UPDATED 7/4 I Still Love AirBnB ...I Think

I usually use booking.com for reservations I make ahead of time and have never encountered this... however, I don't usually have contact directly with the owners as there is no need. This sounds like a rip-off scam and at this point I would have to cancel my reservation completely and move on to someplace that has an honest and ethical owner. There is no way I would give them any amount of money... I would rather stay in a dump!

I have to say that I have never had a hotel or apartment try to raise rates on me after confirmation of reservation, regardless of whether I booked directly or through booking service. Maybe I've been lucky. I've only used AirBnB once and that was here in US. Sorry to hear about your experiences with AirBnB as I haven't heard of that issue before.

Wow - that certainly sounds like something airbnb should look into. The only time something happened with a booking was our host in San Diego (apparently) overbooked and had to cancel one night out of 3. She then offered a discount if we still wanted our other two nights. I have a feeling that as more and more people sign up with airbnb, this could become a thing...someone else probably contacted them offering them more money. That is one thing I do look for in reviews - I sometimes notice you will see a review that just says...this booking was cancelled x number of days before stay (whether it was the owner of the person doing the booking, you don't know). If I see too many of those in a listing, I'll skip over and look for another place.

Well, hmm, I was trying to decide between two places for our upcoming NYC trip, and one I contacted told me she didn't have her 'summer' pricing yet (OK - they can do that way ahead - you can look at the price calendars people have and you will see that some charge more in the summer months or at holiday time). She seemed nice in our convos, but didn't come right out and say how much the higher price would be. Needless to say, I went with option #2.

One other thing I do as well with all my airbnb before booking - I have a conversation with the renter...I don't do any of the instant booking ones...I like to get a feel for them and see if they respond promptly and whatnot.

Please let us know what airbnb tells you...they seem to be pretty good about helping people out...

Three times more expensive... yeh right. What is the on-line list price as of today? Good luck.
In what cities were the other two apartments where the owners tried to add on charges?
I'm not yet convinced by this model of rental though the websites are interesting. The only time I ever had a problem was with VRBO.

I hope you're doing reviews of these places that reflect attempts to change the price after booking. These practices will end when people stop doing business with them.

As was said above, what's the online price today? It wouldn't surprise me if it's still listed at the lower price.

I think they are literally playing people who want to rent at the same time off each other and seeing which one will pay the most (and doing this offline). I would cancel this particular booking and any others like this - it has unethical written all over it. Someone who has shown him/herself to be unethical at the start should be severed from any more transactions because you will be accepting all the risk. Owners are trying to maximize their income after you've made an agreement with them - this is not fair play. I would report this to Airbnb since I highly doubt you'll be able to review a property you will not be staying in (the system should not allow this) - it's good to warn others of this owner somehow or to get Airbnb to sanction them.

That sounds pretty bad to me! Never had that problem, but once when we showed up for our stay (and owner was to meet us there) no one there. All locked up. Talked to neighbors who said this happened frequently (reviews online were quite good). We managed to find another place to stay that night and did get a full refund.

No, you can't leave reviews for someone you didn't stay with . If it is cancelled, there is an automated posting in the reviews saying that the stay was cancelled. But I would def report it...maybe they can be blocked...

Thanks all. First, the current price is about $15 more per night then when I booked. AirBnB encourages new posters to start low to generate interest and reviews, so I can understand a price jump. However, it doesn't mean once those reviews come in, the owner can try to increase the price for people who have already booked! But here is the loophole for them:
So the email response, while sympathetic, didn't address my issue (I thought) as it went on and on about how to alter a reservation and change the number of guests, etc... So I just called to get a more applicable answer. The agent informed me they have no control over pricing, as they are the mediators but each owner's property is considered his own "business" and as such, he can do whatever he wants with pricing, This includes raising the price even after a reservation has been made!! She said off-site is against policy, but he can send me an "altered reservation" link with the increased price, and I can choose to accept or decline. If I accept, I pay more. If I decline, I have to make sure the owner cancels my reservation so I don't get hit with the penalty fees (I would forfeit the service fee) charged if I were to cancel. Bottom line: I am at the mercy of this man. Either I stick with him and pay more (or risk taking his word that I won't have to pay more only to get hit with surprise upon arrival) OR ask him to cancel me so I can try to find something in my price range while there is still time.

Monique, in my view you should drop him like a bad habit. Anybody with a comfort level in speaking the way he has to you already won't be a good actor. It does not reflect poorly on you to cancel, and it's as close as you can get to warning other AirBnBr's. I realize it's tough when you have gone through the eval process and decided on a place, but I, for one, tend to become invested in a certain lodging and have a hard time changing when all the signs point to cancel. I would also suggest that ten reviews is not a lot, and does not establish a significant enough track record of being a good host.

