I arrived in Japan on the 25th of September and stayed in an Airbnb in Sangenjaya. I was supposed to go to a Kyoto Airbnb on the 6th of October, but, 4 days before I was meant to arrive, my host tried to force me to cancel the reservation by claiming that there was a water leak in the apartment. He said he would provide me with an identical room (and provided photos), but that he couldn't list it on Airbnb because new rooms take 3 months to be approved by Airbnb. He also said that hosts couldn't cancel reservations, only guests, but that he would give me the identical room at a discounted rate if I arrived with no Airbnb reservation and paid in cash.
Since he told me about the supposed leak at 10 pm on October 1st, and the cutoff for a full refund was 4 pm, he would receive over half of the booking fee that I paid if I were the one to cancel.
After I said that it sounded like a scam, he tried to guilt me and said that there were "tears in [his] eyes" and that he wouldn't try to scam someone over what he considered a small amount of money, and that he only wanted to run an Airbnb to meet new people. He then said he would let me stay for free.
Anyway, I ended up spending 5 hours trying to resolve this situation which, by the way, started on the night of my birthday when I was kind of drunk in a darts bar in Sangenjaya.
I contacted Airbnb customer support and they forced him to cancel the reservation on his end. He sent me a screenshot of the fees that he incurred by cancelling so late, which I believe he wouldn't have received if he could have proven that there were extenuating circumstances (i.e. a leak) that forced him to cancel the reservation. He then tried again to persuade me to come and stay at his apartment.
I ended up getting a hotel in Osaka instead of Kyoto, since, after looking it up, it seems as though Kyoto Airbnb hosts do shady things to try to evade Kyoto's rental laws. Regardless, I was trying to travel on a budget and spent way more than I wanted to. I'm now in Osaka in a very small hotel room that I paid more than I should have for. Interestingly, it also has over 100 free porn films on the TV, but it isn't a love hotel…
Anyway, this is somewhat of a warning for anyone planning to use an Airbnb in Kyoto. I'd just play it safe and go for a hotel.
by bythevoid_
5 comments
This folks is why I don’t Airbnb
Aaaaand this is why I don’t do Airbnb, anywhere. Sorry OP.
If I had a big group or family on a budget, I’ll do Airbnb but if it’s just a few people or 2 then I don’t see the point of having to deal with Airbnb and it’s potential headaches.
You provided no specific unique reason on why you’d need Airbnb instead of booking a normal hotel, so that’s basically on you. Airbnb is the worst for locals and as you proved, way less reliable than normal accommodation.
A lot are not run by Japanese either – always stick to hotels.
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