Comment by jcims | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jcims | Hacker News Reader

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When does the definition of talent extend beyond developers and system architects and product delivery? Airbnb’s support organization, particularly with respect to guest advocacy, is abhorrent.

I was just recently in a situation where a host rejected the rental price after booking, and convinced the support team that i agreed to the adjusted price, which was then charged against my card. (To be fair there was some messaging back-and-forth between myself and the host prior to the booking that gave credence to this, but nothing official.) When i rejected the new price the host agreed to cancel, then again convinced airbnb to execute a guest cancellation, forfeiting all but $613 of a now $4400 booking.

It took me roughly a week with those funds tied up before i found someone in their support team (O.G. Lou G, i love you man) to actually listen to me and reverse everything.

This on the heels of renting a condo with hammer drills running upstairs 8 hours a day for the last three days of my trip and zero consideration or recompense from the host or airbnb.

https://youtu.be/3raZyaHhiyU

(TV max volume from six feet away for relative comparison)

I think more people need to be aware of how much they suck as a company

AirBNB is pretty awful to use as a customer. It's so shady and packed with hidden fees, at least speaking as someone who's only used it a few times.

Unfortunately, hotels have been massively deteriorating in quality these last few years.. the hotels I've stayed in over the last few months weren't cleaning rooms more than once a week (and doing a half-assed job then), the front desk, kitchen, and room service were all massively understaffed, and they were more expensive than ever while still having the same awful internet/TV setups.

If AirBNB eliminates the ruinously large cleaning fees, I'll probably just stop staying in hotels for good

I've had nothing but excellent experiences, going on 70+ distinct trips now. Many of them wouldn't even have been possible without Airbnb. Sorry it hasn't worked out so well for you

I keep going back, even with the bs that I’ve experienced, because the good outcones are so much better than what the traditional hospitality industry provides it’s worth the risk (to me). That said i bring my own linens and a thermal camera to look for electronic shenanigans.

I just think it’s important to recognize that the hosts are completely carrying the company’s brand.

Something similar happened to me this last February: I had a 5 week rental in Baja Sur (Mexico). Due to a serious medical emergency (covid booster vaccine gave me ischemic lacunar stroke) I was hospitalized 2 days before my trip and hence had to cancel it. You can imagine, in the middle of the hospital brain fog and all, I just cancelled through the standard process without thinking twice.

Days later after I was stable and out of the hospital, I found out that the cancellation gave me back I think $200 usd of the around $2000 I had paid....

At some level I kind of felt it as abusive. But I'm sure there are enough small prints somewhere to which I agreed to that explain why it's OK. And given my health issue I decided not to worry about that (puts things in perspective haha). I was more sad that I had to cancel the vacation/trip my wife and I planned, due to that emergency.

That's a bargain, $2k for 5 weeks in Baja Sur?

I've been near Todos Santos since January and the prices on Airbnb are, frankly, ludicrous for monthly rentals.

But then again that's the new normal, sky high rents everywhere.

Hopefully the infection hasn't spread to India, Thailand, Vietnam, etc.

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