reason. The booking is for a week, and it's specifically stated "10% discount" for weekly bookings ... but the discount given is less than 9% (not even a round 9%).

It reminds me of the bad old days of Aer Lingus (not Ryanair ) and their 9.99€ fares that ended up costing 50-70€ by the time they'd added on all the non-optional extras. I thought those days were over.

All that dodgy maths makes me very wary of doing business with the company.

scamalert

last guess would be maybe conversion rates sterling to euro since every place have their own exchange rates going,but since you mentioned same happening in same currency dunno,maybe some sort of mistake from airbnb site-since yes remember the ryanair trick's ,which nowadays seem more hassle to book flight when going trough 10 pages making sure not to get some extra insurance,protection,seat allocation and end up at price that was displayed in the first page.

djPSB

When renting a private room, is it generally expected that the person can use the kitchen to cook? If there is no reference to cooking in the house rules.

ballyharpat

djPSB wrote: »

When renting a private room, is it generally expected that the person can use the kitchen to cook? If there is no reference to cooking in the house rules.

In my listing, I state that the use of the kitchen is permitted, I think others may do the same, generally its stated whether it is or isn't allowed..... but if you read the listing and are still unsure, then it's worth dropping them a message

johnp

Heading to Cuba on holiday later in the summer and found a place on AirBNB. When I tried to book I have to pick one of the following



What do I pick out of that?!

munchkin_utd

maybe choose a different property
It seems that air b n b has some properties which are specifically meant for non profit organisations

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1578/what-are-the-eligibility-requirements-for-hosting-a-social-impact-experience

Dinarius

Am considering a 4 night break in New York, late July.

Wondering if anyone has AirBnB (or alternative) experience or recommendations.

We would be a couple - so double room (preferably ensuite) required.

Thanks.

D.

Ps. Replies via PM if necessary. Thanks.

gizmo81

As far as I am aware it's not legal in New York, that's not to say you won't find somewhere but I'd have a back-up.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/feb/12/airbnb-hosts-new-york-fines-government-illegal

Dinarius wrote: »

Am considering a 4 night break in New York, late July.

Wondering if anyone has AirBnB (or alternative) experience or recommendations.

We would be a couple - so double room (preferably ensuite) required.

Thanks.

D.

Ps. Replies via PM if necessary. Thanks.

finbarrk

I stayed in a room in an apartment in Manhattan about 6 months ago. (airbnb) It was my own room in a couples apartment. It suited me as I was only spending sleeping time there. But I don't know would it have suited a couple. But the location was good, walking distance from the MSG, which is where I was attending. I think it was about $125 a night. Which was cheap for the location. Manhattan is expensive.

Dinarius

Thanks for the replies. Yes, had been checking hotels in NY and they're pricey. Hence the enquiry.

The legal situation is surprisingly backward for a city like NY, I think.

Thanks again.

D.

cactusgal

Dinarius wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. Yes, had been checking hotels in NY and they're pricey. Hence the enquiry.

The legal situation is surprisingly backward for a city like NY, I think.

Thanks again.

D.

Not if you live there, you get fed up with randomers having keys to your apartment building, compromising security, making noise, etc.

It's my understanding that Air Bnb is legal in NYC if you're staying with the owner/long term lease holder. I did a 3 week stay in April, sharing a 2 bed apartment with the long term lease holder and it worked out well for me, not sure if it would suit a couple.

gizmo81

“A huge number of the properties are available as short-term holiday lets for a week at a time, so they’ve been targeted by the sex trade. We’ve been running an operation to safeguard sex workers over the last two years and made several arrests related to trafficking in the CB1 area.”

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/architecture-design-blog/2017/jun/13/an-embarrassment-to-the-city-what-went-wrong-with-the-725m-gateway-to-cambridge

From my experience living next door to Air BnB's in Dublin this is a huge problem.