Airbnb has a fake listings and verification problem — and the company knows it.
An Airbnb host who had to refund a $2,400 booking because a neighbor saw a mouse wound up making even more money when he went viral
21.11.2023 - 21:55 / insider.com / An Airbnb
An Airbnb host who said he initially lost thousands of dollars after a booking was canceled at the last minute shared the story on TikTok and went viral. When he was later reimbursed alongside extra profit he made from a new booking, he pledged to give away hundreds of dollars to those who showed him support.
On November 9, Kyle Toomey, a 31-year-old real estate agent from Alexandria, Virginia, posted a TikTok where he said he was "getting absolutely fucked by Airbnb," as his guests had booked an 11-night stay at his property, but were allowed to cancel and leave shortly after their arrival, which meant he was left without payment.
Toomey said his property is situated in an old neighborhood with a lot of construction in the area, which means there are sometimes rodents nearby. He said there were periodical visits from pest control to his property, including the day before his guests were set to arrive. But after a neighbor mentioned they'd seen a mouse in their own home, Toomey decided to give his guests a heads up as well and sent them a message about it, which he shared in the video.
Within hours of their arrival, Toomey said he received a call from Airbnb support who told him the guests wanted to cancel and leave because they had expected a private parking spot. Toomey shared screenshots in the video which appeared to show he'd made it clear in his listing and to his guests that there was only street parking available, and said he sent this information to Airbnb too.
However, he said an Airbnb representative later called again and said the guests wanted to leave because of Toomey's message about the mouse.
"Airbnb basically was saying because there was a mouse in the neighborhood, the guest didn't feel safe, and could in fact check out and leave early," Toomey said in the video, adding they said he would receive no money from the guest's stay.
According to a screenshot seen by Business Insider, Airbnb support told Toomey that the guest's reservation was canceled as it fell under their Rebooking and Refund Policy, which addresses issues ranging from cleanliness to listing inaccuracies for which hosts may not be refunded.
In his video, Toomey suggested he thought this was unreasonable, and asked viewers to tag Airbnb in the comments to get their attention.
The video received 1.1 million views and over 5,100 comments, although they weren't all on his side. Many expressed a lack of sympathy for Toomey and criticized Airbnb hosts in general for having multiple properties which made it more difficult for first-time buyers to purchase their own homes to live in. Others seemed to have the opposite view, saying they thought Toomey had been too nice by telling his guests about the mouse the neighbors had
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