A less than ideal lodging is better, in my opinion, than dealing with a difficult person while trying to enjoy your vacation. As others have said, you have some time, make the best use of it.

Good luck.

Good advice Dave! - and the rest of you as well!

Bad Karma and bad energy all around... you will not be able to sleep in this place!

I have never used AirBnB but feel they have a responsibility to properly represent the places they are booking. Once you have a contract/reservation how can the price just be changed? Then, why bother?

Your experience makes me want to never use AirBnB. Especially your latest post, where you talked with a rep for AirBnB. It just makes it so much more attractive to stay in a hotel. Not that there can't be disagreements over things with a hotel, also. But there are advantages to staying in a nice chain hotel, such as Premier Inn or Hilton. They have management present, and they are usually able to resolve any issues right on the spot. I am less and less inclined to use AirBnB. They need to put in place and enforce some penalties for bad owners who don't treat the renters fairly.

"The agent informed me they have no control over pricing, as they are the mediators but each owner's property is considered his own "business" and as such, he can do whatever he wants with pricing, This includes raising the price even after a reservation has been made!"

"Bottom line: I am at the mercy of this man. Either I stick with him and pay more (or risk taking his word that I won't have to pay more only to get hit with surprise upon arrival) OR ask him to cancel me so I can try to find something in my price range while there is still time."

Give me the Hilton any time over this hassle!

Monique, you should definitely cancel, and use Agnes's suggestions, below, to document that you followed correct procedure.

Bottom line: I am at the mercy of this man.

Monique, this is not an inevitable outcome, especially if cancellation costs are $0 and you can scramble to find something else. Exercise control over the situation and refuse to be at the mercy of a stranger who is attempting to cheat you. Do everything by the book and cancel both through the Airbnb system and let the owner know offline that you have canceled so all bases are covered and there's no miscommunication about your intentions. Save all correspondence and confirmations. Although Airbnb doesn't get involved in pricing, they should back you up if you followed all the cancellation rules exactly (assuming of course there is no penalty, which I hope is the case for you). Then concentrate on finding a better arrangement with a more ethical owner. Best of luck to you! Hopefully this is just a bad apple, and your future Airbnb experiences run more smoothly.

I have preached in behalf of AirBnB at every opportunity (I am actually waiting for some "I told you so"s!!) and all in all, past experiences were quite wonderful! In fact, this isn't over yet and it may turn out to be another great experience. However, this unknown aspect of AirBnB policy which allows unscrupulous owners to take advantage of renters comes at a great shock to me.
If I cancel, I lose the service charge, which in this case only $25. There may be other charges as well - I have to look further. The agent told me though that I should by no means cancel, that if we cannot agree on a price, THE OWNER should be the one to cancel. I am not sure though if my "not trusting him" is grounds for them forcing him to cancel if he is not willing to do it. Meanwhile, looking at accommodation options...

I don't understand how it is legal to change the terms of a reservation well after the fact and after you have paid money. I would call AirBnB and tell them you are cancelling your reservation and you expect to be refunded the service fee. And if you don't get refunded, you will file a complaints with the Better Business Bureau. Keep going up the chain until you run out of people. Out of curiosity, I just went onto the BBB website and looked them up. There are many complaints similar to yours. But the good news is they have a high rate of settling. And it looked like a lot of people were eventually refunded after the BBB got involved. I have filed a few complaints with the BBB in similar situations and things have always worked in my favor. And it is logistically easy. Since AirBnB is a website, you could also file a complaint with the FCC but I have no experience with that.

Good luck!

Monique,
Surprising response you got from the Airbnb rep....wow!! I'm shocked a property owner is free to subsequently change a price after a booking.....for instance, to make a booking and find out a week prior that the price has gone up by (for example) E500? Say what?

Gosh, if it were me, I'd file a dispute on the credit card charge (submitting all the paperwork...make PDFs of the emails the owner has sent you and also Airbnb. I would ask for a total refund of ALL money you have paid).

And, I would also cancel the reservation with the guy who is appearing to 'bait and switch' you on price. If I understand, you will be out the cancellation fee, but that might be sooo worth it (and should, I would anticipate, be reimbursed thru the credit card dispute refund (if your paperwork can demonstrate back-up of what you have told us).

As you mention, the lack of reply from your March communication was a first yellow flag.

Based on what you describe of the lodging's owner, I would worry if the sheets had been changed before I arrived. Often when one slacks on quality in one aspect of doing business, it the same slack may show up in other ways, too.

While there are obviously many people who have wonderful experienced with Airbnb properties, one also has to remember that transactions are also made with people who have varying customer service experience, and varying levels of commitment to the hospitality industry.....and, for newer participants offering room in their homes, likely no (or little) hotel/inn experience. What's the old saying, 'price is soon forgotten, but quality will be long remembered........(your vacation experience will live on in your memory......let it be a nice one).'

