The host was a “superhost” ( meaning they’re highly rated and experienced hosts), and the listing seemed above board. However, as the trip neared, she noticed some concerning issues.
“The Airbnb host had sent us two different codes for the door and just stopped responding to any questions that we had, like where to park or how to get into the building — just kind of went ghost,” she said.
When the group arrived at the building, neither code worked. After trying, and failing, to call the host, a neighbour approached them and said the same thing had happened to a couple to came to the building the night before.
Then, they explained why the codes may not be working.
“The person who had lived there got evicted because, according to the lease, you’re not allowed to do Airbnbs out of the apartment, and he just never took the listing down,” Olivia in the clip.
Stuck without a hotel room or Airbnb available close by, Olivia went online and dug up as much information as she could about the host. Eventually, she found his name, birthday and his parent’s address.
She then messaged the host and asked whether she was supposed to meet him at his parent’s address, and included the exact address.
“This man called me back so quickly,” she said. The call was captured by her friend and went viral on TikTok.
She later received a message from the host’s girlfriend, accusing her of threatening the host.
“Babes ur [sic] bf got evicted and is scamming people out of Airbnb’s leaving them with nowhere to stay,” she replied.
The group stayed on a friend’s floor one night and booked a hotel for the following night. Airbnb fully refunded Olivia and paid for part of the cost of a hotel room they had to book.
On TikTok, some viewers commented their own challenging experiences with the accommodation platform. One person joked Olivia should “send a bill to Tyler’s parents’ house” for the hotel cost.
Another asked Olivia to share the full name of the host as they were looking for Airbnb’s in Jacksonville and did not want to be scammed.
