A Taylor Swift fan was left scrambling for accommodation after her Airbnb host allegedly cancelled her booking just days before the singer's gig in Melbourne.
After celebrating Travis Kelce's win at the Super Bowl, Swift hot-footed it to Australia to continue her epic Eras tour with gigs in Melbourne and Sydney.
Thousands of fans are looking forward to the gigs, which start tomorrow (16 February) and mark Swift's first appearance in Australia since 2018.
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Aussie Lily is among those with tickets to one of Swift's gigs in Melbourne, so eight months ago she paid around $590 for an Airbnb in Brunswick as a base for four days, while she's in the city attending the gig.
However, just three days before she was due to arrive, Lily allegedly received a message from her Airbnb host saying he had to cancel the booking to do an 'emergency renovation'.
Lily pointed out that the host would likely have known about any renovation work taking place more than three days prior to her arrival, but she said a 'language barrier' prevented him from giving her a real answer.
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"I asked him when I’d get my refund. He couldn’t tell me what was going on," Lily said during an interview on The Project.
“I said could you provide me with some evidence? He couldn’t do that. I said I’m going to take this up with Airbnb," Lily said.
Suspicious, Lily then looked again on Airbnb and claimed to see the exact same room she'd booked months earlier, only this time listed for $1,300 .
"He made double what he would have made from me," she said. "Good on him."
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After reaching out to Airbnb, Lily claimed the company responded by giving her $30 in credit - an amount that could get her a 'hostel if [she's] lucky'.
She claimed Airbnb said the host let Lily know about the cancellation 'in a timely manner', so there wasn't much they could do.
In a statement to UNILAD, Airbnb said: "Our team works hard to ensure that all guests booking on Airbnb have a positive experience. Cancellations by Hosts can disrupt plans and undermine confidence in our community, that’s why we enforce a Host cancellation policy.
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“In addition to a cancellation fee, other consequences may apply, such as preventing the Host from accepting another reservation for the Listing on the affected dates by blocking the Listing’s calendar."
Airbnb went on to say it had reached out to the host of Lily's booking to 'educate them on their behaviour', adding: "We are in contact with the guest to fully support them, including providing them with a full refund and additional credit as a gesture of goodwill.
“In these rare cases, we encourage guests who have experienced Host cancellations where the property is relisted for the same dates, to contact our 24/hr customer support team so that we can investigate and take the appropriate action.
“During events like Taylor Swift, Airbnb Hosts help grow the visitor economy, providing more accommodation choice in more locations across a variety of price points. In turn, this helps to support local jobs and businesses.”
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Lily did ultimately end up finding accommodation in a hotel in the city, though she noted she had to pay more than what she'd initially paid for the Airbnb.
Swift is set to perform three gigs in Melbourne before moving to Sydney on 23 February. The performances come just days after the singer flew from Tokyo to watch Kelce play at the Super Bowl final in Las Vegas.
UNILAD has contacted Airbnb for comment.
Topics: Money, Taylor Swift, Music, Australia, Travel
Emily Brown