I’ve been traveling pretty frequently the last few years and my first choice for accommodations is always an Airbnb. Most of the time Airbnb’s offer a much more authentic experience than a hotel can come close to. There are usually very reasonably priced properties available for rent in the best parts of town, many have full kitchens so you can actually buy groceries and cook. Airbnb makes it easy to settle into a new city and really get to know it, pretend like you’re a local.

The honeymoon phase of my love affair with Airbnb came to an abrupt halt this past September when a friend (@luckyfellow) and I booked a trip to Montreal. We picked an Airbnb property right in the heart of the Old Port region, just blocks away from the Notre Dame Basilica. The location couldn't be beat and the pictures of the unit were amazing, exposed brick walls, pool table, lots of open space and huge windows all for much less than a regular hotel room. The host’s ratings on the Airbnb site were phenomenal, so we booked it in May and then proceeded on with summer.

As We Prepared to Travel North, Things Went South.

A few days before our flight reached out to the host to inquire about early check-in since our flight was arriving at noon and the Airbnb ad said check-in was at 4pm. Two days passed, no response from the host. I called the number on the listing and got some generic property management office, left a voicemail and got a similar outcome...crickets.

We landed in Montreal and I still hadn’t heard a word from the host or management company. The Lyft dropped us at the property and it was a secure building. We had no code, no key, no communication from the host, and no details about the unit number. I called the number on the Airbnb listing once more and left a blisteringly irate message and we schlepped our luggage a few blocks down the street to a Starbucks. Caffeinated beverages always help me patch together a Plan B.

Fake Reviews?

This is when I remembered reading something a few weeks beforehand about the proliferation of fake online reviews nearly everywhere. In the article it mentioned a guy from England who gamed TripAdvisor’s review system to make the garden shed in his backyard the most highly-rated restaurant in London (yes, you read that right.) He served surprised patrons frozen dinners when they showed up on opening night.

This got my curiosity cranking. While I was sitting there in Starbucks, with my bags, waiting for Mr. Hospitality or one of his minions to return my call I dug into the hosts reviews. Buried under very short reviews gushing five star ratings and high praise were reviews that painted a very different picture. People said they were subjected to bait and switch tactics, encountered broken furniture, dirty carpets, the host demanded extra payment outside of the Airbnb ecosystem...I began to see a real nightmarish pattern. It appeared that several reviews of this property were highly suspect and every fifth reviews or so appeared to be real (and not flattering).

Finally, A Call

While enjoying my fourth coffee of the day my phone rang and it was a Montreal-based number so I picked up immediately. It was the host, he said there was a plumbing problem at the unit and it would be unavailable. This is when I really began to sweat bullets. He then added we were in luck because he had another unit across the street he could offer us for the same price.

On the surface, the second option wasn't bad.

We checked out the new unit and it seemed fine so I messaged the host to let him know we’d take it. I didn’t do a thorough enough check. Upon further inspection the shower handle was broken, so the shower wasn’t operational. Luckily it had a separate working bathtub. At the time it was no big deal, I was just happy to have a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in. The next day, the maintenance man dropped of a pair of Vise Grips that I clamped onto what was left of the shower fixture so we could use it.

The Fine Print Gets You Every Time

I got a message from the host while we were leaving Montreal on our way to the airport. He demanded an extra 15% of the price of our stay for “city taxes”. He said he was going to hand me over to the Resolution Center to settle the bill since I hadn't paid this extra fee on check-in. A few other reviews had mentioned this same thing. Apparently he had this information buried somewhere in his listing but I missed it. I had assumed Airbnb made the hosts bundle all fees into the price of the listing. I was wrong, they actually do allow hosts to collect extra fees upon check-in. I protested, since we had so many issues (moldy water in the clothes washer and many more I hadn't talked about above) and he waived the fee.

Post-Honeymoon Phase

From this experience forward Airbnb and I will have a much different kind of relationship. I’ll still use them but I’ll be much more diligent about checking into hosts and reading each and every detail about the listing before booking. We still had an incredible time in Montreal but lots of lessons were learned through this experience. I

After contacting Airbnb Customer support they assured me that they'd have "a discussion" with the host about his lack of communication an offered me a $25 credit for my troubles. This entire experience seemed very nefarious and I can't help but wonder if large corporations have infiltrated once beloved, Airbnb and are gaming their review system. This host seemed to have a huge network of properties and was clearly playing "bait and switch". Long story short, traveler beware! One thing is for sure, from this point forward I'll live by the old Russian proverb...Trust But Verify.

Thanks for reading,

Eric

(Gif sourced from Giphy.com)

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*I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and crypto-enthusiast. If you’ve enjoyed my work please sign up for my author newsletter at my website. Newsletter subscribers will receive exclusive updates and special offers and your information will never be sold or shared.
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