I have never booked with Airbnb and I would likely only book with those who have 100s of only--positive reviews.

I hope it all works out in a way that you are satisfied. Thanks for sharing your experience. It is a reminder of buyer beware. Sounds like Airbnb has a few potential bad apples in their basket of offerings.

Probably comes down to contracts and is the reservation a contract. But who wants to take the time to sue the owner rear end? From this discussion it sounds like AirBnB needs to add a section for each property that addresses cancellations: Who made the cancellation. What was the reason. And AirBnB not the owners should supply the reason options. If they did that, it would likely minimize owners raising prices post reservation. If you were to see a property with many cancelations due to price increase post reservation, no one would reserve.

I've sent Nicole a PM, but as a reminder to all, unless the owner is staying the apartment with you, or you are in an "apartment hotel" it is illegal to rent an apartment in a building of more than three units for fewer than 30 days in New York City. If the owner is caught, they can and from what I've seen do, boot the occupant out and you are out of luck and on the street trying to find housing at the last minute. (It seems the Parisians were kinder to their tourists. NYC says toughen up!) This is why you don't want to ever book your granny into a AirBnB in NYC. Hmm, that sounds like the beginning of country music song!

Pam

PS here's a link to the TA NYC page. Look for an article in the Top Questions on the lower right.

Pam

They may be recommending to make the owner cancel as he may have a restrictive cancellation policy...and if you cancel, then you may not get all of your money back.

I have a feeling that if the owner cancels as well, you will not be out the airbnb service fee...because that would just be not right to have to pay the fee when the owner cancels. I imagine he would lose the fee he pays to airbnb if he does the cancelling...I could be wrong - does anyone know? Just as if you were to cancel, he would get HIS portion of the fee back from airbnb...

Ok, this is not hard to figure out. Check out the regs: https://www.airbnb.com/support/article/384

We only charge the service fee if your reservation request is accepted by the host. If you cancel a reservation you booked as a guest, the service fee is non-refundable. If your reservation is canceled by your host and you choose to be refunded, the service fee is refunded.

Basically, guests get charged a 6-12% service fee by Airbnb. Hosts get charged a 3% fee. So if there's a cancellation, the guest stands to lose much more since the host still has the potential to book the property and not lose any revenue (meanwhile, guest has just sunk money down the drain with nothing to show for it). Easy to see how lopsided this "marketplace" is - most of the risk is borne by the guest in an effort to discourage cancellations (the one gaining here is Airbnb while owner loses nothing. Airbnb may reimburse owner for lost cancellation out of guest's service fee - so maybe both gain and split the difference).

I think the best you can do is negotiate with the owner to suck up his 3% and cancel this on your behalf as an act of good faith (I would stress this to him). If you keep your cool and do this without getting angry or emotional, it can work. If he raised the price of the room by more than 3% (feel free to point out this fact), he will certainly recover the 3% fee to Airbnb, and everything on top of that is gravy. Of course, I'm sure he'd rather keep the 3% AND make a larger profit too. You have leverage in this negotiation because you a) know the rules and b) know the increase in price since you booked.

It's become apparent to me that owners have less to lose by cancelling and getting a higher rate for their rooms than a guest who cancels and ends up with no room. I guess this is something to think about when renting through Airbnb...there are a lot of workarounds for unscrupulous owners and not as many for guests. Airbnb could be a great deal, but you don't know who you're dealing with on the other end. For the market to work, you need transparency in pricing, and this guy violated this principle.

So why is this called "the sharing economy"?

@Pamela - I said the same thing to the agent (who was very apologetic and nice by the way) that it would appear that once I paid the entire amount, it entered me into a "contract" of sorts with the owner and that should not be changed. And she repeated that this property is his business and as such, while she admits it is BAD business, he can do what he wants. In my mind, I likened it to a huge indoor flea market, where there may be an owner who organizes and gathers all the people together, but every table owner is responsible for his own "business". So you can give a guy $5 for a knick-knack and it's his prerogative to turn around and say, "oh $5? I meant $15"... Not the best analogy but the only way I can grasp it.
My brother passed away at the end of January and I think I went into "I need to this trip stuff planned" phase and was just going down a list of to-dos robotically, because I agree, the owner not replying and just sending a generic booking link was the first red flag, and normally I would have been more cautious.
Right now I am trying to at least have some back-up plans in mind so when this is resolved, I can act immediately. I sent a message to the owner a couple hours ago. No reply as yet. Legal? Yes. Ethical? No. So, I am not sure how AirBnB will handle him.

Well... you can let AirBnB know that after reading this I would never book with them, and I travel a lot!
As do many of the thousands of readers that peruse this site.... really unethical.
I would rather be wandering the streets of Prague looking for a room than trying to deal with this nonsense:)

I agree with Terry Kathryn. I would rather cancel and be out the reservation fee then contribute to this guy's business. But I know it is easy for me to say that since it's not my travel plans that I have been messed up. Good luck!

