A back-and-forth battle between a Bay Area mother and Airbnb over a Southern California rental nightmare has been resolved with a refund and an apology.
The saga started last month when Reina Pasternak and her son Kayden, who needed major surgery, checked into an Airbnb in Torrance for seven days ahead of Kayden's 17th surgery. But Pasternak quickly spotted some issues at the house they booked.
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WATCH HEREThey realized the "luxury" home they expected to stay in for part of Kayden's recovery was anything but. There were cracking walls, stained patio furniture, dirty appliances and plumbing problems in one of the bathrooms.
"The toilet clogged pretty much immediately upon arrival," Pasternak said. "And we were told not to use the toilet at all moving forward."
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SIGN UP Pasternak and her family immediately contacted the host of the house and Airbnb. The plumbers who showed up said the toilet would remain out of commission during the family's stay, so they booked another house the next day.
Kayden's surgery went well, but Pasternak's struggle with the host and Airbnb had just begun. Pasternak said the host charged her for the entire stay and the additional plumbing fees.
On Tuesday, NBC Bay Area met Pasternak at Airbnb headquarters in San Francisco. She said she became frustrated with several calls that went nowhere and a refusal by the host and Airbnb to refund her the remaining six days of the stay and plumbing fees the host tacked on.
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NBC Bay Area watched as Pasternak talked with an Airbnb employee in the building's lobby and as Airbnb security walked around keeping an eye on the situation. NBC Bay Area also reached out to Airbnb by email while Pasternak was inside.
A San Francisco police officer eventually asked Pasternak to leave after the person she was talking with said he would "escalate" her case.
"I'm a very reasonable person," Pasternak said. "I'm not aggressive. I'm not angry. I'm pretty reasonable. I will pay for that one night, but I will not pay for the rest of the stay."
On Tuesday afternoon, Pasternak said she received a call from an Airbnb representative. They are refunding all of her money, and they apologized for the situation.
