Airbnb refunds woman Ksh.738K after manipulated photo claimed she damaged coffee table

The London academic had booked an apartment in New York’s Manhattan town through Airbnb, for two and a half months while she undertook her studies but ended up vacating the premises citing safety concerns.

Shortly after she vacated, Guardian Money reports, the apartment owner told Airbnb that the guest had caused over Ksh. 2 million worth of damages, submitting what appears to be a cracked coffee table as part of his case. 

The host further alleged that the woman had stained the mattress with urine, as well as damaging electronics that included a robot vacuum cleaner, microwave, TV, air conditioner and a sofa.

The woman refuted the allegations, stating that she had left the place in a good state and for the 7 weeks she resided in the apartment, she hosted two visitors only.

On closely examining the coffee table said to have been damaged, there was a difference in the cracks on the coffee table which led the woman to believe that they were digitally manipulated or generated by AI. She said that the host was retaliating because she ended her tenancy before the lapse of the agreed period.

“I also clearly demonstrated visual discrepancies in images of the same object (wooden table) provided by the host that show clear signs of fabrication,” the tenant said as reported by Guardian Money.

Airbnb told the woman that she was to reimburse Ksh. 913,073 (£5,314) to the host after a “careful review” of the photos but she appealed the decision and stated that she would provide eyewitness testimony from someone who was with her when she was checking out as well as attesting under oath on the condition of the apartment on the day she was leaving.

Five days after Guardian Money raised questions with Airbnb, the woman was told that her appeal was accepted and credited her Airbnb account with Ksh. 85, 912 (£500) and when she said she wouldn’t be using the platform for future bookings, they offered her a fifth of the cost, about Ksh.146,738 (£854)

She however refused the amount and was refunded the full amount she paid for the apartment, about Ksh. 733,517 (£4,269) with the host deleting a negative review she had left on her profile.

The man who lodged the complaint was listed as a super host on the platform, with the site stating that such a listing is for people experienced with hosting on the app and receive high ratings. 

Airbnb further stated that they had warned that violating hosting terms on the platform and would be expelled, should there be another similar incident reported on his profile.

The host was told that the images he had submitted as part of his case couldn’t be verified contrary to the woman’s complaints of the platform accepting the images earlier on in the proceedings of the case.

The platform issued an apology and said it will review the case’s handling.

““We take damage claims seriously – our specialist team reviews all available evidence to reach proportionate outcomes for both parties, and to help ensure a fair approach, decisions can be appealed,” stated AirBnb.

Baringa Management Consultants’ Director of Economic Crimes cited how easy it is for AI to be used to manipulative purposes due to cheap software pricing and little skill requirements.

An insurance company in the US noted an increase in false claims for home and vehicle repairs as a result of claimants using AI-generated or manipulated images.

“Recently, many companies have decided images can’t be taken at face value any more [during disputes], and there is a need for forensic tools and fraud intelligence models to validate them.”