I have had many bookings via Airbnb, both in the USA and in Europe, and have never had a problem that wasn't satisfactorily addressed.

I had a situation where I made a reservation for an apartment in Stockholm, and subsequently several reviews were posted for his listing saying that some construction was going on and there was a nasty odor in the bathroom. I emailed the host and asked about this, checking whether the problem would be resolved before my trip, and I didn't hear back from him, so I contacted Airbnb and they allowed me to cancel and rebook at a different location without charging me a fee. (I don't know that they would have allowed me to cancel outright without a fee.)

Airbnb has a page on their site regarding hosts who request payment outside Airbnb. Airbnb allows you to flag any host who does this.

Let's not throw the baby out with the AirBnB bath water. I suspect that it's more difficult to have a very positive AirBnB experience when renting in a country other than your own than in your own. Whether it's a cultural thing about what's acceptable in a business transaction or something else I don't know, but we have had nothing but excellent experiences in using AirBnB here in the U.S.

It's a people to people business, and it's a good system-I can't see my hosts review of me until I hit submit on my review of them. One bad experience, in particular out of the country, does not tell a complete story and it's not fair to paint them with a broad brush.

I've been quite happy with all my airbnb stays (11 so far and 3 more booked so far for upcoming trips)...in everything there are always a few bad apples...it's like people saying they won't go to Europe because someone knows someone who said they were pickpocketed...airbnb has thousands upon thousands of awesome transactions every day...like anything, there are always a few bad ones, but you can't let that colour your view.

But that's why there are lots of accom selections for everyone! To each his/her own ;)

Again, I have loved AirBnB forever and this isn't a put down to them necessarily. I have 2 more reservations through them for the summer, But even lovers of AirBnB must admit that this loophole is kind of unsettling.

I won't deal with www.venere.com again. A few years ago in Rome, I paid two nights upfront for a room, left for the afternoon, came back to see that the B and B owner had removed all my stuff from the room and denied me entry. She accused venere.com of overbooking her.

I reported the incident to venere.com who accused me of making up the story. My first and last time with venere.com.

Did you pay with a credit card? Or does airb&b not accept them? If you did, can't the credit card company intervene?

I've never used airb&b so I don't know their practices. Nor will I ever use them.

1) The host wants to charge you more than he said when you made your reservation.
2) You say this is the third time that a host has tried to charge you more after your reservation.
3) AirBnB proper says that they're perfectly within their rights to do this.
4) AirBnB proper warns you against cancelling (because somehow, what -- it's going to give YOU a bad name??)
5) You say that this still "it may turn out to be another great experience."

I guess we have different thresholds for uncertainty, continuing to deal with business owners who are causing us stress, and being on the losing end of unethical behavior.

I agree with Terry Lynn and Bets -- I appreciate this warning, and it makes it highly unlikely that I would ever look to Air BnB for a vacation stay.

While this experience is certainly unsettling, I hope people don't get the idea that this is the normal AirBNB transaction. We've used them 3 times, two in Paris and once in Rome, and have had great experiences. No real hassles and no raising of rates once we had booked. We had a communication issue with our rental agent in Paris this year but it was a lack of understanding on my part of what was expected rather than someone trying to cheat me. I hope that this gets resolved to your satisfaction for you. If it doesn't I would contact my credit card company and file a dispute as someone else suggested. Good luck!

I hope people don't get the idea that this is a normal AirBnB transaction ...."

No, I don't think it is normal but if difficulties arise once in 25 times, or once in 35 times, I'd just as soon not be that ONE. it messes up your plans, causes distress and costs money. Who needs that?

@Kim - yes I do still believe this could turn out to be a great experience. In fact, I am positive things will be worked out, and while this is unsettling, has it turned me off from using AirBnB for all eternity? Probably not. Both previous instances involved flats in Paris. The owner underestimated the worth of her flat, doubled the price, and tried to get me to cancel using the excuse that she would be in the hospital. She didn't try to charge me a new rate - she wanted to rebook someone else at the higher rate. In fact, many popped up as cancellations in her profile, I complained to AirBnB. She got booted from the site and I got all my money back plus more as an inconvenience "gift". Booked another (better) Paris apartment. This lady was very kind. A day before out arrival, she said she forgot to include the cleaning charge and did we mind paying. I said we wouldn't. She said ok, no problem, it was her fault anyway.
So yes, this is my third incident where pricing was an issue after reserving, but as you can see, this is the first time I feel kind of "stuck" due to policy, and that's why it never dawned on me until now that this has already happened before, just different scenarios and different outcomes. That is why my original question was if this has ever happened to anyone, and not just through AirBnB. My intentions were never to bash AirBnB per say, rather to show how people, from any site, in any category of travel, can find a loophole and milk it for all its worth.
I'm am giving the owner a chance to cancel me, and if he doesn't, I will pursue this more aggressively and I have no doubts I will come off with all my money. But I will repeat, while unsettling at this moment, it doesn't mean this instance is the standard for AirBnB, as many have attested to, including myself. It DOES mean knowing this policy requires more diligence in choosing a property. Some people are ok with that.

