Airbnb Charged Without My Approval and Refunded Only a Small Part
On 2 September 2025, while browsing a listing on Airbnb for a property in Paris, I was shocked to see that 73,525.29₺ was charged to my Akbank credit card even though I had not confirmed any reservation or even reached the payment page.
The same day, I immediately canceled the unauthorized booking. However, I received only a partial refund of 9,758.79₺, leaving nearly 63,000₺ still missing. I contacted Airbnb’s customer service multiple times, both in writing and by phone. Their response was that I must follow the host’s cancellation policy and wait for the host’s approval for any refund—something completely unreasonable since I never confirmed the reservation myself. I also reached out to the host, but they refused to approve a full refund.
At the same time, I already had another confirmed Airbnb reservation in Paris, which proves this transaction was unauthorized and unintended. This situation has caused me severe stress and financial harm. It is unacceptable for Airbnb to hide behind host policies when the platform itself processed a booking I never approved.
I demand a full refund of 73,525.29₺ without further delay and a transparent explanation of how such an unauthorized charge was even possible. Guests should be protected from such issues, not left stranded between host policies and vague customer service replies.
