Airbnb reviews

Be aware not make resrvation by them no customer service

I HAD unacceptable experience with them when i needed a customer service. When you make a reservation you have to pay them around 10% commision but when you will need a help from them you will not get it.
Customer service is Not in their lexicon. The web is full with accomodation places without the need to pay in advance or pay a commission for service that you will not get from them.
one of the places that i made reservation by them i had to wait 4 hours to the host to come all what in airbnb had to say was that i should Coordinate with the host. they forget that i am the customer i pay the money so i expect to get a service from them and from the host.
As i said CUSTOMER SERVICE NOT EXIST IN THEIR LEXICON

The custom service...??Do they have any...?

The hosts is not the problem, the custom service sure are...I was promised a 38 euro credit to use on my next booking when the first host canceled the reservation...I was told that the money will still be on Airbnb and all I have to do is book another place and if its more expensive the credit will be used..NO credit was used, or the old reservationmoney...They took 2 days to answer a mail(there is no phone number). And the answer I got was that the credit didnt worked and I can transfer back my money in 5-7 business days..
Will probably never use this company again.

Excellent

March, 2013 trip to Shanghi,China. Stayed at Airbnb member's home. Polly0660@Hotmail.com was an excellent host, along with her daughter. Had private room and bath , fully furnished and clean with portable heater. Bed was a little hard but this is normal for China. Polly & daughter speak English which was very helpful to us. When we gave her our China itinerary, she helped us get our train tickets. In a notebook we wrote in English various phrases we would need for the Metro, train. hotels, and foods. She then wrote them out in Chinese underneath the English. She was a lifesaver. Her apartment is across the street from the metro, a large mall with numerous food eateries and a large shopping area. She lives in the French Connection area which is a historical district. We felt very safe. If we have the opportunity to return to China, we will most definitely contact Polly through Airbnb for our reservations. Her neighbors were also very friendly and helpful.

Do not use

Here is what I have learned in past three days. To use the service requires creation of an account which is a cumbersome, intrusive process. You must give credit card information to even determine if your desired location is available. Airbnb will then "book" the accommodation, confirm the booking to you and hit your credit card with full booking amount along with a 21 dollar "service fee." This is all done even though the owner does not have the accommodation available. Then 24 hours later when you are told there is no actual booking, you are told you must cancel the reservation but forfeit the service charge. Then after much time spent in e-mails with the owner and largely unresponded to efforts o communicate with airbnb you are told since the owner cancelled that you are entitled only to an airbnb credit and then can only get a refund by going through several more steps. This service stinks.

Customer Service NON-EXISTENT. Rip-off. Would never use or recommend again

I had a TERRIBLE experience with AirBNB. You are better off forking up a few extra bucks for a last minute deal through expedia or some other better reputed travel site with better customer service.

I put in an offer on AirBNB, but when discussing logistics, got a bad/creepy feeling when corresponding with my host, and told this person I was withdrawing my offer. Despite having this IN WRITING, my host clicked "accept" of my offer from his end, before I could formally cancel the request, resulting in the charge on my credit card of $500. I wrote to AirBNB customer service several times, with written proof that I had told my host I didn't want to stay there prior to his clicking "accept". But the service is NON EXISTENT. It takes at least 15 minutes clicking around the website to even find the contact email address, there is no contact phone number where you can speak to a rep, and it take takes another at least 3 days to get a generic form response. When my issue was not resolved, I wrote again, and they never got back to me.

I am mid-20s, graduate student, have done the whole backpack in Europe on a dime, and traveled extensively and had many misadventures which become stories later on, but this AirBNB is my worst experience / scam/ rip-off. DON'T Use it. If you're lucky and everything goes as planned great, but as soon as there's one hiccup, they don't help you out, and leave everything to be your problem, and you to pay the non-refundable fees, and won't even answer your inquiries.

I will never use this service ever again, and I would not recommend it to anyone I know.

