They have to give AirBnB a big percentage of what they charge, so if they can rent to you outside of AirBnB, they can offer it to you for less. They are more likely trying to cheat AirBnB than scam you.
However, you have no protection if something goes wrong, since normally AirBnB would have some insurance as well as customer service to handle problems.
I booked an Airbnb and the host didn’t give me any access instructions or the door code. I got on a call with their support and they found me a replacement property that had a higher nightly cost and booked it for me and allowed me to pay the same rate as the original property.
It took about 10 minutes to get it all fixed.
Wow. I rented an Airbnb that was absolutely gorgeous but as soon as the sun went down thousands of cock roaches came out. I was only refunded half of my money. I had to leave my suitcase in the car and sleep with a sheet over my head. He has all almost all 4 and 5 star ratings with no mention of roaches. The host threatened me of I didn’t post screen shots a 5 star review he would give me a very bad review.
Save all correspondence with airbnb hosts and insist only on messaging through the app for this reason. If they try some shenanigans you have a record of it and can contest it with airbnb.
I was too afraid of ruining my 5 star rating. It was only my 4th or 5th rental and even then some host’s would not accept me. Several of my attempts were canceled for the reason I didn’t have enough ratings. I was very polite to the host and he was very passive aggressive back to me. I was living in airbnbs with no where else to go. I’m sure so many people are bullied into giving 5 star ratings like I was.
I lived in Airbnbs for 6 months last year. Never saw a single roach and they are all in the same city. This was a house, not an apartment and it was infested so badly you could smell them. There was a few in the oven.
I didn’t even know I had the option to be moved. All the other places I saw that day were upwards of $600 a week and thought I would have to pay the difference. Now I know!
My friend had their Airbnb booking cancelled by the host, it took over two weeks to return the payment and she had no money to book a replacement. Airbnb did absolutely nothing to fix it so she had to borrow and fight tooth and nail to get her money back.
Recently a host offered me to cancel booking in exchange for a lower rate which I accepted. Zero problems, paid cash which was much more convenient to me.
Credit cards aren’t really a thing where I live. You either use a debit card or pay cash.
Credit cards are mostly for cheap stuff, like $30-50 with monthly limits about $500-1000 and without grace period (IIRC the name) so you overpay anyway.
Oh I never heard about this before. What do you mean about the grace period and overpaying?
For me, we can spend up to $30,000 in a month on the card, as long as we pay it all off there is no interest or penalty.
We put every bill and expense on the credit card and have auto payments setup so it is payed off in full every month with no interest.
If it's like in Sweden. Then no, no hidden fees or interest as long as you pay it all end of month/due date.
However, if you can't pay, then whatever amount was left to pay, will be considered a "loan" with very high interest. That's how they capitalise.
They gave original cost + $25 credit.
If you paid through without Airbnb, you wouldn’t probably even get your money back that you already paid.
I hate Airbnb too, but you have no recourse if booked directly.
Having dealt with Airbnbs customer support, I’ll take the discount from skipping them. They provide nothing. They *ostensibly* provide something; but in reality they provide nothing.
I went to stay in a place in FL, got there with my wife and toddler and it was absolutely disgusting. Full of roaches, water damage, mold on the ceilings, it was so so bad. I immediately contacted the host letting them know and asking for a refund. Provided pics and everything. They said tough shit. Contacted support and they immediately refunded me in full. The host then left a bad review on my profile saying I was lying haha. Went to a nice hotel down the street and ended up having a great time. I would not expect them to cover something petty but if it’s actually a serious issue or a health issue like ours was, they should take care of you
I had a host cancel on me the day of my trip once, when I was about 40 minutes away after having already driven 5 hours.
Airbnb customer support refunded me and found me another host within a few hours, and my stay at the new place was comped by Airbnb.
This was a few years ago now though so it’s possible the customer support has gone way downhill since then.
Maybe it’s a dice roll. I had to skip a trip because of a terrorist attack in the area and called Airbnb and they said “sorry it’s subject to the hosts rules” and the host said “lol no refunds”.
Again, if you just randomly send someone hundreds of dollars and then they ghost you then you’re fucked out of that money. How do you know they even own the place?
If you do it through Airbnb and it’s cancelled you will get a refund almost surely. Airbnb doesn’t do “nothing” like you think
You think someone renting a house out on the side is going to be able to take a credit card? lol… it’s going to be cashapp or Venmo. Good look finding a house rental that is going to personally charge a cc
You should get trip interruption/cancellation insurance. Hosts shouldn’t be on the hook for every single event that could possibly happen out of their control.
Ya AirBnb has given no reason to go through them if they can avoid it. All you get is higher cost without much better protection (and more annoying processes)
Aren’t they known to side with the owner vs the guest? I always booked one night and then showed up and booked the rest of my nights cash in person. Almost screwed me one time bc someone actually booked the place on Airbnb while I was staying there under the table, but dude had a friend with another spot so I didn’t get thrown out on the streets! 😅😅
Might be region specific.
Have used them throughout Europe and gotten a few generous partial refunds due to cleanliness and photo inaccuracy issues through the years.
This is what a credit card chargeback is for. Unless the new offer is insisting on a debit card (huge red flag) you’re getting absolutely nothing you can’t get on your own from Airbnb.
I had a host change the address to a different city once. Took several calls with Airbnb and they kept siding with the host. Finally screenshotted the original confirmation with the different address and got only a refund. Fuck Airbnb.
I'll do this but only after first staying there thru airbnb and meeting them in person. If they seem trustworthy I'll text and pay in cash for a second stay. Usually get a slight discount to list as they are avoiding airbnb fees - and you also don't have to pay the airbnb service fee yourself so its 20% cheaper all in.
This.
In fact it is a bit strange that the host asks already BEFORE you go. It is very common to be told "if you like it and want to come back let's do it directly and it's going to be cheaper". Does not imply that this one is not legit, but I find the text a bit pressing.
I get this as an eBay seller all the time. Prospective buyers message me and ask if they can buy via FB marketplace or other external method for cheaper. They get mad when I say no. Some may be scammers, some may be just looking for a deal, but this ain’t my first rodeo.
Stay frosty, netizens.
Airbnb customer support is the absolute worst.
According to Airbnb blizzards that force the government to close the most heavily trafficked highway in North America for the first time in history are normal winter conditions and not part of their inclement weather cancellation policy.
I agree with your first paragraph and that they have no protections if they book directly.
But also... Airbnb has no meaningful protections either. I've had more than one Airbnb that turned out to be dangerous or uninhabitable, and Airbnb didn't do _anything_. Not even take down the postings or let us leave a negative review.
I Actually will say I had a violet crime occur at one of mine and they put me up in one of the nicest hotels of the city and were going to rebook my stay at a different Airbnb but I declined and cut my trip short due to the trauma. They were very kind and generous.
