Airbnb jeopardizes customer privacy

 

Airbnb seriously jeopardizes customer privacy as sensitive information is disclosed through a customer service ordeal

Bill Dandie runs one of the most popular Airbnb’s in Canada. The listing is a rustic cabin in the woods only 55 minutes from downtown Toronto.

Because of the proximity to Toronto and it’s remote feel, the cabin has seen hundreds of couples escape the city.

In November 2020 and after five years of hosting, the listing was shut down by Airbnb. A brief email stated there was an undisclosed camera and a representative from the Safety department would call at a designated time.

The agent never called and what ensued was Bill Dandie’s worst customer service experience ever.

He called for 15 straight days looking for clarification. Because he operated in the same fashion over many years he was perplexed by the undisclosed camera claim.

Mr. Dandie called Customer Service every morning and they stated that it wasn’t their department but a Safety issue.

For 15 days straight Mr. Dandie would leave a message never receiving a call to clarify the matter.

Over the course of 15 days, on two occasions Customer Service disclosed the name of the guest and the date of stay.

On the first occasion of hearing this privacy breach, Mr. Dandie thought it was odd and didn’t take action. Due to frustration and wanting to resolve the matter on the second instance of Airbnb breaching customer trust and privacy he decided to contact the guest directly for clarity.

The guest confirmed what they thought was a hidden camera in fact was an electronic device to deter mice.

Throughout this time Airbnb wrongly accused a long term, loyal host at the same time as sharing private customer information.

Mr Dandie comments on his recent experience, "working with Airbnb for over 5 years I developed a strong trust and respect for this STR company. 

At the point I truly needed support  regrettably I only received unanswered questions, false accusations and a breach of customer privacy. 

After this experience I lost confidence, respect and no longer endorse Airbnb."

Mr. Dandie’s opinion of Airbnb has greatly changed and he’s now looking at more trustworthy STR services such as Vrbo and TripAdvisor.