Airbnb Reviews 

My Experience with Airbnb – Poor Communication, Misleading Listing, and Lack of Customer Support

I recently booked what was advertised as a luxury, high-end holiday apartment in a premium high-rise development at Mercury Towers in Malta. The total cost of the stay was nearly €4,000.
Unfortunately, the reality was very different from what was advertised on the Airbnb platform.
The rooftop swimming pool, prominently feature in the listing photographs, was closed to residents and guests. The spa facilities located within the building were only accessible for a few hours each morning and closed by early afternoon. None of these restrictions were disclosed in the listing before booking.
In addition, the property was far noisier than expected. Directly below the apartment balcony was a nightclub operating until approximately 2:00 a.m. most nights, with loud music clearly audible inside the apartment. At the same time, there was major road construction taking place immediately outside the building, involving heavy machinery and concrete hammering from around 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on a near-daily basis.
This was particularly frustrating because before booking I specifically informed the host that I was travelling to Malta to study and prepare for examinations and was looking for a quiet place to stay. Despite this, the accommodation provided was entirely unsuitable for that purpose.
When I attempted to raise these issues with Airbnb, the customer service experience was extremely disappointing. For several days, I communicated through the platform's messaging system, repeatedly explaining the situation and providing evidence. However, conversations would frequently end without any clear resolution or follow-up. The responses appeared generic and repetitive, often consisting of statements such as "We understand how you feel," but without any meaningful action being taken.
It became increasingly difficult to determine whether I was communicating with a real person or an automated AI system. As a result, resolving a relatively straightforward complaint became unnecessarily complicated and time-consuming.
Eventually, after persistent efforts, I managed to speak with customer support by telephone. However, the call was routed to an outsourced call centre, and communication proved difficult due to language barriers.
The host was equally unhelpful and unwilling to address the issues. Only after approximately a week of repeated complaints, videos, evidence submissions, and constant follow-up did Airbnb apply enough pressure for the host to offer alternative accommodation.
Unfortunately, the replacement property was located on the opposite side of the island and was nowhere near equivalent to what I originally booked. It was not situated within a luxury high-rise development, had no swimming pool, no spa facilities, and the quality of the accommodation fell significantly below the standard of the original listing in an area which was predominantly populated with workers from 3rd countries and felt unsafe. The sthis area felt substantially less desirable than the location I had specifically selected and paid for.
Following the trip, I formally escalated the matter through Airbnb's official complaints process. I submitted detailed documentation, videos, photographs, and correspondence demonstrating the issues encountered. I also sent formal complaint letters directly to Airbnb Ireland UC in Dublin.
Despite these efforts, I received no resolution, no meaningful communication regarding my complaint, and no refund.
My experience left me with the impression that Airbnb's customer service infrastructure has become increasingly difficult to access and ineffective when serious issues arise. When guests spend thousands of euros on accommodation, they should be able to speak to empowered representatives capable of resolving problems rather than navigating automated systems, outsourced support channels, and lengthy delays.
Based on this experience, I would be extremely cautious about relying on Airbnb for premium or luxury accommodation bookings. When things go wrong, obtaining a fair and timely resolution is extremely difficult than expected.
It seems they made a €2 billion profit last year, yet instead of providing quality customer service, they have moved their call centres to third-world countries, where English proficiency is often poor, and have become overly reliant on AI to handle customer queries and resolve problems. I genuinely wish there were a serious competitor to Airbnb. Customers deserve better service, better communication, and real support when things go wrong.

Awful service!! Paid over £200 to stay at an annex and was made to pay £72 for one small stain on bedding as air bnb chose to favourite the host! Avoid money grabbing behaviour won’t be using air bnb again.

Good luck with hopeless customer service. My booking was cancelled by Airbnb with no explanation or apology. I contacted the host who was similarly frustrated. I went on Airbnb chat and in the middle of the conversation they disappeared. I phoned and had great difficulty understanding the person speaking. I got different explanations as to why Airbnb had cancelled and they refused to offer accommodation anywhere near to my original booking. A terrible organisation and will never use again.