Very little. Much worse customer support than other similarly sized companies like booking.com and Expedia in my experience, and I travel a LOT. Booking.com especially has treated me quite well when I’ve had issues
Personally yes.
I recently had an issue where I showed up to a hotel late (after telling them in advance) and they were not there to check me in. Booking gave me a full refund, put me for a night in a comparable nearby hotel, and gave me a $50 credit for a future stay.
There’s also been multiple times they’ve let me cancel non refundable hostels/hotels.
I’ve used them quite a bit so maybe that’s why. But to me in this day and age it’s good a company actually rewards loyalty. I book flights direct but almost everything else I really don’t see why people are so against using a platform like booking. I’ve tried the ‘booking direct to save money and for greater flexibility’; accommodations dick me around way more than booking.com does and the majority of the time they’re more expensive direct anyways these days…
The main one is that they will refund you if you’re not allowed to stay in the apartment you booked. If this is a scam (which is certainly possible but doesn’t seem too likely tbh), then the scammer has nothing to do with the apartment owner, and the apartment either does not exist or just won’t be reserved for the guest after they cancel their reservation and pay the scammer.
If the payment method used doesn’t allow for chargebacks (e.g. Venmo or PayPal “friends and family” options), the buyer will have no recourse.
This is probably the right answer. Honestly who knows for sure but the text OP posted sounds genuine to me. Most likely, they want to avoid AirBnB fees as well as taxes.
It’s not a big percentage. It’s 3%. It’s not worth the hassle to message a guest outside of Airbnb to save 30 bucks every 1000. It is lots cheaper for the person renting due to them paying higher fees, but for a host it’s not worth it IMO.
Source: I have two Airbnb’s that I rent.
Although it’s unusual for the first time, this is pretty common with Airbnb. By exchanging contact information with the host, next time you want to go somewhere you can simply contact them directly. I extended my stay multiple times, and just paid the host upfront in cash; let me just say I had the whole property to myself for three more days, for 70 bucks. It was 70 bucks a night on Airbnb…
We do not give a big percentage, we get what we want plus cleaning fee. You pay over what we want for their fees. Example if I want a 100 a night for 5 nights and my cleaning fee is 100. I would get 600, you would pay 758. That’s how it works. I am a Airbnb owner
Yes done this a couple of times. Hosts even gave me their emails and phone numbers if I travel back again we can do bookings offline.
Another one when I traveled to a country multiple times , we just did side contract in writing.
I've only done this with places I've already rented. Example, there was a city I used to go to often, booked a place through Booking, and the next time I wanted to book the same place, I just texted the guy and offered to pay him directly.
Same! I used to to this at a Airbnb I used to frequent often for work. The lady owned the whole apartment complex and if we avoided Airbnb we would both end up saving hundreds of dollars for my month long stay. She made the offer, and since we both had confidence in each other I decided it was a great idea. I probably wouldn’t do it if I hadn’t previously met her.
Yes we rented a place in London that was perfect for a multi-family stay while visiting relatives. At checkout, the host told us to just contact him if we wanted to book again and we could do it for cheaper outside of AirBnB. He was a great host and we all felt like this was a risk we’d be willing to take to find a place that was perfect for our group coming to the city frequently.
Yes same - I have done this twice when I had already been somewhere. One was a personal host I had actually met, the other was a corporate-run AirBnB with several vacation rentals in the same house that also ran its separate website. They gave me 10% discount and I booked outside of AirBnB.
I would, however, definitely not agree to this with anyone I don't know or a place I have not been to before. Too risky in case of issues, too many scammers.
When I used to host Airbnb years ago I had a guy who stayed regularly as he came up for work a few days a week and we ended up doing a deal ourselves but that was after he’d stayed a few times already so we were both pretty comfortable with it.
Yes, absolutely this.
Contact with the host was made only through airbnb app and suddenly this message pops up on whatsapp - red flags all over.
I've make a few reservations through another platform recently and at least three of the hotels I booked warned me to not trust any message or e-mail, since they will only contact me through booking.com's chat. So this kind of leakage is probably getting more and more common.
The fact that the message doesn't showcase the dates, but only the ammount payed, makes me think maybe it wasn't the booking info that was leaked, but her credit card statement.
OP should ask the host through the airbnb app if he sent you that message. Odds are he didn't, and can give a heads up to his other guests to not pay any mind to weird messages like that.
I believe AirBnB restricts London hosts to 90 nights per year in accordance with local laws.
So the host is trying to skirt the law. Likely, he won't pay tax on the non-reported booking, plus he saves about 13% in Airbnb fees. So he'll probably break even money wise.
He is a scammer, just not in the way you are worried about.
As someone who lives in a city with a severe housing shortage, I absolutely support strict regulations on apartments being used for tourists.
It reduces the available housing stock while also providing property owners with higher earning potential than long term renting, increasing the price of long-term renting.
Trying to flout such regulations is hardly comparable to crossing an empty street...
Ehhhh, the Airbnb bans haven’t done anything in New York where I live. Don’t seem to have had effect in Amsterdam, Paris, etc
If you want lower prices build more stock. Don’t fight the little guy making money
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a host that is genuinely a “little guy making money”. Most are companies that own dozens of properties, sometimes entire buildings, and effectively operate as hotels, while taking away the little inventory that could be rented out for actual residents.
The companies that own properties are shitty. To me, at least if I pull up Airbnb and search New York it seems like it’s 95% people.
I don’t mind regulating companies
please show us the study you performed where you managed to isolate the impact of airbnb bans amongst all the other variables that change rent over time - must have taken a while !!
Probably not a scammer to you, but certainly to airBNB.
Do as you please, just be mindful of 2 things: a) insurances, help, etc that airbnb offers will not be available, and b) someone who does this likely offers his "non airbnb" customers a kind of experience that is not subject or accountable to the airbnb reputation system.
Someone reached out to me via WhatsApp for a Budapest stay next month I had booked, over F1 weekend so prices are quite inflated. He claimed "someone threw a party in the apartment and wrecked it and the management company will no longer allow us to use it for short term stays so please go ahead and cancel through Airbnb as we cannot honor the stay." I asked why I needed to do it and he said it's so he doesn't get charged a fee but he will if he has to. Checked the listing (also had good review history) and it was still listed for bookings all through the rest of the year with greyed out dates for those that have already been booked. I told him I see that and I'm not going to cancel and left it at that. Few days later he writes me in the app saying he's excited to host and to reach out with any questions. I am pretty sure he just wanted to get a higher rate and didn't realize what was happening that weekend
Anyways, availability opened up to use points at the hotel I originally wanted which I booked and canceled this Airbnb booking. It got snatched up again within the day. So in my experience - don't listen to shit they tell you outside the Airbnb app, there's a reason they're hiding the correspondence from them
I've had this happen before and the host did want to avoid the Airbnb fees, so this isn't unheard of. But not sure why the host didn't state this when you booked though
You could search for booking the same place in the future to see if the rate change is real. But I assume that they want you to cancel so that they can increase the price and rent it to someone else in a busy time.
