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Airbnb reportedly apologized to the woman after hosting her Manhattan apartment.
The London-based woman booked a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan for her two-month stay earlier this year, The Guardian reported. Citing safety issues in the area, the woman stayed for seven weeks and left Airbnb early.
However, the host claims that the guest left $16,000 in damages. To support his claim, he submitted images of a cracked coffee table, claiming that the guest had stained the mattress with urine and damaged the robot's vacuum cleaner, sofa, microwave, TV and air conditioner.
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In this picture, a key will appear in front of the computer screen showing the Airbnb logo in Ankara, Turkey on November 22, 2023. (Getty Images/Dilara Irem Sankar via Getty Images/Anadoru)
The woman denied the allegations and said that she only had two visitors during her stay. When she looked closely at the images, she noticed something that indicated that the coffee table was being manipulated, the report said.
She believed that the host probably most likely retaliated as she ended her rental early.
Airbnb initially told guests that after reviewing the photos, they had to pay the host more than $7,000.
“I let them know that I could provide testimony from witnesses who were with me during checkout and who could swear on the conditions that the property was left behind: clean, undamaged, in good order,” the guest told the Guardian.
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View of Empire State Building and New York Skyline (Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)
“I also clearly showed visual inconsistencies in the images of the same object (wooden table) provided by the host, which shows clear indications of manufacturing,” she added. “These inconsistencies are simply not possible in real, unedited photos of the same object.”
A few days after the Guardian asked Airbnb about the issue, the short-term titan told the woman that she had accepted her appeal and praised her $580 account. The company ultimately refunded the full cost of the booking after she said she would not use the site again.
“My concern lies with future clients who have become victims of similar fraudulent claims and have no way to give in to pay out of fear of escalation,” the woman said.
The Airbnb logo appears on the Nasdaq digital billboard in Times Square, New York (Getty Images/Getty Images)
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“Given AI such images, and given that despite investigations, it has become apparently accepted by Airbnb, it should not be that easy for a host to escape by forging evidence this way.”
The hosts of apartments listed as “superhosts” were warned that Airbnb had violated its terms and reported that they would be removed if there were another similar reports.
In a statement to Fox Business, Airbnb said the woman's experience was below our usual high standards.
“Wehave will contact the guest, apologize and ensure that we will not be charged for reported damages,” the company said. “We took action with the host. We are reviewing the original handling of this case. We take damage claims seriously. Our team of specialists reviews all the evidence available to ensure decision-making, in order to reach a proportional outcome of both parties and ensure a fair approach.”
