This Airbnb was more air and less B&B.
A woman says her family members were left devastated when they arrived at a home they booked on Airbnb, only to discover it was under construction.
Renee Menzies took to TikTok last Wednesday, saying her sister and 11 other relatives traveled to the Australian resort town of Byron Bay to stay at the Airbnb for a wedding, but were left stranded after realizing the listing was a scam.
Menzies slammed the vacation rental company for leaving her family in the lurch and for failing to quickly refund them the money that was forked out on the fraudulent lodgings.
“My family turned up to this today,” the ticked-off TikTokker griped in her viral video, which has clocked up more than 230,000 views. “A completely vacant home, in the middle of a massive renovation.”
Menzies’ clip featured footage which showed the home did not have any flooring and was awaiting the installation of a new oven and refrigerator. The walls of the property were also partially painted.
In her caption, Menzies directed her ire at Airbnb, writing, “No warning, and when they rang you for help you accused them of lying, wouldn’t help find somewhere else to stay and wouldn’t provide them a refund.”
“You left 12 people and 3 kids under 3 literally standing on the side of the road,” she further raged.
The clip quickly clocked up hundreds of thousands of views — but Menzies claimed the company didn’t adequately address her family’s concerns.
The following day she posted another clip, in which she declared, “Hey @airbnb still no communication from you after our family turned up to this yesterday. Left stranded on the side of the road, literally, with 3 toddlers and nowhere to go.”
Menzies continued to post videos about her family’s ordeal on TikTok, saying it took days for the family to be refunded. They were eventually also reimbursed for money they were forced to fork out on alternative accommodation.
Menzies claims her viral TikToks forced the company to pay attention to her complaints.
The Post has contacted Airbnb for comment.
The vacation rental provided a statement to Newsweek about Menzie’s messed-up videos.
“We were disappointed to learn about this experience and have fully refunded the guest and provided rebooking assistance,” they stated. “We have taken appropriate action on the Host while we investigate further and reached out to the guest to provide further support. In the rare event something isn’t as expected on arrival for a stay, our Community Support team is on hand 24/7 to help.
Aibnb added, “Our team is very much focused on ensuring each stay is a positive experience for guests, Hosts and the wider community. That’s why this year we introduced AirCover for guests, the most comprehensive protection in travel, included for free with every stay.”
