RE: My first time experience with AirBnB: finding myself in the slums with a broken lock, and not getting my money back
Thanks for sharing this. Almost the exact same incident just happened to me and my sister this past weekend in New Orleans. The only difference is it wasn't a long term stay, just 4 nights. What a nightmare. It was false advertisement; the place was not at all how it was described. It said there was a “a porch overlooking the yard as well as street… and two sets of french doors that open up into Frenchmen Street, letting in plenty of light and allowing for prime people watching.” The french doors in the kitchen were bolted shut, likely due to safety issues, and there is no people watching. The only view from the porch was a very tall fence that separated the back of the house from the street, you cannot view it as stated. This area of Frenchman Street is not walkable to the area where there is live music as described (and it is absolutely not safe to walk there – ever, not even during the day). The side of the house was all boarded up with wood paneling. We were in a very bad, crime ridden area and all the houses were boarded up or had bars on the windows. There were people lying unconscious in the street outside, and someone a few doors down made an attempt to rob us when we were on our way back to the house within the first hour that we were there. Unfortunately Airbnb has a refund policy that protects them from just about every bad situation – including the quality of the house and neighborhood. In addition to that, the pillows on our bed were DISGUSTING. They were stained brown, very brown and spotted. The towels that were folded and placed on the bathroom counter for us were damp and smelled like mold. The toilet wasn’t completely attached to the ground and would move around when we sat on it. We didn't even spend the first night; left right away. Airbnb should be required to do site visits before someone can rent their place out. And if they are already doing that, then they should have stricter guidelines. And the kicker of it all: we read the reviews thoroughly before we booked it and there wasn't a single bad review about this place. I'm convinced that they delete negative ones. We contacted Airbnb immediately when we got home and worked with a case manager but they will not refund us. Awful, greedy company.
Very sorry to hear about your experience. It seems exactly like mine. I am still fighting with the owner and AirBnB through my credit card company. I'll post here when the dispute is finally over to update the situation, but I would recommend filing a dispute with your credit card company. Best of luck.