Very Risky . Extremely frustrating and ineffectual customer support

We tried to book an apartment through the airbnb website which required cedit card details. The apartment was not available but airbnb held and then refunded approximately $700. On enquiring about a 2nd apartment without entering credit card details, airbnb held off approximately $850. Again this apartment, although showing available was not. It is now 7 days and the funds have not been released despite corresponding with their 'Help' desk ( there is no easy telephone/email support) and forwarding the fax number of our bank to enable them to confirm the transaction is not going ahead. This has caused stress and inconvenience and we still have no certainty that airbnb will cancel the payment for a property that we cannot use. I would strongly advise that anyone using this service do not do so unless they have had correspondence with owners that they are 100% sure they can trust. To hold onto funds of this level is totally unacceptable and I would imagine what few people can afford. I would not use airbnb or recommend airbnb to anyone else. I have been a holiday property provider myself for over 10 years and would regard this kind of behaviour as immoral.

Horrible customer support for hosts

I have listed my apartment that I wanted (needed) to rent out for one month and for some reason it did not appear in the searches. Moreover, I had constant major technical problems when setting up my listing (prices were saved inconsistently, I had to redo it over and over). So I tried to contact a technical support. You would expect a huge company like Airbnb to have an efficient support system in place.

Well, there is a live chat, an option which I ususally favor. But Airbnb's live chat either does not even exist or it is really so busy that it is permanently unavailable. So no option.

On Facebook they offer a chat as well. Gave it a shot, already a bit suspicious because I knew of the live chat. And truly, it turned out to be just email that was never (not within 36hrs at least) replied.

Searching their help site did not give me any answers. So I tried to contact them via their "Contact" page. But if you think you just find an email address or phone number - wrong!!! "Contact" first of all intends to redirect you back to FAQs and forums that didn't answer your question in the first place. But there is an email option - only if you indicate that your problem is of different nature. However, the only way I found to describe my problem was on a "Feedback Form" , and as expected this has not been reviewed or replied to within 36 hrs now.

However, I have received multiple emails by Airbnb that pretend to be support. All of them are automated of course, and they are the worst "joke" about this support system: they are nothing but a copy of my own question - followed by a mail asking for a consumer rating how good their support was! Are they kidding their customers???

I have never ever had such a horrible customer support experience!

Terrible

Customer service reps do not give clear or concise answers. It just obviously a copy / paste response with NO consideration for he individual concern. They respond promptly but take no responsibility despite being told the issue is coming from the air bnb company's end. This seemed too good to be true, especially for a broke student and now I am concerned they have ripped off my money .. Be careful !

Good opportunity to travel safely and confortably, inadequate website communication

I have been using airbnb since 2011, travelling to Australia, Usa, France and Italy and never had real problems, OK.
But today they asked me to verify my account., OK,
I spent 3-4 hours on line and didn't succeed to end the process, it always stops at the same step: the verification of the phone number: the presumed text message with a code never arrives, nor the phone call.
Useless to try, as an alternative, to scan an Id document, the presumed scan button, once pressed, doesn't start any application or browse any folder to find an archived image.
When I tried to find a direct phone contact I found a page in which it's written that to do that I should make the verification before...
12 hours is the limit before the booking is cancelled. Meanwhile I gave access to my Linkedin account and the reservation process was already started with money already taken from my card. I eventually wrote to trust@airbnb.com I hope this is solved in a few hours, with excuses.

The hassle isnt worth the cheap lodging!

Had a terrible experience when we went to Avignon France last friday.
The place had tons of great great reviews! BUT it was a dump! It was on the basement which apparently was remodeled into a room. The owner was a heavy smoker and the whole house smelled like it. The towels all smelled with cigarette fumes, no toiletries, no hot water then I found some blood on a window sill. Owner said it was red wine - didn't look like it. Didnt check in but called Air BnB to complain and ask for refund, which is a pain in itself since I have to take pictures of the place and list my complaints then email it to them. Has it occured to them that when one is travelling- internet isnt always accessible esp . if you are in Europe????
Also, the security deposit of $200 is still -until now- pending! 3 days later!
I say Never Again!!!! Just so mad about it I could punch someone!

Elisabeth Soechting found this review useful

Always something wrong

I use airbnb a lot because of live in lots of different countries for my work. The amount of things that go wrong is unbelievable. I have booked close to 40 places through airbnb and half of them have be cancelled, altered or the landlord just didn't show up. It was a great concept, but now it is a massive headache to me. I try to avoid airbnb and stay in hotels as much as possible, but lucky for them it's sometimes unavoidable.

