Comment by ashray | Hacker News Reader

Comment by ashray | Hacker News Reader

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Well, this is some way similar to the experience I had when renting through AirBNB in Rio de Janeiro during carnival. We were 4 people and booked a place with two bedrooms which said it accommodates 4 people. Sounds right.

When we showed up at the place, there were just 3 beds - a double bed in one room and a single bed in another.

Mind you, this being carnival season and stuff, we were paying a handsome amount for our rental. However, when we got in touch with the host (he lives in the US with his wife, a care taker opened the house for us..) he refused to acknowledge the issue. He said: "There's a couch in the living room, one of you can sleep there - that way the house accommodates 4 people".

So we got in touch with AirBNB support who said they would find us another place. Of course they couldn't - everything is sold out during carnival. So, they finally decided to refund the "AirBNB fee" to us (about USD 54) so that we could use it to buy an inflatable mattress to put on the floor.

I asked them why they couldn't give us a full refund considering this was absolutely unacceptable as they should take responsibility for incorrect listings that lead to situations like this. (for what it's worth, Expedia, etc. have a far higher standard of customer service when it comes to stuff like this) They replied saying that the host had already been paid out - as if that's our problem.. =/

Anyway, we had no choice but to stay so we did indeed buy an inflatable mattress... AirBNB's customer support however was pretty terrible and the host was a complete asshole to us.

Did you pay with a credit card? When companies try to blow me off like this and I used a credit card, the next email usually goes as follows:

> I'm sorry that we have been unable to resolve this issue. If {demand for refunded amount} is not processed by {date one week from now} I will begin the chargeback process with my credit card issuer {bankname} as I did not receive what I paid for. Please keep me updated if anything changes.

This puts the pinch on both the vendor that processed the transaction (since they're going to be the ones getting their merchant account dinged, and since they're going to lose whatever money was charged to the card + a fee for the chargeback) and the party ultimately responsible (wanna bet that AirBnB isn't going to be happy with your host for causing them to lose several hundred dollars on a transaction they only stood to gain $54 from in the first place?) Things should get resolved pretty quickly once you step outside of the box & assert whatever rights you have under your credit card agreement.

I've had to do this with Agoda over a reservation made in Thailand. And I used to sell stuff on Ebay - no one pulled this on me, but I know firsthand how much companies like PayPal hate it when their merchants get chargebacks.

In all respect I don't think issuing a chargeback is the way to go here. This doesn't solve anything really, and in fact it could really hurt a business. Why issue a chargeback when a company offers a refund ?

As I see it, the customer didn't get what they paid for. Instead of getting back a partial refund for what they didn't receive (4 beds vs 3 beds) they were refunded the fees that AirBnB charged - which according to AirBnB was because the host had already been paid out the rest of the money. Clearly AirBnB is capable of refunding this guy, regardless (or at least I'd hope they have more than a few hundred cash on hand for incidents like this...)

Ok, so customer didn't get what they paid for. Company takes a hardline stance & refuses to work with customer beyond telling them to buy an air mattress with the refunded fees. Where else does the customer have to turn at this point? The chargeback.

The whole point of putting it on the table and giving a 1 week deadline is exactly that it will hurt the business. You know it and they know it. Now suddenly they're not the only one with bargaining power in the relationship, so they might actually offer a partial refund of the actual rental based on the difference between what was offered & what was received. Or they might stick to their guns & fight the chargeback if they think they were correct in their initial assessment.

The chargeback is really like a turbo button - it boosts you up real quick past the grunt level CS people to actual decision makers who can and will do what they can to avoid the chargeback and maintain a positive relationship with you.

Because Airbnb should be withholding the host's fee, as they misrepresented the accommodations. If Airbnb doesn't stick up for the guest, the guest's credit card company surely will.

If there is a double bed, single bed, and a couch, that accommodates 4 people.

Remember, Airbnb is a marketplace so it is your responsibility as the guest to clarify the exact sleeping arrangements. If you want a higher level of service, go to a hotel. You'll pay a lot more, but if you require great service then it's probably a better option.

Uhh no. AirBNB has a field on listings that clearly indicates "Bed Type". In this case "Bed Type" said Real Bed. Random example: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1229577?checkin=02%2F21%2F2014&...

