[Important: DO NOT CROSSPOST TO the Montreal Reddit, they think I'm a AI robot]

Planning a trip to Montreal? Thinking of using Airbnb? Be aware of a widespread scam currently operating in the city. Fraudulent hosts are using stolen licence numbers and fake map locations to post illegal short-term rentals.

Airbnb Trust & Safety, as far as I can tell is intentionally ignoring these. I have reported at least 50 and they are all still up. In fact, the only time Airbnb contacted me, they wanted to give the identity thieves my PERSONAL INFORMATION, in order to take action. In the case of my personal home, I have sent a CEASE & DESIST letter that Airbnb has completely ignored and people show up at my door trying to break in because hosts have given them my address! When the city or Revenu Québec inevitably shuts down these illegal listings, the host deletes their profile and all their listings, leaving guests stranded without accommodations at the last minute. And Airbnb will offer you a small discount and leave you to find a place to stay.

How the Scam Works

1. Stolen CITQ Licences: Quebec law requires every short-term rental to display an official 6-digit registration number from Tourisme Québec. Scammers bypass this by pulling active licence numbers from legitimate local B&Bs, hotels, or properties located hundreds of kilometres away (like in Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, 700 km from Montreal).
2. Fake Locations & Addresses: The listing on Airbnb might show a location in downtown Montreal or the Plateau, but the actual address given to you after booking could be completely fake or belong to a private residential property.
3. Profile Swapping: Once a host account gets too many complaints or draws scrutiny, they migrate all their active listings to a freshly created host profile to keep operating.

The Real-World Risk to Guests

• Cancellations & No Place to Stay: When inspectors shut down an illegal host, the account disappears. Airbnb will issue a refund, but finding a last-minute place in Montreal can be extremely expensive or nearly impossible during peak season. For example, the 31st of July will cost you THOUSANDS extra.
• Safety Concerns: Guests have been given addresses belonging to real residents or businesses that have nothing to do with Airbnb. When digital door codes do not work, confused travellers end up trying to force their way into private property, leading to police calls.
• Personal Data Concerns: Airbnb has handed over your information to these people who are already committing identity theft. Some of which ask for more personal information from you to register for the property. They have already stolen other people's data, why do you expect them to respect yours?

How to Verify Your Montreal Airbnb Before Booking

Do not rely solely on the listing details provided on Airbnb. You can verify whether a property is legitimate in about two minutes using the official Quebec government registry:

1. Scroll down on the listing page, click the Show more button, and locate the 6-digit Quebec Registration Number.
2. Go to the official provincial database: https://repertoire.hebergement.tourisme.gouv.qc.ca/
3. Enter the 6-digit number in the search bar.

What to look for:

• "Aucun enregistrement n'est disponible..." means the registration number is completely fake.
• Wrong Region / Municipality: If the registration details show a property in Saguenay, Quebec City, or outside Montreal, the host is using a stolen licence.
• Wrong Property Type: If the licence belongs to a closed commercial hotel or a different establishment name entirely, it is fraudulent.
• Mismatched Address: The licence is in an entirely different neighbourhood. I don't know how many of them are using the licence of people on "Tupper" or "Seaforth". (That poor guy on Seaforth has at least 20 different illegal listings associated with his number.) Want to see how bad it is... try this search: Airbnb "316729" (which is the guy on Seaforth)

The government can fix this problem quickly, by requiring payments be made to the name of the licensee. But they haven't done this yet. Instead Airbnb is risking YOUR vacation.

Note: Other platforms like Booking and VRBO also face these issues, but they generally remove flagged illegal listings faster when notified. Always cross-check the registration number regardless of the platform.

We’re renting an Airbnb for 4 weeks in Arcadia there’s a shared laundry all included but the tenants from the other house across from us still have their unwashed clothes inside for 2 days already. Should we contact the host? There’s a sign and notice near the laundry about if laundry will be unattended for a long period to leave ur number/name or something. Basically we can’t even wash our clothes rn .

Are these tenants being very rude??

Hello!
So I have to move out few days before my reservation end date, and I put in a reservation date change request. However, my host declined that request. My booking shows a partial refund policy for days that are left from when I cancel my airbnb. If I press cancel, will it ask for my host’s approval? And will I get auto refunded by Airbnb or do I need to contact the host?

I’ve just returned from a short stay at a small flat by the seaside (UK). I booked the place without realising it was a basement (not mentioned in the description, but was mentioned in other reviews).

