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A bed could be uncomfortable, the air conditioner might not work, or maybe there’s no hot water in the shower. These are some of the little annoyances most travelers have dealt with when staying at a hotel or Airbnb.

But have you ever found a four-page deep-cleaning checklist on the table that the host expects you to follow before leaving? Or walked into a rental only to find the toilet sitting right in the middle of a hallway near the stairs with zero privacy?

Some people have had the misfortune of experiencing these bizarre situations and more — and they immediately took pictures to share their pain with the world.

Bored Panda gathered up some of the funniest as well as the most frustrating booking fails to remind you that there really is no place like home.

#1 The Pool At My Hotel In Birmingham, Alabama. Yes, Those Are Toilets

#2 Air Quality Tests From My Airbnb Where The Host Claimed Not To Smell Any Mold (Control Test On Top). Support Refused My Refund

#3 This 4 Page Cleaning Checklist That Is Expected To Be Done Before Checking Out Of Our Airbnb

And yes, this is in addition to the outrageous cleaning fee they charged when we booked it.

A good place to stay is a top priority for most travelers. It takes up a huge chunk of the vacation budget, and it can easily make or break the entire trip.

A YouGov survey found that cleanliness was the biggest factor, with 67% of travelers calling it a top priority when booking accommodation. Price comes in second at 57%, followed closely by location at 55%.

In another study, researchers found that guests leave the happiest ratings when the host is warm and welcoming, the room is actually comfortable, the place looks aesthetic and clean, and the neighborhood has a great local feel.

Some absolute dealbreakers include walking into a place that’s visibly dirty or dealing with a bad check-in process. The biggest frustrations also include discovering that the amenities were completely faked in the listing photos, or having a host who crosses personal boundaries and invades your privacy.

#4 $1,000 Airbnb (Corporation Owned And Not Home Owner Operated) Wants Guests To Pay For Fire Wood? Am I Crazy To Think It Should Come With The Rental, Considering How Expensive It Was To Book?

#5 Airbnb Sheets Were Moldy From Their Moldy Washer. Host Mailed Us Cleaner To Clean His Washer For Him

Rented an Airbnb for a month. The sheets and towels smelled and were causing us to itch. When I went to wash them the washer smelled horrible and had black mold all over it. Host said he would buy something on Amazon that I could clean it with… so I get to clean his moldy dirty washer… Ugg.. after a test the thing is clogged so water just sits. Dishwasher is also broken lol

#6 Airbnb Said I’d Have A Balcony But Seriously

Hotel and Airbnb photos are easily one of the most decisive factors when booking accommodation online, but there is a big problem: what you see on your screen is getting harder and harder to trust.

For years, travelers had to watch out for basic tricks like wide-lens photography, strategic lighting, and polished staging, which create an artificial reality. But nowadays, those listings are being manipulated on a whole new level.

A recent study of 25,550 hotel images found that about 19% — or nearly one in five photos — showed clear signs of Artificial Intelligence (AI) generation or editing.

#7 The Hotel’s Cinema Room Spared No Expense

#8 I’m Beginning To Think Our Hotel In Cambodia Was A Little Dishonest On Their Flyer About The Amenities

#9 Me And My Business Partner Decided To Share A Hotel Room In Order To Save Some Money. We Weren’t Expecting This

Technology makes it shockingly easy to warp reality. AI enhancement can amplify wide-angle effects and make tiny rooms, pools, and facilities look twice as big as they actually are. Outdated furniture, dirty bathrooms, and worn-out outdoor spaces are digitally scrubbed to look brand new and upscale. Even the surroundings can get a fake upgrade.

“Hotel photos have always been retouched to some degree. But AI takes this to a completely different level. When images are no longer just polished but fundamentally altered, it risks crossing the line from marketing into deception. Travelers need to look more closely and platforms need to start labeling AI-edited content transparently,” says Jens Kramosch, deepfake expert and founder of ContentGuard.me.

#10 Airbnb I’m Staying At Has Very Ugly And Tacky AI Images On The Walls

Located in Haarlem, the Netherlands.

#11 App Needed To Use Airbnb Oven

Trying to turn on the oven to make my fries and I can’t turn it on without creating an account in this app.

