Airbnb has apologized to a woman after her host used artificial intelligence to claim she had caused thousands of dollars worth of damage.
The incident took place earlier this year when a London-based woman booked a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan for a two-and-a-half month stay, The Guardian reported.
She decided to leave the Airbnb early because she felt unsafe in the area, only staying for seven weeks. Shortly after she left, the host claimed that she caused $16,000 (£12,000) in damages.
He submitted pictures of a seemingly cracked coffee table and alleged that the guest stained a mattress with urine and damaged a robot vacuum cleaner, a sofa, a microwave, a TV and an air conditioner.
The woman denied that she had done any damage to the apartment and told the short-term rental platform that she only had two visitors during her entire stay.
She closely looked at the two pictures of the coffee table the host submitted and noticed differences in the damage, leading her to believe they were generated or manipulated by AI.
She believed that the host — who was listed as a “superhost” on Airbnb — was likely retaliating because she ended her rental early.
Initially, Airbnb told the guest that “after careful review of the photos,” she would have to pay the host a little over $7,000 (£5,314) — but she appealed the decision.
“I informed them that I can provide testimony from an eyewitness who was with me during checkout and can attest under oath to the condition in which the property was left: clean, undamaged, and in good order,” the guest told The Guardian.
“I also clearly demonstrated visual discrepancies in images of the same object (wooden table) provided by the host that show clear signs of fabrication,” she continued. “These inconsistencies are simply not possible in genuine, unedited photographs of the same object.”
“This should have immediately raised red flags and discredited the host’s claims if the evidence had been reviewed with even basic scrutiny, but Airbnb not only failed to identify this obvious manipulation, they entirely ignored my explanations and clear evidence that the material was fabricated.”
Five days after Guardian Money questioned Airbnb about the case, the woman was told her appeal was accepted and her account was credited with about $670 (£500), but when she said she wouldn’t be booking with Airbnb again, the company offered her a refund of $1,140 (£854) — which was just a fifth of the booking cost.
The woman refused the offer and was eventually refunded the entire cost of her booking, about $5700 (£4,269), and a negative review on her profile written by the host was removed.
Airbnb apologized to the woman and said they would launch an internal review into how the case was handled. They also warned the host for violating their terms and informed him that he would be removed if there were any similar reports.
“We take damage claims seriously – our specialist team reviews all available evidence to reach proportionate outcomes for both parties, and to help ensure a fair approach, decisions can be appealed,” Airbnb said.
The woman said she fears that future customers may become victims of similar scams, as AI can be used to manipulate photos.
Not everyone has the means to push back the way she did or may give in and pay due to fear of escalation.
“Given the ease with which such images can now be AI-generated and apparently accepted by Airbnb despite investigations, it should not be so easy for a host to get away with forging evidence in this way,” she said.