I was immediately worried it would have damp issues, and was right. When you came in you could smell it straight away. A dehumidifier was running in the bedroom and I had to empty it three times during a two night trip as it completely filled.

Damp really irritates me, but I could see others had not mentioned it, so I didn’t want to be too harsh. I basically wished we’d booked somewhere else, as while it was cheaper than other one beds, I’d personally rather have paid the extra £15 a night.

I rated the flat 4 stars (I thought this was fair. It had everything you need, but no extras, very drab decor, just not especially remarkable- and also the surprise damp).

In my review I praised the space, said the bed was comfy, said it has eve rything you need, and then added if you’re sensitive to damp you might want to avoid it.

Now the host has messaged asking me to ‘tone down about the damp as he’s worried it’ll stop people using the property’.

Now I wonder if I wasn’t warned cos he’s asked other guests to do the same?

Can he do anything if I don’t change?

I've had a 2 month booking in Germany for a private room with lock, and the stay has been great. The host has been friendly, and I've been volunteering to fix and upgrade the wifi for the benefit of all guests, as well as frequently running downstairs to fix or help with random tech for the host, such as printer issues and security cameras. Today as I was finishing the work the host became impatient and started shouting at me, refusing to stop, interrupting the work constantly, even refusing to control their dog which scratched my leg bad enough to drip blood all over the floor. I eventually left their office and returned to my room, but the host used their key to come in after me and refused to leave, arguing and verbally harassing me for several minutes and physically blocking my attempts to close the door.

Airbnb safety team has arranged alternate accommodations, have a copy of the audio recording of the harassment in my room, and are 'actively investigating'. I'm alright for tonight, but I ask if others have had or know of similar incidents and what the result was, and/or what next steps I might want to consider. I've lost a day of work (and likely the next 3) and been forced to abandon a week's groceries and will have to eat out instead, and a lot of other expenses and disruptions.

We’re a family staying in an airbnb in France. The listing for our airbnb lists WiFi as available. Upon arriving 3 days ago, we’ve had intermittent WiFi at best, but mostly just a complete inability to connect. We asked the host via message in airbnb app if anything can be done, and she said that they regularly have problems with the internet and nothing can be done.

We were counting on wifi to do some remote work and also watch a movie together at the end of each day, as well as to do some trip planning for the rest of our time. We can make it work by buying data, but we feel annoyed that this is a known problem to the hosts, that isn’t mentioned in the listing.

We’ve stayed in more than 20 airbnbs and have never given anything other than 5 stars. Does the lack of transparency merit 4 stars?

Update to last post.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AirBnB/s/Q0270oRXl5

Later on the day after we left, I recieved a message feom the host in airbnb app offering for us to stay an extra night at a discounted rate.

"I responded with seriously? I just left your property for roaches yesterday!"

I then recieved a call from the hosts customer care team.

Basically apologizing and asked me for an amount.

I asked for 565 dollars (full 100% refund with taxes and fees) for the 2 nights we were not in the property.

Then an addition 250 for the day that we completely wasted waiting on them and giving them a chance to make mistakes right. 250 is 1 night and did jot as for taxes or fees back.

The customer care agent from the host said he would be able to get this through but I needed to do a favor. Send a message to the "host" in airbnb stating, i will agree to $815 dollar refund and will not write a review.

Obviously this seemed off.

So in my messages I wrote.

"After speaking with your customer care team moments ago. I will agree to the $815 refund for roaches, and will reflect it positively in my review if asked to write one."

Couple hours later, I recieved another call from same agent asking for me to resend the message with only

I will agree to the 815 and will not right a review.

I did not agree.

I told the agent to send the request for refund to his boss as is. I dont want to lose the ability to fight it with my credit card, and I am not getting a discount for my review. Im just asking for what is fair.

Still havent heard outcome of that yet.

I have an upcoming stay for Saturday. I have requested a late check out if possible (just 1 extra hour). The host saw the message but didn’t respond (48 hours ago). I reached out again and repeated the request but said I understood if it wasn’t possible but I would like to know. That was 12 hours ago and still no response.
What should I do?

Hi all,
I recently checked out of an Airbnb and the owner gave us a chore list that wasn’t anything insane, but it was far more than what I’m typically asked to do upon checkout (I’ve stayed at nearly 60 Airbnbs). So, I’d like to privately send him some feedback. Before I do that, is there any way for me to see what the cleaning fees were? In the past I was able to find this by looking at the cost breakdown in the receipt, but I no longer see that included.
Thanks!

