Have you been stung by Airbnb? Thousands of Aussie holidaymakers affected by Airbnb’s false representations

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has started legal proceedings in the Federal Court against Airbnb, alleging the booking platform made false representations to thousands of Aussies by showing prices for Australian accommodation using only a dollar sign, and not specifying the charges were in US dollars. 

According to the ACCC, in some cases Airbnb referred to the price as “USD” in small type on the last page of the booking process. 

ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb told the ABC that about 2000 customers who had booked rental accommodation with Airbnb between January 2018 and August 2021 have filed complaints and she believes many more are likely to have been affected. 

Ms Cass-Gottlieb said that after receiving thousands of complaints, Airbnb allegedly told customers the prices were shown in US currency because the consumer had selected that option.