S’pore content creator flees Ho Chi Minh Airbnb, says ‘catfish’ stay was crawling with cockroaches
A local content creator’s stay at an Airbnb in Ho Chi Minh City turned into a nightmare after she claimed the accommodation looked nothing like its online photos and was infested with cockroaches.
In a video uploaded to her Instagram account, @ninjabread_, on June 27, a large cockroach can be seen scurrying across the apartment.
The camera then cuts to the content creator, who goes by Jordelia, running away as she exclaims: “WE ARE GETTING OUT OF THIS AIRBNB.”
The clip has since garnered more than 68,600 views and over 550 reactions.
Airbnb a ‘major catfish’
Besides the cockroach infestation, Jordelia described the apartment as a “major catfish”, saying it looked nothing like its online photos.
She claimed the accommodation was old and dirty, with stained furniture, poor ventilation and an air-conditioner that was not working properly, making the space hot and stuffy.
Jordelia also alleged that the host had falsely advertised the property as having three full bathrooms when, according to her, there were only two.
She claimed one of the bathrooms was not a “full” bathroom because the shower was located right next to the toilet bowl, while another did not have a sink.
To make matters worse, she said all the bathrooms were located in the kitchen, where she claimed most of the cockroaches were.
“I should have known the pictures were AI,” said Jordelia, pointing to the Gemini watermark on the listing photos.
She also claimed that the bedrooms offered little privacy and were not clean.
Host claims photos were taken 15 minutes before they arrived
When Jordelia raised the issue with the Airbnb host, she shared a screenshot of the host saying the apartment had been “fully and transparently photographed publicly on the system beforehand”.
The host also claimed photos of the “perfectly clean house” had been taken 15 minutes before their check-in.
“What a blatant lie,” Jordelia said.
The host added that they were willing to arrange emergency cleaning the following day.
Jordelia said she and her companions tried to reason with the host, but said the host kept making “excuses”.
One message from the host read: “When you take a close look, you will see that it is exactly as described.”
Another said: “I understand that you are concerned about cleanliness and hygiene for your group. Vietnam is a tropical country. No matter how clean it is, if the window or main door is ajar, insects will still enter from outside.”
Jordelia said they ultimately decided to leave the Airbnb and find alternative accommodation.
She described the experience as a lesson learnt and urged others to do thorough research before booking any accommodation.
Stomp has reached out to Jordelia for comment.
‘I would have ran away’: Netizens
Many netizens expressed disgust in the comments.
“I would have run away,” one wrote.
Several others remarked that cockroaches in Ho Chi Minh City are particularly large. One commenter said they had never seen as many cockroaches as they did there, while another agreed that they are “huge”.
Another user quipped: “Does (the host) know that Singapore is also a tropical country???”
One commenter urged travellers to “always check the reviews”, to which Jordelia replied that the listing had five-star reviews.
Another added: “To be fair it’s very prevalent in Ho Chi Minh and Vietnam (the issue of fake reviews). It was so hard to find a place that isn’t obviously a reputable hotel....”
Another advised: “Pls don’t do Airbnb in any Vietnam cities. Their hotels are way cheapest and more cleaner...don’t have these kind of worries.”
One commenter also asked whether they had managed to get a refund, to which Jordelia replied that Airbnb had refunded them.
Explore more on these topics
See something interesting? Contribute your story to us.