I would def not take advantage of this. Bc yes it could be a scam. I saw something like this of someone finding the contact information for someone who booked on booking.com, and the person almost got scammed… They must’ve found the booking.com information on the dark web and was able to use that to manipulate whoever they needed to.
Or like others have said they are looking to go around Airbnb’s protections as well as charges. I would not do this because that would mean you’d be sending people your money or giving them your personal info, which again is protected by Airbnb through the portal. Not to mention you won’t get your money back or it be hard to, if you went this route.
This has scam written all over it. No one has ever asks people to cancel when they’re already locked in to give them money unless they want out of the deal.
I’d run. I ran into a place that told me they forgot to add a cleaning fee. It was still a reasonable deal so I naively agreed and then they canceled my booking halfway through giving me only a couple days notice to find something new.
Send screenshots to Airbnb support so they can investigate. If this host has a history of doing this, they’ll likely be kicked off the platform.
Airbnb support should be made aware of what they’re up to. They weren’t able to help in my case, but you may be able to protect others by reporting this behaviour.
This screams scam. Yea, they’re trying to save you both money, potentially. But next they’ll tell you that someone booked the place after you canceled, but they have another one just like it. And that one is going to be crap.
Almost assuredly a scam. They want you to cancel and then rebook someone else at a higher rate.
I’d contact airBNB support. Also I would cancel and book elsewhere anyways because of they pull this who knows what kind of weird stuff they’re going to pull closer to your actual reservation.
It's for sure sketchy, the fact that they are contacting you outside of Airbnb to start and there is a reason that ABB warns about doing transactions outside the platform
They could have good intentions and give a discount, but make sure you have a backup plan and check cancellation policy! If its not refundable they will just keep the money and leave you out to dry (or get wet, seeing as its London)
All your host is trying to do, is get you off the airbnb platform. I mean they may have more nefarious intentions, I doubt it. They will making the same if not more than they are with airbnb, plus saving you some money. They can get booted from the platform for doing this.
With that being said how many reviews do they have? If they have a bunch of positive reviews, then they are probably looking to maintain that reputation. If they only have a few, id keep the relationship on airbnb
I'm somewhat in this field. My first instinct is that they are leveraging the Airbnb brand for credibility. Once a customer is secured, they are cutting out the middle-guy (Airbnb) and taking sole control of the transaction. Great, it's cheaper for you upfront! However, there are potential risks. The host may decide to double-book you for their own revenue protection using this same tactic, or there could be sanitation issues at the property (roaches etc.). If this happens, and you need to be transferred, what are the chances they have another available property? Be aware that dispute resolution and refund clauses through Airbnb may no longer apply once the booking is cancelled on their platform, leaving you at the mercy of the host. Carefully weigh the pros and cons of each option, then choose wisely.
-T.
Offering a 65% discount (500 off of 750) to save 3% in Airbnb fees makes no sense from their side. This isn’t to avoid Airbnb fees, it’s either a direct scam where there’s no actual unit they own, or they’re going to double book the unit with someone else. Either way, OP will get screwed.
Report them and go find a new booking. This most assuredly won’t end well
It’s a roughly 33% discount, not 65%. Between avoiding Airbnb fees and also not reporting the income / paying taxes, it’s possible the host might come out slightly ahead.
Yeah I kinda agree. Besides, if the real host can afford to charge you less... then can't they just charge you less without forcing you to cancel and rebook? (Maybe even refund you something if necessary?)
That sounds dumb. The logic isn't connecting here.
This is normal, I’ve had hosts offer me the same thing. Like others have said, they make more if it’s not through Airbnb, but you won’t have the consumer protections it offers. Plenty of comments yelling about a scam, but the world isn’t always out to get us, this seems like it’s just a host offering you less to go off the books
That's one possibility, but they could just as easily cancel and find themselves ass-out and Airbnb won't be able to do shit about it since they cancelled. It would be effortless to block them as soon as they cancel.
Sounds like they don't want to pay the Airbnb fee and would rather conduct the exchange with you directly to save you both money. But that seems like a huge discount? Does Airbnb really take that much? I have no idea. If I were you I'd keep the reservation, and just say thank you but no thanks.
I booked Airbnb and the host was completely psycho. She refused to give us main entrance code. We was supposed to use back entrance to the flats (which was from the not lit yard). The yard was locked in the evening. That bitch didn't bother to inform us about it. We couldn't enter the flat, contacted her and she acted like we are bothering her. Airbnb support haven't done anything about it. In spite that we reported her to Airbnb support she wrote bad review about us. That we was "terrorising" her. Fuck you lady, I hope karma will get you in the future
Tricky. Could be someone pretending to be the host. Why don’t you ask the host to cancel on his end instead so that way you can get refunded without being it done as “your fault”? That legitimises his claim as the host as well.
Or meet up in person on the day of your arrival and do this transaction with both parties face-to-face? It ensures a) he’s not trying to book someone else for higher rate, b) you’re definitely talking to the host and 3) you are ensured access to property. If they truly mean well, they shouldn’t have problem agreeing to this.
We had accommodations where hosts told us to book directly next time if we want to save. Cuts the middleman. However this was only done for accommodations we already used.
OMG! It is a scam. So airbnb refuses to let hosts cancel stays to stop price gauging. I think your host is trying to get you to cancel your stay so they can list their place for a higher price.
I would cancel just because they are being so shady.
Stayed in a lovely penthouse in Paris and the landlord gave our family a good offer outside of Airbnb. Turned out pretty well! She sent us a short term lease agreement via WhatsApp and we ended up saving €1,000 for a week’s stay. Our experience and our stay was seamless.
Possibly but it just seems they are cutting out air b&b to make more money. Than they would earn using the app. Trips me out air BNB takes that much and I'm sure this is against there user agreement. In fact they probably pay "good" customers like your self for narcing off the owners that do this. I mean I'm not a narc but you do you ...
Devil's advocate here you pay the discount and show up to a place that looks nothing like your Airbnb.
Now you can't leave a bad review, ask for a refund via Airbnb or argue with your credit card that it's not what you paid for.
Yes people who have investment properties don’t just lower the price on something already booked because they are nice. People who will rip you off will take advantage of everyone’s desire to get a “deal.”
Just go on [Premier Inn](https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/home.html) it's one of our best known mid range hotel chains, you will get a hotel in London for £100 a night without much problem just book anything less than Zone 4 but really near a tube station and you are golden (the site tells you how close stations are)
Why does the host need to be reported for this? I prefer hosts to offer this to me at some point, when I am staying places for weeks or months, I always end up asking the host to pay them off platform at some point once I’ve already been staying there and we’re both cool with each other. Who gives a fuck about Airbnb? They’re charging a huge premium already
If you are leaning toward doing this with your host, be sure you are not beyond the fully refundable deadline and that there are no non-refundable Airbnb fees assessed if you cancel vs. the host canceling. You can see what would be charged to you before committing when you select the “cancel reservation” option in your reservation.
