People get bold when they think no one will question the tiny fees they sneak past guests.

So, what would you do if you booked a place that promised free parking, but later discovered that the host was charging guests to use a public street?

Would you let it go? Or would you report him to Airbnb?

In the following story, one guest finds himself in this scenario and opts for the latter.

Here’s what happened.

Caught Airbnb host charging for free parking, I might have jeopardized their only income

So I book an Airbnb, and the listing says “free parking on premises.”

I always assume this implies something like a driveway. Otherwise, they should say street parking.

Before I arrived, I asked if I could stay parked on the premises a few hours after I checked out of the room. They said yes if I paid them an extra $10.

Not knowing any better, he accepted the deal.

I accepted the request and paid via the Airbnb app because I was still under the impression that it was a parking spot that was either on the premises, as stated, or at least needed some kind of guest pass or residence permit.

Otherwise, why would I need to pay him? So I arrive and notice there is no driveway. It’s just on the street. I parked and then asked whether I needed a pass or permit.

The host said I didn’t need anything. This made me realize it was a public street that was free to anyone at any time of day, regardless of where they stayed.

He sees it as a scam.

When I confronted the host about this in the Airbnb chat, he said he had to charge me because he had charged other customers for the same thing and “it wouldn’t be fair” if he let me park for free when others had paid him.

So he admits to charging multiple customers to park in a free parking spot that he has no right to charge for. He made an offer under false pretenses.

When I confronted him further, he said I would not get a refund for parking and that he “didn’t force me to pay” that he “just offered a deal that you accepted” and that I should have “done more research or asked more questions” about the street his house is on and realized I didn’t need to pay.

This is an outright scam if you ask me.

Now, he feels bad.

He shouldn’t be allowed to charge his guests to park in a public, free spot that he has no control over. And then he blames me, the guest, for not questioning his scam earlier, all while admitting to doing it to an untold number of previous guests.

I reported this to Airbnb, and while they are “still investigating the incident” over a week later, and I haven’t gotten any money back yet, they must’ve contacted the host and threatened him with some suspension or expulsion because he messaged me again and said I ruined his only source of income.

Part of me wanted to respond by saying he “should’ve done more research” on the consequences of the little scheme he was running, but part of me feels bad for potentially ruining his supposed only income over the $10 scam he got me with.

AITA?

Wow! This whole thing sounds very petty on both sides.

Let’s check out what the folks over at Reddit have to say about what this guy was doing.

This person is happy he got reported.

Here’s a good point.

According to this comment, the host is the bad guy.

According to this reader, he may’ve scammed lots of money.

He did the right thing!

This guy cannot continue ripping people off like that.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.