Corrupt Airbnb host punishes a guest for leaving a 3-star review by invoicing them $640 for "damages," gets his comeuppance when the prepared guest undeniably proves their innocence: 'He was waiting for a 'bad' guest to blame'

Author image for Jesse Kessenheimer
Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Feb 27, 2026 4:00 PM EST

A prepared traveler is a safe traveler, especially when your host is trying to set you up.

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  • Female traveler checking in to her airbnb.
    via Guillermo Spelucin

    Female traveler checking in to her airbnb.

    (Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.)

  • Gave My Airbnb Host 3 Stars for a Dirty Kitchen. 2 hours later, He Sent Me a $600 Bill.

    I'm not a difficult guest, but if I'm paying a $150 cleaning fee, I expect the floors to actually be vacuumed. The place was "fine," but there were crumbs in the kitchen drawers and hair in the shower. I left a polite,
    via Suitable-Box-6386
  • honest 3-star review on Airbnb mentioning the grime. About six hours later, just as I was settling in at home, my phone buzzed. It was an official notification from the Airbnb Resolution Center. The host, "Marc," was requesting $640.00 for
    via Suitable-Box-6386
  • "Professional Floor Restoration." He attached a photo of a nasty, charred black circle right in the middle of the bedroom floor. His message was pure vitriol: "You absolute liar. You trashed my home. You left a massive burn on the original hardwood. I have to sand
    via Suitable-Box-6386
  • Traveler unpacks her bag.
    via Guillermo Spelicin

    Traveler unpacks her bag.

    (Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.)

  • the whole room now. Don't think you're getting away with this." My heart dropped. I don't even smoke, and I don't own a hair straightener. I knew exactly what he was doing-he was "punishing" me for the 3-star
    via Suitable-Box-6386
  • rating by trying to flip a pre-existing issue into a $600 payday. I spent the next hour shaking with rage, scrolling through my phone. Then, I found it. I'm a paranoid traveler, so I always take a quick "walkthrough" video
    via Suitable-Box-6386

  • She left an honest 3-star review, but to the host, anything less than 5-stars earned the unlucky criticizer an invoice for a 4-year-old burn mark on his hardwood floors; this corrupt Airbnb host has just been waiting for the perfect crime, but he ended up selecting the most prepared traveler as his victim. 

  • Checking in to an Airbnb.
    via Codrut Evelina's

    Checking in to an Airbnb.

    (Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.)

  • Luckily for this prepared traveler, a woman who knew how to cover her liability tracks, she took a video upon arrival to the Airbnb that clearly showed the floor damage. Using this as proof, she would then take this maniacal host's lie straight to the top and was hoping to uncover more than just his corruption, but her complete innocence.

  • when I check in. I paused the clip at the 0:12 mark. There was the bedroom, the bed, and the blue area rug. In my video, the rug was slightly bunched at the corner-and there, peeking out from underneath, was the exact same black singe mark.
    via Suitable-Box-6386
  • He'd been hiding the burn under a rug, waiting for a "bad" guest to blame. I thought I had him. I found the Zillow listing from when the apartment was sold two years ago. I scrolled through the professional photos and Bingo. In the high-res
    via Suitable-Box-6386
  • shot of the master suite, the rug wasn't there yet, but the burn mark was. I sent the timestamped video and the Zillow link straight to Airbnb Support, feeling like I'd won. But then, ten minutes later, I got a notification.
    via Suitable-Box-6386
  • "Your case has been escalated." Marc replied to the thread with a "receipt" from a cleaning company dated yesterday morning saying the floor was inspected and clear before I arrived. It looks like a fake invoice, but
    via Suitable-Box-6386
  • it's on official-looking letterhead. Now Airbnb is asking me for "additional proof" or they'll automatically charge my card on file. I'm sitting here watching my bank balance, waiting for the support chat to agent to join
    via Suitable-Box-6386
  • Bad update: It's been almost a day since the quote unquote final review started. I barely slept. I kept checking the Chase App every time my phone buzzed hoping they finally yanked the $640.The support agent I was talking to last night? Completely ghosted. I
    via Suitable-Box-6386
  • got automated email at around 4 am saying my "dedicated case manager" is "currently out of the office'" and will get back to me in 24-48 hours. Like what? Meanwhile, the $640 charge is sitting as a " Pending Transaction" on my card. And that's
    via Suitable-Box-6386
  • not even the worst part. Marc sent me a text at round 11 AM today. And said: "trying to use old Zillow photos to commit fraud. My lawyers have been notified. Good luck." I'm actually so scared rn
    via Suitable-Box-6386

