u/g3ni3yip

Hi everyone, I am sharing a true story and hopefully give a heads-up warning to future travelers to avoid booking unsatisfactory homestays in Shanghai.

The RMB 2,000 “homestay” for 2 bedrooms, 4 nights, that changed address, wasn’t cleaned, had a strong smell of mould and was flooded.

When i opened that listing, all the reviews seem legit with a high rating, but there are red flags: the address changed after booking on online travel platforms, the manager asked to connect over WhatsApp or WeChat and then informed the check-in guide which was to an different apartment in the same area. They sent the access code to the digital lock an hour before check-in time. Offered a discount and requested to cancel the reservation on the platform by asking the traveler to transfer payment to an individual via Alipay or WeChat.

This is the second time I have caught the same operator ripping off visitors in Shanghai. Since Airbnb exited the market, any homeowner or rental company can list their home and post fake photos at a very appealing price, with no quality control or verification for these poorly managed properties.

I have never heard anyone in person say they love their homestay and prefer it to proper hotels. Feel free to share your experiences, good or bad, I would love to hear! Thanks

First-hand experience: full story with pictures and screenshtos here.

Just putting this here because I thought this type of scam was already well known, but apparently it’s still very much happening.

My friend came back to Shanghai recently after being away for several years. He used to live here, so he’s not completely new to the city either.

One evening he matched with a woman on Bumble. She wanted to meet pretty much straight away, the typical catchphrase would be "What are you up to today?" and "How long have you been in Shanghai?"

I know those are very common first things to ask, and some would even tell you a sob story about their divorce, etc. to make it more believable.

And then she told him to meet her at 合肥路黄陂南路路口 (Hefei Road & South Huangpi Road) — no name, no bar name, just the crossroads. just copy and paste this on Didi

*Actually, the other night he got another match that told him to go to 合肥路马当路路口 (Hefei Road & Madang Road), and insisted on only meeting there, which is also on the same block where the "bar" is.

I also searched the bar address it is listed on dianping with pretty good local reviews.

So, she took him to this nearby place, ordered drinks very quickly, and later made an excuse to leave. After being handed a hefty bill, it was too late. He reluctantly paid, and after they said bye, she blocked him.

The next morning he told me the story because he felt pretty stupid about the whole thing. Once I heard the details, read the chat records, I was almost certain he had been scammed.

He went back (because he remembered how to go back there), kept the payment records and WeChat evidence, requested the receipt and fapiao, and demanded a refund. I told him that if they refused, call 110.

In the end, they negotiated, and he got almost all of his money back.

So just a reminder, especially for solo guys visiting Shanghai or newcomers, exchange students, etc: if someone you just matched with urgently wants to meet and only gives you a crossroads or metro exit or a specific Starbucks instead of the actual venue, find out where they are taking you before you go inside.

And if it happens to you, don’t be too embarrassed to do something about it. Keep the evidence.

I wrote the whole story here because there were quite a few details that might hopefully help someone else.