Booked a 2 week let to cover a lease gap. Checked host policy beforehand, which allowed partial refunds for remaining days (even after the check-in date).

Ended up moving out early. Host said no refund. Worth checking with Airbnb or should I write it off?

Hi there looking to see if anyone has had anything similar happen to them and if so, what recourse they took.

I had two trips booked: a cabin in Washington for check-in two days from now (Thursday) and an international house for a group trip at the end of August.

I received a message that there had been a dispute to the Airbnb charge from my bank last week. I called Amex who said there was no dispute, and the final charge for both houses went through no problem. Both were booked far in advance, so this was regarding final payments.

This morning, both bookings were cancelled without explanation. Immediately called Airbnb, who told me that both hosts had “major infractions” and that my bookings were cancelled for my safety. Both hosts reached out, and I told them both the reason for the cancellation. However, having both Airbnbs cancelled at the same time seemed strange to me - likely the result of an AI security flag than coincidence. Both are highly rated. Both hosts were responsive. Nothing shady. Both hosts messaged me back saying that Airbnb told them the reason for the cancellation was me - one for fraud and one for risk of a party.

I have 30+ positive stays with Airbnb over 7 years. I’m in my mid thirties and have never hosted a party. I also stayed in an airbnb last week without incident and using the same credit card.

Now here’s the problem: The cabin in Washington is near a very busy national park, and there is literally nothing else available during our stay. There was less than 30 minutes between Airbnb cancelling in the middle of the night and it being rebooked. Airbnb sent two links for new spots: both for tent camping with no water or electricity (our cabin was a high end luxury cabin).

I called 5+ times, spent all day in a chat window, asked to escalate to a manager multiple times and got nowhere. They said they were closing my case, and offered zero help. I reached out on Instagram. I was hung up on twice. The host was not willing to help, especially because he said called Airbnb and he had no issues on his listing per Airbnb and Airbnb said they had no knowledge of the message they’d sent me about him having major infractions.

Why the hell would Airbnb lie? Do I have any recourse here?

I rebooked my international trip on a competitors platform (the host was insanely helpful) but I’m going to pay multiple times the Washington cabin to book shittier staying multiple spots. This is the worst customer service experience ever - embarrassing that hosts were told different reasons than me, frustrating to be lied to, so annoying to get zero assistance.

Any advice would be helpful. Happy to share message screenshots.

So imagine you're planning a weekend getaway by the lake with a group of friends, keen on some cooking and bonding time to have all that spoiled by broken amenities and overall untidiness. That is what you can expect from your stay at 1325 slow lane. We arrive with our party of 11 to find a non-functional fridge. The host appeared cooperative at first, sending a handyman to attempt a fix at the late hours of 10pm. But after that failed, the solution provided the next morning (when our food was already greatly at risk of being spoiled), was a fridge replacement that would not occur until 8pm. Which would have involved loud noise, strangers in our space and all of our food definitely spoiled by then. The alternative provided was a suggested taxi service to the nearest town (30 mins away), which the host did not offer to cover. Which again was not productive given the lightning storm and poor road conditions. To top it off, we find moldy bread present from a previous tenant and the floors inside were so dirty all of us had blackened feet from even just 15 minutes of walking around barefoot. Despite the stress of dealing with the cleanliness and figuring out our food situation, on top of the continued fear of food poisoning even after our departure, the host and airB&B support were unreasonable in their compensation for our time and financial loss. They offered $985 when our initial cost to stay was $3090.15 and an additional $~600 for food costs with a majority of it needing to be thrown out. During a time when food poisoning concerns are rampant in North America, it is absolutely disappointing to know that airB&B hosts and the customer support staff feel justified in their approach to our situation.

https://www.airbnb.ca/rooms/48551192?unique_share_id=801095b3-132a-43b6-99b4-672b3ea31a68&viralityEntryPoint=1&s=76

Hi, im at my witz end.

Family of 4 traveled to area for our daughter to have literal life changing neuro spine surgery that we have been searching 8 months for.

There was some insurnace problems and we got the clear for surgery at 4pm our time (illinois) and raced out for surgery the next morning with a check in time of 515 am in miami.

I booked our airbnb while sitting at the airport.