  • Scared and worried about getting charged for something she didn't do, this woman sweated it out for over 24-hours, fielding the host's threats of lawsuits and courtrooms with grace and dignity. She knew she was right; she just had to prove it to the higher-ups at Airbnb. 

  • Edit GUYS IT'S OVER.!!! I fianlly got through to a human at Airbnb support upport who actually looked at the attachments. I didn't even have to argue. I just sent the Zillow link one last time and said something like look at the date on this listing from 2022.
    via Suitable-Box-6386
  • The burn is there. Look at my check in video. The burn is still also there. The agent left for like 5 minutes. Then she came back and said that they had reviewed the metadata of my video and cross-referenced the historical listing. Marc's claim has been denied. The $640 hold on my card has been released
    via Suitable-Box-6386
  • And here's the best part, I asked what happens to Marc now. She couldn't give me details, but when I clicked his link around ten minutes ago, 404 Page Not Found popped up He didn't just lose the $640,they nuked his entire account for fraudulent
    via Suitable-Box-6386
  • documentation, I hope. All those fake cleaning receipts backfired. I just checked my Chase App and the 'Pending' charge is gone. I'm literally shaking from the adrenaline. Never staying in an Airbnb again. Hotel ONLY
    via Suitable-Box-6386

  • Because of her check-in video, it didn't take a genius to realize who was in the wrong here. More likely than not, Airbnb executives probably see the worst facets of human existence in the form of their hosts, so they probably suspected foul play here. Happy to turn away a corrupt and gross host, the overseers of this woman's case took her side, using the irrefutable proof of both her video and the old listing footage to protect an unwitting guest.

    Now, I think, she'll reconsider ever staying in a home-share accommodation; hotels are far less likely to come after random guests with vindictive legal action. At least, we think…

  • Illinigradman Gosh my Hilton was nice last night and when I checked out they thanked me for the stay.
    via Illinigradman
  • nemodigital Always wait until the expiry time is almost up before leaving reviews.
    via nemodigital
  • Single_serve_coffee Yeah freeze the card. This is called extortion and you should get legal counsel.
    via Single_serve_coffee
  • ZestycloseRepeat3904 If you saw the invoice, call the company to confirm the estimate.
    via ZestycloseRepeat3904
  • Pasito_Tun_Tun_D1 Stop staying at Air Bnb and use hotels!
    via Pasito_Tun_Tun_D1
  • Frosty_Sandwich_3017 Please request to escalate for review to a senior case manager and point out the retaliatory nature of the charges, as well as the timing of the submission of charges in relation to your review and keep attaching the photos again and again. Keep repeating yourself and don't change the story. You can do this via the AirCover or Resolution email and hold your ground. Don't pay anything or charge back anything automatically charged. Do everything via email, as to document every
    via Frosty_Sandwich_3017
  • Mission-Dark-9320 Assuming this is real, you craft a letter stating your evidence. You calmly inform them that if they proceed with this extortion plan, you will be hiring a lawyer to go to small claims court, looking into putting a lien on the property until resolved, and file a police report for theft. When people want to play stupid games, escalate to fullest extent. Do not offer in any way to remove your honest review. In fact, I'd see if I can respond or edit it to include this extortion at
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  • melanybee Save screenshots of the websites with the pictures because the content on that link could change it any minute
    via melanybee
  • coffee_and_coke Please please please for the love of god please stop using AirBnB. The rich people in my tourist town simply buy up all the homes for sale and then AirBnB them for an astronomically higher profit than renting, plus Florida (my state) is fixing to speed a bill to stop property tax, furthering people's incentive to do this. 2
    via coffee_and_coke

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guests Airbnb host justice served comeuppance
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