My colleagues and I had a very disappointing experience with Airbnb, and as a result, all of us made the decision to discontinue using their services.
What happened was that their vendor (apartment owner) had cancelled at the last moment (late in the evening), and it was too late to book another unit. So we contacted Airbnb and gave their staff an opportunity to find a replacement property. This was not done (due to late hour); and instead we were expressly told by Airbnb representative to go to a hotel. It was clearly discussed that it’s a more expensive option because we needed at least three rooms. This was clearly understood -- and we proceeded to do as instructed.
Subsequently, very surprisingly, Airbnb refused to reimburse the costs that we had to endure associated with the three hotel rooms (in excess of the original budget, per the cost of the apartment I had contracted from Airbnb). I became aware that Airbnb collected $50 as penalty from the reneging owner/vendor. Strangely, however, Airbnb didn't even offer that amount towards my unplanned costs that night (caused by the breach/cancellation).
Needless to say, this is dishonest/unacceptable, so we’ll not work with Airbnb in the future. Fortunately, alternatives do exist.
