This follow up is in regards to a disability discrimination policy that was broken and still has not been resolved. The host, Andres of Medellin, violated accessibility rights for the listing above. The customer service team has transferred me to multiple departments to assess the situation where the the host did not allow entry into the apartment because of my service animal, CoCo. I have been told by Rachel of Airbnb in the Disability Discrimination department that a host cannot deny a reservation due to a service animal. I was not allowed entry or assistance on a new reservation for 4 days until I finally booked a hotel room because I became sick from stress. I had made my reservation many weeks in advance to prepare a cultural experience in Colombia. I have been stressed & ill from the amount of time has passed to develop a resolution on a refund & punish the listing for breaking disability rights.
Airbnb states In the chat messages that the listing would be punished for the violation of accessibility rights that are created by American with Disabilities Association. Liam from Airbnb says these actions are taken seriously for discrimination violations however the listing was never deactivated by Airbnb. I never received a follow up or a refund. I spent 4 days on the floor with my service animal and my disability which limits me to walk.
I am so deeply upset that this continues to happen where Airbnb offers these policies to protect disability rights; then turns back and does not apply them.
My items were damaged while sitting in the rain over 3 hours outside the building of my listing. I contacted Airbnb thru the phone, chat message and message support. My host Andres was completely unhelpful. I paid for the transportation twice and had no one to help move my items from the listing. Airbnb continues to tell me that this is not the experience that they want me to have.
Airbnb support continues to tell me that they are looking into the issue. But there hasn’t been any follow ups from either departments the refund or discrimination. All of the representatives are communicating thru chat and not phone or email. My specialist is aware of the damages, the text messages and the issues with the listing not allowing entry.
I am seeking to be switched to an alternative ambassador for this situation because the process is transferred to individuals that are not handling it properly. I have been waiting for weeks to communicate with someone to help facilitate a refund and the termination of Andres listing on Airbnb.
This has been a difficult life experience to handle these personal problems that directly affect my disability rights issue and have no resolution or empathy from Airbnb. I am dissatisfied that this has taken such a long time from a support ticket that has been claimed as “escalated to the highest department.”
I went four days without a new booking reservation; and had to sleep on the floor of a factory. Customer service in Airbnb chat says that another department would be reaching out to me. It took 7 days to facilitate a new reservation. I was double charge for multiple hotels and had to select something quickly on Airbnb to get a new place that was safe.
I want the promise of Airbnb to be delivered that disability rights are taken seriously. I want Airbnb to enforce the rules that this company has created to protect individuals with limited mobility issues that require service animals for assistance. On the webpage of Accessibility Rights of Airbnb; the line item state that a host cannot deny a reservation due to a service animal. They cannot provide different treatment or charge additional costs for service animal. Rachel from Airbnb has expressed in email that hosts cannot deny a reservation due to a service animal and that it c
I have not been refunded from the reservation of Andres for an enjoyable apartment listing that I could not enter because of my service animal. I was not allowed into the listing because of my service animal, CoCo. I had to sit on the street in the rain for four hours with CoCo and the scooter with all my suitcases / artwork.
I provided images / video and text messages that are in correspondence of the discrimination from Andres. I provided each of these details during the time of the accident so the information was in real time. There are several images of the scooter being damaged from in the rain, my food has spoiled and the mistreatment of the administrators of the building. One of the gentlemen threatened to call the police if I did not exit the elevator. I begged to allow my scooter and bags inside; Andres said the building is only for guests! I paid through Airbnb and signed the papers / provided my passport to the woman at the service desk of the airbnb reservation. I even circled the entrance to allow me to put my things inside because it was my life savings. I do not have a home ; Airbnb is how I am living.
I am constantly attacked for being an independent disabled individual trying to be as adaptable to my challenges as possible. There wasnt even an elevator in the entry of the building ; which forced strangers to come to my rescue. How embarrassing to be on the streets of Colombia, in front of a bar while everyone watched me sit in the rain. It was absolute madness experience. There were no drivers available to care for my transportation then my service animal became ill from the stress.
I have contacted Airbnb on a daily basis leaving a phone message to the customer service team. The customer service teams that my ticket is currently being looked at; and is at the highest point of escalation. Which for me, sounds like an immediate resolution but it hasnt been anything near that.
Airbnb states in an email from Rachel of the discrimination department; that a host cannot deny a reservation due to a service animal. This is the link to the policy on the Airbnb website. https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/1869/accessibility-policy
When contacting Andres for a resolution, he implied that pets are not allowed into the apartment. I’ve provided the working documents for CoCo from USA & Colombia as my service animal including health department & vaccines documents. These documents were submitted to Airbnb to facilitate communication between me & the hosts. However, I was promised by Rachel of Disability Dept that I would not need to communicate in advance that I have a service animal.
The policies were violated by Andres. My current ambassador, Liam – tells me that Airbnb takes these policy violations very seriously; see attached screenshots. He tells me that the listing would be punishable for a temporary removal for violating disability rights.
1. I am seeking the refund for listing that I was unable to enter
2. Andres listing to be deactivated for 90 days for this punishable violation.
3. Follow up for claim of the items that were damaged in the rain.
What is the correspondence that was between Andres & Liam for the discussion on the disability policy violations that were broken from not allowing entry with my service animal? I’m confused that my ambassador would state the listing was being punished but it currently is active and able to receive reservations. I’ve included screenshots of the calendar to show the availability for a listing that I was told was being terminate and punished for disability rights.
Sincerely,
Melissa