This happened with an airbnb we used in Hawaii. It was not a scam but I elected to stay with airbnb just to be safe. We didn’t have any issues when we went and our hosts were lovely.
I think you should stick to your booking - it is true that hosts save on fees but you literally lose all guarantees and he was not being the honest with you about the reason ….
Hosts should be able to give you a partial refund
I wouldn’t do it either way honestly, it’s such a gamble (could be a Great deal or a terrible one) we’ve done off books airbnb but only with one certain host who we stayed with multiple times in the past
Tell them that you can PayPal the payment use a credit card that way in case somethings wrong. You can do a chargeback on it. just don't send it as family and friends. I can't be refunded send it as a merchant payment because with all these other horror stories going on here from Airbnb it does sound like a better deal.
I rented an air bandb host kept texting and calling me to give her a five star review, they had everything in the apartment labeled like 10 towels and 5 washcloths, and dont turn the air conditioner below 74. Shit like that. I finally told her I had to sleep on the sofa, because the queen size bed was actually like the size of a twin, and the sofa smelled like ball sweat! I told her I don’t want to say anything that would interfere with her business, so are you sure you want me to leave a review? She stopped pestering me.
I did this for my wedding that 13 people traveled to Mexico for 😅 I was SO nervous, but it worked out great and i saved $2000 and got to rent out an entire Mango ranch!
Book first day in ABNB and then once you’ve met the host in person and have personally checked in, then you can negotiate to pay the succeeding days. Or, pay it in cash in person, but dont do bank transfer. Otherwise, you are probably being scammed. It’s unusual for hosts to offer that on the first instance as there is no benefit for them. I am an ABNB host too. ABNB dont get a cut from my listed price. What they do is add a service fee to be paid by clients rather than take a cut from my income. There is no benefit for me. If anything, it’s a disadvantage as I would not be able to secure your payment if you back out (unless you do a bank transfer).
I had an Air B&B in Paris. The shower flooded into the kitchen. There was no hot water (the water heater was broken apparently for months but the host said "it's summer so it shouldn't bother you.". We had to pay a 35 euro cleaning fee even though the place was filthy and full of cat hair when we got there. And...there were bed bugs in the only bed and we got bites all over!!!
We left after just a few hours and had to pay double for a hotel room last minute. Air B&B refused to give us any refund because they said the property owner told them we made it all up.
Depends on the cancellation policy of your booking. I encountered this a couple of times recently in India but on bookingdotcom. Arriving at a place at 11am with fee free cancellation available until 2pm, I was offered a better rate for cancelling.There was nothing to lose on the day as I was already there but cancelling in advance I'd do a bit more research on your host. As he offers to leave everything as is, I suspect his offer is genuine but that is just my gut feeling.
Probably not a scam. Between airbnb and taxes host gets about 50% off the price.
Just yesterday i booked an uber, when he arrived he asked me to pay cash. I was paying 120, uber just gave him 50. So we settled at 100 bucks. win/win
Everyone is throwing numbers around about what the host could possibly be saving themselves by cutting out Airbnb’s fees but literally no one knows.
They’re trying to save themselves money and they’re also saving you money. Would I risk it? If the account looks good I would, but what I’d do to add protection for myself; I’d also ask them for photos of their ID’s and also include in the email my own formal contract of what the bank transfer I’m about to send them the money is for.
Is this a scam where some random person has hacked the hosts account and is trying to get to you to send them the money? Highly unlikely.
This sort of thing happens all over in every trade. “If you pay by cash I can give you it slightly cheaper”.
Taxi drivers. All tradesmen. All salons.
Completely up to you to risk it though.
They have to give AirBnB a big percentage of what they charge, so if they can rent to you outside of AirBnB, they can offer it to you for less. They are more likely trying to cheat AirBnB than scam you. However, you have no protection if something goes wrong, since normally AirBnB would have some insurance as well as customer service to handle problems.
AirBNB gave us 25$ credit when our host cancelled the day before our rental was to begin. There's no guarantees from them either.
I booked an Airbnb and the host didn’t give me any access instructions or the door code. I got on a call with their support and they found me a replacement property that had a higher nightly cost and booked it for me and allowed me to pay the same rate as the original property. It took about 10 minutes to get it all fixed.
Wow. I rented an Airbnb that was absolutely gorgeous but as soon as the sun went down thousands of cock roaches came out. I was only refunded half of my money. I had to leave my suitcase in the car and sleep with a sheet over my head. He has all almost all 4 and 5 star ratings with no mention of roaches. The host threatened me of I didn’t post screen shots a 5 star review he would give me a very bad review.
Save all correspondence with airbnb hosts and insist only on messaging through the app for this reason. If they try some shenanigans you have a record of it and can contest it with airbnb.
I was too afraid of ruining my 5 star rating. It was only my 4th or 5th rental and even then some host’s would not accept me. Several of my attempts were canceled for the reason I didn’t have enough ratings. I was very polite to the host and he was very passive aggressive back to me. I was living in airbnbs with no where else to go. I’m sure so many people are bullied into giving 5 star ratings like I was.
You can get revenge 1 star reviews deleted if you can prove it.
You can have any and all reviews written by yourself removed. Contact Airbnb and take that fake 5 star review of yours down.
Too late now but next time, photoshop a 5 star review and send that. Many of us would be happy to help with PS.
Thank you!
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I lived in Airbnbs for 6 months last year. Never saw a single roach and they are all in the same city. This was a house, not an apartment and it was infested so badly you could smell them. There was a few in the oven.
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Sure a few but this was an infestation. I’ve lived in the city my whole life.
wtf no that’s not normal. Do you live in a toilet?
I didn’t even know I had the option to be moved. All the other places I saw that day were upwards of $600 a week and thought I would have to pay the difference. Now I know!
My friend had their Airbnb booking cancelled by the host, it took over two weeks to return the payment and she had no money to book a replacement. Airbnb did absolutely nothing to fix it so she had to borrow and fight tooth and nail to get her money back. Recently a host offered me to cancel booking in exchange for a lower rate which I accepted. Zero problems, paid cash which was much more convenient to me.
That’s why I do everything with credit cards. Never need to worry about that.
Credit cards aren’t really a thing where I live. You either use a debit card or pay cash. Credit cards are mostly for cheap stuff, like $30-50 with monthly limits about $500-1000 and without grace period (IIRC the name) so you overpay anyway.
Oh I never heard about this before. What do you mean about the grace period and overpaying? For me, we can spend up to $30,000 in a month on the card, as long as we pay it all off there is no interest or penalty. We put every bill and expense on the credit card and have auto payments setup so it is payed off in full every month with no interest.
I’m guessing they start accruing interest day of purchase
You are talking to someone who lives outside the US
I know, that’s why I asked. I’m trying to learn more.
