Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  08/15/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This relates to a vacation rental in ************* on August 4 2024. Upon entering the home, I was immediately overwhelmed with the smell. It a was musty, mildewy, moldy smell. Not minor. It was over powering. In the main living room we saw a fan on the floor, a window AC unit. Turning to the right we saw a rotating pedestal fan in the hall. In the bedroom we saw a large dehumidifier. None of these was in the original listing photo library. All four devices were on at full speed. It was extremely loud. The apartment was tiny, probably about 600 ft squared. It looked the owner was aware of the problem and was trying to air it out.I immediately contacted the **************************** Plushy. I told them the situation, and informed that this was unacceptable. We were concerned about the health risks of being exposed to the mold and mildew. We were also worried the we couldnt sleep with all the noise I told the *** that we were not going to check in nor stay. I asked for other accommodations. She said that they didnt have any in the area. I asked for a refund. I sent them pictures of the 4 appliances Over the phone call she informed me that the cancelation window was 60 day earlier. She also said that there was no visible proof of mold and mildew. I told her she that the smell was overwhelming and the pictures clearly prove that the owner was cleaning up the property. I also asked about why the listing was removed from **** earlier before my check-in. We argued a bit. I pointed out the health risks and that the burden of proof for mold wasnt my responsibility. Today for some unkown reason, the listing on VRBO is gone. To make things look more suspicious, all of my messages inside of VRBO's secure platform are gone. They removed my reservation, our email exchanges...everything.

  

  Business response

  08/22/2024

  Dear BBB, 

  We never like to see an unhappy guest. While the booking channel closed the matter and didn't offer a refund, we did. It also appears that the guest may be in the process of receiving their money back. 

• Initial Complaint

  08/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I was arriving at the condo August 3rd.Today August 1st, my Mother fell and I had to perform CPR until the emts arrived. She is in a Coma, and currently dont know the brain activity.. Now not being able to go on the trip I asked for at least half for a refund. They refused the request. They were very unsympathetic and could have cared less. This is not a Hoax, I do and can have Photo, and documentation of the events that occurred to cause me not be able to make it for the reservation.

  

  Business response

  08/22/2024

  Dear BBB, 

  Each booking channel can have different cancellation policies when there are last minute cancellations. We deeply sympathized with **************** personal situation, we offered to refund any nights that were booked for the dates he was unable to make the trip. We did secure a replacement reservation for most of his travel dates and issued him a refund of $785.25. 

• Initial Complaint

  03/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I booked an ****** home through Plushy last weekend for a girl's trip at the river. The home we rented had a hot tub. All 5 of us used the hot tub two of the nights of our stay. 4 of us ended up coming up with a bacterial skin infection, commonly known as hot tub rash. This bacterial skin infection is severely painful and itchy and depending on the person results in a fever as well. I reached out to Plushy, pursuing a refund via ****** and was met with canned responses, lack of empathy and no resolution. I have followed up with Plushy daily regarding a refund I had requested through the ****** app, and am met with automatic responses telling me that they'd look into our case again. Meanwhile, 4 of us have been put on antibiotics to fight the bacterial skin infection and unable to work due to the pain and illness. DO NOT BOOK WITH PLUSHY. They do not care about you as a human and lack any kind of empathy or responsibility for the harm their home caused us.

  

  Business response

  08/22/2024

  Dear BBB, 

  We provided the requested refund for ******. She requested a refund of 321 dollars and that is the refund that was issued. 

   

• Initial Complaint

  02/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I signed a deal with Plushy that they would manage my airbnb and they would charge me 10% of revenue. They charged me 15% saying that they would receive a fee on the cleaning fee as well which they didn't manage. I terminated the contract and they would stay on for 30 days. I found out they took an extra 5% and told them that they shouldn't be taking it. They owe me for stays that they havent' paid for. They have not answered any of my requests and have gone silent of over 30 days. They are a bad business.

  Customer response

  02/26/2024

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  12/31/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We stayed at a plushy property rented through air bnb. The property did not have a working heater. We went without heat for 5days. They apologized and promised to make it up to us. The property was rented for one month at about half way through the stay I was injured on the property there was damage on the stairs which caused me to slip and fall backwards down the stairs and banged the back of my head on a stone fireplace corner located at the bottom of the stairs. I suffered a concussion and hurt my back I could not walk up and down the stairs so we checked out early. I requested a refund for the unused days and they refused then after almost two weeks they requested money from us for damages that did not happen. For example there was a cheap mop that we never seen and it was snapped there was an older kitchen table they claimed someone wrote on (which we did not) the table was covered the entire stay because of how warm and nasty it was. They retested $500 dollars for us to replace it. This came two weeks after checkout and after I asked them for refund for the unused days.

