Accommodation firm Airbnb has been sued by the competition regulator to force the holiday rental company to compensate thousands of customers for allegedly misleading them about prices.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) accused Airbnb of deceiving people into believing that prices for Australian accommodation were in Australian dollars when in many cases they were in US dollars.
It has taken the company to the Federal Court to force it to pay refunds and damages.
ACCC chairman Gina Cass-Gottlieb told the ABC 2,000 customers had complained to Airbnb, and many more were likely to have been affected, with the watchdog seeing a peak in complaints in 2021 and numerous complaints on social media.
The ACCC said between at least January 2018 and August last year, Airbnb misled people by displaying prices on its website and mobile app using a dollar sign, but not making it clear the price was in US dollars.
"In addition to paying higher prices than expected, some consumers who were charged in US dollars also found themselves further out of pocket through currency conversion fees charged by their credit card provider."
When thousands of people complained, Ms Cass-Gottlieb said Airbnb allegedly told many customers the prices were shown in US currency because they had selected that option.
Airbnb's country manager for Australia and New Zealand, Susan Wheeldon, told the ABC in a statement it would fully compensate all affected customers and investigate how the problems occurred.
"Upon this issue being brought to our attention by the ACCC, we worked to update our platform so that the relevant currencies are clearly displayed from the first page for all Australian guests booking stays on our platform.
"We're also conducting a comprehensive review of how this issue occurred and the way in which guest complaints were initially handled."
'Totally criminal'
Social worker and mother-of-two, Penny Wearne, told the ABC she had to battle Airbnb for about two months to get a refund when she was overcharged nearly $300 in 2018 for accommodation in Victoria's Dandenong Ranges where she was attending a friend's wedding.
Ms Wearne said the price when she booked was $799, but she found out the actual cost was almost $1,100 because she was charged in US currency.
Eventually Airbnb agreed to refund her the $300, but only after she had paid the full amount.
It then offered her a voucher for $150, which she refused, and was then refunded the $300.
"I paid the final amount and then they came back to me and said, 'We'll offer you a $150 Airbnb voucher,'" she said.
"And that was after they'd agreed that they would refund it, and so I just really lost it."
Ms Wearne supports the court action.
"They might as well just come into your bank account and take your money.
"And, you know, it was very clearly advertised at that price of $799 Australian dollars, so I wasn't expecting to be charged more than that."
The ACCC has called for customers affected by problems with Airbnb's currency display to contact it.
It said it was seeking "declarations, injunctions, pecuniary penalties, orders for the compensation for affected consumers, costs, and other orders".
"Despite thousands of consumers complaining to Airbnb about the way prices were displayed, Airbnb did not amend its booking platform until after the ACCC raised the issue."
Ms Cass-Gottlieb said Airbnb changed the way currencies were displayed in November last year after intervention by the ACCC.
