Hi there,
After the multiple problems we had in the accommodation in Playa del Carmen and that I opened another case with Airbnb so that the host would pay me the equivalent of the work time we had lost due to the multiple internet failures, I received an email where they told me that due to “suspicious activity” my account would be closed and that I would never be able to register again.
The funniest thing is that two minutes later Diego received an email saying that his account was blocked without giving him any explanation.
As there is no information nor is it known how Airbnb manages the personal data of users, they did not send any email about it after “closing the account” and there is also no option in the emails so that you can ask them to delete all your data in accordance with the Data Protection Law, we proceeded to file a complaint with the European Data Protection Agency.
Five minutes later, Diego received an email saying that the closure of his account had been “a system error” and then I received the same message. We were amazed at how incompetent Airbnb can be.
If you’re going to close my account, you close it. I imagine you have the legal arguments to keep it closed. Because with what they did, they fell even lower.
Then I got a message saying that the review I left for the property had been removed because I had mentioned things that were “out of the host’s control”. Really?
Leaving comments on all social networks I realized that it is something that Airbnb always does, that is why the properties that have 5 stars and superhosts are really crap, because Airbnb oversees deleting all the negative reviews so as not to lose money.
Researching on the internet, I was horrified at the reality of this platform. I even felt lucky that my most serious problems were that the accommodation was unhygienic, broken pipes, not having internet; because a lot of people have had very bad things happen to them.
So why is it not recommended to use Airbnb?
- Unsafe
Anyone without identification and without any training in hospitality or tourism can place an ad on this platform. Neither the host, nor the guest, nor the accommodation pass any type of filter.
That is why on Airbnb there is so much offer and even more offer than on consolidated platforms such as booking.com. Because anyone can put an ad, whether it’s real or not. It is the perfect tool for scammers, psychopaths, and rapists.
To be able to advertise an accommodation on booking.com, you must go through a fairly exhaustive evaluation process in which they will verify your identity, that the accommodation really exists and that the address is correct; in addition, your accommodation must be legally registered as a tourist housing and that you pay the respective taxes.
Airbnb spends more than 50 million dollars a year making disappear cases of kidnappings, rapes and robberies.
Hotels have security cameras, 24-hour reception, and a single access system for a reason (and still things happen). Nobody assures you that only you have access to Airbnb accommodation, and I got tired of reading stories of people who had everything stolen from their accommodations.
- Unsanitary
In a hotel, certain hygiene and disinfection protocols must be followed. When registering your property as a tourist accommodation, you may also receive health inspections.
In addition, booking.com has staff dedicated to visiting accommodations to verify the standards that are advertised on the platform.
If Airbnb does not verify that the accommodation exists, much less is it going to ensure that it is clean, and even if you report that it is dirty with photos and videos, all they are going to do is tell you to put it in the review. They are not going to penalize the property or remove them from the platform, and then they may delete your review with some excuse.
Now there’s a policy that if it’s not clean, you must complain within 24 hours after check-in to get your cleaning money back or they’ll send someone to clean it. The reality is that if you find the accommodation dirty, you can’t do anything because the host can get annoyed and give you a terrible review, as happened to me in Cartagena. So, you risk not being able to make more reservations.
The stories about dirty, unhygienic and cockroach infested accommodations are endless.
- Hosts who do not know hospitality
The people who work in a hotel have certain training and experience, so you will find hospitality and people concerned that your stay is perfect (in most cases); besides that, they are concerned and interested in receiving a good review.
In addition, there are employees to solve problems. If it is dirty, if towels are missing, if the drain is clogged, etc.; In 5 minutes you will have someone solving the incident for you and if they cannot solve it, they will move you to another place.
With Airbnb you are at the mercy of the host who may be rude, a psychopath or simply not wanting to give you good service. There are many that once they receive the money, they forget about your existence. I have met many who are not capable of receiving criticism and are offended because they think they are renting you a palace.
If you contact customer support, they will just tell you to deal with the host and not to bother them.
- Bad reviews are deleted
Reviews used to give me a certain sense of security until I discovered that Airbnb deletes negative reviews of the properties. Now I understand why there are such bad accommodations with such good reviews.
Thus, accommodations without reviews or with reviews are just the same. When making a reservation, there is nothing left but to pray and hope that you are lucky so that you are not scammed, the accommodation is clean, there is water, etc.
- It is illegal in many countries
Airbnb is illegal in many countries and if you have a problem with the reservation, you will not be able to go to the police for help or have legal protection.
- Non-existent Customer service
Airbnb’s customer service is practically non-existent; in the best of cases, it takes a week to give you the first answer. To solve a problem, it can take more than a month
It is clear that they are collapsed and that they have no way of managing the number of problems that arise; In addition, the case is passed between one and the other, and you may have to talk to 6 people before reaching someone who can solve the problem.
