Would You Stay in This Airbnb Which Is Just a Bed in a Bathroom?

A U.S. college professor has gone viral after alleging that a room he rented through Airbnb ended up being little more than a large bathroom with a bed in it.

David Holtz, an assistant professor at the University of California, Berkeley, posted a picture to Twitter of the alleged rental. At first glance, some might have assumed that Holtz had mistakenly posted a picture of an ordinary bathroom. All the usual accoutrements are present and correct including a shower, sink and toilet.

However, in one corner of the picture, there appears to be a white bed with a folded-up towel on it. "TFW [That feeling when] you arrive at your @airbnb and realize that the whole space is essentially just a large-ish bathroom that the host put a bed into," Holtz wrote in the post, which has been viewed nearly 15 million times, earning over 160,000 likes and over 10,000 retweets.

Airbnb represents one of the world's biggest home-sharing economy platforms. According to data compiled by Statista, in 2022 alone, over 393 million nights and experiences were booked through Airbnb.

Though those kinds of numbers suggest Airbnb is dealing with largely satisfied customers, there have been instances of customers booking rentals that have failed to live up to the billing.

One woman vacationing in Bali, Indonesia, was dismayed to discover that the luxury villa she booked through the platform was in a state of disrepair having been completely abandoned. In another instance, a customer shared details of how the "spacious one bedroom condominium" they rented through Airbnb actually ended up being a beauty salon.

The customer isn't always necessarily right though. In another story that went viral, a woman took to social media to complain about the state her Airbnb rental had been left in, only to later discover she was in the wrong house.

In the case of Holtz, it's worth noting that he has so far failed to share a link to the Airbnb listing he rented. He says it was in London, England and that the listing had "no reviews at the time" he rented it.

Airbnb contacted Holtz directly on Twitter urging him to send them the "email address" connected to the listing so they could take a "closer look" and investigate the allegations.

However, Holtz, in response, told Airbnb he had already contacted their customer support "multiple times" and claimed they had "no interest in helping resolve the issue." Despite this, they encouraged Holtz to get in touch.

Newsweek contacted Holtz directly to ascertain further information on the rental. In a statement, Holtz told Newsweek: "I have no comment on the matter, beyond this: I hope that this small brush of fame finally catches the eye of Jeff Probst and/or the Survivor casting department."

Holtz had previously made reference to Survivor, the long running reality TV series on CBS, in another tweet. "After sleeping for 2 nights one foot away from a toilet, i'm ready to sleep for 26 nights in the jungles of Fiji" he tweeted, tagging both the official Survivor Twitter account and presenter Jeff Probst.

Newsweek also contacted Airbnb to try to confirm that the listing existed. A spokesperson for Airbnb told Newsweek: "Our customer service team has been in contact with this guest to provide support. We encourage guests to review all photos, as well as the description and reviews, prior to booking a stay."

In the meantime, Twitter has been awash—pun intended—with gags centered around the alleged Airbnb listing. "Airbnpee," one user joked with another commenting: "I mean rolling over to go pee in the middle of the night is definitely a perk..." A third quipped: "Always wanted to brush my teeth in bed." while another noted: "Don't forget to close the toilet seat for your nightstand functionalities."

Others, meanwhile, shared similar claims of unusual and often unpleasant rental situations. "I stayed somewhere like this in NYC," one wrote. "Only difference was curtain between bed and toilet." Another added: "I once slept on a baby cot in a hallway in NYC."

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