I have been supportive of Airbnb on this Forum, partly because my wife and I are Airbnb hosts with our private guest room here in the States. In the three years we have been doing this we have had only lovely people stay with us and, with one exception in Amsterdam, had good experiences with Airbnb properties when we travel. In all fairness, however, I should tell you about the other side of the story so you can be intelligently cautious when booking with them, or other such sites.

My wife, Annette, a glass artist, recently took a week long class with Bullseye Glass in Portland, Oregon. Since she would be there alone for the week she explored the possibilities of rooms through Airbnb near the studio. There were none available for the entire time, so she booked one place for three nights and then a second for the remaining two nights. I looked at her choices, and commented that the first one looked good, but that the second one did not have many reviews. There were only two reviews for a room in a townhouse, one of which said only, Fernando (the host) “Was a nice man”.

I reminded her that it was a no-no to book places without a lot of positive reviews, but she said the profile of the host on Airbnb, Fernando, sounded OK. The profile mentioned that he rented rooms in his very nice townhouse as he was a student in an alternative medical school. It also said he was affiliated with “Christian Chiropractors for God”. Also, his email address included the words, “God Listens”. “A man like that can't be bad.”, she said.

Wrong! IME when someone makes that much of a show about his religion, one should check their wallet.

She made the five hour drive from Anacortes to Portland and found the first place to be just as advertized; clean, convenient, and with a friendly host. Just before she left home she got an email from Fernando, saying he would be traveling to Florida, but to call his cell phone when she knew when she would be arriving, and he would have the previous tenant let her in and show her around.

She made the call and arrived at the townhouse after class at 5:30, as arranged. Nobody answered the bell. There was a lock box on the door, but nobody home. She waited. She called Fernando. No answer, so she left a message. After about a half hour she called me. I said to call Airbnb. She said she would wait another hour before calling. She had a good book, and nice Fernando would come through.

After the hour was up she did call the Airbnb hotline, where she talked to a most sympathetic guy. He said the protocol was to wait for two hours from the time of the call before they would take action, and in the meantime he would try to contact the host.

After the two hours Annette called back and they said they had not been able to get hold of Fernando, so she should check into a hotel, for which Airbnb would pay the first night. She started calling hotels and motels, only to find all 15 she called in greater Portland were booked for the night.

It was now going on 9:00, and she was having visions of having to sleep in the car, when Fernando called. He was most apologetic. He said there was a mix up in communication with the person who was to let her in. He gave her the combination of the lock box, so she was able to let herself in. What she found inside was an unmade bed, filthy torn sheets, hairs on the sheets, hairs and dust in the uncleaned bathroom and shower, and general disorder.

Having little choice, she made the bed, planning on sleeping on top of the blanket, and to use the bathroom gingerly.

About this time, she heard the door open and another person come into the house. After an initial fright, Annette found out it was the actual owner of the townhouse. Fernando was merely renting a room. The owner had just found out that Fernando had registered with Airbnb as the owner of the property, and had been renting rooms without the owner's knowledge. The owner, Karen, was as horrified as was my wife at the situation, and quickly arranged with a friend for Annette to stay in a friend's spare bedroom for the night. In the end, they did not do that, but Karen brought clean sheets and helped clean the place well enough for habitation. Karen then took Annette out for a (much needed) drink (or two) that night, and to dinner and clubbing the next night. The two ended up becoming good friends.

Throughout the ordeal, the folks at Airbnb were as helpful as possible, under the circumstances. They offered to put Annette up in a hotel at their expense for the first night. They refunded the money she had paid for the two nights she ended up staying at the townhouse, and they gave her $100 credit toward future travel. They also canceled all future reservations for Fernando, They did NOT give Fernando the money, and have kicked him off the site. Karen is also going to kick him out of the townhouse!

Anyway, the lessons learned are ones we should all know and follow for not only Airbnb, but any rental site. Read the reviews carefully. Review the host's profile. If there are not a lot of positive reviews, hesitate before you book. Ask a lot of questions of the host, particularly if you have any doubts. Be suspicious if there are not a lot of clear photos of important things, like the bathroom, bed, kitchen, and living areas; pictures of flower arrangements on tables really tell you very little. Ask the host for additional pictures, and/or contact information for earlier renters if you still have qualms. If they are evasive or slow in answering – move on.

We had thought that the Airbnb practice of not handing over the money to the host for 24 hours after you check in would eliminate ugly surprises, and I'm sure it helps prevent outright scams. It is not an absolute guarantee you won't still encounter the occasional shady swine, however.

In the end things worked out, but it was an experience none of us wants to have.

OMG, that is downright scary! Thank goodness it worked out for Annette in the end.

Hotels for me!

AWFUL. And it could have worse. Yikes.

Thanks for sharing your experience in a non hysterical way. When I travel solo I only book AirBNB with women -managed properties. Not that men are worse necessarily but the possibilities for problems seem greater.
Glad it worked out as well as it did!