Elisabeth Soechting found this review useful

Curly Larry and Moe

This company is so disorganized and the web site is so difficult to navigate. I think the owners of airbnb are Curly Larry and Moe of the Three Stooges. When you call them they are not helpful at all. They tell you how to verify your account but when you try to do it it doesn't work. So frustrating. Don't use them unless you want your blood pressure to go up.

Beppe F. and Elisabeth Soechting found this review useful

Found a nice apartment in Barcelona.

Nice website, me and my friends found a really nice apartment in the Ramblas in Barcelona for a couple of days. Two friends that were at the same time there found a nice one through Airbnb as well.

Do not use AIRBNB for a stay of more than 1 week!

You do not have a contract with Host. Host can kick you out at his will. Note response from AIRBNB when I was asking to stick to the contract and that I had paid for 44 nights and wanted to stay 44 nights: "While we do discourage host's from doing so, a host is fully entitled to cancel a reservation at any time and ask the guest to vacate the property. We would hate to see that happen, however as a third party; Airbnb has no control over this decision."
Host threatened me to throw me out with Police out of an apartment in France after I listed in writing all the things he had failed to provide according to what he listed in his posting. I had to leave 7 days before with 17 hours of notice to pack and clean apartment.
SO WHAT IS THE POINT OF AIRBNB EXISTENCE? THEY DO NOT PROTECT YOU OR HELP YOU IN ANYWAY. NEVER EVER AGAIN I WILL USE AIRBNB. Customer service reps tell you one thing and then another one a complete opposite thing.

Potentially great but lots of risks and headaches for guests and hosts that money just can't buy

Airbnb has an excellent platform and customer service is often great. There are many wonderful professionals in customer service at Airbnb. I would have liked to give a 5 star review to Airbnb because they definitely have the potential and resources; however some of their leadership in customer service and possibly overall is very questionable and that creates huge problems for Airbnb guests and Airbnb hosts and for their safety.

I have not been a guest on Airbnb yet but I have been a host for a few months and I have over 30 reviews from guests and my average star rating is 5 star ratings on every category. I have met some great guests on Airbnb but I have also had a couple of horrible experiences where I have received inadequate support from Airbnb or where Airbnb customer service actually made my experience much worse

I have met a couple of lying, deceitful, or racist guests on Airbnb and Airbnb is unwilling to fix this.

I had a horrible U.S. Airbnb customer service experience with Jessica H and Delilah B, who were rude, deceitful and abusive and their manager who refuses to speak with me.

I have noticed some bias on several occasions from Airbnb representatives. Airbnb seems to favor guests over hosts, now that there is an abundance of hosts on Airbnb, and women over men many times if there are disputes thus making the community unfair.

They are also sometimes very slow in addressing urgent concerns, and do not always follow their own Airbnb rules but bend them according to "case manager" is on duty so it is unfair and biased and there is no accountability mechanism as sometimes they won't allow or discuss complaints or in fact retaliate instead of appreciating the feedback.

I have also been contacted in the past through Craigslist from Airbnb hired people who claimed to be non-associated with Airbnb but were trying to push their service and make hosts sign up on Airbnb.

One Airbnb guest from Malaysia stole from me, lied to me, harassed me damaged my property and made racist remarks about people from India (I am not from India but I do not like racist people). Airbnb did not protect me appropriately and I lost money and a lot of time. In addition, Airbnb penalized my listings in the search results so that my listings are much harder to find for guests who want to book in the area.

Another Airbnb guest, an organization from Oakland, CA, recently contacted me through Airbnb to stay at one of my locations to do their work. They misled me and I had accepted their reservation based on the information they gave me. After receiving booking confirmation, I found out their name and immediately learned through a google search that they are involved in illegal activities on a regular basis. This guest / organization later confirmed this in writing by messaging me on Airbnb.

As my guests' safety is my priority, I do not allow any guests who are involved in illegal activities to interact with me or any of my guests. I informed Airbnb about this group immediately, Jessica H canceled the reservation, without my authorization, and then lied to me and her colleagues. Airbnb never paid me (of course I did not want any money or any relationship with this group), and then blocked my calendar so I could not accept any other reservations for that date, fined me $100 for the cancellation that they made without my authorization, penalized my listings in the search results so that they harder to find for guests who want to book in the area. They also told me that I was "policing".

As a courtesy, I also informed the guest / group immediately, after consulting with Airbnb on how to do it best, that my locations were not available for them for that date or any future date as they wanted to book additional dates with me.

