Woman shares Airbnb HORROR story in epic online rant targeting the rental service – she claims the $2,500 apartment she booked for a MONTH was filthy, leaking and littered with ‘mouse droppings’ and cockroaches
A woman has described her Airbnb nightmare after arriving to a filthy apartment full of ‘mouse droppings’ and cockroaches.
Melanie Rio, from Washington, DC, took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to expose the rental scam.
The writer revealed that she reserved the third-floor walk-up for a month at a cost of $2,500, but was stunned to discover it was plagued with problems.
She explained how she got into an exhausting argument with Airbnb representatives before ultimately getting her money back.
Melanie Rio, from Washington, DC, took to X – formerly known as Twitter – to expose the rental scam
The writer revealed that she reserved the third-floor walk-up for a month at a cost of $2,500, but was stunned to discover it was plagued with problems.
In a long thread about her experience, which was littered with photos and videos of the property, Melanie began: “For a fun game, let’s take a tour of the unit that Airbnb is refusing to give me a refund for!
“I’m sure they would be annoyed if you enjoyed sharing this, which seems like the only way to get their attention. Let’s start with the entrance. Not a good start: cleanliness.
“But wait, Airbnb! There’s more: When I left today, I locked the door. When I returned it was unlocked and one of the screws in the deadbolt was missing.
“The host, of course, suggests that I’m too stupid to lock a door properly, even though I’ve locked it ten times before.”
Sharing a video of a bug flying over the wall, she continued: “When I first came here, there was a little cockroach in the kitchen. I killed it, which was clearly my fault, because Airbnb Help wanted proof.
“Since then I’ve killed two more and one has escaped, but here’s your proof!
‘But it’s not just cockroaches. We also have rodents. Mouse poop and general dirt between the refrigerator and the cabinets. If you think there’s a chance it could be something else, think again.’
Melanie then shared snippets of the exchange she had with Airbnb customer support, where advisors asked her to provide evidence of all the issues – including her lack of hot water – before initially denying her a refund due to lack of evidence.
Melanie claimed that the ceiling was leaking and she was forced to place a cup under the problem area to catch the water
She wrote: ‘We have rodents too. Mouse droppings and general dirt between the refrigerator and the cupboards’
Melanie then shared snippets of the exchange she had with Airbnb customer support, where advisors asked her to provide evidence of any issues
The author then took a moment to take readers back to the beginning of her experience as she explained, “I’m checking in. I immediately notice that the furniture is different from the pictures (not a couch, but a crappy futon).
“I want to give it the benefit of the doubt because most of the time I try not to be an asshole. Naive, clearly. But then I notice that the heating doesn’t seem to be working.
‘I contact the host, who sends a handyman. He removes an HVAC filter that is BLACK. Like the cancerous lung of a lifelong chain smoker. They feel more uncomfortable, but think, okay, maybe it’s just been a while since they had a guest.
‘I haven’t seen the cockroaches yet. I decided to make dinner. (I should mention that I booked this place for ONE MONTH.) The stove has four mismatched knobs, none of which point in the same direction. They turn on the gas, but not so easily!’
Even further, Melanie continued, “I panicked and contacted the host again. The gas is off, I think, but it definitely smells like gas in here.
‘So they send the manager over. He tries to fix the heater but fails and then asks me to come down and look at another unit with a working heater. Suus? Yes.’
She said she went back to the apartment with her “guard,” but there were more problems.
‘When the first cockroach shows up, I smash it and throw it away, because that’s what a reasonable person does with a cockroach, right? Wrong! Of course you stop first to take photos, at least that’s what you do according to Airbnb.
She explained how she got into an exhausting argument with Airbnb representatives before ultimately getting her money back
The writer explained that the dirt around the apartment was actually the least of her problems
Melanie explained: ‘When I left today I locked the door. When I came back it was unlocked and one of the screws in the deadbolt was missing.”
Airbnb initially denied the traveler a refund, calling the claim not ‘sufficient evidence’
“So around 7:30 PM I contact Airbnb. Explain the problems. They tell me to contact the host first and they will get back to you within an hour. They are not.
‘I wait. Decide to take a shower. Wrong movement. There’s a cockroach waiting for me in the bath. I’ll drown him.’
Melanie delved even further into the seemingly brutal back-and-forth exchange she had with a series of Airbnb representatives.
She said she eventually got so fed up that she packed her things before her partner came to pick her up.
The weary traveler revealed she finally got a refund after her story received so much attention online.
She concluded: “Thanks again to everyone who helped make this visible and shake some things loose.
‘Extremely grateful to everyone. Wow, it’s been the weirdest 18 hours.
‘Not to make too much of an after-school special about it, but this is really an object lesson in why empathy is important. I will repay your kindness as best I can.”
An Airbnb spokesperson told DailyMail.com: ‘We were sorry to hear about our guests’ experience, and our team has fully refunded them and offered further support through our AirCover guest protection.
“We maintain quality standards for listings and have suspended this listing from the platform.”