Windsor woman fighting Airbnb over vacation nightmare

A Windsor woman is planning to sue Airbnb for more than $7,500 after finding several problems with an apartment she booked in Dubai for March break.

Rama Almasri, 23, booked an apartment in Dubai for the week of March 8 for $1,534.10 which included a fee to Airbnb and a cleaning fee.

She was travelling with her parents, her three brothers and two sisters. She had to postpone their arrival to March 10 due to an illness in the family, but when they arrived at 9:30 in the evening of the 10th she says they immediately were met with a chemical pesticide smell.

"[The host] told us not to cook in the apartment because there were roaches," said Almasri.

After further investigation, Almasri found what she said were roach feces in cupboards, dead roaches, two water taps that didn't work and a shattered railing glass on the balcony.

"The fridge was really, really gross. There was left over food in there. The fridge was all sticky and [the host] also advertised [the rental] as there was a beach but there was a flat out construction zone. There was no beach anywhere to be seen," said Almasri.

Almasri and her family moved out as soon as the sun came up at 4 a.m. the following day. She said they tried to get a refund from the host but she said he refused.

They ended up staying in a suite at a hotel which cost them around $6,000.

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Almasri said after complaining to the tourism bureau in Dubai she found out the host had not complied with local laws and wasn't authorized to list the apartment for tourists.

Almasri complained by email to Airbnb but was told she didn't notify them within a 24 hour period after arriving so she wasn't eligible for a refund.

"If a guest experiences a travel issue that prevents them from being able to complete a trip, they must notify Airbnb within 24 hours of their recorded check-in date, though we do take extenuating circumstances into account. In the rare event a guest has an issue, we work to make things right and in this case we have offered the guest a refund for two nights of her stay," said Lindsey Scully, communications person for Airbnb Canada, adding that Almasri took three days to complain.

That was based on the original check in date of March 8, but Almasri chatted online through the Airbnb site confirming with the host they would be late and in a later correspondence with an Airbnb customer service representative he confirmed he saw the thread. Almasri contends that constitutes a confirmation with Airbnb that the check in date was changed.

Almasri has called and corresponded with Airbnb customer service people several times to no avail.

"There does not seem to be a clear line of cleanliness issues or that it was misclassified," wrote a woman that identifies herself as Evelyn, a senior case manager at Airbnb in an April 1 correspondence with Almasri.

"I recognize that this trip was not what you expected, and due to that expectation, you feel a full refund is appropriate. We will be upholding the final decision on this case and will be disengaging," said Evelyn.

Evelyn goes on to offer a courtesy refund of two nights and the cleaning fee but Almasri has refused and is now seeking reimbursement of all the money she and her family paid on the trip.

"It was just a bad situation to be in altogether," said Almasri.

Airbnb's refund policy

According to policy provided to CBC News by Airbnb, there are a number of conditions which must be met to submit a claim for a travel issue.

• You must be the guest that booked the accommodation
• You must bring the problem to Airbnb's attention in writing or via telephone and provide us with information (including photographs or other evidence) about the accommodation and the circumstances of the travel issue within 24 hours after the later of (i) the start of your booking or (ii) you discover the existence of the travel issue, and must respond to any requests by us for additional information or cooperation on the travel issue;
• You must not have directly or indirectly caused the travel issue (through your action, omission or negligence); and
• Unless Airbnb advises you that the travel issue cannot be remediated, you must have used reasonable efforts to try to remedy the circumstances of the travel issue with the host prior to making a claim for a travel issue.