Ever been burned by an illegal STR?

[Nathan Gesner]

Made a reservation last year on AirBnB to visit family in California. It had five 5-star ratings (I only later realized they were all recent which should have been a red flag) Two months later we showed up to check in. I called, texted and emailed the host but he didn't respond. We arrived on site (complex of townhomes) and spoke to someone in the office. It turns out our host was running an illegal STR and had been evicted the week prior. Fortunately, they allowed us to borrow a computer and we managed to find a replacement rental a couple miles away.

have you ever been burned by a vacation rental?