‘Save me’: TikToker reveals Airbnb nightmare
A TikToker said she felt "betrayed" after she rocked up to her Airbnb accommodation and things were far from what had been advertised online.
TikTok user @phoenruber booked a room through Airbnb in Pennsylvania for a ten-week stay.
The photos from the listing painted a picture of a quaint and older bed and breakfast and she said the home had five-star ratings.
However, the home turned out to be a nightmare, with piles of belongings scattered all over the floor and covering the couch in the living room.
"Airbnb has betrayed my trust," she said in the caption of the video. She goes on to describe it as a "hoarder's house" in a later TikTok video.
In addition to the host's stuff strewn throughout the various rooms the TikToker had access to, @phoenruber said the air conditioning and the shower were also broken.
She said the screen door is latched shut and she doesn't have a key, so she's had to call the hosts to let her in.
"I thought the pictures were sparse when I reserved it, but she had five-star ratings," the caption on the video said.
"Someone save me from this nightmare."
The initial video @phoenruber shared has been viewed over 196,000 times and several people in the comments were saying she should get a refund.
In a follow-up video, the woman said she did not expect her video to get so much attention, but the comments made her realise the accommodation was not acceptable and she decided to stand up from herself.
"I didn't expect like a five star place obviously from the pictures I knew it was going to be like older, and I've been in Airbnbs before that were older and were fine... I don't have a problem with that," she said in the second video posted to TikTok.
"But this one is not exactly what I would call liveable, without some basic kitchen access and shower."
She also revealed the host was "pushy" and asked her to fill out a calendar and meet another guest who is also staying at the home.
However, @phoenruber said she was not there for leisure, but to work.
In another video she explained she had gotten up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, only to see the front door wide open. Thankfully, the screen door was still latched.
Over the course of a number of days, @phoenruber reached out to Airbnb to try and sort the situation out.
About 24 hours after she contacted Airbnb, she decided to get out of the "hoarder's house" and got a hotel room, which luckily, was exactly as advertised.
Eventually, @phoenruber was able to get on the phone with someone from Airbnb, who assured her her case would be escalated.
After several days of waiting and more back-and-forths with Airbnb, she was finally offered a partial refund - bringing her total for the stay to US$300 instead of the agreed rate of US$2000 per month.
She added she still believed she should not have to pay anything for the time she stayed in the Airbnb, but said it was "a start".
She also thanked those on TikTok who encouraged her to stand up for herself.
In a statement to Newsweek, a representative from Airbnb said cases like this are "rare".
"We regret that our original support fell short of our high standards, and we're working now to provide with our full support, which included a refund," the statement said.
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