Brief Description: I was scammed out of $7,000 by Calvin Tran’s so-called "mentorship" program for Airbnb Short Term Rentals (STR). The program’s promises were completely fraudulent, with misleading advertising, unmet guarantees, and a total lack of genuine mentorship.
More Details:
I am filing this Ripoff Report to warn others about a fraudulent Airbnb mentorship program promoted by @calvintranofficial on Instagram. I paid $7,000 for what was advertised as a comprehensive guide to entering the STR market, but the entire program is a scam. I believe he now sells his program (~4 hours of videos in a Masterclass and his supposed-mentorship) for $8,000.
Misleading Advertising:
The social media advertisements for the High Performance Hosts (HPH) course did not clearly disclose that participation would necessitate incurring thousands of dollars in debt, violating consumer protection laws.
Unfulfilled Guarantees:
The course promised assistance in identifying my optimal rental market. Despite multiple requests, this support was never provided, representing a clear breach of contract.
Unmet Promises:
The advertising claimed I would receive help in finding, setting up, and managing up to five profitable STR units. I did not receive assistance in finding even one unit, let alone setting up and managing five, further breaching the contract.
Lack of Mentorship:
The program promised direct mentorship from Calvin Tran, which was not fulfilled. Our only meeting focused on my credit score, which was not the guidance I needed. I specifically required help in identifying a market and property, which was not provided as promised.
Inadequate Initial Meeting:
Instead of meeting with Calvin Tran as agreed, I was handed off to one of his students named Long for the initial meeting. This was not what I paid for and further demonstrates the program’s lack of integrity.
Also, it appears that based on comments I have come across on Reddit, that these 'successful students' are not truly his mentees he just met, but longtime friends that are posing as success stories.
Calvin also appears to advise his students to commit bank fraud (per Reddit comments).
Given these issues, I was no longer interested in the course. I requested a full refund from Calvin Tran, but he denied the request, claiming he had been available as a mentor. However, this program is clearly a scam. The scammer’s email addresses are [email protected] and [email protected]. He refers to his company as 'High Performance Hosts' - see website: www.highperformancehost.com/encore but the company is registered as Tran Hai Property Management LLC. Hai Tran is Calvin's father, though I am unsure of his involvement in this fraudulent activity.
Thank you for your assistance.