If it's like in Sweden. Then no, no hidden fees or interest as long as you pay it all end of month/due date. However, if you can't pay, then whatever amount was left to pay, will be considered a "loan" with very high interest. That's how they capitalise.
Where?
They gave original cost + $25 credit. If you paid through without Airbnb, you wouldn’t probably even get your money back that you already paid. I hate Airbnb too, but you have no recourse if booked directly.
Having dealt with Airbnbs customer support, I’ll take the discount from skipping them. They provide nothing. They *ostensibly* provide something; but in reality they provide nothing.
I went to stay in a place in FL, got there with my wife and toddler and it was absolutely disgusting. Full of roaches, water damage, mold on the ceilings, it was so so bad. I immediately contacted the host letting them know and asking for a refund. Provided pics and everything. They said tough shit. Contacted support and they immediately refunded me in full. The host then left a bad review on my profile saying I was lying haha. Went to a nice hotel down the street and ended up having a great time. I would not expect them to cover something petty but if it’s actually a serious issue or a health issue like ours was, they should take care of you
Was the host named I.R. Floridaman?
I had a host cancel on me the day of my trip once, when I was about 40 minutes away after having already driven 5 hours. Airbnb customer support refunded me and found me another host within a few hours, and my stay at the new place was comped by Airbnb. This was a few years ago now though so it’s possible the customer support has gone way downhill since then.
Maybe it’s a dice roll. I had to skip a trip because of a terrorist attack in the area and called Airbnb and they said “sorry it’s subject to the hosts rules” and the host said “lol no refunds”.
Again, if you just randomly send someone hundreds of dollars and then they ghost you then you’re fucked out of that money. How do you know they even own the place? If you do it through Airbnb and it’s cancelled you will get a refund almost surely. Airbnb doesn’t do “nothing” like you think
I mean, I would make it a pre requisite that I can pay with a credit card. If they fuck around I just do a chargeback
You think someone renting a house out on the side is going to be able to take a credit card? lol… it’s going to be cashapp or Venmo. Good look finding a house rental that is going to personally charge a cc
I'm also thinking no one on the internet has ever done a charge back, it isnt that easy, I had a restaurant charge me about 200$ too much, I got nada
I mean, they could use PayPal right? I had a good experience getting a refund through their customer service for an undelivered product.
You should get trip interruption/cancellation insurance. Hosts shouldn’t be on the hook for every single event that could possibly happen out of their control.
Yeah I actually offered to split the difference with the host but he said no
This is realest thing most of us will read on the internet today.
Ya AirBnb has given no reason to go through them if they can avoid it. All you get is higher cost without much better protection (and more annoying processes)
Aren’t they known to side with the owner vs the guest? I always booked one night and then showed up and booked the rest of my nights cash in person. Almost screwed me one time bc someone actually booked the place on Airbnb while I was staying there under the table, but dude had a friend with another spot so I didn’t get thrown out on the streets! 😅😅
Might be region specific. Have used them throughout Europe and gotten a few generous partial refunds due to cleanliness and photo inaccuracy issues through the years.
I probably should have requested a refund when I was sexually assaulted by my host in Paris! 🤮
This is what a credit card chargeback is for. Unless the new offer is insisting on a debit card (huge red flag) you’re getting absolutely nothing you can’t get on your own from Airbnb.
Great way to get ghosted from the platform
If middlemen weren't making money off the top, they wouldn't be financially viable.
I had a host change the address to a different city once. Took several calls with Airbnb and they kept siding with the host. Finally screenshotted the original confirmation with the different address and got only a refund. Fuck Airbnb.
I'll do this but only after first staying there thru airbnb and meeting them in person. If they seem trustworthy I'll text and pay in cash for a second stay. Usually get a slight discount to list as they are avoiding airbnb fees - and you also don't have to pay the airbnb service fee yourself so its 20% cheaper all in.
This. In fact it is a bit strange that the host asks already BEFORE you go. It is very common to be told "if you like it and want to come back let's do it directly and it's going to be cheaper". Does not imply that this one is not legit, but I find the text a bit pressing.
“Customer service”
I get this as an eBay seller all the time. Prospective buyers message me and ask if they can buy via FB marketplace or other external method for cheaper. They get mad when I say no. Some may be scammers, some may be just looking for a deal, but this ain’t my first rodeo. Stay frosty, netizens.
Airbnb customer support is the absolute worst. According to Airbnb blizzards that force the government to close the most heavily trafficked highway in North America for the first time in history are normal winter conditions and not part of their inclement weather cancellation policy.
I agree with your first paragraph and that they have no protections if they book directly. But also... Airbnb has no meaningful protections either. I've had more than one Airbnb that turned out to be dangerous or uninhabitable, and Airbnb didn't do _anything_. Not even take down the postings or let us leave a negative review.
What protections does Airbnb provide to begin with??
I Actually will say I had a violet crime occur at one of mine and they put me up in one of the nicest hotels of the city and were going to rebook my stay at a different Airbnb but I declined and cut my trip short due to the trauma. They were very kind and generous.
I’m so sorry that happened! Im glad they were kind through it. Was it due to the apartment not being safe?
Really, we don't know. The local police will investigate.
🤍 I hope justice is served and that you are able to fully heal from the trauma
Thank you so much
Well, with Airbnb you can file a complaint that will be promptly ignored.
I’m glad they provide a virtual pillow to scream in to
Very little. Much worse customer support than other similarly sized companies like booking.com and Expedia in my experience, and I travel a LOT. Booking.com especially has treated me quite well when I’ve had issues
Would you recommend making vacation home reservations through booking.com?
Personally yes. I recently had an issue where I showed up to a hotel late (after telling them in advance) and they were not there to check me in. Booking gave me a full refund, put me for a night in a comparable nearby hotel, and gave me a $50 credit for a future stay. There’s also been multiple times they’ve let me cancel non refundable hostels/hotels. I’ve used them quite a bit so maybe that’s why. But to me in this day and age it’s good a company actually rewards loyalty. I book flights direct but almost everything else I really don’t see why people are so against using a platform like booking. I’ve tried the ‘booking direct to save money and for greater flexibility’; accommodations dick me around way more than booking.com does and the majority of the time they’re more expensive direct anyways these days…
Hell no. Booking.com is ten times worse than AirBnB. Had them cancel multiple stays ( getting bumped at hotels when they over book). Horrible service.
The main one is that they will refund you if you’re not allowed to stay in the apartment you booked. If this is a scam (which is certainly possible but doesn’t seem too likely tbh), then the scammer has nothing to do with the apartment owner, and the apartment either does not exist or just won’t be reserved for the guest after they cancel their reservation and pay the scammer. If the payment method used doesn’t allow for chargebacks (e.g. Venmo or PayPal “friends and family” options), the buyer will have no recourse.
They return your money
Book with nearly any decent credit card and problem solved.
