Airbnb refused to refund woman whose host is charged with sex crimes - until reporters came knocking

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Airbnb has been accused of failing to refund a woman who fled her rental after she realized her host had been charged with sex crimes - until reporters got involved.

The host of the listing, former “Jeopardy” champion Winston Nguyen, has been charged with soliciting sexually explicit images from teenagers while he worked 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 about his charges, left and requested a refund from Airbnb, Gothamist reports.

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

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

Airbnb warns in its online guidance for customers that background checks may not provide a full glimpse into a host’s prior activities, including “comprehensive or recent criminal record activity.”

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

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

After leaving the apartment, Harrington told Gothamist that she struggled to get Airbnb to provide her with assistance on the matter.

“It was extremely frustrating and it felt like even the live people I was talking to weren’t really receptive to doing anything about the situation,” she told Gothamist. “Everyone kept asking me ‘Well, have you talked to the host?’ — which of course I didn’t talk to him.”

Harrington discussed 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 after Gothamist’s reporters contacted Airbnb, the company approved a refund for Harrington.

While she ultimately obtained her refund, Harrington said she hopes the situation will prompt Airbnb to put policies in place that will prevent situations like hers in the future.

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

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