I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb (25 minute read)
While on a trip to Chicago, Allie Conti had an experience that led to her discovering a nationwide Airbnb scam. 10 minutes before the allotted check-in time, the host called Conti and told her that the property she had booked was currently having issues with plumbing, and asked whether it was possible for Conti to move to a different property temporarily while the issue was fixed. The backup property was significantly different from the pictures the host had provided and was run down and dirty. After only staying one night, the host said that Conti had to change properties again as the next tenants who had booked the room was set to move in - the plumbing issue was still ongoing. Conti booked a hotel room and was only able to receive $399 out of the $1,221.20 she paid for the Airbnb room as a refund. The host requested a five-star review for the experience. Upon investigation of the host's profile, Conti found that they had fake profile images, fake reviews, and that other suspicious hosts had used the same photos for their listings. Conti discovered at least 94 properties in eight different cities that were linked to this network of fake accounts. Despite the potential for scamming, Conti concludes that Airbnb's easily exploitable system may still be cheaper than renting a hotel in the long run.