Airbnb guest accuses host of faking photos of damage to home

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An Airbnb host allegedly used artificial intelligence to doctor photos of damage to a Manhattan apartment, then tried to charge the guest for it.

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An unidentified London-based student rented the home for two-and-a-half months earlier this year but opted to leave the city early after feeling unsafe in the area, the renter told the Guardian.

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Soon after leaving, the host alerted Airbnb of the £12,000 (about $22,000) in damages the student reportedly caused.

The host sent photos to Airbnb of a cracked wooden coffee table, complained of a urine-stained mattress, and that the renter damaged a robot vacuum, sofa, microwave, TV and air conditioner.

The woman refuted the claims and upon closer examination of the submitted photos, she suspected the images were digitally manipulated, and accused the host of retaliating because she ended the tenancy early.

Airbnb reviewed the photos and determined she was responsible for £5,314 (about $9,800) of the damages, but she disputed the claims.

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“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,” she told the outlet.

“I also clearly demonstrated visual discrepancies in images of the same object (wooden table) provided by the host that show clear signs of fabrication.”

In images obtained by the Guardiantwo photos show slightly different looking cracks in the table.

“These inconsistencies are simply not possible in genuine, unedited photographs of the same object,” the guest alleged.

“This should have immediately raised red flags and discredited the host’s claims if the evidence had been reviewed with even basic scrutiny.”

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Following the Guardian’s report, the woman’s appeal was accepted by Airbnb and she was told her account would be credited £500 ($923).

However, she told the company that she would not rebook with Airbnb again, so they offered a refund of £854 ($1,576) — a fifth of the cost of her booking.

That didn’t fly with the woman and she was eventually refunded the entire cost of her booking — £4,269 ($7,880) — and a negative review the host had placed on her profile was removed.

“My concern is for future customers who may become victims of similar fraudulent claims and do not have the means to push back so much or give into paying out of fear of escalation,” the woman said.

“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.”

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Airbnb apologized to the guest and said there would be an internal review into how the case was handled.

“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,” they told the outlet.

The Manhattan rental owner, who is listed as a “superhost” on Airbnb, has been on the platform for more than 10 years and holds a five-star rating.

Airbnb said he had been warned for violating its terms and threatened to remove him from the platform if there was another similar report.

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