The room was tiny, but it was clean, nicely decorated and the AC was cold. I was able to enjoy one hot shower. After that, there was no more hot water. Upon reading reviews from other guests, it became apparent that hot water wasn’t included, but I just needed a place to sleep for a couple of nights. Plus it was close to the beach, downtown, and despite the cold showers and the occasional bug or two (it’s Florida), I was ok. The building was pretty cool and it was a last minute thing, so I just went along with it.

On the first night, everything was ok. I spent most of the next day out filming. I returned for a cold shower, changed my clothes, and went for dinner and to watch a game over some beers. When I returned to the studio, I was ready for bed. One thing I liked about the rental was that they had a 10PM quiet curfew (that was on the original listing). That’s pretty cool, although not a requirement for me. The first night was fine, but the second night there were some folks in the hallway and despite telling them to quiet down through the door, they just wouldn’t. I had no idea that all the studios in the building were apparently owned by the host. If I had known that, I would have messaged the host. I threw some shorts on and opened the door. Since I wasn’t wearing a shirt, I stood behind the door, but all that was exposed were my shoulders. It was also clear I was wearing gym shorts that went down past my knees. I asked the people in the hallway as nicely as I could to please go in their studio and let me sleep. They obliged and were apologetic. If I had to guess, I’d say they were maybe a little drunk and didn’t realize how much noise they were making at nearly midnight. It’s also possible they didn’t know anyone was in my room because I watch shows on my iPhone and have Airpods in. Plus my lights were out and they seemed like good people.

The next morning, I had to be out early, so I got up and started packing. I went down downstairs at around 4:30AM to buy a bottle of water from the vending machine. I had just taken another cold shower and had shorts on and may have had a towel over my shoulders or a tank-top. I don’t recall, but there wasn’t a sole out. In fact, there was almost an eerie feeling in the building because except for me moving around, you could hear a pin drop. As soon as I got my water, I got back in the room, finished packing, and called an Uber to take me to Fort Lauderdale Hollywood airport.

The next day, I decided to leave a review. Even though there were a couple bugs and no hot water, the studio was otherwise acceptable. I basically said something like “nice studio, great location near the beach, and thanks for the stay.” Very shortly thereafter, the host left me a review. It said something to the effect of “good overall guest. There was a house rule violation, though.” I responded to the review with “what was the violation?” The host didn’t respond to my public comment. Instead, the nightmare began.

I received word from the AirBNB resolution center that the host was demanding I pay $1,000 for the house rule violation. Yes you read right, ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS. And what rule did I violate? According to the host it was due to “semi-nudity.” The only thing I could think of was telling the noisy people in the hall from behind the door to quiet down. I know they could see my black shorts, but maybe my exposed shoulder from behind the door was “semi nudity?” Give me a break! Or maybe it was when I went downstairs at 4:30AM with either a towel over my shoulders or wearing a tank top? And yes, there were cameras everywhere, though not in the room. Thank God for that, right? Even if I had no shirt on, men in the United States and the Western world that don’t wear a shirt – especially – in a beach styled studio are not nude, semi-nude, any kind of nude. Nonetheless, the accusation was pure crap. Moreover, the long list of housing rules were not legally enforceable or enforceable by AirBNB Terms of Service because they weren’t part of the original listing. They were only made available AFTER the reservation was made/accepted by both parties.

I was a bit concerned that AirBNB would charge my account if I wasn’t paying close attention to the process. The host was relentless. No matter what I responded, she kept responding, keeping the matter open. I told AirBNB I wouldn’t pay her the grand and disputed the house rule and disputed its violation. AirBNB assured me they would NEVER charge my account unless I expressly and explicitly authorized them to. They kept their word, but the host kept trying to shake me down. Each time AirBNB would close the matter, she’d start another one up again. Mind you, the total stay was for less than $200, but here she was trying to get 5x that for an unenforceable rule. Later she tried to get me to pay $300. I told AirBNB she wouldn’t get a cent from me – and she never did. I also told them to let her know I was a practicing attorney and to save herself the trouble of sending me a demand letter. If she wanted to litigate this, I was totally down, and I’d file a countersuit.

The ordeal was so upsetting that I deleted my AirBNB account. In hindsight I regret doing so, but I thought if I kept using it, that that somehow would rescind the request. It didn’t. I lost my account a couple weeks later and started a new one. And that’s fine. Even though I had a very bad experience with this AirBNB Host Scammer, I chalked it up to the ups-and-downs of being a travel vlogger.

