A young couple’s New Year’s Eve plans were ruined after they arrived at their “lovely little Airbnb” and discovered it looked more like an “abandoned crack den.”
Posting on Facebook, a young paramedic said she was excited to find the “cute cozy loft apartment” near Melbourne’s CBD available on New Year’s Eve.
The best part: It was pet-friendly, so they could bring their two pups during the short vacation.
But problems began to arise immediately after we had booked and handed over $1000 for a few nights stay.
“As soon as I booked it, I got a message from the host saying there was an error on the website and the loft wasn’t actually pet-friendly,” she wrote.
“I wanted to move us to another house that was ‘much bigger’ and ‘more suitable’ for us and our two dogs.”
The host also stated that she was abroad so there could be delays in modifying the reservation.
The paramedic said he asked the host questions about the new place, including where it was located and what the parking situation was like, only to have the owner become frustrated.
A young couple’s New Year’s Eve plans were ruined after they turned up to their ‘lovely little Airbnb’ and found it felt more like an ‘abandoned crack den’.
“She was starting to argue with me because she had so many questions.”
The host then asked the woman if she would stay alone in the place.
She said no, her partner was with her and they were exhausted after the interstate trip.
Within 20 minutes, the couple had received their modification request.
‘The new list seemed like real sh*t. Like a garage with cement walls and an old bed.
The couple said they would take a look at the new accommodation, but added that if they didn’t like it they would choose their first option, as at the time of booking it said they were pet-friendly.
The second reserve place gave the young woman chills.
She said there was a white van parked at her spot and that the location was secluded and behind the docks, near the shipping containers.
‘Our entrance was a small mesh fence with a long hallway leading to our room. “I told my partner I wasn’t happy there and I needed to get out of there,” she said.
They told the owner that they didn’t feel comfortable staying there and wanted to go to the original location.
She gave them the information to enter the place they had reserved first.
They arrived and somehow things went from bad to worse.
‘We get there and the front door is open. Open the front door and know for sure that this is a guesthouse,” he said.
He added that he has seen many of them “at work.”
When they opened the door, the smell of weed and cigarettes hit them, but they were so tired that they continued towards their room.
“I’ve traveled all over the world and I’ve never seen anything like this before,” he said.
“It was barely big enough for a person to get in, the window was screwed open and there were cobwebs along the staircase to get to the bed.
“Then out of nowhere we heard people running up and down the hallway, yelling and hitting things, they were clearly out of place,” he said.
The young woman was so scared that she was holding the door handle to prevent the neighbors from entering.
“We were both scared and I told my partner we had to get out of there. We called the owner and told her the place was cooked and we wanted a refund.”
The hostess said she would have to modify it to cost $100, otherwise they would pay the cleaning fee; the paramedic agreed.
But then only $100 was refunded.
He called Airbnb support, who was happy to refund the full amount.
“I’ve booked and stayed at many Airbnbs in my life, but this was something else,” he said.
The property is still available on the booking site and is available for just $88 per night.
The woman said she had seen that it had a five-star rating and positive reviews, but upon closer inspection, five of six reviews came from the same person over a one-month period.
Some people had similar nightmare experiences.
“It seems like my son booked something and then was told there was a mistake and offered a different place,” one woman said.
‘This sounds exactly like a ‘hotel room’ my partner and I booked in Melbourne. “The room was small and dirty and it sounded like people were running up and down the hallway on a stroller all night,” one woman said.