I'm really surprised by all the Gloomy Gus's who've heard one example of a negative AirBnB rental attempt in Prague and will just bash it til the cows come home. It's interesting to read the reports from and about Michael & Debbie Campbell, The Senior Nomads:

http://seniornomads.blogspot.com/

This is their profile page, you can see their reviews of the 48 AirBnB's they have used in Europe in the last 18 months, and it also shows those owners' reviews of them. Don't knock it til you've tried it.

https://www.airbnb.com/users/show/4547222

Dave, if you read all the posts again you will find there are 5 examples of some difficulty or other with AirBnB in this thread.

UPDATE: since I still haven't heard from the owner, I called AirBnB again and my case got "escalated" and forwarded to a higher-up. Waiting for their call...

Dave, I do agree in the sense that my incident in no way is an indication of what AirBnB has to offer. Even if there are 5 examples on this post alone, it pales in comparison to the hundreds of successful transactions everyday. However, no one is "bashing" it. They see a screwed up situation and have decided it's not for them. And there is nothing wrong with that. Had I not already had multiple pleasant experiences with AirBnB, I may have come to the same conclusion... FYI - just because it happening to a place in Prague and not Paris or London doesn't minimize anything.

Plus, again, my focus is really on the owner's use of policy, I don't like the fact that this policy exists, but my final opinion of this experience will be based on what AirBnB does about it, because people like this owner can be found on any site in any city. That's why I am asking if this has happened on any site.

Dave... not bashing it... but am I missing something here...?

You book a hotel at a rate, you give your cc as your guarantee that you will pay that rate, then the owner decides he/she wants more money... and there is nothing wrong with that? And the company that advertised this location is not accountable?
They are certainly getting their commission... I don't understand how anyone would be comfortable going to their room and then being told... oops, forgot to add these fees. Maybe there are lots of ethical owners, but I would expect AirB&B to fix/get rid of the scammers (and that's what they are).

50% of her experience has involved trying to add xtra fees... it's not something I want to deal with... just leaves a bad feeling.

Airbnb's policy states that any change requests after a reservation has been confirmed have to be accepted (by either the host or guest) through their system. It states how to do this: https://www.airbnb.com/support/article/50

All we have here is one bad apple who is not playing by the rules and communicated a price change offline. As far as I can see, any transaction/communication that occurs outside the system is invalid because it doesn't constitute an agreement (i.e. the original price has already been agreed upon and the reservation stands).

I agree that Airbnb should kick out people who do not follow the rules to preserve the integrity of the system and people's trust. Airbnb is not going to interfere with owners making changes to reservations as long as they do it within the system and the guest has an opportunity to react (however, there is no mention of hosts changing their prices... only dates and number of guests, and those changes would be made by the guest). If owners are allowed to change prices when they feel like it (and create an adverse situation for the guest), this seriously compromises Airbnb.

Having said all that, this is clearly solvable and not representative of the millions of successful transactions which don't get reported. I've never used Airbnb but I really like the concept if both parties play by the rules (win-win). Unfortunately greed spoils everything.

My only AirBnB experience (in Athens) turned me off them, but maybe it was my fault. Perhaps I misunderstood, but I thought I was not supposed to be charged until we checked in. I was charged when I made the reservation on 7 June 2014. We checked in on 11 October 2014. Did I miss something?

At least no one asked for any extra money.

The place got rave reviews, but it wasn't exactly as represented in them or online. Nor was it very clean and there seemed to be lots of deferred maintenance issues. My review was not a rave and I left a note to the owner about potential improvements.

We have had a couple of similar experiences with VRBO with "surprises" not mentioned in any reviews. One place (in Lisbon) wasn't very clean. I left them a long note and gave them no review at all. Another (in Bruges) wasn't very clean when we arrived either. It turned out that the renters were expected to clean the place before leaving, although there was no mention of this online or anywhere in the emails back and forth with the owner. It also had deferred maintenance issues. I didn't bother to review it.

I probably should have given bad public reviews to the last two of these places, but after returning from those trips, I just didn't have the energy. In all the cases, I think the owners were "absentee" in the sense of not paying close enough attention to their places.

We have had lovely stays at apartment rentals in Florence, Paris, Aix-en-Provence, Amsterdam and Zandvoort (Netherlands). I guess 60+% good isn't bad.

Lo-one of the good things is that, yes, you are not charged until you stay there, perhaps your transaction was completed outside of the "system", that's what it sounds like.