Also, although I looked high and low on the net and YouTube for answers, I didn’t find anything that gave me peace of mind. This scammer put me through the ringer, but in hindsight it was a learning experience. That’s why I’m writing this. If you come across one of these bad apples (in my case a rotten one), don’t panic. AirBNB will take the complaints and try to resolve them, but if you’re 100% in the right – as I was – no amount of messages should get you to pay off a scammer. I didn’t pay her a cent and you shouldn’t pay, either.

In conclusion, while AirBNB is a fantastic service (I’ve used it in Kentucky, Ohio, South Florida, El Salvador, Chile, and Costa Rica) without incident, all it takes is for shady host to potentially ruin your passion for travel. Don’t let that happen. There’s bad people in every walk of life. Don’t let them ruin your day or much less ruin your love of exploring new places and making beautiful memories. Just be careful and never – ever – let yourself get scammed!! And if it happens, take a stand and don’t take a backward step!!

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I also provided some commentary while I filmed and a little humor from time to time. Many enjoyed my gasp after the airline employee told the passenger “fuck you, too.” In hindsight, my gasp may have been somewhat embellished, but if so, it would’ve been a subconscious effort. At the time I wasn’t expecting the employee to say anything like that. Everything she’d done up until that point had been combative, but at some point she must have felt that she had gone too far and when she was about to storm off, she couldn’t help herself and cursed the passenger out.

Whatever the passenger said initially, the airline employee chose to have a job working with the public. And on top of that, working with the public with a discount airline that charges for absolutely everything and has a notoriously unforgiving attitude towards any act of discretion. You either pay or you don’t get want you want. They could bend the rules, but they don’t.

That being said, whether you work for Spirit, Frontier, or Allegiant, customer service should still be the name of the game. Just because fares are cheaper shouldn’t mean that customers should get any less respect than say clients who fly Delta, American, or United. Do I think this would have happened with one of the mainstream airlines? I don’t. I just can’t something like this happening with JetBlue or Southwest, either. Those airlines pride themselves on going above and beyond.

I have been very fortunate to come into contact with some very nice Spirit, Frontier, and Allegiant flight crews. Although the tickets are way cheaper I’ve been blessed with very good customer service. Many of the folks who left comments on my now viral TikTok video (with over 8 million views to date) have stated that Spirit is the pits when comes to customer service. I would disagree, personally, but after seeing all of the comments on my platforms coupled with some recent news stories, my perception of the low-cost carrier is changing. I hope my video will inspire the airline to turn things around. My goal isn’t for anyone to get fired, rather, for corporate to make things better. This could be accomplished by more training, coaching, and oversight. Firing people should be the last option.

I also made this video for the passenger.

Christian Duque

Could you imagine if her ticket had been canceled? Could you imagine if Spirit Airlines banned her from future travel? Could you imagine if she was put on a No Fly list? And for what? Because she cursed someone out? Maybe she was having a bad morning. Maybe her bag was 1″ more than the limit for a personal item and she had to pay for a checked bag.

Spirit Airlines are among the strictest when it comes to that because they charge for absolutely everything. I’m not saying that it’s ok for passengers to be abusive of airline staff, but it happens. One comment on Tiktok said, if an F-bomb got the airline employee this mad she wouldn’t last an hour in healthcare. Apparently healthcare workers take quite a bit of abuse, but never face off with customers and never curse them out. Plus this employee didn’t just face off and curse out the passenger, she physically impeded her ability to walk away. This is beyond uncalled for. Nonetheless, I’m not advocating for her termination, either. She would be someone who could truly benefit from training and coaching.

But what about the passenger? Did she ever get to board her flight? Why was the airline employee so adamant about getting her boarding information? Imagine if she didn’t get to fly. And imagine if she tried to contact the airline. Without my video, does anyone honestly think the airline would have given her the time of day? Does anyone think the airline would’ve believed her recollection of what my 58 second video shows? I think not. My video, my social media platforms, and the great work the mainstream media will do by my story will ensure that what really happened is documented. Sadly, we may never know what the passenger said initially. There’s no doubt in my mind that the passenger does not have clean hands in this. That said, how this airline employee chose to deal with the situation was completely uncalled for. And if this employee was able to act in this fashion in front of hundreds, seemingly with impunity, imagine what she’s capable of 1:1.

And did anyone try to help her? Did anyone say anything? Sadly, they did not. But at least I had the good sense to record it and publish it. But in hindsight, I do wish I had something. I hope others in hindsight do too. This confrontation should never have happened.

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