It was a guest favorite. 4.8* had what I thought was all the amenities we wanted to try and make a "vacation" out of a difficult last 8mons. Since we couldnt explore much still wanted certain things to entertain the little brother while there during her recovery.

I messaged the host prior explaining the very late check in, and that it was imparative it was clean.

We arrived at the airbnb at 1245 am. Low and behold it was filthy, black curlies all over tub, hair on shower walls, spills and months worth of hair, dirt, and what not all over. 1 working fire alarm that wasn't chirping. Couldn't get cold water out. Someones tooth pastes splatterd all over the bathroom fixtures, old toothpaste in sink. We were exhausted but she needed to do one of 2 of her pre surgery showers and get some sleep since we had to leave at 430 am.

I messaged host first thing after she was settled. Wanted more pictures. Tmso once she was wheeled back I drove the 40 min back to the airbnb to get more pictures, they send their cleaners to address only the pictures. As we were headed back with daughter after discharge i find out that I am to inspect for the cleaners while they are there.

She was exhausted, I was exhausted, and in that moment my focus was not inspecting and releasing the cleaners, I focused on walking my daughter (14) to a bed and getting her food.

So my husband just said yeah its fine, (it was not).

We decided we would just clean and make the most. We were all on 2hrs of sleep.

Come later on, I ask how to turn on the hot tub/spa jets.

I recieved a general ai response from host "thanks for reaching out, i will contact the team" they send me instructions for the control panel.

I send pictures of the spa/hotub area and the pool equiptment, and electrical equipment. Nothing for hours. So I ask for an update. Then recieve the rental does not have hot tub listed. I know it did. Because it was one of the reasons I chose it. Low and behold.... its now not listed. My fault for not taking a screen shot from the get go.

Now the next day..... I wake up at 1130 to grab a bottle of water. Roaches in the kitchen. (Not the palmetto bugs) regular roaches. Quick back story, I grew up in child removing conditions as a kid, lived with roaches most of my youth until 8th grade. I know roaches. I hate roaches.

I send pictures to host first thing in morning (815am) got the same ai response and I ask for an update they finally respond at 1130 they are sending traps. We ask for a relocation, they send me a listing. I ask to go look at it. Waited from 130 until 530 pm for them to tell me that listing isnt upto standards. They send me another listing (outside of airbbnb app) that isnt listed on airbnb.

I go to inspect and its in worse condition. Literally pulling up to property there are 3 blinds broken. decline that.

We have had are bags packed ready to relocate all day just waiting and giving the host every opportunity to make it right.

Reached out to airbnb at this point. They said the host would agree to a refund of 500 (of 2,000) with a checkout next morning. Inorginally requested 1200 (3 nights fully refunded plus an additional 200 to cover the minimal difference for me to book a new comparable airbnb). I was told by airbnb they were able to get 500 (less then 2 nights) and an additional 85 from airbnb. I didn't agree to that as even a hotel was going to run us 950 for 3 nights. I then asked, can you please consider the 100% refund of the average nightly rate taxes and fees because of roaches!

Once it hit 945 pm and my husband needing to be at the airport at 4 am for an early departure home we gave up on leaving that night because we would have toneat that night regardless... literally waisted an entire day being patient allowing host and airbnb to do it right.

Next morning comes, I let everyone know we were out at 830 am.

Nothing.

Come later that afternoon, the host now will only refund 336 dollars and airbnb sends me a message saying. If i dont decide by end of day i will recieve nothing for canceling the remaining of the stay. Wtf. So I went with exactly the time line they asked, and now that we left now its even less of a refund.

The host repeated messaged me outside of the app (which I would then respond in the app) tried to send me and my family to an unlisted unit, had roaches, filthy. There is soffit missing with straw hanging out and scratching in the roof as we ate, beer bottle caps sharpie up where my son stepped on twice while in the back yard.

Oh, the pool guy that came was amazing. He did explain that there was a hot tub/spa. But someone disabled it because everything is there but pipes are missing from it. So it broke at some point, instead of repairing they just disabled it.

What now. We arent rich. We have mounting medical bills from trying to search for answers for our child. I never asked for a full refund. A fair amount for relocation. Full refund for unused night because this wasn't a cancle just because we didnt like it. Theres animals, roaches, filth.

Just complete lost and frustrated that airbnb handles guests like this.

