I spent years in an abusive relationship with an alcoholic and notorious sex pest. In 2018, I broke free when he moved abroad to escape his creditors. A year later, I tried to make my first Airbnb booking, only to have it cancelled because my account was permanently blocked.
Airbnb declined to tell me why. Later, I discovered that my ex had used my phone number and his own email address to set up one account in his name, and an old email address of mine to set up a second. I hadn’t received any notification of the use of my phone number, but I found, in my disused email account, several emails addressed to my ex.
I feared he might have done something terrible at a rental property and got banned and, because he had used my details, got me banned, too. Airbnb eventually told me the ban was linked to fraud. In 2020, I tried to book again, but 24 hours later the booking was cancelled, and my account blocked. Five years on, I noticed all four deactivated accounts are still visible on the platform – the two created by me, and the two set up using my details by my ex – and I’m still blocked. Airbnb promised to look into it but never got back to me.
Domestic violence brings a lot of shame, and having to explain it each time to Airbnb agents feels deeply personal and humiliating. But the real shame lies with Airbnb – allowing an abusive man to practically steal my identity, perpetuating abuse and potentially putting others at risk.
Name and address withheld
The platform boasts rigorous identity checks on new and existing account holders, including verification of contact details via “trusted third-party sources”.
However, the process was only introduced in 2023. It told me that your ex created the original account in 2013. It was never used, and it closed it the same year.
It did not elaborate on the second account, which appears to have prompted the fraud block. It claims your email, detailing your circumstances, was “not received”. It says it is investigating why not, so “the appeal process can be reviewed for improvements”.
Airbnb has now restored your account and given you a £200 voucher. It says: “To help build and keep trust in our community, we suspend accounts suspected to be fraudulent. We are sorry for the time it took to resolve this case.”
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