A furious Taylor Swift fan has recalled how her Airbnb booked months ago was cancelled at the eleventh hour because of a supposed ’emergency renovation’ – only to find it relisted over the same dates for double the original price.
Despite booking out accommodation months in advance in preparation for the popstar’s Eras tour, countless Swifties have found themselves losing their rooms at the last minute as Airbnb hosts price gouge other desperate fans by relisting the properties.
Swiftie ‘super fan’ Lily paid $900 eight months ago to book an apartment on Airbnb in Brunswick, in inner-city Melbourne, for four nights this weekend.
But three days ago, her host messaged her to say he had to cancel because of an ’emergency renovation’.
Furious, she demanded evidence but none was forthcoming.
‘I then decided to check if the listing was still up, because it shouldn’t be,’ Lily told The Project on Thursday night.
‘The listing was up for just over $2,000, so he made double over what he would have made from me.’
Lily claimed Airbnb gave her a paltry $47 credit to cover a stay somewhere else.
‘Airbnb said ‘he let you know in a timely manner so there’s not much we can do’. I’m not sure what timely manner they’re running on but it’s not the same as mine,’ Lily added.
Daily Mail Australia approached Airbnb for comment.
Another fan from Gunnedah, NSW said she secured accommodation near the MCG between February 16 and 20 for $630, only for the host to cancel her booking a week before the show.
Jasmine said the host wanted to ‘redo the carpets’ and would subsequently need to cancel her booking – at least, that’s what the 24-year-old was told.
Two days later, as Jasmine struggled to find accommodation among the already booked out rooms and hotels in Melbourne, she discovered the Airbnb host had relisted the property she originally secured for $1,347.
The host listed the same four nights as vacant, charging $717 more than what Jasmine was originally charged.
Furious at the host’s blatant price gouging, the Swiftie contacted the property owner demanding answers.
‘I don’t know why it’s relisted’ is all the host responded, leaving Jasmine scrambling to secure another room just days before her flight to Melbourne.
‘I looked again that night and it was gone, but I assume someone had just booked it at the new price based off how quickly everything was booking,’ Jasmine told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘I usually find Airbnb reliable, so I was really annoyed by this. So inconvenient and it made an already stressful time even worse.’
Jasmine isn’t the only fan to suffer from the sudden price gouging of Airbnb hosts, with others claiming their rooms were cancelled for ‘family reasons’ or ‘plumbing issues’ before being relisted just days later for hundreds more dollars.
Airbnb has a host cancellation policy which ‘may impose fees and other consequences such as blocking a host from relisting on the same dates that were cancelled,’ a spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission said Airbnb hosts can not mislead consumers about the reasons for a cancellation.
‘Where the failure to meet these consumer guarantees is a major failure, consumers are entitled to their choice of a refund or replacement service,’ they said.
The ACCC spokesperson went on to say Airbnb hosts may even be forced to compensate reasonable foreseeable losses caused by the cancellation.
Given the cost of tour tickets, interstate flights, and costumes, among other things, some Swifties could be out thousands of dollars if they are unable to find alternative accommodation after having their Airbnb bookings cancelled.