Airbnb penalized me while in fact I was just protecting the Airbnb community and my guests. I hosted a single mom and her two young children the day that this illegal group representative was supposed to stay with me; so they would have stayed in the same location.

Apparently Delilah B. and her manager were supportive of this group's agenda as they also helped them secure a more expensive room with a different host and donated this guest about $50 to book a room with the other Airbnb host (and they collected the fees from the other host as well in addition to mine).

Delilah B.'s manager won't talk to me even after I was assured that a case manager would contact me but she never did and then I was told that no one would contact me.

I regularly pay my fees to Airbnb, introduced many new happy guests to Airbnb and worked hard to make Airbnb look good, regularly provide valuable feedback to Airbnb about their web site and service and how to improve it, so this is unfortunate, biased, unfair and uncalled for. Delilah B.'s conduct and her manager's were unacceptable, unreasonable and rude.

Terrible: No help/No concern

Never have I felt so unwelcome when trying to spend money.
I was looking for a place to stay, I finally found the perfect apartment and contacted the host, she reserved the apartment for me and then when i tried to finally book it, I was asked to verify my ID in 3 different ways. Half of the process was broken, the forms not showing and when I contacted the staff they basically told me: too bad.
I even sent them a copy of my ID through email and they don't take it unless it's coming from "the mystery form" that doesn't show (they tried to say I wasn't using the right browser or whatnot but everything on my part was OK.).
So it was just a total waste of time for both me and my hostess who missed a couple of days when she could have found someone and me a place.
I mean, isn't it already clear I'm not a scam if I'm spending 2000$ upfront? Why would a scammer do that?

Elisabeth Soechting found this review useful

Terrible customer service.

The unit was filthy and filled with clutter. Our lungs filled with smoke upon entering the unit. Notified the customer service line immediately and they returned stating that there standards weren't violated. Wow! Really? So it's acceptable to find fecal matter all over the toilette seat, hair all over the floor and countertops, stickiness all over the sink, food and plates left over in the sink and table, clothes to be left everywhere and cigarette smoke to permeate the room for a final touch? Really? That's how low your standards are? Breaking out in a rash and your not able to do anything? Really?!

Elisabeth Soechting found this review useful

Completely unresponsive to my concerns and left me stranded.

Re:Ticket No. 2004310
On Sunday, May 5 because of a family emergency I needed a room on short notice in the Georgetown area of Washington, DC. Airbnb was highly recommended to me as a means of obtaining a place to stay. What resulted was a nightmare which only added to my existing stress. Using Airbnb's website I selected a host but learned that this facility was not available for the dates needed. The next choice was available. I provided all the extensive infrmation and financial data required. I also noted to the host in the comments area that I was leaving early the next morning train for Washingwton. I requested that if he had not contacted me on my l\and line,cell phone or by email by the time I left that he call me on my cell phone leaving his tele[hone number and address. Also on Sunday I wrote to Airbnb notifying them that I was travelling early Monday and requested the telephone number of my host ,so that I could contact him on my arriva.l I received a completely unresponsive automated reply.Thus, on my arrivak I was unable to contact anyone connected to Airbnb and did npt know whether or not I had a rom or if I did - where it was. The result was a long unsuccessful day of tryying .to find the host location.I have never heard a work from the person who was supposed to be my host. Ultimately, I checked into a small hotel at almost twice the cost of the Airbnb accommodation It was only the kindness of many strangers that I was aboe to fimd accommodations and much needed rest. I had spent almost five hours walking with my luggage trying to find a location with inadequate information. Airbnb has not offered any explanation or compensation.

Super platform til at finde alternative overnatningssteder på rejsen!

Jeg har brugt Airbnb optil flere gang - Og kan varmt anbefale alle til at finde deres næste overnatning her!

