My worst Airbnb guest tried to scam me out of £2,000 – then I realised there was a key red flag in their behaviour
AN AIRBNB host has warned of the risk of being scammed after a nightmare guest tried to con her out of £2,000.
Zoey Berghoff had noted one key trait to look out for when renting a property out to strangers.
Posting to her TikTok account, Zoey explained how a man who requested to stay in her Airbnb became immediately unhappy upon his arrival.
She noted how the guest had “asked about 30 questions” prior to his stay, to which the host claims is the reason she now doesn’t “trust people who ask questions.”
Zoey recalls the man being unhappy with the positioning of the couch and not having enough dishes.
The duo spoke on the phone as the man requested a refund.
However, Zoey refused after arguing that the house matched the description on the website.
She took the case to Airbnb for them to deal with it professionally, as the guest started sending her threatening messages.
After hearing back from Airbnb, Zoey was informed that guests aren’t allowed a refund the day of the check-in.
She claimed that having photos taken of the house that day by the cleaners helped her with her case and avoided her having to refund the unhappy guest.
Eight weeks later, Airbnb contacted Zoey to inform her that as the host, she was correct in not refunding the guest.
This was due to the home being “100 per cent accurate and authentic to what the listing described”.
It was decided that the guest had made his decision based off his opinion of the property and nothing else.
As a result, Zoey was able to retain the £2,000 which the guest had paid for his stay at the property.
This proved even more crucial for the host as it was only her second month of running an Airbnb.
Following the ordeal, Zoey had advised fellow hosts to “always communicate with guests on Airbnb app & work with Airbnb for guest issues”.
She claims it is also “vital to ask for a video or photos from every clean from your team, for leverage of your homes status.”
One Airbnb host had their own nightmare when a guest trashed the property with a month’s worth of mess – despite only staying there for three nights.
But a guest ex[experienced their own nightmare after arriving at their Airbnb to find that it had already been rented out.