Terry kathryn-I don't mean to suggest that every policy of Air is a good one, but in the main, with host and renter able to post reviews (you can only review/be reviewed after staying at rental) it has a lot going for it, and has a lot of built in protections. I've only used Air in the states, but each time was something like ten times better than a hotel room. As Agnes points out, this is simply not a typical outcome, and I think it's odd to write off something so promising because of a bad story...or five.

Monique-I don't mean to minimize Prague or any other city, but as I suggested there are bound to be cultural differences in a business transaction that may come up. It's unfortunate that an owner can change a price, but reviews and cancellations will reflect that if it's a usual practice, and that is of course a huge dis-incentive for an owner to do that. Like most things it's buyer beware and your mileage may vary. I do hope all works out however you go, do let us know.

And Norma...okay, five. Like air travel, considering the millions of AirBnB deals that people are perfectly happy with, there are relatively few problems, not zero, but few.

No - when you book with airbnb, your credit card is charged right away. The owner does not get their money until a few days (ok, 24 hrs after check in) after the stay in case there are any issues that come up and the person is owed money back. I actually like that about airbnb, even tho I do book some months ahead - at least it is paid for by the time we have our vacation!

From airbnb, right under the help tab...
Here’s how Airbnb processes payments:
1.Airbnb charges guests when the reservation is confirmed
2.Airbnb releases money to hosts 24 hours after the guest checks in

Monique, I was thinking that the contract was with the property owner not AirBnB and that that is why it would hard to prosecute. So the hosts figure you'll never bother. It's good to know that you can flag hosts who want payment outside the system, but shouldn't they just be booted off the site?

I admit, I'm a rules person and this sounds at first like their are rules, but then there aren't and it's the "host's business" and AirBnB can't control it.

Pam

Of course, Nicole is correct, thanks Nicole. The plus here remains: you have significant leverage as the renter, not the case in far too many rental situations.

Yes Nicole is correct - you are charged immediately, and if it's a long-term stay the payment is broken into increments. I actually like that idea because you pay for it meaning it's one thing off you list, but also the owner doesn't get the money until 24 hours after you check in, so if something isn't legit upon arrival, you can complain right there and then and the owner won't be off with your money.
Many people do not realize that it is not policy to exchange funds off of the site - well technically, you CAN, but if you do, you are on your own and AirBnB disavows any knowledge of you or your actions. But if people continue to do it not knowing it's wrong, then the owner will continue to ask for money off-site, he never gets reported and it's a lovely circle of greed. Honestly I think that in this, case Mr. Owner was testing me. Had I not been used to dealing with AirBnB, I would have fallen for that hook, line and sinker. And since I didn't, he got defensive.

@Terry Kathryn yes it does appear that 50% of my reservations had issues, although I have stayed in AirBnB properties with my friends who make bookings under their names (no drama), so we will say 50% of MY personal reservations (I have 2 more for the summer - no drama thus far). Again though, I stress that my ultimate opinion of AirBnB includes how these situations are handled. Each case ended on a positive note - the interim may have been irritating - but still, resolved to my complete satisfaction. I cannot say the same about some hotel experiences, where things happen, the manager throws up his hands in incompetence and I am still livid for days afterward. AirBnB, or any site for that matter, cannot be 100% held responsible for jerk owners who continue to be jerk owners because renters allow said jerk owners to get away with these tactics either out of ignorance or a failute to report. Once a site knows such shenanigans are taking place, now we can start to determine the true worth of this site. This may be the first time Mr. Owner has even been called to the carpet for his actions. Let's see how AirBnB handles it...

I've known that AirBnB charges renters, then dispenses funds to hosts after the stay begins. But it just now occurred to me just how much float that gives the company. Wow-millions of rentals a year, most of them with several months between charging the credit card and dispensing funds? If AirBnB ever goes belly up it would take a whole lot of money down with it. It would be a mess.

Brief observations-
-- the fact that, as linked above, AirBnB has an article directly addressing the issue of owners trying to get payments from visitors outside their platform and the rules of membership shows that it happens often enough to be considered the equivalent of a frequently-asked-question

-- regarding the OP question, I mentioned in other threads here on RS that when I made inquiries within the platform in both Honolulu and New Orleans, I almost immediately started receiving email messages outside the platform making offers of side deals. The goal of these side offers from owners was not necessarily to get more money out of me, but to lower the portion that would be taken by AirBnB -- so it makes sense that AirBnB would actively discourage it in the articles on their site.

