Complaint Review: Airbnb

When my husband and I went to check into an Airbnb on August 23, 2019 in Warren, Rhode Island, we discovered it was full of mold and it made both of us very sick. We even met with the host who denied any mold in her basement unit. We couldn't find any place to stay and ended up staying in our car. The host said she would refund us six days of our month's booking so we could find someplace else and we would only get any additional refund if she was able to find other guests to fill our booking.

I notified Airbnb of the awful mold situation at that Airbnb and they wanted documentation. I told them we didn't have time to take pictures because we had to turn around and get out as soon as possible. A friend of ours was with us and she smelled the awful mold, too, when we got ready to check in. We also booked another Airbnb for a month later (October 25, 2019 through November 24, 2019) and as soon as we got sick on August 23, 2019, I called and spoke with the host to cancel and also did a written cancellation explaining that we had become ill and would have to cancel our booking.

Airbnb states for that particular Airbnb, that should we cancel up to 14 days before check-in, we would receive a full refund but up to 7 days before, only 50% refund which I felt was very reasonable when I booked this second Airbnb. When calling Airbnb to get a full refund on this second Airbnb, I was pointed to their "long term booking" policy which, to my horror, any booking 28 days or longer states that the first 30 days is non refundable.

I had never heard of such a thing and not only that, Airbnb wanted me to provide a doctor's statement to them stating that my husband and I had become ill. We will never use Airbnb because they are nothing more than a rip off.