The Dark Side Of Airbnb

It’s everyone’s favourite go- to for a cheap getaway, but a creepy few are ruining it for the sane majority. Cosmo investigates

- Nicole Mowbray

Lisa Jose woke in the middle of the night to find the silhouette of a man – her host for her stay – standing over her and her sister Maria as they slept. It was November 2012 and the pair had been travelling across Europe and the Middle East. After a stay in Turkey, they had a one-night stopover in Budapest while waiting for a connecting flight to India.

Alarm bells began to ring as soon as they arrived at the ‘cosy’ two-bed apartment and discovered they’d be staying with a man – not a woman, as the host’s online profile had suggested. ‘The picture on Airbnb was of a smiling blonde woman, not a tall man in his early 40s,’ says Lisa. ‘Before we could bring it up, he cut in, explaining his name could suit a man or a woman so he liked to mix up his profile pictures.’

The rooms did match the photos Lisa, now 28, and Maria had seen online. They’d chosen the traditional apartment for an authentic Hungarian experience, attracted to the quaint balconies and courtyard. Exhausted, all they wanted to do was eat dinner and go to sleep.

Their host had different ideas, egging them on to try pálinka – a potent local brandy – and go clubbing. They politely declined. Eventually Maria, the younger of the two, agreed to a conciliatory tomato juice with their host before heading to bed. Once behind the closed door of their bedroom, they agreed to leave at first light to catch a train to the airport.