One isn't likely to clarify that with the host prior to arrival given that it's on the listing. AirBNB needs to take responsibility for this kind of thing given that you pay about 15% as AirBNB fees and 3% is also paid by the host. Refunding just the fees isn't what you pay the fees for. It is to take care of situations such as this.

No, that indicates that you're not renting just a couch in someone's apartment (a la couchsurfing). In the vacation rental world, that max accommodation figure almost always includes the couches (especially if it's a pullout couch).

Did you visit the link provided? There is clearly a "Room type" classification, which would be used to indicate that you're renting a room in a house, a whole house, a bed in a room, or a couch in a room, for example. And there is also a "Bed type" classification to specify the type of bed you will be sleeping in.

"Bed Type" doesn't mean it's uniformly that type, it's sort of the max of the class, so it's not terribly useful. It would be nice if it was broken down by number of beds (it is on some sites), but that's more of a nice to have than the norm.

That's beside the point - the point being that you asserted that the "Real Bed" qualifier was referring to not getting a couch in an apartment, like couch surfing. Judging from your post history, you will argue on any point possible, and won't cede a thing. Consider this my last reply.

Sorry if I wasn't clear with what I was saying.

That field is mostly useful for distinguishing between whether you're getting a couch or a bed in the case that you're just renting part of the apartment. It's not very useful in the event that you're renting a whole apartment. It means there's at least one real bed, it doesn't mean that everyone in the "Accommodates" number will get a real bed.

It's not perfect, it would be better if it were more explicit, but this is a pretty common on these sorts of listings.

Sure, but usually that would be mentioned in the property description. Also, it was not a pullout couch. In fact, it wasn't big enough for a person to comfortably sleep on.

Oof, too short to sleep on is cheating on that number :-/ I think ideally Airbnb should change the listing to provide a breakdown of the sleeping surfaces so people can plan.

Airbnb could probably do better than just "real bed" for bed type. Maybe they should make the host list the different bed sizes/counts. Yours would have been: 1 double, 1 single & 1 couch.

Leading with "Remember" is a bit snarky. I've stayed in AirBNB about 10 times, and each one is a crap shoot.

There's a substantive difference between wanting great service, and simply wanting what you were promised.

AirBNB fails on both accounts.

Isn't that what the review system is for and the chance you take to save a few bucks over hotels?

"3 beds - a double bed in one room and a single bed in another" ?

At least you weren't stranded without a place all together, or...

I once booked a house via vrbo and found spaghetti in the sheets of one of the beds!

I had a late checkin (1:30), showed up 2 and the host was already passed out drunk and wouldn't answer the door. I ended up sleeping on the stoop until 6:30 when he finally woke up and called in a totally freakout apologizing profusely. I mostly AirBNB like Hemmingway ran with the bulls, for the lulz.

> I mostly AirBNB like Hemmingway ran with the bulls, for the lulz.

Same here. I AirBnb on my own, but never when traveling with wife, family, or for work.

That's an odd thing to find in sheets. I'd rather find spaghetti than some of the things I've found!

Is it really that big of a deal that you didn't get 4 beds? 3 beds and 1 couch does accommodate 4 people, albeit not as nicely as 4 beds. I would have been a little miffed and left a review stating my experience.

It is a big deal because the listing clearly indicated that the place has real beds and accommodates 4 people.

I would expect AirBNB to take responsibility given that the incorrect info is on their website and you pay pretty hefty fees to use the service. (AirBNB charges about 15% to the tenant and 3% to the host so a total of 18% - not bad ;))

Except they refunded the fee... Honestly having used the service several times I can't say I have ever had an issue. However I have also been in contact with the host every time before arrival and discussed the accommodations. I can't imagine going to another country or something without even talking to the host. Either way it doesn't sound like it ruined the vacation.

Not to mention there are plenty of nightmare stories surrounding hotels, they are not perfect either.

Except they didn't refund the stay. They should have refunded them, at minimum, pro rata for the lack of sleeping arrangements that they paid for (they paid for 4 people, were giving space for 3). So 25% refund, at minimum. These are the types of things that have the potential to destroy peoples' vacations and one of the many reasons I would never use AirBNB in its current state.

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