Ok, maybe the title is a bit of an exaggeration, but yeah we almost had been homeless during our Fukuoka trip due to an AirBnB mishap!

Me and Imman were able to book for a tiny apartment near Hakata Station for around Php 9,000+ or around $ 200+ good for almost 6 days (we arrived in the evening of August 9 and left Fukuoka in the evening of August 15), and that was back in April. Our main objective when we chose a place to stay is the location. We looked for places near Hakata Station, since Hakata Station is the central train station in Fukuoka so it's easier to go to different places coming from that location. We purposefully booked it early, in order to ensure the prices aren't that high yet, because the average price for a place near Hakata Station would cost you around Php 15,000++ plus already! After 2 months, we decided to message our host, for us to know the particular address, and in this way we can finalize our itinerary. But after multiple messages sent to our host, we did not receive not even one reply. That's when things got fishy.


So, we messaged AirBnB's customer service for this. We explained that our host is non-responsive, and we are worried sick that we may not have an accomodation once we arrive there. AirBnB's customer representative checked with our host, then found out that the host is not yet registered in Japan's local government! The first solution given to us by their customer service is to refund what we have paid, but after pointing out that since we were 2 months away from our trip, the listings' prices have already sky-rocketed, and with that it will be hard for us to get a place for only Php 9k.



The next solution our AirBnB customer representative gave is to help us find a place with the same price, and at least the same location as the one we have booked before. However, they have also realized that there are no more available listings with similar price point. With that, they gave us the best offer a traveller could have...

... AirBnB gave us the refund which costs Php 9,000+ and they also gave us another Php 9,000+ credits, or the price of the place we have originally booked, in this case we can conveniently find a newer place that will meet our needs. But the fun doesn't end there, because AirBnB also gave us a $100 coupon that we can use for AirBnB experience!!!!

You get a coupon! You get a coupon!

With that, we were able to, not only book for a place conveniently located near Hakata station, but also book for a Temple walk around Hakata! For those who are curious what place in Hakata we booked, unfortunately I can no longer locate the listing, but this one is almost identical to the place we booked. Check out the link HERE

For those who are about to embark on a holiday, and is currently deliberating whether they should go for a hotel accomodation or go for AirBnB, I definitely full-heartedly recommend going with AirBnB. Sure, hotels have amazing ammenities, like pools, gyms, and swanky lobbies, but come to think of it, you won't be spending much time in the hotel when you travel, right? You'll be spending about 80% of your holiday outside, wandering around, looking for amazing experiences that has nothing to do with being in a bathrobe. Another thing to consider is, most foreign hotels are probably readily available in your country, and most likely they are similar to whatever place you'll have your holiday. With that, if you want the luxe feel of a hotel, go do it for a staycation instead 👌😋

There you have it, folks! If ever you are a newbie with AirBnB let me introduce you to it by clicking on this LINK, then you'll get Php 1,600 or around $ 30 in AirBnB credits, which you can use when you book a listing. Cheers!

Love, Always,

Nicole ♡♡♡