Ontario family travelling to Italy has Airbnb account frozen a week before trip

As summer travelling ramps up, many are finding a place to stay using short-term rental carriers like Airbnb.

While most bookings go off without a hitch, what can you do if the host cancels your reservation at the last minute?

"We've been using Airbnb for years and years and this is the first time something like this has ever happened,” Lidya Malekov, of East Gwillimbury, Ont., told CTV News Toronto.

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Lidiya and her husband, Anton Malekov booked a trip to go to Italy for a full month with their baby, Maya Ellie. They planned to stay at one location for the entirety of the trip.

About a week and a half before they were set to depart, they got a notice that their Airbnb account had been suspended.

"My account with Airbnb is locked so I can't even get into it to see who cancelled it and to see what happened," Malekov said.

When they contacted Airbnb, they said the company sent them a note that read,“after reviewing your account, it appears it was suspended in error. We’ve reactivated it so everything should be in working order and we apologize for any confusion.”

When the family was able to get back into their account, they said the host had become suspicious as to why their account was locked and gave their booking to someone else.

Now, the couple said they are scrambling to try and find a place to stay, reservations are now limited and prices at the last minute have more than doubled.

“We don't know what we are going to do. We don't know if we are going to be able to go or not,” Lidiya Malekov said.

“It is their fault because it was their system error and they have admitted it was an error on their site," Anton Malekov added.

CTV News Toronto reached out to Airbnb, who called the situation "unfortunate."

They agreed to help the couple find a new listing, stating, “the Canadian guests travelling to Italy have been successfully rebooked and they have been issued a full refund.”

The Malekov's were also given a voucher to pay the difference on a more expensive rental property. They are now enjoying their holiday in Italy and were pleased they were able to salvage their trip.

CTV News Toronto reached the family in Italy and they said in a statement, “We are happy to be here and we are enjoying ourselves and would recommend people come to Italy for a visit."

The couple said they're concerned their account was locked and they hope Airbnb reviews its practices to see why it happened.

On Airbnb’s website, its terms of service shows accounts can be deactivated for a number of reasons. If it happens to you, you'll need to contact the website right away.