Q: I recently rented a home in Jacksonville, Florida, for three nights through Airbnb. The pictures posted by the host did not match the property. The home was damaged and dirty. The sofa in the living room was peeling and dilapidated. One of the exterior doors had mold growing on it and would not close all the way. And the toilets were filthy.
I filed a complaint with Airbnb, and a representative told me that they contacted the host about a refund. But the host had refused. Airbnb offered me a $14 credit, but I was not satisfied because I paid $649 for the rental.
I had to buy candles to kill the horrible odor and a Swiffer mop to clean the floor, and I also had to wash the dishes. After Airbnb didn't solve the matter, I spoke with Discover about a credit card dispute, but Discover recommended that I try to resolve this with Airbnb. Can you help? — Tyson Love, Jacksonville, Florida
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A: No question about it, your Airbnb rental was not fit for habitation.
Airbnb has a five-step cleaning process that hosts must follow. It includes cleaning, sanitizing and checking each room in the house. If hosts don't agree to these practices, Airbnb will remove their listing.
Airbnb should have found you alternative accommodations.
Airbnb offers guidance for guests who check into an unclean rental. "If an issue comes up that you're not able to resolve with your host — or your host declines or doesn't respond to your refund request — let us know and someone from our team will step in to help," it states.
You could have appealed this to one of the Airbnb company executives whose names I list on my consumer advocacy site, Elliott.org.
I asked Airbnb about your case. A representative told me that it does not have a record of your contacting the company until after you checked out of the property. "He was not eligible for any additional refund outside of that partial refund he had been issued," the Airbnb representative told me. "That being said, our team was able to make an exception and refunded him for the cleaning fee."
Christopher Elliott
