Our Airbnb trip was cancelled AFTER we arrived in NY and we're standing outside the apartment. The day we were to check in , myself and my companion arrived, were outside the Airbnb and the key box was missing. We contacted the host, who we do agree responded fast or had his girlfriend responding fast to us, thy made us send them a picture to prove the key box was missing. Since they are both away travelling alot and no one living in Queens that can assist then, they cancelled our trip. I'd like to add we were in town for a wedding and had a rehearsal dinner that evening which we both missed because I was on the phone with Airbnb for 5 hours arguing with them that waiting 5-15 days for a refund doesn't help us cover the cost of rebooking a new spot.
I am not saying this place is a scam. It was very suspicious though. In the check-in instructions the picture shows a lock box located very low on a fence near the ground. When we emailed the host about the lock box being missing they said it must of been stolen and would cancel the trip because there was no way for them to get us a key quick enough. The fence where the lock box should be however had a missing bar but it was in the he middle of the fence not the floor. I also need to mention I am originally from NY and book Airbnb there alot to visit family. First time dealing with anything like this.My only suggestion is first for Airbnb to have their host come up with back up plans if the host won't be available on site for your stay and also for the host to have personal near the location that can handle a situation like this if they will be away travelling.
Other than that, the host did reply fast when booking and answered all my questions. It's disappointing it turned out like this but more so I'm angry it took away from my bestfriend's wedding experience (who by the way handled it awesome and was supportive the whole time).