I arrived at Jeremy's place around 7pm on a very cold night, with a forecast of snow, after 18 hours of international travel. To my dismay, Jeremy showed me to a room that was NOT the room he had listed on AirBnb. I had booked the room he advertised, based on the photos and amenities stated in the listing. The room he offered me failed to match his listing in major ways:
1) Advertised room was up one flight of stairs. Room Jeremy showed me to was up TWO flights of stairs.
2) Advertised room had a private ensuite bathroom, entered from the bedroom, thus offering complete privacy. Room Jeremy showed me to had no ensuite bathroom. Jeremy told me I could use a bathroom outside the room, entered from the common hallway. A critical loss of convenience, safety, and privacy.
3) Advertised room had a dedicated workspace, which was one of my must-have amenities. Room Jeremy showed me to had no workspace.
4) Advertised room was clean, spacious, and uncluttered in the photos. Room Jeremy showed me to was cluttered with random bits of furniture, piled with books and objects. They looked like they were just being stored there.
5) Advertised room showed a full-size wardrobe in the photos. Room Jeremy showed me to had no wardrobe. Instead, there was a hanging rail housed in a garish striped plastic tent, opened and closed by zipper.
When I expressed my shock, Jeremy said that the room he had advertised on Airbnb, the room I had booked, was on the first floor of his house, and currently occupied by another Airbnb guest, who had extended his stay. He said "I didn't think you'd mind if I put you in this room." I asked why he hadn't told me BEFORE I arrived that he had given the room I booked to someone else. He repeated "I didn't think it would be a problem."
This wasn't a lapse of communication on Jeremy's part. We had exchanged several messages in the days and hours before my arrival, about heating in the house, kitchen access, check-in logistics, etc. By extending the stay of his other guest in the room I had booked, knowing I was on my way to his house, not informing me, and trying to pawn off an inferior room on me, Jeremy was clearly acting in bad faith, to maximise his Airbnb income.
I decided immediately to cancel the reservation and leave. Given Jeremy's failures of honesty, communication, and respect, I didn't feel comfortable spending even one night in his home. We called Airbnb Support. They approved a full refund and tried to find me another room that met my needs in the same area. I sent some reservation requests, but got no replies. By 8.30pm, icy rain was falling, and I was forced to book a hotel room, so I had a safe place to sleep for the night.
Jeremy seemed shocked to learn from Airbnb Support that Airbnb imposes penalties for false advertising. While I waited to hear back on my reservation requests, Jeremy bemoaned his loss of income from my cancelled reservation, and seemed to expect me to sympathise. He didn't apologise for all the costs to me - financial and other - of his fraudulent behaviour, or even to offer to cover my Uber fare to my hotel.