Never use their services!
The worst experience I have had.
Their system is very slow, no last minute booking will help you get a confirmed booked.
These guys take the payment upfront before confirming the stay. The same happened to me. I am now struggling to get my refund back from these pathetic app!
Every time I call them, they will have one or the other reason to delay the refund! They promised about me receiving the refund in 12 hours, its more than 8 days now and there is no update on anything

I have never had such a dreadful after "care" experience than with Airbnb
A host for over 16 years & have been trying to get an issue resolved with them has been impossible. You can NEVER speak to a human being let alone anybody to take ownership of your issue. DONT GO NEAR THIS SHAM OF A COMPANY

Cancelled booking 2 weeks before our stay.
Booking another place was a night as there is a music event on which is why we booked early.
Seriously thinking of leaving this platform for booking . Com.
Found a property on Airbnb for 100 more than on booking.

host cancelled day of holiday, airbnb offered 20% off voucher

I was a Superhost for approximately 10 years and, during that time, witnessed what I believe to be a significant decline in the quality of Airbnb's service.

The quality of support declined significantly. Many experienced support staff appeared to disappear and were replaced by overseas call centres. Communication became difficult, and I frequently found that support agents did not properly understand the issues being raised.

One of my principal concerns involved party requests at my property. Despite Airbnb's Community Disturbance Policy, I found that Airbnb repeatedly supported guest requests that I considered inconsistent with my house rules and my clear wish not to host parties. Despite raising these concerns on numerous occasions, I felt my position as a host was largely ignored.

As a result, I attempted to use Airbnb's mediation process under Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 (the Platform-to-Business Regulation). In my case, Airbnb failed to engage with the process. I also sought assistance through the Centre for Effective Dispute Resolution (CEDR), which contacted Airbnb, but no engagement followed.

I also submitted a Data Subject Access Request (DSAR). In my view, Airbnb failed to provide the information requested, and I subsequently referred the matter to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

Based on my experience, I would strongly encourage travellers to consider alternative accommodation platforms and, where possible, book directly with reputable accommodation providers. When making any booking, I recommend paying by credit card to benefit from the additional consumer protections that may be available.

For hosts, I would advise against becoming overly dependent on Airbnb as a major source of income. Diversifying across multiple platforms and maintaining direct booking channels can help reduce business risk. Never allow Airbnb to become the sole or primary source of your income, as platform decisions can have a significant impact on your business with little warning.

Many successful technology companies have enjoyed periods where they appeared to dominate their markets. MySpace once seemed unstoppable, yet history shows that no platform remains successful if it loses the trust and confidence of its users.

In my opinion, Airbnb should be careful not to take its hosts and customers for granted. My own experience over recent years has been deeply disappointing and has ultimately led me to leave the platform after nearly 17 years of hosting.

This review reflects my personal experience as a long-term host.

I purchased a £100 gift card as a Christmas gift for friends. The card was activated successfully and there were no issues at the time of purchase.
When we later attempted to use the card for a booking, we discovered that the balance had already been depleted. The code on the back had been covered by a glued plastic strip, suggesting that someone may have accessed and recorded the code before the gift card was sold and subsequently redeemed the funds.
After researching the issue, I learned that gift card fraud of this nature is not uncommon. What has been most disappointing, however, is Airbnb's handling of the situation. I have been in contact with customer support for over a month without any meaningful progress or resolution.
According to Airbnb, they can see when and by whom the gift card balance was redeemed, yet they have not provided a solution or reimbursement. When I requested escalation to a supervisor, I was told this would be arranged, but instead the chat and support ticket were closed.
As a customer, I find this response unacceptable. I paid £100 for a gift card that was effectively unusable, and despite providing details of the issue, I have received little assistance.

