On the last night of my stay in a Washington DC Airbnb, I returned late to find all my possessions – including my passport – dumped in the street outside the apartment in carrier bags. Eerily, the apartment had been cleaned. The host arrived and told me I had to leave since someone else had booked that night. By then it was midnight. I showed my booking confirmation stating checkout was 11am the following morning, and she looked sheepish. No guest materialised, since the host had clearly muddled her dates, and I was allowed to stay the night.
I tried to contact Airbnb and discovered that, in an emergency, you are given just three options: phone the police, contact your host, or ask your host for a partial refund. There is no phone number to call – instead, you can only request a callback. It didn’t call me until 3am (when, mercifully, I had made it to bed). It had been told by the host I had “refused” to check out. I had to remind Airbnb of my booking dates.
The host claims it was a mistake anyone could make, and is refusing compensation. Airbnb repeatedly tells me it can’t help, which raises the question: what is the service fee for?
PM, London
The host’s amnesia could have landed you in a perilous situation, and her bravado was quite extraordinary. So is the insouciance of Airbnb, which promises a 24-hour “safety line” for emergencies, should a serious issue arise. It only expressed contrition when the media spotlight swung its way. “Our original handling of this case did not meet our high standards, and we have issued a refund and additional compensation to the guest to help make amends,” it said. By which it means you received half the cost of the stay on to your card, and half as a credit against a future booking.
Strikingly, it defended the host, stating that, as they were a “superhost”, it believed this was a “genuine misunderstanding”. That implies that if guests overstay, unwittingly or not – which you did not – it is acceptable for hosts to bundle their possessions into the street. I asked if Airbnb provides protocols for hosts, including warning guests that checkout time has passed and storing their possessions in a suitably secure place until they arrange to come to collect them.
It replied, missing the point, that guests were given checkout instructions in advance, and could ask hosts for a delay or a safe space to leave luggage afterwards.
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