-- An owner and I had agreed on a reservation in a great location in Nice, and a couple of weeks later she wrote to tell me that she had made a mistake about the starting date for availability, and suggested I cancel the reservation. I both flagged the conversation to the company, and replied to the owner that if she can't meet the terms of the reservation then she should be the one to cancel. She replied that if she cancels she would be out some considerable amount of money in penalty. The company reviewed our correspondence, and sent separate messages to both of us, after which the owner decided to honor the original reservation. I surmise that the owner was either being honest about making a mistake and then made sure that the previous visitors vacated in time for my arrival, or she was trying to get rid of me because she had the possibility of a better offer.

-- my overall experience with AirBnB has been positive, but that's with taking budget into account. If I had more $ to spend on lodging, I would not be factoring prices into my evaluation of the places I've stayed. Since I don't and I do, I anticipate considering and using AirBnB in the future. Being careful when doing so.

-- the reputation concerns have a self-censorship / prior restraint aspect that is similar to online auction sites (remember those?) in writing reviews. People know how to play Prisoner's Dilemma!

So, Monique, it has been over 24 hours since you were "escalated" to a higher up who was going to call you back.

And?

...and, Nigel, right now my foot is on my mouth, as at the moment, not thrilled with the progress...
I received a call about noon today, and the agent (having read our messages) was convinced that there was a lost in translation moment, that if me and Mr. Owner had been having that same conversation face to face, things would have been more easily understood. She defended his excuse that I booked while he was still "playing with the prices" and since he initially said the price can stay the same, the conversation should have ended there and instead it went on (which in my head was sounding like she was blaming me for not taking his first change of mind at face value and having the audacity to question him further). Her whole thing was if he says you can stay at the same price, then all is well. But I'm was more "hey - whether he lets me stays for the same price or not, there are bigger issues here ...like trust." Even in one of his messages he said it is not a 100% guarantee and also that if he did an off-site transaction, how would AirBnB know? And I'm supposed to hold hands around a campfire with this man? The man hasn't responded to my messages in over 48 hours. She doesn't think he was trying to get me to do an off-site transaction. She was willing to calling him, and I said no, because he needs to reply to my messages without having to be hunted down by an AirBnB supervisor. So I am giving him until Monday to reply (I'm leaving town for the weekend), and if not by then, they can get involved and do whatever they want,
I have already decided I don't wish to stay there, price change or not. So basically this is just my means of getting all my money back, service fee and all. Certainly not what I expected, but it isn't over yet. She followed up our conversation with an email and I am about to reply with my concerns that the big picture is being missed.

Monique, I think you are a saint to have put up with all this and I hope you find an excellent replacement place to stay in Prague. Have a good weekend.

That's too bad Monique...if something changes and you do end up staying, make sure you mention all this in the review you leave...

I can't believe that she wanted you to have a "Kumbaya" moment with him. Good grief. As Norma said, you are a saint.

PAm
"

That's too bad. It sounds like that AirBnB has really, truly, absolutely dropped the ball.

I replied to the agent and told her my concerns that she implied it was my fault and doesn't see the big picture. Here is what she wrote:

Hi Monique,
Thank you for your reply.
I'm so sorry if you felt like it didn't come across that I was acknowledging the trust issue. This was not my intention and I completely understand where you are coming from on this point. I want you to feel fully secure going into this reservation Monique thus I support your decision to question (owner's name) further.
Hopefully (owner's name) will reply sooner rather than later so as a decision can be made.
I will be looking out for your reply Monique.
Warm wishes,*

...now that's more like it.

You have my sympathy for what you have gone through just to rent an apartment! Sheesh! Just in case you cancel, or he cancels, here's a link in case you need to find another place to stay. http://www3.hilton.com/en/hotels/czech-republic/hilton-prague-old-town-PRGOTHI/index.html
There are three locations in Prague.

The New York Times has made this the subject of their Room for Debate feature in the Opinion Section. They are just looking at NYC and San Francisco, but it is interesting nonetheless. One of the commentators thinks that the solution for NYC is better transit--bullet trains like Tokyo--then the middle and lower classes can live far away and still get into the city for work. Wow, not a city I would want to live in!

Interesting mention too on the Ireland thread by CityMom on what she encountered when looking for an apartment in Dublin in October for her family . . .

https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/ireland/dublin-in-early-october-airbnb-recommendations-thoughts

I think you made the right decision to cancel. You are now able to go on your vacation without that mental burden of wondering about what other shenanigans this owner might pull.

I'm horrified to hear that AirBnB allows apt owners to raise prices after an agreement has been made. There is such a thing as one rotten apple (owner)...but when the company itself feels this is ok because the owner is a private business...?? So, from a business standpoint, basically AirBnB's valued customer is the owner. The owner is the person who benefits by this policy of "no intervention" and the traveler is the person who is hurt. Their policy indicates that the apt owners are the important customers and the renters are an inconvenience to their business. Not a company I would want to do business with. I use vrbo.com and have never had a problem, but I empathize with your situation because apartments (IMO) are superior to hotel rooms.

Now that you have put this aside, may you have a lovely vacation.

