A British tourist was left gobsmacked when he found his $130 ‘private room’ booked on Airbnb to be a shipping container, opening up directly on the street.
Though Airbnb sometimes offers unique rooms, this one was a terribly uncomfortable container resting beside a roadway in Amsterdam, with a portable toilet.
The listing claimed it was a ‘clean home in Amsterdam with private bathroom.’
While tourist Ben Speller was on his way to the ‘clean home,’ the host messaged him that there would be no running water, adding the Britisher can cancel if he wanted to.
It was too late for Ben to find a new location, so he didn’t cancel the booking.
“I booked a clean home with private bathroom a few days before I went out there to watch the football,” Ben told Sun Online Travel.
“When we were on the train the guy messaged me saying there was a problem with the running water and do I want to cancel. I said no because we didn’t have an alternative at the time.
“When we arrived we drove past the container three times in the taxi because couldn’t believe that could be it.
“I then checked the listing again and he’d changed it to container home.”
Upon arriving at the location, Ben was understandably angry. He asked for a refund of the booking but the host refused to do so.
Poor Ben had to find a hotel.
Fortunately, Airbnb came to Ben’s rescue as soon as he reported the fraudulent listing.
The hospitality service not only returned his money but they also paid him an additional money for the hotel room he booked at the last minute.
The container was later towed away by the city administration, Dutch news site AT5 reported.
An Airbnb spokesperson later released a statement to Metro, saying: “We have removed the host and listings from our platform.
“Misrepresented or fraudulent listings have no place on our platform, and our team works hard to constantly strengthen our defenses and stay ahead of bad actors.
“Over half a billion people have traveled on Airbnb and, with over two million guests checking into an Airbnb every single night, issues like this are incredibly rare.”