Airbnb customer's bags, passport thrown on street after confusion over check-out date

An Airbnb spokesperson later confirmed that the woman had received a refund and extra compensation to make amends. (Representational Image).

An Airbnb customer was shocked when she found that her bags and passport were thrown out of her accommodation after the host confused her check-out date, a report in The Guardian said.

The customer, identified as Anna Tims, had booked the Airbnb in Washington, United States and after returning to her accommodation late at night, found her belongings on the street. "On the last night of my stay in a Washington DC Airbnb, I returned late to find all my possessions – including my passport – dumped in the street outside the apartment in carrier bags. Eerily, the apartment had been cleaned," the woman wrote in a piece on the website.

Tims further said that she was informed by the host that another guest had booked the accommodation for the night, but, eventually, no one came that night to the Airbnb. "The host arrived and told me I had to leave since someone else had booked that night. By then it was midnight. I showed my booking confirmation stating checkout was 11am the following morning, and she looked sheepish," she wrote.

The woman was, eventually, allowed to stay in her accommodation after the host recognised the mistake at her end. However, the host refused to give compensation for the error and said that anyone could have made a mistake, of a similar kind. "No guest materialised, since the host had clearly muddled her dates, and I was allowed to stay the night. The host claims it was a mistake anyone could make, and is refusing compensation," she wrote.

Tims tried contacting Airbnb, but did not get any communication from them until 3 am. "I tried to contact Airbnb and discovered that, in an emergency, you are given just three options: phone the police, contact your host, or ask your host for a partial refund. There is no phone number to call – instead, you can only request a callback. It didn’t call me until 3am," Tims said.

An Airbnb spokesperson later confirmed that the woman had received a refund and extra compensation to make amends.

"Our original handling of this case did not meet our high standards, and we have issued a refund and additional compensation to the guest to help make amends," Jake Shuter-Ross told Insider.