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This is a common scam - company rents you a property they don't own or have any right to. When you show up you're told that there's a problem of some sort and you're told you can use another of their properties. In desperation you agree. When you get to the other property it'ss much, much worse than what you paid for and basically you're paying top dollar for an unrentable dive.

Airbnb knows about this scam but hasn't done anything to stop it.

Here's Joe Lycett on this exact scam:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LhbOKQnhBU


Definitely, I've read many accounts of the same scam over the last 5 years, and AirBNB has done nothing.

First thought on reading that the "host" offered another place. I've read about this scam numerous times, and you are absolutely correct to refuse it, as the likely target would be a near-uninhabitable insect-infested hole, but without the option to cancel because you just "rebooked" within 24 hrs, after the refund time.

I once arrived in SV and we got to our AirBNB after midnight to find that the listing was nothing like what was described - it was literally 3 different bunks in different random rooms when we'd booked several rooms in a shared house. AirBNB did give us credit worth about half the cheapest single hotel room we could find, but only after arguing for an hour.

I'd previously had good experiences with AirBNB, but it seems seriously overrun with scammers at this point, and the executives just clearly don't get it, especially at the level of PG's "solve intense immediate pain for a small number of people". There's enough of it out there to generate a lot of bad publicity and it just goes ignored. Maybe they'll pay attention with their stock near a 5-year low and under half their 52week high, but I'd sooner short it than buy it.

wwkeyboard
This is a big problem in New Orleans, where short term rentals require a license. The hosts don't have that license so to keep the city from finding them they show a different unit and pull this switch.

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