#12 Airbnb Owner Blocks Websites

Turned on wifi… Some sites won’t load on phone. Try laptop. Won’t load. Turn off wifi, those sites loads. Read house rules book, and they have a list of websites they block.

You can’t always rely on guest reviews to save you anymore, either. A statistic indicates that almost 95% of travelers read online reviews before booking. Unfortunately, AI is turning that upside down by generating fake reviews that are nearly impossible to tell apart from real ones.

Trustpilot removed 4.5 million fake reviews in 2024, while Tripadvisor flagged 2.7 million as fake in the same year. Google blocked or removed more than 240 million fake reviews across hotels, restaurants, and local businesses between 2024 and early 2026.

Consumers are facing industrial levels of fakery just to get their money, and platforms are struggling to keep up. In its review transparency report, Tripadvisor admitted that tools like ChatGPT are creating unprecedented hurdles, stating: “We expect to see attempts from businesses and individuals to use tools like ChatGPT to manipulate content on Tripadvisor.”

#13 After A Couple Of Nights Of Back Pain And Poor Sleep (Airbnb), I Decided To Check What Was Under The Mattress

#14 The ‘Bathroom’ In My Airbnb Will 100% Result In Bad Encounters With The Host

#15 In Our Airbnb In The Middle Of Nowhere

Even when travelers do everything right and research thoroughly before booking, some places are fundamentally broken by design.

Bathrooms have become the biggest culprit. Designers keep creating family rooms with bathtubs in open view, putting window blinds on the exterior of bathroom walls, or installing sliding doors that leave gaping cracks.

Luckily, travelers are fighting back. A new movement is taking shape with Bringbackdoors.com, a platform offering a database of hotels guaranteed to have actual bathroom doors, alongside a list of the ones that don’t.

Sadie Lowell, an American marketer based in Europe, launched the site in 2025. Having traveled most of her life, she was no stranger to strange hotel layouts. “I don’t know if it’s the developers, the designers or the architects who made that choice, but they’ve strayed far from what people actually want and are looking for — they don’t connect,” she says. “Having twin beds in your room means that you absolutely want bathroom privacy.”

#16 This Hotel Bathroom

#17 The Door Stop At My Hotel. I Present The “Toe Buster 5000”

#18 Apparently Our Hotel Took Our Request For A Mini-Fridge Very Literally. Banana For Scale

Beyond bizarre designs and fake listings, travelers are also getting hit where it hurts most: their wallets. Unexpected costs and hidden charges have become another major breaking point for fed-up guests.

A recent survey found that 61% of respondents cited hidden or unexpected fees as their top frustration when booking travel.

When platforms and hosts play these pricing games, they risk losing customers for good. In fact, nearly 70% of respondents said they would be likely to switch travel brands after a single negative experience.

#19 Booked An Airbnb For Vacation. This Is The View From The Shower

There is no way to cover it up.

#20 My Airbnb Host Said “The Keysafe Is Near The White Door… It Is Silver With Black Plastic”

#21 This Is The Hot Tub Of The Airbnb Which Was The Main Reason Why I Rented The Spot. Smelled Terrible And Was Obviously Not Cleaned In Forever

These wildly baffling staycation fails prove one thing: travel will always be wonderfully unpredictable. On one vacation, you might find the sink directly placed in the shower. On another, you might have completely ridiculous art décor in the room.

Tell us about your absolute worst (and hilarious) accommodation horror stories in the comments below, and save someone else from making the same mistake.

#22 My Airbnb Assured Me They Have A “Very Safe” Baby Gate

#23 Trying To Enjoy My Shower At This Airbnb

#24 $400/Nt Airbnb Refuses To Turn Heat Above 58 Degrees

#25 Airbnb Host Told Me Soap Was Supplied

Just recently booked an AirBnB in Utah which quite honestly wasn’t bad at all. But you could clearly tell they cut corners. All of the sponges on the sink were very old/worn and dirty. They told us they had plenty of soap they supplied so no need to buy any. When we arrived initially we couldn’t find the soap in the bathroom. So we proceeded to check all the draws and cabinets and discovered the soap supplied…