I am renovating a shop attached to a garage into a suite for my visitors to stay, I also will airbnb it. This will be around 350-370 sq feet. There will be storage space in the adjoining garage, a large garden and of course some storage in bedrooms for clothes (built in wardrobe) and suitcases (under beds)

It is teeny tiny, but with good planning I can make 2 small bedrooms (one double bed, one twin bunk) a shower room, kitchenette. There will be just enough remaining space for a sofa, chair and a 4 person fold down table. My question is, if you are travelling with kids, would you prefer proper bedrooms, albeit small, or is is better to divide with curtains so they can be opened to add a bit of space?

Do you care about small spaces or is it just a spot to rest your head?
Interested in any other thoughts too. (there will be a mini range, a mini dishwasher and a 21inch fridge)

Thanks :)

Recently stayed in a very good rental. The house was clean, the kitchen was well stocked etc. etc. The issue I have is that the photos on AirBnb are VERY old. I can tell this because the house was rented partially based on the views so there are lots of photos on the site. When we got to the house there were some very large trees that were not in the photos blocking part of the view. Not a tree expert but these were now 20 foot tall pines. They weren't edited out as you could see them as very small trees in the photos. Also the expansive wood deck looked beautiful and furniture looked very nice in photos. It was all very worn as I assume the pics of these also were very old. Looking for advice on how to put this in the review for future renters or maybe just have the host update photos. This is a $5K a week house.

We booked a month long stay in a popular beach town. The listing had no photos of the exterior but every single building we could find on Google Maps looked decent. We booked and the address given in the booking was not accurate - it just pointed to the street. The host then followed up in a message with the actual street address.

We show up and this place looks like an abandoned drug den. Graffiti, boarded up basement windows, rotting front door, barred windows, torn window screen. The place looks like it’s received many break-in attempts. It is the only building in the area that looks like this.

We do not feel safe here. We’re not staying a single night. Literally no one with a brain cell would feel comfortable staying with their family in a place like this.

The host has been unresponsive. Airbnb customer service has given me the runaround and says my concerns are more to do with the exterior, which is not covered by their policy.

At wits end.

I checked into an Airbnb in France today and it’s been an absolute shitshow.

- They said arrival info would be sent 24 hours in advance. When it didn’t come at hour 18 I sent them a message and they said they’d changed it to ten minutes in advance without notice.
- They sent the wrong arrival information twice. I had to message them when I couldn’t get in and they sent the correct code on the third try.
- Upon arrival a random man in the street informed me the building door is broken an doesn’t close or lock
- When I got in the unit I found the washing machine full of water, beeping and displaying an error message
- There was a pile of dirt on the kitchen floor including dried pasta and coins
- For six nights I was given two bath towels, no hand towels, no dish towels and no bath mat to dry the bathroom floor
- I was given one roll of toilet paper
- There’s no garbage in the bathroom so I have to carry my used tampons through the bedroom and living room to the kitchen trash 🤢
- I found two gold rings beside the bathroom sink in a pile of dirty black sludge that got all over my hands when I picked them up
- The apartment sleeps four but has one water glass, one wine glass and one mug
- Dirty cutlery was mixed in with the clean cutlery
- The sheets were obviously clean but the duvet was in a pile on the floor with stains on the visible surface

They told me they would send someone to fix things but wouldn’t commit to a time. When she finally showed up she tried to fix the washer but ended up flooding the bathroom, and since there were no extra towels she took the dirty duvet and used it to soak up the water. She was not able to fix the washer so she said they’d call a technician. For tonight, no duvet on the bed, just a sheet.

Five hours after this debacle the host sent me a message that said, “Hi! Hope your check-in went smoothly. Is everything as expected? Are you comfortable in the space? We are of course available if you have any questions or needs during your stay.“

I wrote back and said, “Are you joking?” and they left me on read.

Update: After the third time the host sent a random person to try to fix the washer and required me to be present “because it’s your home now”, with the front door still broken, after a second clean that still left used tissues from the last guest Airbnb agreed to refund me 30% for the two nights I was there and 100% for the rest of my stay. The new place cost $140 more and had a €40 early check-in fee which I needed to salvage all the French cheese I’d bought so Airbnb gave me the difference as a coupon (I pushed for real money but they stood very firm on that one). I have found an Experience that is exactly the cost of the coupon that I can do and then promote as an affiliate (as long as it’s good) (I’m a part-time blogger) so I expect to come out several hundred dollars ahead by the time this is all over.

