CHOICE is interested in hearing from anyone who has had trouble getting a refund from Airbnb after refusing to stay at an accommodation that turned out to be unacceptable and not as advertised.
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On a recent trip to Italy we booked an airbnb for 5 nights, when we arrived there was a renovation happening in the next apartment we were not told about this renovation which had started 4 weeks prior. There was a strong gas smell when we walked into the courtyard, which was very concerning. Contacted the managers who were slightly concerned about the gas smell and told us to keep the windows closed until they investigate. The next morning we awoke to jack hammering which was happening on the common wall of the apartment it then penetrated into the kitchen crumbling some of the wall. We then packed up and left. We contacted the manager and owner of the apartment and Airbnb complaints, sending recordings of the noise and videos of the crumbling wall. The managers of the apartment were defensive and resistant to giving us a refund. Airbnb looked into the matter and were able to give us emergency accomodation at a hotel that suited us up to $500 AUD a night for 3 nights as well as one night at an airbnb. We continued a back and forth email disagreement with the managers of the property finding them to be unhelpful and not concerned with our safety, dismissing the gas smell as coming from the cars on the street. It was only until the actual owner of the property stepped in and agreed to give us a refund for the 5 nights booked. It was a good outcome in the end but a stressful few days of constant arguing our point. Airbnb were extremely helpful. From what we can gather to recieve a refund, it is up to the owner to cancel the booking. My advice is don’t cancel the booking if you have left the property and take lots of videos and pics to prove unacceptable accomodation.
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