An Airbnb customer in Australia was furious to find a home she had booked was not only empty, but also undergoing “massive renovation.”
In a now-viral video, TikTok user @reneescbfs explained her sister and her in-laws went to Byron Bay for a family wedding, only to find the property was completely empty.
According to Airbnb, the company has more than 4 million hosts worldwide and has booked more than 1 billion guests in most countries across the globe.
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The TikTok user, whose post has been seen more than 221,200 times since it was uploaded last week, also claimed Airbnb refused to talk to her sister and assist in finding another property. The video can be seen here.
The user said: “My family turned up to this today. A completely vacant home, in the middle of a massive renovation.
“No warning, and when they rang you for help you accused them of lying, wouldn’t help find somewhere else to stay and wouldn’t provide them a refund. You left 12 people and three kids under 3 literally standing on the side of the road.”
As the clip began, a person could be seen walking around the property, which was visibly going through a major refurbishment and was empty inside with the exception of building materials.
The TikTok user further slammed Airbnb, adding: “You’ve left four families without accommodation literally standing outside the shell of a home they paid money for.”
Newsweek found many who commented on the post slammed Airbnb while others shared negative experiences with the company.
An Airbnb spokesperson said in an October 4 statement that the company had refunded the guest and provided “rebooking assistance.”
The spokesperson told Newsweek: “We were disappointed to learn about this experience and have fully refunded the guest and provided rebooking assistance.
“We have taken appropriate action on the Host while we investigate further and reached out to the guest to provide further support. In the rare event something isn’t as expected on arrival for a stay, our Community Support team is on hand 24/7 to help.
“Our team is very much focused on ensuring each stay is a positive experience for guests, Hosts and the wider community. That’s why this year we introduced AirCover for guests, the most comprehensive protection in travel, included for free with every stay.
“AirCover is designed directly into the Airbnb app and website, allowing guests to contact an agent and raise issues for our team to investigate.”
In an update shared on October 4, @reneescbfs confirmed the family had been refunded.
She then went on to thank the TikTok community for sharing, commenting and “having eyes on this.”
Newsweek has contacted @reneescbfs for comment.
In July, a woman in Bali, Indonesia, found her pre-booked Airbnb villa was completely abandoned.
The TikTok user, Bree, said she had booked the villa for $80 and found it was abandoned with broken windows.
