Using Airbnb to book a long-term rental is usually cheaper than renting a hotel room. Besides often being more affordable upfront, the platform also offers discounts for stays longer than a week or a month.
However, there may be some drawbacks. According to one woman who stayed at an Airbnb property in New Jersey, she not only felt uncomfortable with the setup of her accommodation, but also experienced a safety hazard. Airbnb allegedly would not acknowledge it.
In her video, which has gotten over 12,000 views, TikTok creator Casey (@spaceycaseycowboy) shares the story of how Airbnb allegedly “scammed” her out of thousands of dollars.
What Went Wrong During Her Airbnb Stay?
“Airbnb scammed me out of 4k and ghosted me about it!” she wrote in the video’s text overlay.
Casey explains that her job as a traveling healthcare worker has her taking 13-week contracts in different parts of the country. Recently, she was based in western New Jersey and decided to book an Airbnb.
“The Airbnb online looked really great,” she says, explaining that in the advertisement photos, she spotted stairs in the living room. However, she had assumed that they led to the bedroom. “Not the case, actually.”
She says the property was listed as an “entire space,” which means a private entrance, and that guests won’t share interior walls with anyone.
According to Casey, that wasn’t the case with this property. “I was in somebody’s basement with zero soundproofing,” she says. “I was living below two to three men who got angry quite a bit, and I think at one point in time ended up throwing something across the house.”
Feeling unsafe, she says she contacted Airbnb customer support. They allegedly told her that the space does qualify as an entire home since there are two separate entrances.
“They wouldn’t listen to me about that,” she says.
Then She Realized There Was A Fire Hazard
Halfway through her stay, she noticed another issue, which she says was a “major safety concern.”
“There was an electrical wiring issue,” she explains. “They had everything in the basement wired to one breaker… I couldn’t use more than three kitchen appliances without risking a fire down there.”
Casey says she contacted customer support again, this time requesting a cancellation and full refund. According to her, Airbnb sent an electrician over to take a look at the issue.
“We were all there when the electrician came in and said, ‘Yeah, this was wired incorrectly. I’m not sure how this passed inspection,’” Casey recalls. “You can’t have people living down here. You need to get this place rewired, or else it could cause a major fire.”
However, according to Casey, customer support still didn’t take the situation seriously. She says she kept every piece of evidence and had called them multiple times, but “they’re still fighting [her] on it.”
“Their customer support was not very supportive of the customers,” Casey says.
At some point, she says an agent agreed to issue a refund, but days went by without further communication. So she decided to leave.
“I’m fleeing in the middle of the night. I don’t wanna be there anymore,” she says. “It’s a safety hazard.”
How Did Airbnb Respond?
Back in Florida, she says she called Airbnb again.
“The guy I talked to… He was absolutely awful, he was condescending, he gaslit me,” she says. “He told me that I should have tried harder to make my case.”
The agent allegedly told her the host has been filing complaints because she failed to pay the rent. “My rent was due on April 13th,” she says. “I was gone by April 10th, and the host was widely aware that I had left and that I intended to cancel the reservation.”
The issue was then escalated to a senior staff member, but Casey says they never followed up with her.
A few days later, she opened her app, only to find that her stay had been cancelled.
She Tries Again
She contacted Airbnb again, where this time they allegedly told her, “Your stay was cancelled because you didn’t pay rent on time.”
Casey explained to the agent that she has an ongoing ticket requesting a cancellation and refund, but despite much back and forth, she had not received a resolution.
She says a few days later, she received a call from “a higher up” at Airbnb.
“I see a problem, I see the issue,” the agent allegedly told her. “I’m not sure there’s much we can do for you, because it looks like you were cancelled because you didn’t pay, and there’s not enough evidence to support that you moved out.”
Casey reiterated that there is lots of evidence, such as phone calls and messages with the host. “He’s like, ‘OK, I’m gonna have to look into all of this,” Casey recalls. “That being said, I haven’t heard from anybody since.”
The TikToker speaks directly to the company, saying, “Airbnb, if you see this, and I hope you do, I will never use you again.”
Commenters Think She Was Wronged
“This is absolutely ridiculous, I am furious on your behalf,” one user wrote.
“Ugh this is so frustrating!!” another exclaimed. “Can you do a chargeback with your bank? You have all the evidence that they failed to provide what you paid for and where they gave you false advertisement.”
“I believe that is what will end up happening!” Casey responded.
“I haven’t used Airbnb for years,” stated a third. “It’s scammy.”
What Does Airbnb Policy Say?
Airbnb defines an “entire place” as a “whole space to yourself.” Meaning, a bedroom, bathroom, and a separate entrance.
While hosts are allowed to reside in the same property, Airbnb states that they should note this in the description. It’s unclear whether that was the case with the property Casey booked.
As for the alleged fire hazard, it appears that an issue like that would be covered by Airbnb’s “reservation issues” and could warrant a refund.
“Guests must report Reservation Issues within 72 hours after discovery,” the company wrote. “If we determine that a Reservation Issue has disrupted a guest’s stay, we’ll give the guest a full or partial refund, or help the guest find a similar place, depending on availability at comparable pricing.”
In an email to BroBible, an Airbnb spokesperson provided more context.
“We want all guests to have great experiences on Airbnb, so we were disappointed to hear that this stay didn’t meet expectations. We are supporting the guest, including ensuring they are not charged for nights not stayed,” they wrote. “While some of what was encountered was disclosed in the listing description, we are helping the host to make that information clearer and more complete. Airbnb offers a wide variety of unique spaces, and we want guests to have the information they need to choose the right place to stay.”
Additionally, according to Airbnb, the listing Casey booked did provide information about appliance use and how to resolve any circuit breaker issues.
@spaceycaseycowboy @airbnb Thanks for the worst customer service i’ve ever experienced! #airbnb #scam #fyp
BroBible has reached out to Casey via TikTok and Instagram messages for comment.