  

  Business response

  08/22/2024

  Hi BBB, 

  While we never like to see a guest unsatisfied with their stay, it appears that the booking channel determined the guest was not eligible for a refund based on the booking channel's guidelines. However, despite the booking channel not providing a partial refund or any refund, we will look back into this matter. 

• Initial Complaint

  11/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 11/17/22 we checked in to the townhome on *************************************************************. The scheduled checkout was 11/21/22. The day of the checkin we notified Plushy about the safety of the location. There were homeless people and drug users outside the property and inside the gated fence. I can certainly understand an undesirable neighborhood, however, we felt unsafe and Plushy was insensitive towards our situation. Inside the property we wanted to use the Wi-Fi. I noticed in the very same property listed on the Airbnb review noting they spent the entire trip trying to get the Wi-Fi to work which led me to be this was an ongoing issue for months (see attached photo). Trying to deal with ****** was an absolute nightmare, as they stonewalled me with "We're looking into this!" "Thanks!" when I tried to get resolution. I filed a complaint through VRBO and asked for a partial refund the day after we arrived, but I never got a response from the company other than, "we are looking into this." **************** was atrocious. Very early in the morning we left property and have yet to hear back from Plushy.

  

  Business response

  01/31/2023

  Hi BBB, 

   

  While we are sad to hear the comments from this guest, unfortunately we don't have full control of people who may be passing through the downtown area. Regarding the Wi-Fi not working, as we have reviewed the account, it appears there was a delay in the refund for this issue and we will get this cleared up promptly! 

  Customer response

  01/31/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  *************************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  11/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On October 17 I booked a rental on Airbnb that PlushyHost managed. I was planning on visiting family and friends for an extended stay over the holidays checking in on November 25 through December 23. However, I was booked on a job for work that was going to keep me from going on this trip and I would be out of state. I reached out to Plushy since it was a non-refundable stay (which I don't understand how that's even legal) to let them know my situation on November 1 . The lady I talked to said she understood and that I would need to cancel the reservation on the website and that if they were able to book the days I canceled with someone else, they would refund me for the days they were able to rebook. This was over 3 weeks from my check in time so I was confident they could do so. Then when I did cancel on the Airbnb website, I got a message from them stating their cancelation policy. It said if I canceled at least 14 days in advance that I would be refunded 50%. I figured that was better than waiting for them to rebook, so I reached out again and asked if I could be refunded the 50% they just messaged me about. They replied and told me to reach out to Airbnb about that. Which I did. They tried to get them to adhere to this but they refused. Then I checked and found out they have since rebooked 20 out of the 28 days I had booked. I told Airbnb about my conversation with them, and Plush agreeing to refund me any days that were rebooked. Plush again refused to refund anything, even after they said they would. So now they have kept my $1760 and are now getting paid by others for most of those same nights to double up on their profits. I think it's unethical business practice to do this. Charge someone for no service, then double dip like this and charge someone else as well. They should at least adhere to the refund they promised me for the nights they rebooked.

  

  Business response

  06/23/2023

  Dear BBB, 

  
  

  Each booking channel has certain cancellation policies that potential guests agree to prior to paying for and securing the reservation. We will take another look at this case to see if something was missed procedurally by the booking channel and issue an update for this guest shortly. 

• Initial Complaint

  11/17/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The long and short is I booked a vacation house through Airbnb and four or five days later a hurricane hit the area and devastated the area which would be known as hurricane *** the house I rented It is in ********** *******. I immediately contacted plushy the host for the property and they have been playing games for six weeks, giving me the runaround not willing to give me my money back, knowing that the house has damage and it is not in the condition that I agree to rent the property theres nothing to do in that area any longer because its all gone from the hurricane so I asked him to prove to me that the pool in the hot tub was working at the house was in good condition and theyve continue to evade the question not provide information and play their games. All I would like is my money back and we could part ways .

  

  Business response

  12/09/2022

  Hi BBB, 

   

  Unfortunately natural disasters happen and we do our best to ensure the quality of the accommodation for the guest. Fortunately, this particular home was spared the damage many in ******* sustained and we were able to allow guests to continue with their reservations. This reservation was for December 1 - 4, over a month after this awful hurricane affected so many. Airbnb was involved and they determined the guest was not eligible for a refund under their "extenuating circumstance" policy. The guest was free to enjoy the rental. For Airbnb reservations, guests can see cancellation policies prior to booking and invoke airbnb for exceptions when needed. We never like to see a guest cancel a reservation prior to arriving at the property but the cancellation policy did still apply. 

