‘Airbnb sounds like a nightmare’: Woman scammed out of $2300 after forgetting to do one thing on check-out

Airbnb was created with the intention of being a cheaper alternative to hotels and giving people a more personal option with the ability to stay in an actual house. But over the years, more and more stories have come out about the ridiculous cleaning fees, host requests, and general negative experiences people are having with their Airbnb rentals. But TikTok user @_aceyaa’s story about her Airbnb in Toronto might just be the worst one we’ve heard yet. 

During a trip to Toronto Aceyaa and her family rented separate accommodations, with herself and and her sister choosing to book separate Airbnbs. For Aceyaa this led to a nightmare situation when it came time to check out.

The TikToker says that during her stay the owner was extremely helpful. But when it came time to leave she requested an extended checkout time, which of course comes at an extra cost. During this extension, she says the homeowner continually hounded her to start a load of laundry for the cleaners before leaving.

Having paid extra for the later checkout, Aceyaa felt that this wasn’t something she should have to do as a guest and refused to do so. She says that outside of declining this task she and her other guests made sure the house was left in the same condition as it was when they arrived.

The owner then checked out the house and while immediately it seemed things were civil, soon after she was hit with a hefty $2300 CAD cleaning fee listing various claims made against the guests. These included smoking in the house, breaking a bed frame, and staining the kitchen.

Aceyaa quickly attempted to dispute the claims, but ultimately Airbnb chose to side with the host due to photos of the damage. The TikToker claims that these images have no date and as such they shouldn’t be used as evidence for damage while she was a guest at the house. Sadly, Airbnb didn’t take this into account.

A study conducted by experts in hospitality and management in Poland and Croatia in 2022 showed that the public’s perception of brands like Airbnb are directly correlated to their experience with the hosts on these platforms. 

Even one bad experience with a host can affect their entire relationship with the brand. In addition, many users with negative experiences have gone after Airbnb in small claims court cases, demanding refunds for overcharges and unsafe accommodations. She doesn’t mention it in the video, but Aceyaa did confirm in a comment that she is pursuing legal action against the Airbnb host who overcharged her by $2300.

It appears Aceyaa is not alone in this experience as other TikTokers shared similar horror stories in the comments. One says “This exact thing happened to me but as soon as I got the charge, I immediately disputed it and told them I was going to involve my lawyer.” Another commenter claimed their host “lied and said we ‘opened the doors so hard that we put holes into the walls with the knobs.'” 

Aceyaa said she would never use Airbnb again after this experience, and we’re right there with her.