I just requested to book an Airbnb for 3 nights in a location that I'll be driving through. The host is brand new to Airbnb, and with no reviews. I have 42, 5 star reviews as a guest, and have sat for many brand new hosts and had many great experiences. However, shortly after requesting to book this place, and sending through partial funds I received a message that the host will now be amending the cost of the booking to reflect a cleaning pee per night. In all my history of using Airbnb I've never had a host try to increase the cost of my stay after requesting. Also for context, this isn't some dirt cheap place, nor is it luxury either. It's just a standard-looking unit, and the price I agreed to pay was already above average ($20 - $30 a night cheaper I could have booked at a Doubletree Hilton equivalent with breakfast included). I always prefer to support local than go through a big establishment, but this sort of feels disingenuous to me.

So my question is - has anybody dealt with something like this? And secondly, if you were in my position, would you wait and see what her proposed adjustment is, or take heed of those red flags and go ahead and request for cancellation now?

Curious as to everyone's thoughts on this. Thanks in advance!

The unit had great reviews on the Airbnb site, but if I had checked the Google Maps reviews, it would have told a totally different story. The room shared one sliding glass door.

The room would have been ok except for a large section of black molded ceiling. When the occupant showered upstairs, water would drip from the ceiling and puddle on the floor. And when it rained, water also would leak through the sliding door.

Besides the mold, there were mosquitoes in the room, and I found a cockroach in the bed sheets. And cleaning was not important, since there were splatter stains on the walls. The only good things about this place were the location and the plentiful towels.

Host forgot to clean the room and missed check in time for 5 hours. As a result the host sent us to a temporary room for 1 night and told to move our stuff back next day after they cleaned up the room.

I requested from Airbnb support late checkout for 5 hours, but recieved radio silence. Is there anything that can be done here?

I booked a place for 3 nights. Everything Went smoothly, and throughout my stay I was a polite, considerate, and respectful guest, ensuring that I followed all house rules and left the apartment clean. I communicated several times with the host during the stay, and all interactions were very polite and positive, and no issues were brought up to me during my stay. That was my second time staying there, and the first time the host left me a positive review. This time the host left me a negative review with just two words: "not recommended". That's it, no explanation. I reached out to the host twice after seeing this review to kindly ask for feedback, but unfortunately received no response. I've been on Airbnb for 12 years and have 31 reviews, all of them are positive. I messaged Airbnb support twice about this review, but they declined me. Is there anything I can do?

Hoping for some insight here. I booked a relatively new listing (only had four reviews) back in March for this weekend in downtown Nashville. Thankfully, the trip is just leisure and it’s just me and my husband. I’m in the airport this morning when Airbnb support messages me saying the host had to cancel due to “regulations.” Thankfully, I have Nashville connections and booked a hotel without issue. I was pissed off enough to do some digging and when I plugged the listing address in on Zillow, saw the property was sold on June 23 and was on the market since January (I booked in March)

Is it against Airbnb’s TOS to have a listing on the platform and accept bookings while concurrently also listing the property for sale? This seems really problematic for a lot of reasons; what if a realtor wants to do a showing and Airbnb guests are staying there? Anyone go through something similar? I also cannot believe the hosts waited until THE MORNING OF THE STAY to cancel when they had obviously known the property sold weeks earlier. I just feel really bamboozled and wonder if anyone has some experience with this kind of situation. Thanks.

So as of 2025, the total price, inclusive of all fees, is now the price displayed in the listing, right? Pretty sure I'm not going crazy, it literally says that on the AirBnB website: https://news.airbnb.com/total-price-display-is-now-standard-globally/

Guests everywhere will now see the total cost of their reservation, including all fees before taxes, when they browse listings in search results making it easier than ever for guests to compare options and book the stay that’s best for their budget.

I just booked a place, clicked on the checkout procedures, and magically, right at checkout, an additional 55 dollar AirBnB service fee was added. I reached out to AirBnB support, and this was the response:

AirBnB: The service fee is always added before the reservation is confirmed, including the dates and number of guests and there is page to specify the additional payment. Because we have received too many complaints about it, we will remove the fee in October.

Me: So the price you see in the listing ISN'T the final price you pay?

AirBnB: Yes, but that's before adding the service fees. Then, the final price breakdown indicates the additional payment, whether it's taxes or service fees.

They are so sneaky. If you're not careful about checking that the price on the checkout page matches the listing and don't click on the price breakdown, it's so easy just to click through and miss the price jump.

How do they keep getting away with this? It's literally false advertising!