PublishedAugust 4, 2022, 10:15 PM
Online scamThe villa reserved for the summer holidays did not exist
A Valaisan has rented a property in southern Italy. But, once there, she became disillusioned: there was no trace of the house in question. Since then, she has been waiting for Airbnb to find a solution for her.
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- Francisco Carvalho da Costa
Airbnb has established itself as the reference platform for the rental of accommodation online.
20min/Michael Scherrer
Sarah*, who lives in Martigny (VS), didn’t think her summer vacation would turn into a nightmare. After comparing a good number of accommodations offered on the Airbnb platform, she finally finds the coveted property: a large villa in the south of Italy, to spend a little more than two weeks there with her husband, their 3-year-old child and their dog. She immediately makes an online reservation, and pays 1600 francs.
But, once you arrive in Syracuse, a historic city in southeastern Sicily, it’s a cold shower: the villa in question simply doesn’t exist. The neighbors have never seen this house, the host does not answer any of her calls and Airbnb is struggling to find a solution to relocate her. “I have been explaining the same issue to different Airbnb managers for 5 days. There is no follow-up of the file and no alternative has been proposed.
Since then, the Valaisanne has been staying in a hotel. “We struggled to find a place to stay because most establishments are full and some don’t allow pets.” In the meantime, the platform has assured him of the reimbursement of 1600 francs.
Difficult to act legally
If Sarah hopes to be able to settle this matter with Airbnb, legal action is also possible, although these cases are difficult to resolve in Switzerland. Under international law, according to the Lugano Convention, this case falls under Italian jurisdiction, because the service was booked in that country. This complicates the process for individuals on vacation who do not know the law of the host country. Jacques Roulet, a lawyer specializing in real estate, notes that Swiss law is limited: “Several motions have occupied Parliament to try to better manage conflicts of this kind, but they have not produced results.”
Airbnb operates as an intermediary, to facilitate contact between renters and hosts. If it turns out that the rental took place on the application, and not on a fraudulent site, the platform has its share of responsibility. “If an online rental application offers a non-existent object, it is complicit in the scam, specifies the lawyer. That said, Airbnb in principle offers fairly secure guarantees that these situations do not occur. Contacted by us, the Airbnb platform did not respond to our requests.