If it’s one thing people will do, it’s get creative in the name of earning some coins! That’s exactly the case in this latest viral video. Desiree Baker recently booked an Airbnb in New York City. In the listing, the host posted photos of a well-lit room with a skyline view of the Big Apple. However, once Desiree checked in, she quickly noticed the listing and actual experience of the room were on two different pages.
Online v. Real Life
In the last few days, Desiree has received over 14 million views on about six TikTok videos detailing her stay. In the initial video posted, she explained that the first night she checked into the Airbnb, it was midnight. Given the time, she went straight to bed. However, when she woke up the next day, she opened the blackout shades and found an interesting scene. Instead of the advertised inner city skyline views, all Desiree could see was the inside of a restaurant. She later revealed the name of the restaurant as Tempura NYC and the Airbnb stay as Cassa Times Square.
“We’re in a restaurant, we are fully in a restaurant,” Desiree said in a video showing the window view. “I can open up this window and fully join these people at their dinner, at their lunch. Like hey, do you mind if I get a drink while I’m in bed right now.”
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In a second video with over 10.3 million views, Desiree gave a look at the scenery while the restaurant was open. A couple is seen enjoying a meal at the table that’s pushed up against the Airbnb’s window– so close that Desiree could open the window and tap the table.
By video three, Desiree figured out that the window has a one-way effect. This means she could see inside the restaurant, but restaurant guests wouldn’t even know she’s looking — talk about creepy! In a fourth video, Desiree visits the restaurant haunting their views. From inside, their room window looks like a normal, paneled wall.
By the fifth video, the woman seen on the date saw Desiree’s TikTok video and reached out to confirm her identity. The woman told Desiree that the man in the video is her boyfriend. Desiree confirmed the names of the restaurant and hotel Airbnb shared above during this clip.
Host & Airbnb Respond
For those wondering, Desiree did contact the host once she noticed the false advertisement. In the final video uploaded to TikTok, Desiree showed screengrabs of her conversations with both the host and later Airbnb.
The Airbnb host did not respond to Desiree’s message for about 24 hours. She had blasted the pictures of the room calling them “completely inaccurate.” After two additional messages, the host replied. Along with spelling and grammatical errors, the host Kristina completely ignored Desiree’s concerns.
“Apologies for taken sometime to replay you, actually we were going to cancel your reservation as we had some room issues, however we were able to manage to host you,” Kristina seemingly wrote. “I believe everything went and is going well during your stay and glad to know that we were able to host you during this best time of the year. Best wishes.”
Unlike Kristina, Airbnb’s response took a resolution-based approach. The host did not provide a refund for the reservation, but Airbnb came through. After seeing Desiree’s viral TikTok video, they reached out to her via email.
“We found out about your experience from the TikTok video — needless to say it definitely shocked us and it’s not the experience that we want our guests to have,” Diana from Airbnb wrote. “We will definitely be following up with your host here, but we just wanted to make sure you were taken care of.”
Diana offered her a choice between “a coupon on a future Airbnb stay” or a discount on her original stay as a cash refund. Desiree mentioned being “fine” and “happy” about Airbnb’s resolution.
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