r/FuckAirbnb

Has anyone dealt with Airbnb support seemingly blocking or disabling your ability to message them during a refund dispute? First they deleted my account entirely and then brought it back, but I can't contact support at all and when I call they put me through multiple different people before telling me to "keep my line open, they will call back in 5 minutes" and then they never call back.

Here's the recap -

I had a 32-night Airbnb reservation in Sayulita, Mexico. When I arrived, the property was way different than advertised and did not feel safe or usable. There was visible moisture issues, mold, odor, and general cleanliness/habitability concerns. I reported the issue to Airbnb immediately and rebooked alternate lodging because I could not stay there.

Airbnb issued only a partial refund, but I am still seeking the remaining $2,063.47. My position is that this was not a normal voluntary cancellation, and that the host’s normal cancellation policy should not apply because the issues were discovered upon arrival and related to the condition of the listing.

I’ve tried to resolve this through Airbnb directly. I called Airbnb six times in one day and was repeatedly told someone would call me back “within 5 minutes,” but no one ever did. I also noticed that the original reservation conversations with the host no longer appear to be accessible in my account.

Then, when I tried to send a formal written refund request through Airbnb’s own support thread, the message failed with a “Message not sent” error. I tried again with just a short “hello??” message, and that failed too. So now I can’t communicate through the support thread at all.

I’ve also been trying to handle this through Capital One. I’ve spent 10+ hours on the phone with Capital One dispute specialists, doing everything they ask me to do, submitting the documentation they request, and trying to follow the process exactly. But then I get an almost immediate letter saying the case is closed, without what feels like a meaningful review of the additional information I provided.

I have screenshots of the failed Airbnb messages, the reservation details, my call logs, the property condition, refund/cancellation records, and documentation from the dispute process. I’m trying to figure out whether Airbnb’s messaging issue is a glitch, a closed/restricted case thread, or whether Airbnb can actually block a guest from messaging support during an active refund issue.

Has anyone experienced anything like this with Airbnb or Capital One? What did you do next? Did calling, escalating to a supervisor, filing a chargeback appeal, arbitration, BBB/consumer protection complaint, CFPB complaint, or anything else actually help?

I’m not trying to avoid the cancellation policy for no reason. I’m asking Airbnb to review this as a guest protection/habitability issue because the property was not in the condition advertised when I arrived, and I could not safely or reasonably stay there. I thought I was covered under AirCover for refund and am confused.