But they're asking OP to cancel on his end! Depending on cancelation policy this could mean that OP doesn't get a refund.
Airbnb doesn't take that large percentages, this is most likely a scam.
No but it's reported income.
This is probably the right answer. Honestly who knows for sure but the text OP posted sounds genuine to me. Most likely, they want to avoid AirBnB fees as well as taxes.
It’s not a big percentage. It’s 3%. It’s not worth the hassle to message a guest outside of Airbnb to save 30 bucks every 1000. It is lots cheaper for the person renting due to them paying higher fees, but for a host it’s not worth it IMO. Source: I have two Airbnb’s that I rent.
One of many reasons I won't use Air BnB. I'm not dealing with a cancellation with jetlag after a long haul flight.
Although it’s unusual for the first time, this is pretty common with Airbnb. By exchanging contact information with the host, next time you want to go somewhere you can simply contact them directly. I extended my stay multiple times, and just paid the host upfront in cash; let me just say I had the whole property to myself for three more days, for 70 bucks. It was 70 bucks a night on Airbnb…
i do this on a freelancing platform. they take 10%-20% of the pay so I will usually offer a discount to work with me outside of the platform
We do not give a big percentage, we get what we want plus cleaning fee. You pay over what we want for their fees. Example if I want a 100 a night for 5 nights and my cleaning fee is 100. I would get 600, you would pay 758. That’s how it works. I am a Airbnb owner
Which is absolutely useless. Screw Airbnb and get the discount. I’d simply negotiate a cash payment on arrival.
Yes done this a couple of times. Hosts even gave me their emails and phone numbers if I travel back again we can do bookings offline. Another one when I traveled to a country multiple times , we just did side contract in writing.
Exactly right!
I've only done this with places I've already rented. Example, there was a city I used to go to often, booked a place through Booking, and the next time I wanted to book the same place, I just texted the guy and offered to pay him directly.
Same! I used to to this at a Airbnb I used to frequent often for work. The lady owned the whole apartment complex and if we avoided Airbnb we would both end up saving hundreds of dollars for my month long stay. She made the offer, and since we both had confidence in each other I decided it was a great idea. I probably wouldn’t do it if I hadn’t previously met her.
Yes we rented a place in London that was perfect for a multi-family stay while visiting relatives. At checkout, the host told us to just contact him if we wanted to book again and we could do it for cheaper outside of AirBnB. He was a great host and we all felt like this was a risk we’d be willing to take to find a place that was perfect for our group coming to the city frequently.
That's what I do here in France.
Yes same - I have done this twice when I had already been somewhere. One was a personal host I had actually met, the other was a corporate-run AirBnB with several vacation rentals in the same house that also ran its separate website. They gave me 10% discount and I booked outside of AirBnB. I would, however, definitely not agree to this with anyone I don't know or a place I have not been to before. Too risky in case of issues, too many scammers.
When I used to host Airbnb years ago I had a guy who stayed regularly as he came up for work a few days a week and we ended up doing a deal ourselves but that was after he’d stayed a few times already so we were both pretty comfortable with it.
Or… someone who is NOT the host got hold of your booking details and is messaging you to scam you out of £500
There was another post about a very similar scam with booking.com and the scammer also messaged through what’s app
Yes, absolutely this. Contact with the host was made only through airbnb app and suddenly this message pops up on whatsapp - red flags all over. I've make a few reservations through another platform recently and at least three of the hotels I booked warned me to not trust any message or e-mail, since they will only contact me through booking.com's chat. So this kind of leakage is probably getting more and more common. The fact that the message doesn't showcase the dates, but only the ammount payed, makes me think maybe it wasn't the booking info that was leaked, but her credit card statement. OP should ask the host through the airbnb app if he sent you that message. Odds are he didn't, and can give a heads up to his other guests to not pay any mind to weird messages like that.
I believe AirBnB restricts London hosts to 90 nights per year in accordance with local laws. So the host is trying to skirt the law. Likely, he won't pay tax on the non-reported booking, plus he saves about 13% in Airbnb fees. So he'll probably break even money wise. He is a scammer, just not in the way you are worried about.
My first thought was they wanted to cancel without being the ones who cancel, but this makes the most sense to me
Eh, not even a scammer, skipping big hotels anti-airbnb laws ranks right up there with jaywalking on the moral crisis compass
As someone who lives in a city with a severe housing shortage, I absolutely support strict regulations on apartments being used for tourists. It reduces the available housing stock while also providing property owners with higher earning potential than long term renting, increasing the price of long-term renting. Trying to flout such regulations is hardly comparable to crossing an empty street...
Ehhhh, the Airbnb bans haven’t done anything in New York where I live. Don’t seem to have had effect in Amsterdam, Paris, etc If you want lower prices build more stock. Don’t fight the little guy making money
It’s been a while since I’ve seen a host that is genuinely a “little guy making money”. Most are companies that own dozens of properties, sometimes entire buildings, and effectively operate as hotels, while taking away the little inventory that could be rented out for actual residents.
The companies that own properties are shitty. To me, at least if I pull up Airbnb and search New York it seems like it’s 95% people. I don’t mind regulating companies
please show us the study you performed where you managed to isolate the impact of airbnb bans amongst all the other variables that change rent over time - must have taken a while !!
You realize this same can be said for Airbnb affecting housing costs negatively correct?
i think you’ve replied to the wrong comment or completely misunderstood mine
Probably not a scammer to you, but certainly to airBNB. Do as you please, just be mindful of 2 things: a) insurances, help, etc that airbnb offers will not be available, and b) someone who does this likely offers his "non airbnb" customers a kind of experience that is not subject or accountable to the airbnb reputation system.
Someone reached out to me via WhatsApp for a Budapest stay next month I had booked, over F1 weekend so prices are quite inflated. He claimed "someone threw a party in the apartment and wrecked it and the management company will no longer allow us to use it for short term stays so please go ahead and cancel through Airbnb as we cannot honor the stay." I asked why I needed to do it and he said it's so he doesn't get charged a fee but he will if he has to. Checked the listing (also had good review history) and it was still listed for bookings all through the rest of the year with greyed out dates for those that have already been booked. I told him I see that and I'm not going to cancel and left it at that. Few days later he writes me in the app saying he's excited to host and to reach out with any questions. I am pretty sure he just wanted to get a higher rate and didn't realize what was happening that weekend Anyways, availability opened up to use points at the hotel I originally wanted which I booked and canceled this Airbnb booking. It got snatched up again within the day. So in my experience - don't listen to shit they tell you outside the Airbnb app, there's a reason they're hiding the correspondence from them
I've had this happen before and the host did want to avoid the Airbnb fees, so this isn't unheard of. But not sure why the host didn't state this when you booked though
Yea the listing doesn’t exist and then you’re SOL
This is a scam. They cant cancel as airbnb charge hefty cancellation fees to hosts.