At least it ended somewhat ok, even though not what you expected. I do use and buy things online and have been burned a few times. My neighbor was telling me a story about how he rented on VRBO. He got there and the bank had foreclosed on it. I've been burned a couple of times on ebay. It's just hard to know.

Sounds like it turned out OK - but what an ordeal.

But - and I mean this nicely - honest . . . BUT whenever we get a thread about airbnb and anyone dares to say 'it isn't a way I'd travel' or 'be careful, there can be problems', some of the Fodorite airbnb 'fans' will jump all over us saying "Oh don't be silly" Airbnb is perfectly safe - they don't forward the $$ til you check in", etc etc.

Well - you are as experienced airbnb users as exist and look at what happened to your DW . . .

So maybe next time (and you know who you are) don't be so quick to jump on those who say be cautious/re-think it.

just sayin'

"I only book AirBNB with women -managed properties."

Sorry, I don't see that this is any kind of comfort. How do you know that a woman REALLY owns the place? And I have seen plenty of women who would give you pause....

You are right, janisj, the Airbnb policy of not turning over the money until the next day is no guarantee. It is a factor to consider, however, and it does incentify hosts like myself to make sure our place is spick and span when our guests arrive. It would kill us to have someone walk into our room and say, "I can't live in this pigsty!" We take pride in our home and we never fail to get a lift when they walk in and say, "Wow!"

Anyway, as I have seen, one can still get stung. It is comforting that there is an Airbnb hotline one can turn to when things go south, though. Just try to get a sympathetic voice on the phone in the middle of the night from VRBO, Homeaway, or most listing agencies, much less get your money back without purchasing their extra rental protection products.

nukesafe: Several of the Fodorite airbnb 'acolytes' aren't as gracious as you. They slam anyone who dares to voice concern/skepticism.

You wouldn't have thought me "gracious" if you could have heard my language when I thought Annette was going to have to sleep in her car that night! My blood pressure is down now, and I would never slam anyone who advocates caution in making travel decisions. Caveat Emptor has been the mantra for us vagabonds since the phrase was coined by the Romans.

Re woman-managed properties - as I said it's when I travel solo. And that's not by far the only criterion i use. As nuksesafe describes, I look for reviews. etc. Look to see if the place is listed anywhere else - you can't be sure bu sometimes you can google the description and see if it's a legit rental. I also do sleuthing to see if I can figure out the person's name. Sometimes it's surprisingly easy.

Oh, please. As if we've never heard disastrous accounts of hotel stays gone wrong. When people are unscrupulous, bad things happen to those who trust them. This is no more an indictment of Airbnb than the latest account of an overbooked hotel, or flight, or restaurant, is an indictment of those industries.

Thank you for your honest, non-hysterical description of the issues and outcomes.

Not doubting your story, but I'm wondering how Fernando was able to carry out his little scheme.

Was Annette an absentee landlady?

Sorry -- Karen, not Annette.

Longer story, panecott, and not really relevant, but I'll explain anyway. Karen (the owner) rented Fernando a room in her townhouse. That went on for a several months. When Karen got an attractive offer to live on a farm in the area, she moved there for awhile. Shortly after she made the move Fernando started listing rooms in "his" townhouse on Airbnb, as if he was the owner.

Actually, Karen had found out just a few days before about the scheme, and contacted Airbnb to cancel a number of future reservations that Fernando had made. She left Annette's reservation in place because it was only two days out, and she felt it would be unkind to Annette to leave her in the lurch. In fact, Karen showed up that night to see if things had gone well, and to explain to Annette what had happened. Karen felt dreadful about the whole thing, of course, but all's well, etc.

One other little tidbit that gives us some satisfaction. Karen called Annette today to say that Fernando called her to complain that someone had moved his car. (He had been saying he was either in Miami, or Nicaragua only two days ago) Turns out his car had been repossessed because he had stopped making payments. He also told Karen he can't pay her his share of the utility bills for the last several months, but he will be by to pick up his things.

Fat chance! They will either be on the front lawn or, if they have any value, belong to Karen.

"Time wounds all heels!", as the old saying goes.

Glad your wife was able to resolve the problem. But this just reinforces why I would never consider doing this - or even renting a villa except through an established agency that takes CCs and has only professionally managed properties.

Full service hotels for me. (Yes, things can go wrong - but much easier to track potential issues - and easier to resolve things - they can always put you in another room.

Thanks for sharing your lesson learned, Nukesafe. I have had two wonderful Airbnb experiences this year relatively close to home, so I plan to book 3 in Europe for this Spring. Your story will remind me not to be lax in choosing properties. (Any specific property suggestions for Prague, Budapest or Vienna, anyone?)

GinnyJo: If you want recommendations re Prague, Budapest and Vienna you'll do better to start a new thread of your own on the Europe forum instead of piggy backing on an 18 mo old thread on the US board . . .

Oh the adventures of travel! Glad things worked out. Goes to show you it pays to follow your gut feelings, though.