California man shares 'horror story' of Airbnb booking experience on social media
A man has attracted attention on social media after sharing his frustrations about a recent experience he said he had with booking an Airbnb property.
In a series of posts, Brandon Li, a San Francisco, California resident, and co-founder of the company With Power, explained what he called his "horror story." The post ended up garnering more than 54 million views.
"We got caught in this scam in a really brutal situation," Li told FOX Business.
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He said after a delayed flight to London, his Airbnb host shared that he would be charged for self-checking in late. When he arrived at the flat, the lockbox did not work, Li said.
Unable to access the home, Li had to find a last-minute hotel at 4 a.m. to stay for the night.
He told FOX Business he did not expect his posts on X to go as viral as they did but was able to find others who claim to be victims of the same host.
"After I posted my thread, I had five people DM me screenshots from their own experiences with the host, where [the host] got away with it," said Li.
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He said using the public platform "kind of brought Airbnb to the table."
Li has been using Airbnb for 10 years and said it has been a great option when booking large team off-sites for his job.
An Airbnb spokesperson told FOX Business the host has been suspended as an investigation is underway.
"We were disappointed to hear about this guest's experience, and we have provided them with a full refund and a voucher, as well as offered support with reimbursement for alternative accommodation. The host has been suspended as we investigate," the spokesperson said.
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Li said Airbnb issued him a refund and credits for a future stay.
"It ended up getting taken care of," he said.
Li said he shared the information of social media users who contacted him with Airbnb.
He hopes others who claim to have been scammed by the same host get their issues resolved too.
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"Hopefully they were able to go back and actually get everybody all sorted [out]," he said.
"AirCover" is a service that comes with an Airbnb booking which says the company will find a place similar or issue a full refund in the event of a serious situation where a host is not able to resolve the issue.
"With over 1.5 billion all-time guest arrivals on Airbnb, issues are rare and our global Community Support team is available 24/7 to assist," the Airbnb spokesperson said.