Vacation rental owners lie — and there’s only one way to stop them

Talk is cheap. What’s in your terms and conditions is the only thing that matters

  1. rental owners lie

    Photo: VRBO

    Rental owners lie—at least the one who rented Jing Wen Xiong and her husband a private room in London did. He told the newlyweds they would only have to share a bathroom with another room.

But, as it turns out, there were seven bedrooms that had to share one bathroom — a fact that the Airbnb host didn’t reveal until after Xiong had made her nonrefundable reservation.

“We are devastated,” she said. “You are our last hope. Please do us justice.”

Well, it turns out they are not alone. My advocacy team and I have been fielding questions from readers who say their Airbnb or Vrbo owners have misrepresented their property to them. Often, Airbnb and Vrbo can’t — or won’t — help them. (Related: Companies are lying about their accommodations again.)

How do vacation rental owners lie?

Irritated by hotel resort fees?I know what you’re thinking: “Wait, don’t Airbnb and Vrbo hosts have to disclose everything about their property?” Yes, almost. 

Here’s how they lie:

“I’ll bend the rules for you”

Hosts often try to lure potential guests off-platform with a discount, suggesting they will have the same experience as if they booked through Airbnb and Vrbo. They might, but too often, the host simply keeps the money when something goes wrong. 

“It’s all relative”

Sometimes, hosts use weasel words when they describe their homes. For example, words like “shared” or “quiet” can mean different things to different people. Many misrepresentations take place during follow-up calls or messaging sessions — out of earshot of the booking platform. And that’s when the lying happens.

“You’ll get a refund if you cancel”

Xiong’s problem happens often. If something is not to a guest’s liking, a host often will tell a guest they can cancel. Sometimes they’ll even promise a refund (by phone). But what they don’t say is that if you cancel, you probably won’t get a refund — or that the written policy is the one Airbnb and Vrbo will adhere to. 

Will this Airbnb host get away with it? 

I could not believe an Airbnb host in London was renting seven bedrooms that all had to share one bathroom. Is that even allowed? I checked Airbnb’s rules on shared bathrooms and they looked a little loosey-goosey, so as far as I can tell, the answer is yes. 

But still, seven rooms? The host might have disclosed that sooner.

I thought Airbnb might want to take another look at this case. Not only had the host withheld critical information, he had also told Xiong she could cancel, leaving her with the strong impression that the refund policy would be waived. And that didn’t happen.

So I asked Airbnb to take another look at this case. Shortly after that, I heard back from Xiong.

Join Our Membership Program Today“We’ve got a full refund of $2,500 from Airbnb,” she reported. “I didn’t expect it to be solved so smoothly. You rock big time! This is definitely the best wedding gift ever! Thank you!”

The takeaway: When dealing with a vacation rental host, make sure everything is in writing. There are no exceptions.


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