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Airbnb fined A$15 million for misleading 63,000 Australian customers

By Nithya Bose in US business news, posted December 21, 2023

Airbnb has been slapped with an A$15 million fine and has agreed to pay compensation after misleading nearly 63,000 Australian customers.

Certain property rentals on the company's website were in US dollars instead of the local Australian currency, a detail not initially communicated.

It led to unexpected higher costs for some users for their lodgings.

Airbnb has apologized, saying it’s committed to "price transparency."

The Australia’s Federal Court imposed a fine on Wednesday, December 20.

It followed Airbnb's admission to disseminating inaccurate information to Australian users from January 2018 to August 2021.

As part of the consequences, the short-stay rentals company has committed to compensating those affected.

The potential total payouts could reach an additional A$15 million.

The prosecuting body of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission said Airbnb must have shown booking prices to customers in Australian dollars unless they manually opted to view the cost in another currency.

Airbnb must "comply with the Australian Consumer Law"

It said the fine sent "a strong signal to large digital platforms like Airbnb that they must comply with the Australian Consumer Law and not mislead consumers".

The court found that over 2,000 complaints were received from Australian customers who were charged in US dollars without explicitly choosing the option.

Some affected consumers were falsely informed they had selected USD as their currency preference.

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The misleading pricing strategy impacted around 70,000 bookings, resulting in customers paying more due to fluctuations in the USD/AUD exchange rate.

Additionally, some users incurred extra charges from their banks for processing payments in a foreign currency.

The Australian Consumer Law requires that prices be displayed in Australian dollars unless users actively choose an alternative currency.

Airbnb clarified it has implemented changes to display prices for countries using dollars, incorporating a three-letter currency code throughout the booking process.

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Susan Wheeldon, Airbnb's country manager for Australia and New Zealand, apologized.

She said it was a "small percentage" of users were affected and that the firm was "disappointed that happened".

She added the firm has rectified the issue.

Affected customers are expected to be contacted by Airbnb within the next 45 days for compensation.

Those who believe they may have been impacted and have not received communication by that date are encouraged to reach out to the company.

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