A TikToker has gone viral after accusing Airbnb of “ruining” their family vacation. In the clip, Ashley Halloran (@ashleyhalloran14) described how, eight months ago, she and her family booked a cabin for a Fourth of July vacation.
“This is the first time in probably five years […] our whole family can meet together for a full week for [a] family vacation,” she said. But things started going wrong just two weeks before the family was set to travel to the cabin, with Airbnb calling Ashley to tell her the cabin was double-booked.
“They told us that someone else booked it two months before we did, which would have been 10 months ago,” she said. “And then we booked it eight months ago. So then, for eight months, apparently no one knew that this was double booked. So we find this out today.”
A family vacation ruined
Ashley added that while they were getting a “full refund” and $500 credit to book another Airbnb, she felt that “Airbnb should be doing more to make this right.” She noted that it was difficult to find an Airbnb for eight people plus dogs in the same area she initially booked, and that the only accommodation left is “well over the double price per night” of what they booked originally.
“So, the refund plus a $500 credit is not getting us far,” she claimed.
She then spoke to Airbnb directly in the video: “So Airbnb, if you see this, I really feel like you guys need to be covering at least the difference of whatever place we find next because it is a huge different price-wise, and you’ve left us high and dry two weeks before our family vacation.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Ashley via TikTok comment.
@ashleyhalloran14 Tik tok do your thing. @airbnb PLEASE make this right!! #airbnb ♬ original sound – Ashley Halloran
Viewers react to Airbnb drama
In the comments section, viewers voiced their suspicions over Airbnb’s version of events. “There’s no way they double booked the house,” one wrote. “What happened if they got someone who would pay double and decided to rent them instead…”
“You can not double book an Airbnb,” another added.
While a third claimed outright, “Someone paid more. This happened to my family last summer. had the place booked for months – got a call 3 weeks before ‘there was maintenance issues.’”
In a follow-up video, Ashley revealed that Airbnb got in touch after the initial clip went viral, offering the family $3,000 of credit to find a new holiday home in time.
“This just shows if you get to the right people, you can get a lot more than you think,” she said. “So we’re very thankful that we can go on the same dates that we originally planned with family coming into town.’
In an email, a spokesperson for Airbnb directed the Daily Dot to the follow-up video.
Ashley is far from the first TikToker to call out Airbnb. Back in March, user Joanna Anderson claimed she was charged £740 ($924.90) for using amenities like the pool table in her Airbnb. She also filmed numerous notes around the property about using the water, bathroom, and microwave. While Airbnb suggested that the video in question was a skit, it nonetheless raised questions about whether staying at an Airbnb was worth all these rules.
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