BEIJING (SCMP): A woman in China mistook the Chinese yuan symbol for the Korean won while booking a hotel apartment in South Korea on Airbnb, ultimately paying 60,000 yuan (US$8,300) for a single night.
The woman, surnamed Xiao, from Jiangsu province in eastern China, recently sought help online regarding her payment with Airbnb.
On Oct 13, she booked a serviced apartment on Jeju Island through the holiday rental platform for a night’s stay with a friend. After returning to China, Xiao was shocked to discover that a total of 60,904 yuan had been deducted from her account.
According to a message from Airbnb, the hotel’s one-night rate was listed as 51,944 yuan. In addition, Airbnb charged her an 8,000-yuan service fee, 800-yuan tax, and a 160-yuan cleaning fee.
It was at this point that Xiao realised the price was quoted in Chinese yuan, not Korean won.
“It is not a high-end hotel. We assumed it was priced in Korean won,” Xiao explained.
If the rate had been in Korean won, it would have cost only US$37 for one night.
Xiao suspected that the property owner had mistakenly used the wrong currency when setting the price and contacted the hotel to request a refund. The hotel responded that they would issue a refund as long as Airbnb approved her request.
Initially, Airbnb rejected Xiao’s appeal, stating that the hotel had not provided a full refund. After multiple contacts and complaints to the platform, Airbnb offered Xiao a refund of 44,000 yuan, followed by an additional 6,700 yuan, and ultimately agreed to grant her a full refund “as a gesture of goodwill”.
Online observers expressed divided opinions about the incident. Some attributed blame to Xiao for not checking the price more carefully, while others saw it as a “trap”.
One commenter on Weibo stated: “Such pricing that defies common sense is clearly a trap waiting for careless people to fall into.”
Airbnb’s policies permit guests to request refunds before the date specified by the property host. Refunds after the stay typically depend on the host’s discretion.
Hosts on Airbnb can choose from various cancellation policies, ranging from flexible – which allows free cancellation up to 24 hours before check-in – to strict, which charges guests 50 per cent of the booking cost if they fail to cancel within 48 hours.
Many social media users expressed frustration, criticising Airbnb’s cancellation policies as “unreasonable”, given the frequent changes in travel plans.
Lawyer Chen Zhen from the Henan Zejin Law Firm told the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald that consumers bear legal liability for currency misunderstandings.
However, if the merchant incorrectly marks the price, consumers have the right to request a contract cancellation. - South China Morning Post