Good company but fails to check that all host produce good basic standard for kitchen facilities, and clean, fresh bedding

I have used Airbnb in Europe all to our great satisfaction .
But in Beijing we have just had ( 09. 04.13)the most horrendous bad time ever. First the host left the apartment key under the carpet. Knowing that we were to arrive after 5pm. We finally arrived at 6pm.
The apartment was dirty, used bedding , no certain or blinds in bedrooms. In the kitchen, Not even cups, cutlery, crockery, saucepan. Just empty cabinets.
Then when we rang the host (Charlie) to say that for a Western guest that was a disaster, that such unsatisfactory standard, would not be expected from a self catering; he angrily requested that we leave his apartment at once. Not knowing the language, being two over 65 years old couple, we felt terrible hopeless. Where to go at night ,heavily loaded, and no means of communication. We said that under those circumstances we will stay the night in and in the morning look for help. He responded "you leave my place now" . I said " you come here, bring my money and book for hotel for us. " He was most unconsidered to our request. Half and hour later two young Chinese fellows appear to the door and hand in their mobile with our host talking to us. He said " as his apartment was not good for us he let it to those two men" . My husband and I said that we will not be in the street because of his irresponsibility. That we could stay seating in the lounge and the two men could sleep in one of the bedroom, but thrown on the street we will not be. The young men decided to leave. An hour later while we were having a meal in a near restaurant, we found our luggage outside right by the door. Open the door and there was Charlie with a French fellow. After a good talk, we finished in good terms. Charlie agreed he will return our money via airbnb and also arranged a hotel for us there and then. I left it that all of these happens for these Chinese Hosts ignore the minimum standard of Western guest for self catering. So our interested is not to give bad publicity to Airbnb neither to Charlie, but we must advise other host in China that a self catering idea is to feel at home. And to Airbnb to request all Host that cleanliness , fresh , clean bedding, and basic kitchen equipment for one to prepare one' s hot drink or meal are essential.
Airbnb Costumer Service told me that as I did not take photos of the place state. They could do nothing.for our money paid to Charlie. That that will be left between host and guest arrangement. Today, 02. 05. 13 on our arrival back to Uk. I still have not heard anything from Charlie. But " Don not worry" when I sent to him an email from our Hong Kong self catering on 28th April.
To our bad luck our self catering in Honk Kong was also with dirty,smelling bedding, and kitchen as empty as the one as Charlie's one. But this was Wimdu, not with airnb. Thus to future users of self catering in China, just be sure you do not go through what we have had.
So. Here we are. No help about our money paid for four nights at Chatlie.

So so.... better alternatives available!

Had mixed experiences renting out our ski lodge on Airbnb.

Response rate has been very low - probably due to the large number of properties listed in our area. I would say it is worth a try but don't expect a great deal from this site. Sites such as www.chalet-hire.com which are tailored to your local area / niche tend to garner better results.

Elisabeth Soechting found this review useful

Used 3 times - pretty good

Like them, had one really good experience with a cool flat in Nice, the other two were so-so. I know its impossible but would love to be able to view a property first for a long trip. I go on long trips and its very important I get a good place to stay.

Never again!

I am kind of disappointed with this company. I'll just tell a few things I did not like. 1) Airbnb charges 2 amounts, both over $1, on your credit card to verify you (which is an actual surcharge on top of other charges). 2) They charge a reservation amount right away, even if a host did not confirm the reservation yet. 3) Their host ratings do not seem reliable. In my case, the host had very good reviews. But everything turned out to be overstated: the place was neither clean nor quiet as described. I guess customers, especially first-timers, give good reviews expecting the same courtesy from the hosts. After this experience, I think that paying a bit more for the hotel is worth it.
P.S. On its website, Airbnb shows only 5-star reviews from this website... Very deceptive. Do not trust Airbnb!

Amanda_d00 and Elisabeth Soechting found this review useful

No phone contact for customer service and emails are slow

Airbnb requires you to verify your account with your credit card. They charge an amount under a $1.00 and then require you to enter the digits online. THIS METHOD DOES NOT WORK because MC posts all sub $1.00 charges as a $1.00. SO I could not verify my account unless I supplied them with Facebook and/or Linkedin information. IN other words Airbnb now forces you to divulge personal data. THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS.

There is no phone contact for Airbnb customer service. AND email response for this issue took 4 hours. Then a canned statement is given which states no help on this issue.

AVOID Airbnb. I could imagine what would happen if I needed an issue resolved once I arrived to foreign city with boarding concerns.

Jacquelyn Drew Van Tuyl, Amanda_d00 and Elisabeth Soechting found this review useful

Flawless experiences both renting and hosting!