I’ve used Airbnb on many occasions, but the quality of customer service and the quality of the B&Bs have gone down dramatically. I had three cancellations from the owners because they said that the Airbnb was not given them enough RSVP. I was supposed to have a five bedroom Airbnb with a pool. They didn’t want to refund my money so they set me up with a four bedroom with a pool, my family was cramped inside it was the worst experience I have ever truly had. This is the third time that they’ve disappointed my family. The first B&B they gave me had no furniture in it no TVs it was just an empty house the other two occasions, the owners have canceled because they’re not getting enough attention from Airbnb. If you’re in Florida your best bet is to stick with the resort. Do not use them. They are not worth it. They’re not worth the time and money all for you to be disappointed as soon as you get close to your date, I’m telling my whole family never to utilize their services again.

Airbnb is the worst company I have ever dealt with. I have used the platform twice, and on both occasions I was scammed.

The first time was in Spain, where we were left without accommodation after the host took the payment and never showed up. The second time, in Prague, exactly the same thing happened.

When I contacted Airbnb support, I was initially told that they could not refund my money because the funds had already been released to the host. I find it unbelievable that the host can receive the money before the stay has even begun.

What made the experience even more frustrating was the way I was treated by customer support. After I mentioned that I was British and had full insurance coverage, the attitude suddenly changed. I was quickly escalated to a manager, and the refund was approved almost immediately.

While I eventually received my money back, nobody seemed concerned about the fact that I had been left without a place to stay. Based on my experience, I would never use Airbnb again and cannot recommend the platform to others.

If you haven’t stayed in AirBnb before and thinking of trying it, I would highly recommend you don’t, because:

- Pictures can be deceiving and property may not be as clean as it looks like. I stayed in multiple properties with really bad smell in the bathroom. I stayed in multiple properties ( in France) where sound insulation was non existent, and neighbors were having a party every night. I was provided smelly bed sheets and smelly towels. Or given hand towels and being told they are body towels ‘this is what we give’.

- Reviews cannot be trusted because people are scared/discouraged to leave an honest review. And their rules encourage that. It’s not unusual for the host to email you and tell that nothing less than 5* review would do.

- There are a lot of dishonest hosts who will know how to get more money from you / claim extra cleaning charges or accuse of breaking / stealing something. I was accused of breaking chair which was already broken and apparently stealing a chair cover which I don’t even remember seeing. The claim is still ongoing and I can see that host is very well prepared and knows what to say to get my money.

- You would need to take bins out and clean the dishes but there will be no cleaning products ( or one dishwasher tablet for the whole stay). In some cases would have to find a recycling bins few blocks away.

I also stayed in a country house once where grass was as tall as my toddler and my husband nearly died from hay fever. The property was full of dead flies and dust on the window sills. The bbq was corroded and outdoor seating all overgrown with weed. On top of all that owner’s dog ( from main house) kept coming to be entertained.

Once I booked the property where the flat was nice and fully refurbished, but communal stairs were borderline unusable ( creaky and broken in places). The communal area windows had broken glass.

I was temporarily an Airbnb host in London and find the whole thing not worth the hassle. After I paid the cleaner and laundry charges there was very little profit. If I raise a price, very little bookings. Most of guest were nice and I had no major issues. Except once one lady complained that there was no hot water ( she was just unable to turn it on), after that the Airbnb updated my property description ‘no hot water’ and I was not allowed to change it. That was the end of me hosting!

Raised a complaint with air BnB and they did absolutely nothing. The complaint was raised regarding a terrible stay we had, where the house was not ready at check in time with no key available and cleaners still in there, fire exits beyond blocked with laundry bags with a man coming and going without any prior notice and was filthy. I raised this with air BnB, Daniel, who said that no policies were violated and that if I cancel, I will be charged cancellation fees from the host, even though I’d told him the trip had already happened. I even sent photos with evidence. He obviously didn’t care and didn’t even investigate properly. I will never ever use air BnB again.

