Youre the third person that comes here looking for this Airbnb, but it doesnt exist.
And stories like these are scarily common.
How can you avoid a similar fate?
Always do your research, verify the listing, and never, ever pay the host directly.
(Trust us.)
You could even reverse image search the hosts profile photo if ones available.
If you find your listing elsewhere, you should communicate with the hosts independently.
Also, check your hosts profile.
Theres a good chance youre not being scammed if either of these appear on a profile.
A lot of reviews is always better than a few, particularly if theyre mostly positive.
Sort for any critical reviews and those that mention a bad experience with the host.
And if a host asks you to cancel, well, that could be a scam, too.
Over on oneReddit thread, a host asked a guest to cancel their reservation as it was suddenly unavailable.
Instead, reach out to Airbnbs customer support if youre ever asked to cancel your stay.
And if the listing hasfew or no reviews, check to see if they have reviews for other properties.
Look at the description of the listing and whether its detailed enough to seem legitimate.
Otherwise, be up front and ask the host why the listing has no reviews.
Maybe its just a new listing, which is entirely possible.
There are a lot of red flags here, aside from the last-minute cancellation.
For one, you should never pay directly to a host or through third-party payment sites.
(Pay through a third-party site and you might not reap the same benefits.)
Again, dont give in.
You should never really communicate with your host outside of Airbnbs direct messaging system, particularly regarding payment.
When you interact via email, you dont have the same protection.
Their site has the Airbnb logo and the design matches Airbnbs to a T, she wrote.
The URLs almost looked legitthey said airbnb.intinerary-booking.com, and the difference went right over our heads.
Who looks that closely at URLs?
(She has a point.)