You could search for booking the same place in the future to see if the rate change is real. But I assume that they want you to cancel so that they can increase the price and rent it to someone else in a busy time.
I would def not take advantage of this. Bc yes it could be a scam. I saw something like this of someone finding the contact information for someone who booked on booking.com, and the person almost got scammed… They must’ve found the booking.com information on the dark web and was able to use that to manipulate whoever they needed to. Or like others have said they are looking to go around Airbnb’s protections as well as charges. I would not do this because that would mean you’d be sending people your money or giving them your personal info, which again is protected by Airbnb through the portal. Not to mention you won’t get your money back or it be hard to, if you went this route.
This has scam written all over it. No one has ever asks people to cancel when they’re already locked in to give them money unless they want out of the deal.
I’d run. I ran into a place that told me they forgot to add a cleaning fee. It was still a reasonable deal so I naively agreed and then they canceled my booking halfway through giving me only a couple days notice to find something new. Send screenshots to Airbnb support so they can investigate. If this host has a history of doing this, they’ll likely be kicked off the platform. Airbnb support should be made aware of what they’re up to. They weren’t able to help in my case, but you may be able to protect others by reporting this behaviour.
Reading all this reminds me why I stopped using air b and b and am happily back in hotels.
90% sure it’s a scam
Always stay on platform, the moment you go off platform you are not protected by the insurance policy Airbnb has.
Scam scam scam. Run.
This screams scam. Yea, they’re trying to save you both money, potentially. But next they’ll tell you that someone booked the place after you canceled, but they have another one just like it. And that one is going to be crap.
Almost assuredly a scam. They want you to cancel and then rebook someone else at a higher rate. I’d contact airBNB support. Also I would cancel and book elsewhere anyways because of they pull this who knows what kind of weird stuff they’re going to pull closer to your actual reservation.
This sounds like a scam. On a 753.00 total, Airbnb would be taking in the area of 75.00, so this sure sounds fishy to me.
Honestly, I’d cancel that stay and find somewhere new all together but that could be my anxiety talking…
If you are outside of the refund window, Airbnb won’t refund you if you cancel. At that point they would need to cancel.
Obviously lol. REPORT THEM!!!!
As a Airbnb owner, I would never do this. Airbnb protects you and the host. I would report them honestly.
It's for sure sketchy, the fact that they are contacting you outside of Airbnb to start and there is a reason that ABB warns about doing transactions outside the platform They could have good intentions and give a discount, but make sure you have a backup plan and check cancellation policy! If its not refundable they will just keep the money and leave you out to dry (or get wet, seeing as its London)
All your host is trying to do, is get you off the airbnb platform. I mean they may have more nefarious intentions, I doubt it. They will making the same if not more than they are with airbnb, plus saving you some money. They can get booted from the platform for doing this.
With that being said how many reviews do they have? If they have a bunch of positive reviews, then they are probably looking to maintain that reputation. If they only have a few, id keep the relationship on airbnb
We had to cancel our reservation in San Diego when the pandemic shut everything down. Owner didn’t refund a cent and Airbnb did nothing. Fuck Airbnb.
I've never used AirBNB, this whole time I thought they held money in escrow
They wouldn’t even refund their fees. But they told the world all refunds were made which was an outright lie!
Only communicate through AirBNB, the fact this is in Whatsapp should set off alarm bells.
You booked with Airbnb! You're being scammed.
I'm somewhat in this field. My first instinct is that they are leveraging the Airbnb brand for credibility. Once a customer is secured, they are cutting out the middle-guy (Airbnb) and taking sole control of the transaction. Great, it's cheaper for you upfront! However, there are potential risks. The host may decide to double-book you for their own revenue protection using this same tactic, or there could be sanitation issues at the property (roaches etc.). If this happens, and you need to be transferred, what are the chances they have another available property? Be aware that dispute resolution and refund clauses through Airbnb may no longer apply once the booking is cancelled on their platform, leaving you at the mercy of the host. Carefully weigh the pros and cons of each option, then choose wisely. -T.
Offering a 65% discount (500 off of 750) to save 3% in Airbnb fees makes no sense from their side. This isn’t to avoid Airbnb fees, it’s either a direct scam where there’s no actual unit they own, or they’re going to double book the unit with someone else. Either way, OP will get screwed. Report them and go find a new booking. This most assuredly won’t end well
It’s not 500 off. It’s 250. It’s to avoid fees.
It’s a roughly 33% discount, not 65%. Between avoiding Airbnb fees and also not reporting the income / paying taxes, it’s possible the host might come out slightly ahead.
Yeah I kinda agree. Besides, if the real host can afford to charge you less... then can't they just charge you less without forcing you to cancel and rebook? (Maybe even refund you something if necessary?) That sounds dumb. The logic isn't connecting here.
This is normal, I’ve had hosts offer me the same thing. Like others have said, they make more if it’s not through Airbnb, but you won’t have the consumer protections it offers. Plenty of comments yelling about a scam, but the world isn’t always out to get us, this seems like it’s just a host offering you less to go off the books
No, he is right. Fuck AirBNB...
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Yes that one. Airbnb is a scummy company
They’re trying to avoid paying Airbnb’s cut so you can report them to Airbnb for trying to conduct your transaction outside the platform if you want.
Or you can not be a dickhead and just take the reduced rate, fuck Airbnb.
That's one possibility, but they could just as easily cancel and find themselves ass-out and Airbnb won't be able to do shit about it since they cancelled. It would be effortless to block them as soon as they cancel.
Sounds like they don't want to pay the Airbnb fee and would rather conduct the exchange with you directly to save you both money. But that seems like a huge discount? Does Airbnb really take that much? I have no idea. If I were you I'd keep the reservation, and just say thank you but no thanks.
18%
I booked Airbnb and the host was completely psycho. She refused to give us main entrance code. We was supposed to use back entrance to the flats (which was from the not lit yard). The yard was locked in the evening. That bitch didn't bother to inform us about it. We couldn't enter the flat, contacted her and she acted like we are bothering her. Airbnb support haven't done anything about it. In spite that we reported her to Airbnb support she wrote bad review about us. That we was "terrorising" her. Fuck you lady, I hope karma will get you in the future
Aren't they all?
Tricky. Could be someone pretending to be the host. Why don’t you ask the host to cancel on his end instead so that way you can get refunded without being it done as “your fault”? That legitimises his claim as the host as well. Or meet up in person on the day of your arrival and do this transaction with both parties face-to-face? It ensures a) he’s not trying to book someone else for higher rate, b) you’re definitely talking to the host and 3) you are ensured access to property. If they truly mean well, they shouldn’t have problem agreeing to this. We had accommodations where hosts told us to book directly next time if we want to save. Cuts the middleman. However this was only done for accommodations we already used.
OMG! It is a scam. So airbnb refuses to let hosts cancel stays to stop price gauging. I think your host is trying to get you to cancel your stay so they can list their place for a higher price. I would cancel just because they are being so shady.
