As full-time travelers who have spent years on the move, we have experienced our share the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to travel issues.
This article is part of an on-going series on some of the challenging situations travelers inevitably may find themselves in. We share our real life experiences, talk about how we managed our way through it, and give you hard-earned tips on how to successfully navigate said issues to save your holiday.
Today, I am covering the dreaded last-minute vacation rental cancellation.
The popularity of Airbnb and similar vacation rental sites has skyrocketed over the past 5 years. Unfortunately, this has created an opportunity for less than honest proprietors to get involved. One of a variety of scams that has proliferated is the famous bait and switch.
The setup: On arrival day, the property owner communicates that your reserved room, condo, or house is no longer available. However, you are offered a replacement property “nearby” for the same amount, sight unseen.
The drop: It’s late in the day, and you’re feeling stressed about not having a place to stay. You accept whatever deal your apologetic new friend, the property owner, offers you. Sight unseen. What you find is the new property is far inferior to your original rental and is in a much less desirable location. You are now stuck with this stinker.
Airbnb and some other larger rental sites claim to have cracked down on this fraudulent activity and say they are doing more to certify properties. Regardless, renting a vacation property comes with some risk of this happening despite your best efforts. Heck, it happened to us.
Going back a few years, we are just pulling into the Turkish capital of Ankara for a 5-day stay. The long bus ride from Cappadocia puts us into town tired and hungry in the heat of early afternoon. We have a quick lunch and head straight to the flat we had rented on-line, eager to unpack and relax.
The flat is in heart of the city, only a few blocks from Ataturk Blvd, a stellar location. We are meeting the owner at the property to get the keys and have a quick walk through. I knock on the door, but the response is not exactly what I’m expecting. The owner refuses to open the door and yells “GO AWAY.” Or something that sounds remarkably similar in Turkish. You would think we are selling timeshares in the Sudan.
Wait, maybe we have the wrong address and simply scared grandpa with our dusty backpacker chic look? Nope, it is the right place. Well, this is a first, so what should we do now?
Go to a coffeeshop of course, because caffeine might help, and WIFI definitely would. Freaking out won’t help at all. We are in a foreign country and don’t speak the local language. Even if I wanted to throw a raging tantrum nobody would understand me, and fewer yet would care.
After calming my nerves, I call the rental company, who apologetically confirm our flat is sadly no longer available. However, they just happen to have two other properties available which are “SO MUCH BETTER” than our original rental. The catch: they cost more and are about 6km away from here. I feel like I am in a stupid giant yellow chicken outfit, standing next to Monty Hall as he asks me if I want:
Door #1 – big unseen apartment in unfamiliar location from the same questionable characters
or
Door #2 – who knows, whatever you can find
Despite what you may think, this is not tough decision. One of our core rules is: “only stay at places you have seen physically or in photos + reviews.” After requesting a refund on our original rental, I can hear Monty bellowing in the background, “Let’s see what’s behind Door #2!”
Using the coffeeshop’s WIFI, we identified a couple of nearby hotels as potentials, in addition to a place I spotted earlier on the way to the flat. We sling our packs back on and trudge over to take a look at each one.
The first two places are uninspiring, half a rung above a youth hostel at best. So, we head over to the last candidate, the hotel I’d spied earlier, to give it a shot.
The front desk guy is a little taken aback when Karen asks if she could first see the available room. “Ahhh, sure,” he mumbles. As they start for elevator, he expectantly asks Karen if I was coming too, and, when she turns, I reply, “I’m good. I’ll stay here with the bags.” See, I know Karen will unabashedly inspect the wifi strength throughout the room, perform a sit test on the bed, check the noise level inside & out on the balcony, and so on. Which is good, since my inspection standards are pretty basic:
SNIFF: No funky smells 
LISTEN: no screaming baby next door
LOOK: no creep-crawlies in sight
When Karen and the hotel clerk reappear, Karen gives the thumbs up, and we are quoted a rate for the night. Knowing the hotel wasn’t likely to get anyone else to rent out the room that night, Karen asks for a lower rate if we stay extra nights (remember, we have no place to stay!). After a little back and forth, the hotel manager agrees.
Ultimately, the total cost is the same as the original flat, and I can hardly believe my eyes when I walk into our room. It is on top floor (7th story) and is huge with a multi-level balcony overlooking Ataturk Blvd, exactly where we wanted to be all along. We could not have planned a better place and in fact we didn’t.
Today, even here in the USA, bait and switch situations can occur to even to the savviest travelers. Our tips on how to handle bait-and-switches if you find yourself in one:
Vacation rental properties have become extremely popular and can be a great option for travelers. Unfortunately, that popularity has drawn in some seedier property managers, souring the industry’s reputation. Do your homework in selecting you vacation rental. And if you find yourself in similar straights while you’re on the road, consider our tips to help you get past this bump in the road.
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