Hi Monique,
It has been eight days since your last post, so we are all wondering what happened next. Did you cancel? Or were you able to reach an understanding with the landlord? We are all waiting to see how this played out. Please give us an update.

Hi all! To clarify, I never did cancel - I contacted customer service and waited on the owner to make the cancellation so I would not be penalized. He didn't cancel me out though, and instead, here is the message from him that I received on Monday:

"So once more, I confirm your stay with no additional expences or inconveniences. I am looking forward to seing you soon.
Wish you pleasent jurney to Prague."

I then told the agent I had been dealing with, and she replied:

"Hello Monique,
I hope this email find you well.
I'm delighted to hear Daniel responded and was able to gain back your trust. I have every faith in this reservation but rest assured we do have your back Monique!
If any issues do arise reach out to us as soon as possible so as we can better assist you!"

Has he gained my trust? To be honest I hadn't given it much thought this past week because last week I was able to contact people in Prague with whom I share mutual (trustworthy!!!) good friends, and they made some suggestions. So we potentially have a place to stay through them or we can stick with good ole owner and trust that AirBnB has my back. I had been so determined not to stay there, and was so irritated at the whole situation, but after a week I'm like "hey - why not?" ...let's call it pre-travel delirium. You ever get so done will all the planning, you are just like "whatever!!"? I'm at that point now. So this still isn't resolved 100%, bur I don't feel anxious or stressed anymore. I will make a final decision Monday.

I hope your trip works out well. Thanks for the warning.

I have friends who have used Air BnB successfully dozens of times, but I have been a little bit hesitant about it, even though I have been renting vacation accommodations privately for almost 20 years now.

My only two experiences have been all right. I booked an apartment in Budapest last year, and the owner cancelled (she said it was for family reasons), but she did so well in advance. I stayed in an Air BnB place in Barcelona last month, and it was fine. The owner was absolutely lovely, although the apartment was not my favourite.

My biggest concern, which has been brought up in this thread, is that some places, and Barcelona is one, are trying to clamp down on Air BnB, because it can be a problem for local residents to have tourists staying in their building, as sometimes those tourists are not respectful of the property or of the neighbours. (I know I certainly would not want my neighbours to do short term tourist rentals, so I can sympathize.) Anyway, I found out about this bylaw after we booked, and it was a little bit of a worry. The owner did bring it up after we checked in, and asked us not to open the door to anyone who came knocking. If I understood her correctly, it seemed that she had obtained a license, but it would not be in effect for another month or two. Anyway, this is the second time we've been in that situation with a private rental. (The other was in Quebec City a few years ago, booked through a different site, and the owner asked us to say we were her friends if anyone asked (and the taxi driver did!).) I'm uncomfortable with this, as 1) I don't like lying, 2) I feel it puts us at risk of being out on the street, should there be a problem, and 3) I don't want to stay somewhere where the neighbours are upset by my presence (although I am a quiet and respectful tenant).

So, my experiences with Air BnB owners have been okay, but it is disconcerting to know that they have the right to change prices after the booking has been accepted, in addition to the growing issue of Air BnB rentals being disallowed in some countries and municipalities.

That said, I still love doing private rentals rather than hotels, in most cases. When my kids were younger, this was a necessity, as few hotels could accommodate our family comfortably. I've become used to having more space, kitchen facilities, and sometimes even laundry facilities, usually for less than the cost of a hotel room in the same area. A couple of times, I've booked apartments through Expedia or through TripAdvisor, which has a guarantee on some places, and I think I'm still more comfortable with these options vs. Air BnB. But I plan on continuing to do private vacation rentals, and I would not rule out using Air BnB again.

Please let us know how your rental works out, and have a great trip!

Have been following this with interest. So what was your final decision last Monday, Monique?

Hi all! I just wanted to post this as update!
So we decided to stick with the AirBnB apartment. Possibly risky but ...whatever. So we arrived very VERY late last night due to flight delays and a shared shuttle service (may I digress for 2 seconds and HIGHLY recommend www.prague-airport-transfers.com?) which had to drop off another passenger before us. The owner and I stayed in contact via Viber so he was aware of our delay and was very nice about it. Since he was out, he arranged for his sister to meet us and show around the place. The flat was just as pictured, very clean, nothing suspicious or odd. His sister was also very sweet. I actually feel bad for doubting him... but this is still the first 24-hr period so I don't want to get ahead of myself.
Anyway, so far, so good!

P.S. - Prague is absolutely gorgeous!!!

Bravo, Monique! May all your travel adventures meet such success!

Just don't expect a big 4th of July celebration in Prague! ;-)

Glad that it seems to have worked out. I admire you for exploring your doubts and sharing your experience.

I hope you have a WONDERFUL time on your trip!

Glad it worked out! I love Airbnb, and love Prague even more!