Travel

Five tips you must follow if you don’t want to lose your Airbnb deposit including taking before and after photos of your holiday home


MORE Brits than ever are using home rental and home sharing websites instead of hotels as a way to save money on holiday.

However, this has also led to a number of scams that can mean expensive fees or lost deposits.

 We reveal five ways to avoid losing your deposit

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We reveal five ways to avoid losing your depositCredit: Getty – Contributor

Scammers take advantage of travellers who are looking for a good deal, by offering bargains or tricking them into buying things that don’t exist.

But those aren’t the only issues that could make your dream holiday hell.

With the busy holiday season coming up, we reveal the top five ways you can avoid losing a deposit – or more – when using home rental services such as Airbnb.

Take before and after photographs of your letting

If you’re staying in someone’s house, then protect yourself by taking photographs of each room before you check in.

One woman explained how she was accused of stealing a TV set from the apartment she was renting in Poland.

Renata Lambert told consumer advocacy group Elliott: “I was wrongly accused by my host of taking a TV set from his rental.

“Airbnb took the host’s accusation at face value and passed judgement without hearing my side of the story [and] charged my card on file for damages.”

 Losing a deposit can make a holiday extremely expensive

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Losing a deposit can make a holiday extremely expensiveCredit: Getty – Contributor

She was initially charged $333 (£264), which was taken from the deposit, although Airbnb later reviewed the case and refunded the entire amount.

To avoid falling victim to incidents such as this, take pictures of each room as soon as you get there – along with any expensive items such as TVs or stereos – and take photographs again before you leave.

Always double check what is being offered by the listing

Sometimes a listing can offer en-suite bathrooms, luxury amenities and stunning views – but you might arrive and find it’s nothing like it was advertised.

Recently, a tourist in Amsterdam who thought they were renting a room in a nice home only realised it was just a shipping container on the side of the road when they got there.

But it could have been avoided with a bit more research.

Always make sure there are clear images on the website, which look real and not doctored, and ones that give several different angles of the property rather than just close-up shots.

Also make sure you check whether they include extras such as WiFi or towels, or if there are additional fees – it is worth taking a screen grab while booking as well.

If means that if you do have to contact a rental site to get your money back, there is clear evidence what was offered at the time of booking.


CON-AIR Brit holidaymakers were conned out of £7m last year – here’s how you can spot the travel scams


Never pay a deposit or any money outside of a rentals website

A common scam is to ask potential guests to pay deposits outside of the rental website to “avoid Airbnb fees”.

However, this offers no protection – the scammer can take your money, leaving no trace, and you won’t be able to get it back.

Services such as Airbnb usually offer some kind of payment protection, but you should always pay with Paypal or credit card for added safety.

Holidaymakers have also lost out by sending direct bank transfers to what looks like legitimate websites that turned out to be scams, so make sure you do your research before you travel as well.

Contact the rental company straight away if there is a problem

If there is a problem at the beginning of the trip, notify the rental service straight away.

Leaving it to the end of your stay could make it much harder to claim your deposit back.

Airbnb, for example, hold the money and do not release it to the host until 24 hours after checking in, allowing you time to make sure the listing is legit.

So if you find the property isn’t correct or is unsafe, your money can be quickly refunded and put towards another rental.

British tourist stunned to find his £100 per night Airbnb in Amsterdam is just a SHIPPING container

Declare any extra guests

While it can be tempting to sneak in some extra friends or a partner when staying at an Airbnb, this could make you liable for any damages – and the money will come straight from your account.

The host could also keep the deposit if you don’t ask first as it could be seen as breaking the contract.

How to spot a scam

Citizens Advice explain how to tell if something is a scam:

  • it seems too good to be true – for example, a holiday that’s significantly cheaper than you’d expect it to be
  • someone you don’t know contacts you unexpectedly
  • you suspect you’re not dealing with a real company – for example, if there’s no postal address
  • you’ve been asked to transfer money quickly
  • you’ve been asked to pay in an unusual way – for example, by vouchers or wire transfer
  • you’ve been asked to give away personal information like passwords or PINs

A recent holiday scam saw British tourists turned away at the door of their “luxury rental” in Spain after booking through a fraudulent website.

One man lost £2,600 due to the fake booking site.

Other travel scams including WiFi hacking and fake visas which result in lost money and added stress for holidaymakers.





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