Airbnb refused to refund a woman whose host is accused of sex crimes

Airbnb has been accused of failing to refund a woman who fled her rental after learning her host had been accused of sex crimes, until reporters got involved.

The list’s host, former “Jeopardy” champion Winston Nguyen, has been accused of soliciting sexually explicit images of teenagers while working as a math teacher at St Ann’s School in Brooklyn. He has pleaded not guilty and is due back in court next week.

Natasha Harrington booked a stay at Nguyen’s home, but upon learning of his charges, left and requested a refund from Airbnb. Gothamist reports

According to Harrington, she was initially told that the circumstances did not violate Airbnb policies and that any refund decision would be left up to the host.

Harrington became aware of Nguyen’s past after another tenant knocked on her door and advised her to Google the man’s name. Since Airbnb does not provide the host’s last name, he used his name and address and found numerous articles about his arrest.

Airbnb warns in its online guides for guests that background checks may not provide a complete view of a host’s past activities, including “complete or recent criminal record activity.”

The company’s refund and rebooking policies give customers the opportunity to seek compensation if a listing “contains safety or health hazards,” but does not include guidance for situations where hosts make guests guests feel unsafe.

Between October 2022 and May 2024, Nguyen allegedly posed as a teenager on social media 11 times in an attempt to get his students to send him explicit images, according to the Brooklyn DA. All the teenagers he allegedly messaged were between the ages of 13 and 15.

After leaving the apartment, Harrington said Gothamist who fought to get Airbnb to provide assistance on this matter.

“It was extremely frustrating and I felt like even the live people I was talking to weren’t really receptive to doing anything about the situation,” he said. Gothamist. “Everybody was asking me, ‘Well, have you talked to the host?’ — which of course I didn’t discuss with him.

Harrington spoke about her experience in a Reddit post, where users told her to contact local media about the issue. Gothamist picked up the story and its reporters asked Airbnb for a statement on the situation.

hours later Gothamist’s reporters contacted Airbnb, the company approved a refund for Harrington.

Although he eventually got his refund, Harrington said he hopes the situation will prompt Airbnb to establish policies that will prevent situations like his in the future.

Airbnb told The Independent: “The safety of our community is a priority and we have been in contact with our guests to support them, including a full refund. The host was removed from the platform in accordance with our policies.”

Nguyen’s next court appearance is scheduled for Oct. 17.