I have referred 6 host to Airbnb and I only got paid for 2. I know my host have used the referral link, because I am doing the listing with them and I am in control of using the link I emailed them. But every time they tell me that the link was not used. They lying and not keeping their commitment in paying the referral fees. I have spent hours talking with the managers ad they are condensending and rude.

I was a loyal Airbnb customer until this experience changed everything.
I arrived at my booked property in Shoreditch to find I couldn’t get inside. The host was completely unreachable — no response to messages or calls for over three hours. Airbnb’s own support team also failed to reach her. I was left standing alone on the street at night in London with all my luggage. Fortunately I work in the city and was able to call a colleague for help — but had I been a tourist unfamiliar with London, this could have been genuinely dangerous.
What made it worse was Airbnb’s response afterward. Despite being fully eligible for a refund under their own AirCover policy, their team spent days pressuring me to return to the same property where I had felt unsafe and stranded. After lengthy back and forth they still refused a full refund, leaving me to pay for a host’s negligence.
I never stayed a single night. I lost money, lost a day of work, and was made to feel like the problem was mine.
If you are a tourist or unfamiliar with the area you are visiting, please be very careful. When things go wrong, Airbnb’s support is not what they promise. I will not be using Airbnb again.

Airbnb allows a system where there is a lot of bias and unfairness in their review system towards Hosts. Guests can leave a bad review and there is no true assessment and judgement of the real situation.

I have been using them for 10 years and unfortunately their service has gotten worse over the years. I can see why they bave a lot of bad reviews.

I’m unhappy because my reservation was cancelled by the host, yet I still haven’t got my money back. I paid for a service I never received, and it’s unfair that I have to wait to be repaid what is legally mine.

Extremely disappointed with Airbnb. Our 4-bedroom villa in Lanzarote for July 2026 was cancelled after being booked and confirmed for 8 months because the property was sold and the new owners wouldn’t honour the booking.

Although Airbnb provided a £550 voucher, this doesn’t cover the huge increase in prices for comparable villas during peak season. We are travelling for our brother’s wedding, so this has caused major stress and financial pressure.

What was most disappointing was the customer service. I was refused escalation to a manager and ultimately told there was “nothing Airbnb could do” despite the cancellation being completely outside of our control.

We booked in good faith far in advance and expected much better support from Airbnb in helping us secure comparable accommodation. Very poor experience overall.

Greedy Fee: They shifted the entire fee burden onto hosts while pretending to guests that it’s free, all while pressuring hosts to raise prices.

Complete Bias: Airbnb Support always sides with the guest. Guests who fail to get a refund because they have zero evidence are still allowed to leave malicious, negative reviews to punish the host.

Encouraging Scams: They actively encourage guests to demand discounts without providing a shred of proof or communicating during their stay.

Useless Investigations: Their "checking progress" and review system is a joke and completely unreliable.

Booked a one night stay in a house in Wordsley Manchester LUX STAYS via air b n b. Once booked, we couldn’t confirm the booking without paying a deposit of £400. In there terms and conditions this would be paid immediately after check out.

The property was freezing with no hot water 😳. We contacted host twice who seemed disinterested and has been so throughout the whole experience. After a short period we were not able leave a review.

After weeks of contacting Air b n b they finally responded via phone and were apologetic, which I was grateful for. They promised some compensation for the poor quality which was appreciated.

Approx 14-21 days later received 1/2 the amount promised. I’m just assuming the other half will be sent at some point. The communication and customer service overall very poor.

Approx 3 -4 weeks later, still awaiting deposit from the host. Reported to air b n b who eventually sent a link for us to request the deposit. The links they sent don’t allow u to request even half of the deposit amount.

I have no faith in them, so I’m raising a dispute with the bank now.HOST *LUX STAYS WORDSLEY* have had some bad reviews since our stay, so until they are suspended my faith remains low.. and I’ll stick to hotels through booking.com