I have to say, this site has truly been a savior for me in times of need. When hotels seem overpriced, or I need a last minute place to crash for a weekend getaway, airbnb always seems to have something that meets my needs. Living in Venice Beach I get hundreds of requests per month to stay at my property. Everyone I have hosted has been great, and has left my place in the condition that they found it. Some have even added to it with gifts upon their departure! If you want, feel free to take a look and you'll see some of the experiences my guests have had under the REVIEWS section. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/352130 Highly recommend this site!

Awful customer service, terrible experience

DO NOT USE THIS WEBSITE! I recently booked a stay in Austin for SXSW (all the hotels were completely booked) and had a horrible experience. The owner lied on their listing…said they had three bedrooms but only one bed so they would provide an air mattress, linens, and pillows but they did not. We had to sleep in our car and buy everything for the next night. I woke up to an email from AirBnB’s “customer service” this morning saying they had deleted my review of the host AND, after I replied, said they were unable to issue a refund. Their refund policy states that you are to resolve any issues with the host prior to contacting them which I did. But because the host contacted them first, they honored the host’s requests and I was left with no resolution. The customer service rep did not listen to my side of the story and automatically sided with the host before they even contacted me.

Go with Homeaway or Flipkey if you are looking for an alternative to hotels. AirBnB has proven they have horrible customer service. I have contacted the BBB for a refund for my stay but want to warn any potential customers to STAY AWAY!

Jacquelyn Drew Van Tuyl and Elisabeth Soechting found this review useful

Really bad experience.

I booked an apartment with this company and thought I had a reservation. A pending charge for the full amount of the rental appeared on my credit card. They charge the full amount up front (my reservation was 4 months away). This was not a problem for me but some may not like that. My problem was after booking what I thought was a reservation they sprung a verification process on me. It required linking my Lindedin account to there system, providing quite a bit of personal information and a verification process with my credit card. The verification process cause a problem becasue they charge a small amount to your credit card (under a dollar) and want you to enter that amount into their system. The problem was my bank posted this small charge as a one dollar pending charge. Even calling my bank (a major US bank) they could not tell me the exact amount of the pending charge. So a count down began on Airbnb website threatening to cancel my reservation (which was pending) unless I entered the number which I did not have. I called them and spend an entire day trying to find solution. Finally, they said they would send it "upstairs" (but "upstairs was very busy". I had my bank call them to determine the cancellation process. They agreed that as long as it was pending I could cancel without an issue. I gave them 3 more hours to solve my problem and then told them to cancel. Of course the cancelation was sent "upstairs" to the busy people. I did get canceled , ut I actually think I got cancelled becasue the clock ran out. At any rate I do not have my rental and I have to look elsewhere.
The were very nice in customer service (the phone number is buried on their web site) but clearly no one could solve my issue which according to them is fairly common. As a results of this mess, I wasted a full day, did not get the needed reservation and turned down offers for other sites since I thought I had a reservation with this site. If you are foolish enought to deal with this company I highly recommend you do the verification process before you attempt to book a reservation. This way you will not be in limbo and be free to go elsewhere.
But I would recommend other services such as VRBO and just avoid the hassle with these people. Just not worth it. They are getting one star becasue I can't go lower.

Jacquelyn Drew Van Tuyl found this review useful

Great concept! Great Website! So so mobile app.

It is hard to find fault with Airbnb. The website connects like minded people that are understand the concept "respect the space of others." They cover almost every facet of renting a place to strangers incredibly. There is only one exception. Their mobile app is very limited when compared to the website and, in one area that I have seen, faulty. (property descriptions show up in amenities which can cause confusion if you are a pet owner but do not allow renters to bring pets) But all in all very useful and a solid platform.

I love Airbnb!

I first started renting my rooms at home ( I had three spare ones) and used airbnb website. Of course extra money means, but in the beginning I was more interested in having the expirience. Well, my results were so positive that I and my husband decided to invest in another property, this one to rent the whole house. As big amount of money was involved, we decided to pay a website to announce the house as well (and it wasn't cheap). A week later we had our first reservation, and guess what?! The request came from Airbnb. I still rent the rooms in my house (only announced at Airbnb) and always check the other place requests first on Airbnb. So I highly recommend.

