[troysk]

I had booked an airbnb in Shanghai. On reaching the destination the host said we had to get police verification. She took us to the police station where the police said we cannot stay with her as she doesn't have the required permits. We were in a country where we didn't know the language and airbnb declined to help us as they didn't have any people on ground or provide alternate accommodation. We got the refund but he spend way more to get alternate accommodation.

I was not allowed to even post a review.

[anikom15]

While it sucks AirBnB didn’t do anything to help you, I think anyone who goes to a foreign language, third-world country has a responsibility to research relevant laws and have some kind of backup plan when something like this happens.

Tip for the future: buy a good guidebook (or several). They have listings of hotels with price estimates, whether BnB is a good idea or not, and what the legal requirements are how to handle them when things go wrong.

[troysk]

We did that, not our first rodeo. It was a new system being used in Shanghai, good luck finding credible realtime information about China. The host should have let us know. The tip is obvious to anyone who travels overseas.