Artificial intelligence strikes again after a Manhattan Airbnb superhost was caught using fake images to claim a guest caused $16,000 in property damages, the New York Post reports.
A woman from London booked a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan for a two-and-a-half-month stay but cut her trip short in early 2025 after claiming she felt unsafe. After staying for only seven weeks, the host decided to push a narrative to the rental company that the renter had caused a massive amount of property damage. The host sent in pictures of a coffee table that would be described as cracked and accused the guest of staining a mattress with urine, damaging a vacuum cleaner, a couch, a microwave, and an air conditioner.
After denying any damage and claiming she had only two visitors during her short stay, the guest decided to take a closer look at the photos and noticed things weren’t adding up.
Looking at two pictures of the coffee table, it didn’t take long for the woman to notice the differences in the damage, which led her to believe the images had been manipulated by AI, possibly as a retaliation against her for ending her trip early. In the beginning, unfortunately, the company took the side of the “superhost,” stating “after careful review of the photos,” the guest would have to pay roughly $7,000 — but she wasn’t buying it, so she appealed their decision.
“I informed them that I can provide testimony from an eyewitness who was with me during checkout and can attest under oath to the condition in which the property was left: clean, undamaged, and in good order,” the guest said. “I also clearly demonstrated visual discrepancies in images of the same object (wooden table) provided by the host that show clear signs of fabrication. These inconsistencies are simply not possible in genuine, unedited photographs of the same object.”
Once Airbnb was questioned about its decision, the company accepted her appeal, and she was credited with close to $670. However, when she threatened to take her business elsewhere, Airbnb upped the refund to $1,140, approximately a fifth of the booking cost. After refusing the funds, the company eventually caved and refunded her the entire booking amount of $5,700.
According to People, Airbnb removed the negative review about the superhost and apologized for the incident. This experience fell below our usual high standards, and we have been in touch with the guest to apologize and assure them they will not be charged for the reported damage,” an Airbnb spokesperson said in a statement.
“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.”
Some social media users are taking the side of the guest, saying the superhost should have been removed immediately. “Reviewing what? The host should immediately be removed from Airbnb and charged with attempted theft,” @1nauticanicole said.
Another user said something similar happened to him. “I had a guy break his own stuff, forget he was on camera, and blame it on us. Once we finally got the footage, he was embarrassed,” @bigtee2008 wrote on IG. User @barbzinthecity gave some advice, telling Airbnb customers to “always take pics before & after.”
The guest hopes her story encourages other victims to speak out and that the company prioritizes its customers’ needs, especially in the face of AI’s growing influence.
“My concern is for future customers who may become victims of similar fraudulent claims and do not have the means to push back so much or give in to paying out of fear of escalation,” the woman said.
“Given the ease with which such images can now be AI-generated and accepted by Airbnb despite investigations, it should not be so easy for a host to get away with forging evidence in this way.”
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