Beware of bookings through Airbnb – a Romanian woman was left without accommodation and without half of the money paid because she complained to the owner that the beach is not 800 meters from the accommodation, as she was informed.
The Romanian rented a villa in Malaga for 4,666 euros. PHOTO: Shutterstock
Almost 6 billion euros were spent by Romanians on vacations in the first eight months of this year, according to data from the National Bank. By the end of the year, it is estimated that the amount will reach 9 billion euros.
The NBR statistics on the evolution of the current account show that Romanian tourists spend much more abroad (import of tourist services) than the amount spent by foreign tourists in Romania (export of tourist services).
More precisely, only in June 2024 the balance of payments in tourism was -435 million euros, Romanian tourists spending more than twice as much abroad (approx. 758 million euros) than the receipts obtained from foreign tourists in Romania (approx. 322 million euros).
The same balance in tourism for the period January-June 2024, i.e. for the first half of the current year, is -2,255 million euros.
However, a holiday abroad is not free from problems and various owners and economic agents who exaggerate in terms of the services offered.
3 kilometers to the beach
Adriana Hang shared her story on a travel group, where she’s asking for advice about an Airbnb reservation.
“Good evening, we are facing a difficult situation on Airbnb and I would like to know if anyone else has had similar problems because we have been desperate for a week.” Adriana begins her story.
A week ago, he made a reservation on Airbnb. He paid according to the conditions, half of the amount, following that after the transaction he will receive the exact address of the rented property.
“Before making the reservation I talked to the host, who was an agency, to tell us the distance to the beach. According to them, it was 800 m. After making the payment, the exact address was generated and I found that it is about 3 km to the beachAdriana explains.
Then he contacted the host through the app to ask for clarification: “I expressed my dissatisfaction with the host in writing, during which my reservation was canceled automatically, and the host and the app tell me that I canceled the reservation.”
The woman woke up on the spot without a reservation and without money.
“Out of 2,334 euros, they tell me that 900 euros will be returned to us. I did not cancel the reservation!!! I’ve been desperate for a week, I’ve been calling both parties and they tell me straight to my face that these are the cancellation conditions and that I canceled in the app,” she explained.
“We lose 60% of the amount”
Adriana explained that it was a reservation for next summer for 15 days in Malaga, for a group of 9 people.
When asked what was the answer from the officials of the Airbnb platform, Adriana claimed: “They didn’t want to offer us accommodation, they directly apply their cancellation policy and we lose 60% of the amount. That’s the only option.”
She explained that she booked 14 days in Malaga in a villa for 4,660 euros, of which she paid half. Adriana says she was informed that she will only get back 900 euros.
Păgubita says she has called Airbnb dozens of times and “npeople can’t do anything for us because it appears canceled by me and the host”.
Adriana explains how she entered the website menu under the heading “Learn more about the cancellation policy”. “I read a step and exited, cancellation occurred automatically, the last step was a written reason why I cancel the reservation. I just read a step and exited without confirming cancellation”the woman elaborates.
“It’s one of the reasons I don’t book through Airbnb”
Several people commented on the post.
“They say the distances in a straight line, but the road or street may go round a lot…”, Claudia intervened.
“Call support and ask for a supervisor. Agents don’t have much power in this situation. Success!”, Andreea urged her.
“This is one of the reasons I don’t book through Airbnb. I don’t know the exact location until I pay…”, Victor explained.
Other commenters claimed that it might be a bug in the Airbnb app, as it would have canceled the reservation without the customer actually asking for it. Some referred her to Consumer Protection in Romania or Spain. Others claimed that the customer may have mistakenly canceled their reservation.
