Overview

• A London guest staying seven weeks in a Manhattan apartment was accused by her superhost of $16,000 in damages based on doctored photos.
• Airbnb initially upheld the host’s evidence and told the guest to pay more than $7,000 before she filed an appeal.
• Following press inquiries and her appeal, Airbnb refunded the full $5,700 booking fee, removed the negative review and issued a formal apology.
• The superhost was warned for violating Airbnb’s terms and faces removal from the platform if similar reports recur.
• Airbnb’s newly announced internal review aims to strengthen its evidence-review process and guard against AI-enabled fraud on its platform.