  Customer response

  12/09/2022

  the property had damage the pool and the hot tub was not working as well as exterior damage to the property not to mention the entire area around the property is destroyed 

  keep in mind this is a vacation for my family to go to a vacation destination and go out and enjoy all that the area has to offer  seems like you are either really stupid or just unwilling to understand that 

  how about you spend your money to travel to a place that has just been destroyed by a hurricane and every place you want to go is destroyed or gone  

  I really for the life of me cant understand why you and your company Airbnb are so desperate to steal $1300 dollars from anyone but you sure are hard pressed to get away with it 

  you should all be ashamed of the way you treat your customers 

  I will never stop spreading the word to everyone I that I can about this company 

  hopefully at some point you will have zero customers 

  thats my goal anyway! 

  

  Business response

  01/12/2023

  Dear BBB, 

   

  The home was available for guest use. While unexpected issues can arise prior to a reservation, our teams work hard to make sure the property is guest ready to provide comfortable accommodations.  Airbnb made a determination that this reservation was not eligible for a full refund under their policy. 

   

   

• Initial Complaint

  07/04/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 6/25/22 we checked in to the townhome (219 ***************** ************ ** *****) to serve as a place of transition during our move from OH to ** until we close on our new home later this summer. The scheduled check-out is 8/13/22. On 6/25/22 I notified plushy about a noise issue with the dryer and later on 6/29 advised of a moldy/mildew/oily substance in the washer. They advised that they would report it to the maintenance team. There were smaller issues that were also to be resolved & after 2 no shows the maintenance guy came late on 7/1, but advised that he knew nothing about the ****** **** following up with Plushy they advised that they were waiting to hear back from the owner who was checking on a warranty. The washer was manufactured in ****. This would not be a warranty issue. **** bringing this to their attention ****** later advised that there was nothing that they could do without the owner's approval. This issue with this is that there is a review from Feb 2022 where a customer complains about the same issue with the washer & tries to discredit the customer, but also implies the washer was upgraded. This outright false and misleading statement caused us to select a property that would not be able to meet the needs of my family during our stay. I have attached copies of the property Airbnb review as well as ************************'s (owner) information. As plushy indicates they are waiting on the owner, who appears to be a real estate investor, I feel that both parties may be liable for these false and misleading statements. Due to what appears to be a deliberate attempt to mislead customers in the review, I feel that the BBB should take ownership of the resolution of this matter.

  

  Business response

  08/19/2022

  Hi BBB, 

   

  While we disagree with **************** characterization in his complaint, we were able to fix all the issues he was complaining about. There is a new washer and dryer in the unit and ************ has been issued a partial refund for the nights of his stay that were affected.  

• Initial Complaint

  03/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We paid $12,000 for over 40 night stay through plushy host Airbnb. Within hours we requested to cancel that booking, and they refused. Their property was unfit and unsafe for my family, and not as advertised. We simply could not stay there, and we did not stay there for more than one night. Even after leaving, Plushy Host refused to refund us, and decided to charge us $12,000 for the one night, because of their no refund policy. Its disgusting and unethical behavior to do this to a family. After much persistence they at least offered that if someone else books the same nights we booked, they would refund us those nights. And when it actually happened (January 26 - March 5), they said circumstances had changed and they refused to refund even those nights. So now, they have double billed multiple people for their one property. This is outright theft hidden behind a no refund policy. This is not how any business should be allowed to run, let alone a hospitality business.They are also saying they reached out to us to come to a resolution on refund, and they have not.

  

  Business response

  03/21/2022

  Dear BBB, 

   

  We strive to make every guest feel comfortable, and based on the overall review of the customers issues, in this instance we decided to uphold our cancellation policy. The property has been enjoyed by many guests in the past and was advertised properly.  As promised, we did refund nights of his stay that were booked from another guest. 

   

   

  Customer response

  03/22/2022

  Plushy Host charged me and my family over $12,000 for a one night stay. They refused to refund us even though we cancelled the booking within 24 hours. It is irrelevant what a companys cancelation policy is. It is also irrelevant that a company thinks it sounds virtuous that they stand by their policy. The act is immoral and legalized theft.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