An irate Taylor Swift fan has recalled how her Airbnb she booked months ago was canceled at the eleventh hour due to a so-called ’emergency renovation’, only to find it relisted on the same dates for double the original price.
Despite booking accommodation months in advance in preparation for the pop star’s Eras tour, scores of Swifties have lost their rooms at the last minute as Airbnb hosts force the price on other desperate fans by relisting the properties offer.
Swiftie ‘superfan’ Lily paid $900 eight months ago to book an Airbnb apartment in Brunswick, inner-city Melbourne, for four nights this weekend.
But three days ago, her host messaged her saying he had to cancel due to an “emergency renovation.”
Furious, she demanded proof, but none was forthcoming.
“I then decided to check to see if the listing was still active, because it shouldn’t be,” Lily told The Project on Thursday evening.
After battling ticket scams, scalpers and glitchy websites, Swifties now contend with greedy Airbnb owners profiting from Taylor Swift tourism in Sydney and Melbourne
“The offer was just over $2,000, so he made double what he would have made from me.”
Lily claimed Airbnb gave her a paltry $47 credit to cover a stay elsewhere.
“Airbnb said, ‘He let you know ahead of time, so there’s not much we can do.’ I’m not sure what timeframe they work 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 had arranged accommodation near the MCG for $630 between February 16 and 20, but the host canceled her booking a week before the show.
Jasmine said the host wanted to ‘redo the carpets’ and would then have to cancel her booking – at least that’s what the 24-year-old was told.
Swiftie Lily (pictured) claimed Airbnb gave her a paltry $47 credit to cover a stay elsewhere
Despite booking accommodation months in advance in preparation for the pop star’s Eras tour, countless fans have lost their rooms at the eleventh hour as Airbnb hosts ask them for more money.
Two days later, as Jasmine struggled to find accommodation among Melbourne’s already fully booked rooms and hotels, she discovered that the Airbnb host had relisted the property she had originally reserved for $1,347.
The host listed the same four nights as empty and charged $717 more than what Jasmine was originally charged.
Outraged by the host’s blatant price hikes, the Swiftie contacted the property owner and demanded answers.
“I don’t know why it’s being relisted” is all the host replied, leaving Jasmine scrambling to get another room a few days before her flight to Melbourne.
“I checked again that night and it was gone, but I’m assuming someone had just booked it at the new price based on how quickly everything was booked,” Jasmine told the Sydney Morning Herald.
‘I normally find Airbnb reliable, so this really annoyed me. So difficult and it made an already stressful time even worse.”
Jasmine isn’t the only fan affected by the sudden price increases from Airbnb hosts. Others claim their rooms were canceled due to “family reasons” or “plumbing issues,” before being relisted just days later for hundreds of dollars.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, dozens of eager concertgoers had their pre-booked rooms canceled at the last minute by short-term rental owners and then relisted on Airbnb at a much higher price.
Airbnb has a cancellation policy for hosts that “may impose fees and other consequences, such as blocking a host from relisting on the same dates that were canceled,” a spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission said Airbnb hosts cannot mislead consumers about the reasons for a cancellation.
“If failure to honor these consumer guarantees constitutes a major failure, consumers are entitled to the choice of a refund or replacement service,” they said.
The ACCC spokesperson further said Airbnb hosts may even be forced to compensate reasonably foreseeable losses resulting from the cancellation.
Considering the costs of tour tickets, interstate flights and costumes, among other things, some Swifties could be missing out on thousands of dollars if they can’t find alternative accommodation after their Airbnb bookings are cancelled.