Poor Customer Services, Unfair Service Fee and Payment Policy for Customers

My first experience with Airbnb, not a good one. To encourage customers to spend more, Airbnb scale their service fee from 6% - 12%, more you spend less service fee you pay. For hosts of properties, they need to pay 3% service fee to Airbnb on every booking.
I have my eye on a studio flat in Hong Kong for my summer vacation with my family. I was planning to stay for a month but the flat only available for the first 2 weeks and last week. At first I hesitated but at the end I decided to go for it. They treated my booking as 2 separated reservations charged me 10% for the first period of time and 12% for the 2nd period of time. I thought it was a mistake due to their system format and not to mention it was against what they committed to customer - spend more and pay less. Sent my inquiry and got negative response after a day, advised me to renegotiate with the host for a discount instead because he is paying 3% service charge (seems to me they are suggesting me to go get the host because he is paying lower service charge than I do?). Naturally, I was not satisfied with the reply, thought their response was slow, unprofessional and feel uncomfortable with their artificial 'nice' tone. Insisted it was a mistake they treated my booking as 2 separated reservations and charged me higher rate than I should be paying, stated my case one more time. Waited for 2 days, finally got a reply..., not only I didn't get any adjustment on my service fee but also without any explanation on how they justified their act. Is this the kind of service I paid for, absolutely not.
For the payment policy, my booking is almost US$2000, 3 months away from my stay and I have to pay upfront right when the time booking was confirmed. This is not a fair payment term for customer who are paying them 10/12% service charge.
It is a great platform for travelers and hosts of properties, but I don't think they treat customers in a genuine fair manner and customer service is not on point neither.

hit or miss

I’ve stayed at four airbnb apartments. All were in great locations, of course, as you choose the locations. Three were fine, decent and respectable, and pretty much as advertised. One was worse than awful. Airbnb was of zero help. NEVER pay in advance. Better yet, NEVER use Airbnb.

Completely unreliable

The only reply I ever had from somebody listing a property on Airbnb came from www.homeaway.com. This web service promises a lot, but does not actually deliver. Not only is the reply rate 0, but the company itself doesn't provide a follow up on requests (and I sent dozens of them for majors cities in Europe and the US), which are not answered.
A complete wage of time. And certainly an artificially inflated valuation.

MY FIRST TIME WITH...AIRBNB! SO NICE!

Dear all,
This has been my first experience with Airbnb,
I've been hosting a person for 6 days, at first I was a little nervous but after 10 minutes talking with my new temporary host I was happy to be part of the "community".
Is just great to meet people from other countries, exchange point of view about your life, work and life expectancy.
I mean the world is a little container of lovely people to meet eachother.
Thak you so much for this experience, hope to meet many many nice persons like you.
Eloise

Airbnb --our new way to stay

We have a rather large family and finding a hotel to accommodate us all in one room (or in two for a reasonable night's stay) is near impossible. We used to use VBRO and when I was having trouble getting real people to respond to my vacation requests, (the places I contacted were all through a service) an aquaintence told me about Airbnb. Every time has been a wonderful experience. Rental owners have been exceedingly helpful and in instant contact when needed. I love that we have space to spread out, a place to lounge or entertain, and at a fraction of the price of a hotel.

AirBnB is as close to perfection as a company and website can get... 5 stars !!!

I have been endlessly impressed as to how smart and easy their site is to navigate and how perfect this company operates in their thinking ahead as to what concerns, questions and everything else hosts and travelers alike might have. Bravo. AirBnb is tops in their marketplace in my book. This is a great company.

Great service for connecting people with people for accommodation

I love this service - ability to connect people wanting to find accommodation with those wanting to provide it. Every type of accommodation from a dirt cheap old bed in a dirty old apartment, to a massive castle.

Great Experience

We had a great time and they were easily accessible.

airbnb.com is awesome!

Airbnb is awesome I was referring to the site by a friend of mine who lists his vacation rentals on it formerly I used vrbo.com. We have been able to list our home for rent and have met some really neat people through it. It's a great service that doesn't cost anything in advance which I like. There's only a fee when someone books your home.

Gerda Jensen found this review useful

beautiful website

The site is a pleasure to use, the properties on it are true reflections of the people who either live there or have lavished TLC on them, our guests have been great people you'd like to have as neighbours (and some of them you could hug if you were let).

Takes a little while to figure it out

BUT, I believe I will have great vacation accommodations in Bayreuth, at a greater price, with no surprises. I will get back to you when it's over.