DO NOT BOOK HERE!!!!!!!! PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE YOU ARE SCAMMED!
1. The address listed on Airbnb was different than the address she messaged me with my check-in instructions. Read below for the entire story, but know if you book this you WILL be in a very dangerous area, run down building, with the building entrance door jammed open.
2. Her pictures are the exact pictures (same angle and everything) used by another listing in the area by a host named “Max”.
3. If you want early check-in she will ask you to Zelle her the fee instead of using Airbnb, which will result in you completely losing that payment if you get into the same situation as me and need to fight for your reservation money back for hours with Airbnb.
Here is the story if that didn’t make you leave this listing yet:
My partner and I were looking for a last minute Airbnb because we extended our LA trip and no longer wanted to be stuck in a hotel room. We booked this listing for a few days and at first I was so surprised to see such a nice listing in Hollywood available last minute at a great price. Especially since her calendar was completely booked every day following— I now know the listing most likely had a last minute cancellation, just how I had to do.
The day of check-in I was in meetings so my partner handled check-in. We needed early check-in which was offered for 1pm, but we paid for 3pm, and didn’t get there until close to 5pm. We weren’t worried about it though because it was just $30. Taylor sent the address in our message thread with great check-in instructions so I had no concerns. Once my partner got there he immediately FaceTimed me before even leaving the car to show me how ghetto the building was. It literally looked like an abandoned building with bars on all the windows. He eventually went in and while the interior matched the pictures, we did not feel comfortable being there with our expensive belongings. So, we attempted to contact the host and ask nicely if we could cancel because it wasn’t what we expected. We offered to still pay one night and the cleaning fee, but wanted the rest returned to us. She wouldn’t answer calls, and she acted like she didn’t know who my spouse was even though his profile was attached to the listing. So even though I was busy working, I did my best to contact her. She delayed our messages by telling me I had to message her in the Airbnb app when I clearly explained to her I had connection issues where I was. Before any of this delay, my partner had booked another hotel room for a night and brought all our things there. Once she received my message asking to cancel, she refused and assured us the property was safe. However, my intuition knew something was off about the listing. I called Airbnb to ask for assistance, and as I dug deeper into the listing I found out that the address Airbnb had for her was different than the one she gave me. Right then and there I knew this was a scam.
I immediately told her that I knew what she did, and all of a sudden she wanted to take me up on that offer to refund everything besides one night and the cleaning fee. This is what airbnb scammers do. They will have a beautiful listing in a great area, then in reality they send you to a different address that isn’t what you paid for. Some people deal with it and others immediately want to cancel. And once you want to cancel they try to at least take one night and the cleaning fee and most agree because they don’t want to deal with making a bunch of calls and fighting for 200-300 dollars. Most people are traveling and are too tired to fight it. And then if nobody calls and reports it to airbnb then that host is still able to run this scam over and over until they get three complaints on the listing. They also will have other listings that are legit and have great reviews to balance out what they are doing with the “scam” listings.
She was hoping I’d give up and just take the loss, but Taylor met her match with me. I told her she either needed to refund everything or I was definitely taking this up with airbnb. She refused, so I started the process. Sadly, she then tried manipulating the story saying I stayed there for hours and simply changed my LA plans and now made her lose out because of it. I had to send endless screenshots to Airbnb and spend 5 hours total on the phone to prove we saw the place and said absolutely not. Her lies didn’t last long though because I had proof of the time I actually got there and that another hotel was booked within 40 minutes. Not only did I get my entire payment refunded, she was also given a violation for wrong addresses. They also are now aware of the pictures she’s sharing with the other listing, and the payments she asked for through Zelle.
Please do not book with her. And if you are reading this after you’ve already booked or fall into the same position as me, please take the time to fight for your money. It’ll be a lot easier for you now that I’ve gotten her the first violation on the listing. If you take the loss and don’t report it she’s going to keep doing this to anyone that books.