Photo by Amelia Holowaty Krales / The Verge
A new report from Vice has highlighted the range of different scams that unscrupulous Airbnb hosts have been pulling on their unsuspecting guests. From tricking guests into switching to dirty and rundown properties at the last minute, to threatening them if they don’t leave glowing 5-star reviews, the report’s findings suggest that Airbnb has been open to abuse for far too long, and that its promised reforms can’t come soon enough.
Vice’s report is well worth reading in its entirety, but there are a couple of stories in among the hundreds of emails the publication received that are worth highlighting. One user from Montreal described how they were asked to pay for their stay outside of the main Airbnb app, only to turn up and discover a…