Therefore, if you have an emergency or your life is in danger, do not count on them at all. Leave the accommodation, call the police, and solve the problem as best you can on your own.
On the other hand, at booking.com when we have had a problem, they have responded immediately, they have contacted the property and have opened the pertinent investigation. It is not perfect but works better.
- Lousy policies
The more I use Airbnb, the more I realize that their policies exist only to ensure that the company does not take responsibility for anything.
When I was a host, I always got emails saying we had $8 million coverage; to accept all reservations because Airbnb’s insurance backed us up. The reality is that your entire accommodation can get burnt to the ground, and Airbnb is not going to cover anything.
Neither as a guest. It doesn’t matter if they steal everything from you, they attack you, they kidnap you, the property is disgusting; Airbnb will not take any responsibility or compensate you for anything.
The policies are so absurd that, even if your life is in danger, you would have to stay in the property and try to work things out with your host or wait more than a week for someone from Airbnb to show up and approve a refund. As logically nobody does that, Airbnb does not return the money.
If you leave, you can’t leave a review, and if you happen to leave a review warning future guests, Airbnb will delete it. The perfect formula for scam.
Apart from this, Airbnb is not responsible for cancellations and the host can cancel your reservation at any time, which is very rare for a hotel to do.
- No free or flexible cancellation
At Airbnb for years there has been no possibility of a free or flexible cancellation. There is no longer any accommodation that has it. So once you paid, that money is lost. It does not matter if your country is closed due to a global pandemic, if you are hospitalized, if a relative dies; there is no way to get your money back if you cancel a reservation.
Instead, on platforms like booking.com and vrbo, you have more flexibility for cancellations or date changes.
- Hurts locals
Airbnb’s slogan was “Live like a local“.
When we travel as tourists, we are not going to live like locals, it does not matter if we rent an Airbnb.
There is no one that has done more damage to locals than Airbnb. It is the fault of this company that the locals must go to live on the outskirts of the cities due to the inflation of rental prices, it is their fault that many residential neighborhoods have been ruined by being filled with tourists, it is their fault that many hotels have closed or have had to lay off half the staff to cut costs.
When we use this platform, we are only giving money to Airbnb and the owner of the accommodation, who may not pay taxes on that money either. That owner is also probably a person who is getting rich from Airbnb rentals.
When you pay for a hotel, you help create jobs for the locals. In addition, you will stay in a hotel zone where you will not disturb the daily life of the locals.
- It is not cheap
At first, Airbnb emerged as something cheap and to make travel more accessible. Currently the prices you find on Airbnb are exorbitant and do not correspond at all to the qualities you find, or to cleanliness, or hospitality, or anything.
To this we must add the exorbitant figure that Airbnb takes away from you per reservation so as not to give you any type of guarantee.
There is almost nothing that costs you less than $1000 a month anymore.
With booking.com you do not pay any fee for booking on the platform and with the genius category, we always have a 15% or 20% discount on the total price. In addition, as you make reservations, you accumulate money in a wallet. With Airbnb there are no discounts or coupons.
- They are not paying the hosts
I have seen many comments on multiple platforms from hosts complaining that Airbnb has not paid them for months, and I have seen amounts of more than $100k, which gives a lot to think about the economic stability of the company.
After the experience in Playa del Carmen, I decided to use Airbnb as little as possible, especially since I’m tired of finding dirty accommodations. But now that we are digital nomads, sometimes we find better options on this platform. Although you are putting a lot at stake when you make a reservation.
If it is to travel on vacation, use any other platform.
Something that made me prefer Airbnb was the “workspace” filter, but most accommodations don’t have a workspace, even if they say they do. The workspace is the dining room table, the kitchen counter, or the sofa table. Now booking.com has that filter too, and from my experience they are more likely to actually have workspace (desk + office chair).
For us, the almost ideal option now that we are living in different countries is the aparthotel because you have complete apartments suitable for long stays, with the services and security of a hotel. Many times, an aparthotel is cheaper than an Airbnb accommodation. With the boom in remote work, I think more and more hotel chains are going to offer this service.
Here are several articles that show the reality of Airbnb:
https://www.theinvisibletourist.com/why-you-shouldnt-use-airbnb-issues-you-didnt-know/
https://www.nomadicmatt.com/travel-blogs/airbnb-breakup/
https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2021/10/11/is-airbnb-safe-new-report-exposes-scams-bug-infestations-and-more/
https://www.asherfergusson.com/airbnb/
https://www.airbnbhell.com/tag/airbnb-unsafe/
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/jul/14/airbnb-misuse-private-landlord-safety-risk-mps
https://www.tripconcierge.co/articles/5-reasons-why-airbnb-is-a-dangerous-lodging-choice
https://medium.com/there-is-always-another-way/the-collateral-damage-of-airbnb-76bc42c774f6