#26 Found This In An Airbnb In Istanbul

Came here with my wife. Oh well

#27 Airbnb Host Tried To Charge $800 For A “Deep Clean” Based On These Pics…

We lost our house in a fire recently and have to stay in Airbnbs… on to our 11th. Recent host tried to take advantage of us because we have a dog. We travel with a large Dyson vacuum and cleaned the whole unit several times a week and morning before we left. Tried to charge us $800 extra for a deep clean based on these pics. Their unit was complete trash… melting old shades with high VOC levels, broken fridge, broken dishwasher, broken windows… we think the cleaners were mad at us because we didn’t use them for the 6 weeks we stayed?

#28 Airbnb Host Doing Yard Work The One Full Day We’re Here

Was enjoying lunch until they starting weed wacking, leaf blowing and mowing. All at once. Mind u the check in was 4pm, check out is 10am. Can’t do it in that time frame? We’re only here for one full day. Listed as “quiet” “relaxing”

#29 Airbnb Host Cancels Reservation Because It’s A High Demand Weekend

#30 Don’t Think The Owner Of This Hotel Thought This Through

#31 Hotel I’m Staying At Right Now, Who’s Job Was This? Go Go Gadget Arm!

#32 Staying At A Hotel In Dublin, This Made Me Giggle

#33 So My Friend Is Staying At A Hotel In Minnesota Right Now. Needless To Say, It’s Pretty Cold

#34 This Is On The Bed In My Hotel Room

#35 The Vent In My Hotel Shower Doesn’t Seem To Be Working

#36 In The Airbnb I’m Staying At The Sink Is Literally In The Shower

#37 The Signs In My $5000 A Month Airbnb

#38 This Marbled Shower At An Airbnb I Stayed In

I thought it was dirty and tried to scrub it clean until I realized it was “supposed” to look like that.

#39 Airbnb Apartment Using Extremely Fake AI Images

I don’t understand how their filtering system approved this tbh

#40 Airbnb Host Tried To Charge Us For Changing Settings On A Thermostat

#41 Airbnb Wasn’t What We Were Expecting

#42 Don’t Wake Anybody Up If You’re Exiting The Motel During A Fire!

#43 When You Just Want To Be Alone In Your Hotel Room But It Has A Window For No Reason

#44 From A French Airbnb Alternative

#45 While My Family With Young Kids Were Staying At This Airbnb, A Old Man Walked Into The Backyard And Started Draining The Pool

#46 Just Found This At A Hotel I’m Staying. Nice Showcase

#47 My Hotel Has A Sitting Area With No Possible Way To Access It

#48 The Sink In My Hotel Was A Bit… Complicated

#49 My Non-Smoking Hotel Room Came With A Non-Smoking Ashtray

#50 Checked Into Our Airbnb And Found These Tiles

#51 Airbnb Requiring Users To “Pick The Image With Dice Adding Up To 14” Ten Times In Order To Log In

#52 The Stairs In An Airbnb I Stayed In Where Every Step Is A Different Height, Width And Depth

#53 Floor Temp Of My Airbnb Kitchen

#54 Airbnb With A Surprise Waiting For Us

#55 Roaches In Our Airbnb

We rented this airbnb for my girlfriends birthday and we get there at 3 am and notice there’s roaches. We messaged the host and she told us they would get an exterminator out here today. Which we were fine with, we just wanted the situation fixed because we had no where else to stay. But turns out the exterminator came by while we were gone and heard my girlfriends dog and left and now can’t come back til Tuesday. We don’t even know what to do at this point. We just wanted a good trip:(

#56 Airbnb Host Is Using AI To Talk To Me

#57 Airbnb Host Tried To Bribe Me To Remove My 3 Star Review?

I get that a three star review is not great – my complaints were that the wifi was extremely spotty to the point of unusable and the bathroom door had no lock on it. Airbnb deems three stars to be a review of “ok”.

It’s not a super big deal for me, but it seems so gauche and tacky to offer money to remove a less than favourable (but honest) review. Tbf, they don’t say to remove it and they’ll pay me, but it’s heavily implied and it gives me an ill feeling.