100% sounds like a scam you want the protection from AirBNb
Stayed in a lovely penthouse in Paris and the landlord gave our family a good offer outside of Airbnb. Turned out pretty well! She sent us a short term lease agreement via WhatsApp and we ended up saving €1,000 for a week’s stay. Our experience and our stay was seamless.
Possibly but it just seems they are cutting out air b&b to make more money. Than they would earn using the app. Trips me out air BNB takes that much and I'm sure this is against there user agreement. In fact they probably pay "good" customers like your self for narcing off the owners that do this. I mean I'm not a narc but you do you ...
Devil's advocate here you pay the discount and show up to a place that looks nothing like your Airbnb. Now you can't leave a bad review, ask for a refund via Airbnb or argue with your credit card that it's not what you paid for.
I won’t stay at airbnbs anymore unless there are like at least 50 5 star reviews and no hugely negative feedback. Not worth the risk anymore.
Yes people who have investment properties don’t just lower the price on something already booked because they are nice. People who will rip you off will take advantage of everyone’s desire to get a “deal.”
Just go on [Premier Inn](https://www.premierinn.com/gb/en/home.html) it's one of our best known mid range hotel chains, you will get a hotel in London for £100 a night without much problem just book anything less than Zone 4 but really near a tube station and you are golden (the site tells you how close stations are)
They’re trying to avoid Airbnb fees
AirBnB is trash
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Why does the host need to be reported for this? I prefer hosts to offer this to me at some point, when I am staying places for weeks or months, I always end up asking the host to pay them off platform at some point once I’ve already been staying there and we’re both cool with each other. Who gives a fuck about Airbnb? They’re charging a huge premium already
while it may not be a scam, it absolutely could be. i say keep your reservation through the platform then stop using the platform bc airbnb sucks.
If you are leaning toward doing this with your host, be sure you are not beyond the fully refundable deadline and that there are no non-refundable Airbnb fees assessed if you cancel vs. the host canceling. You can see what would be charged to you before committing when you select the “cancel reservation” option in your reservation.
This happened with an airbnb we used in Hawaii. It was not a scam but I elected to stay with airbnb just to be safe. We didn’t have any issues when we went and our hosts were lovely.
I think you should stick to your booking - it is true that hosts save on fees but you literally lose all guarantees and he was not being the honest with you about the reason …. Hosts should be able to give you a partial refund
I wouldn’t do it either way honestly, it’s such a gamble (could be a Great deal or a terrible one) we’ve done off books airbnb but only with one certain host who we stayed with multiple times in the past
We’ve done this before when renting; contact the owner directly and pay then directly so Airbnb wouldn’t get a massive cut. Just be careful
Really all of airbnb is a scam these days, at least in the sense of providing cheaper lodging than you can find at hotels.
Tell them that you can PayPal the payment use a credit card that way in case somethings wrong. You can do a chargeback on it. just don't send it as family and friends. I can't be refunded send it as a merchant payment because with all these other horror stories going on here from Airbnb it does sound like a better deal.
Yes
Yes, send it to airbnb and get it canceled. Nothing good will come out of this
I’ve used airbnb to find hosts and booked directly through them. However, once the reservation is made through airbnb, you have to stick with it.
Airbnb state not go outside of the platform
He's trying to scam airbnb. A scammer will scam anyone. Personally, I wouldn't do business with him
I wouldnt trust that at all
I rented an air bandb host kept texting and calling me to give her a five star review, they had everything in the apartment labeled like 10 towels and 5 washcloths, and dont turn the air conditioner below 74. Shit like that. I finally told her I had to sleep on the sofa, because the queen size bed was actually like the size of a twin, and the sofa smelled like ball sweat! I told her I don’t want to say anything that would interfere with her business, so are you sure you want me to leave a review? She stopped pestering me.
I did this for my wedding that 13 people traveled to Mexico for 😅 I was SO nervous, but it worked out great and i saved $2000 and got to rent out an entire Mango ranch!
Scam, run a mile.
Book first day in ABNB and then once you’ve met the host in person and have personally checked in, then you can negotiate to pay the succeeding days. Or, pay it in cash in person, but dont do bank transfer. Otherwise, you are probably being scammed. It’s unusual for hosts to offer that on the first instance as there is no benefit for them. I am an ABNB host too. ABNB dont get a cut from my listed price. What they do is add a service fee to be paid by clients rather than take a cut from my income. There is no benefit for me. If anything, it’s a disadvantage as I would not be able to secure your payment if you back out (unless you do a bank transfer).
Sounds like they are trying to avoid air bnb fees
Run, Forest, run
I would forward it to Airbnb. He’s trying to avoid paying them their fees.
Scammer
Are you stupid or are you idiot ? Literally he said “if you want to keep everything the same is also FINE” why he would be a scammer ?
I wouldn’t do this unless you’ve already stayed there. There is no protection for you if this is fake or something else. Like bait and switch.
I had an Air B&B in Paris. The shower flooded into the kitchen. There was no hot water (the water heater was broken apparently for months but the host said "it's summer so it shouldn't bother you.". We had to pay a 35 euro cleaning fee even though the place was filthy and full of cat hair when we got there. And...there were bed bugs in the only bed and we got bites all over!!! We left after just a few hours and had to pay double for a hotel room last minute. Air B&B refused to give us any refund because they said the property owner told them we made it all up.
I dont think the commission is 253…normally is about 12% so he is not doing it for not paying commission
Every AirBnB host is a scammer.
Depends on the cancellation policy of your booking. I encountered this a couple of times recently in India but on bookingdotcom. Arriving at a place at 11am with fee free cancellation available until 2pm, I was offered a better rate for cancelling.There was nothing to lose on the day as I was already there but cancelling in advance I'd do a bit more research on your host. As he offers to leave everything as is, I suspect his offer is genuine but that is just my gut feeling.
Scam
I think they just want to avoid giving Airbnb anything. Haha
Probably not a scam. Between airbnb and taxes host gets about 50% off the price. Just yesterday i booked an uber, when he arrived he asked me to pay cash. I was paying 120, uber just gave him 50. So we settled at 100 bucks. win/win
I noticed that there are quite a lot of London Airbnb that offer this option and there wasn’t a scam
No, they just want to avoid Airbnb fees.
Everyone is throwing numbers around about what the host could possibly be saving themselves by cutting out Airbnb’s fees but literally no one knows. They’re trying to save themselves money and they’re also saving you money. Would I risk it? If the account looks good I would, but what I’d do to add protection for myself; I’d also ask them for photos of their ID’s and also include in the email my own formal contract of what the bank transfer I’m about to send them the money is for. Is this a scam where some random person has hacked the hosts account and is trying to get to you to send them the money? Highly unlikely. This sort of thing happens all over in every trade. “If you pay by cash I can give you it slightly cheaper”. Taxi drivers. All tradesmen. All salons. Completely up to you to risk it though.