#58 Airbnb Host Texted Us That Because We Gave Them A Non Perfect Note

#59 Notice To Airbnb Guests

#60 If You Needed Another Reason To Hate Airbnb. 2 Weeks Before Our Reservation Our Hosts Tells Us He Over Booked?? More In Comments

#61 So You Guys Like Bad Hotel Room Number Signs?

#62 Hotel Room In Germany

#63 Went To A Hotel, Payed Extra For A Room With Bigger TV

#64 Seeing This When First Entering My Hotel Room

#65 My Hotel Room With An Ocean View

#66 The Fitness Room At The Hotel I Stayed At

#67 Hair Dryer And Shower Combo In Cairo Hotel

#68 Beijing Hotel Carpet Pattern

#69 It Looks Like The Hotel Cart Ran Someone Over And Is Tracking Their Blood Through The Halls

#70 This Hotel Bathroom “Tile” Wall Is Actually Just Numerous Pictures Of Denim-Clad Bums

#71 These Stairs At Our Hotel

#72 This Picture In The Hotel Lobby Looks Like Pubes

#73 The Bathroom In Our Airbnb Was Rather Smol

#74 Flat Carpet In A Hotel In Cologne, Germany Imitating A Curvy Surface

#75 Came Back To The Hotel Room And Found This. It’s The Thought That Counts

#76 My Hotel’s “Pool Area”

#77 Left A 4 Star Review On An Airbnb. Host Messaged Me This Afterwards

The listing was for a “fully renovated” suite. Arrived to find it was clean, but needed serious TLC – tiles missing from the shower, stained paint, half eaten food in the fridge, etc. I thought a 4 was generous honestly.

#78 Our Airbnb Host Forgot To Mention The Roof Replacement In Our Attic Appartment

We were on holiday and for our entire four day stay, we had builders working from 8am till 7pm. As a result, contstant drilling and banging, dust all over the appartment and broken chunks of the ceiling littered over every room- lovely crunchy bedsheets!

#79 This Airbnb Host’s Kitchen Rules

#80 5pm Check In At Our Airbnb And It Was Still Dirty When We Arrived

We had a 5pm check in which is the latest I’ve ever seen (normally it’s 2 or 3pm). We arrived at 5 to find it not cleaned. Check out is 11am so they’ve had at least 6 hours to clean.

#81 This “Bedroom” In The Airbnb I Stayed In Last Week

#82 This Hidden Camera Disguised As A Clock In My Airbnb

#83 At My Airbnb There’s A Mushroom Growing Out Of The Bathroom Door

#84 Our Airbnb, Which Included A $200 Cleaning Fee, Will Charge Us If We Don’t Walk Across Town To Empty Our Trash

#85 Airbnb Asking For Tips After Charging A Cleaning Fee

#86 How I Found My Airbnb When Checking In

Host only wanted to offer to return the cleaning fee for $190 when I paid over $1,000 for just the Airbnb. Walked in and the cleaners forgot that they were supposed to clean the house from the last guests.

#87 Airbnb A/C Is Locked At 80 Degrees F. Staying In Jacksonville Florida. Host Won’t Give Us The Pin For The Thermostat 🤦

#88 Water Has Been Yellow And Metallic Tasting In Our Airbnb For A Week Now. Owner Says They Can’t Do Anything About It

#89 After A Long Day Of Doing Tourist Things, Come Back To The Airbnb To Take A Shower And The Shower Fights Back

Going to a hotel, it’s 1am. Airbnb says we’re getting a refund thankfully. Tried to turn off the shower and the dial for the cold water went totally flying off

#90 Booked An Airbnb With 4 Bedrooms, The Ad Didnt Say Anything About Bedrooms Separated From The House, So Now My Brother And I Have To Sleep In The Little Shed On The Left

#91 Living Next To An Airbnb Sucks

They are loud and obnoxious usually but now the jerks totally filled my recycling for the next two weeks. This bin is nowhere near their goddamn house. First the jerk who bought the house redid the shingles of their roof and got hundreds of roofing nails in my yard, where my dogs and kids play. And I had to go out and pick them up. I’m super steamed.

#92 Cameras In My Airbnb

#93 Girlfriends View From The Bed Of Our Hotel Room

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