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Tourist Spends £100 On Amsterdam Airbnb That Turns Out To Be A Shipping Container

Tourist Spends £100 On Amsterdam Airbnb That Turns Out To Be A Shipping Container

The flat was advertised as a "clean home in Amsterdam with private bathroom".

Lisa McLoughlin

Lisa McLoughlin

A British tourist was left shocked after his £100-a-night stay in an Amsterdam Airbnb turned out to be a shipping container that opened directly onto the street.

Londoner Ben Speller admitted he booked the flat, which was advertised as a "clean home in Amsterdam with private bathroom", last minute before he travelled to watch Spurs beat AFC Ajax in the Champions League semi-final on 8th May.

His toilet facilities were the height of luxury.
Ben Speller / Facebook

Posting the photos on a Spurs Facebook fan page, Ben said that after he landed the host messaged to explain that there wouldn't be any running water in the "home" and asked if he wanted to cancel.

But at the eleventh-hour Ben declined thinking it would be too late to find another place to stay (like most people) and had the shock of his life in store when he arrived to the container.

Speaking to Sun Online Travel, Ben said: "I booked a clean home with private bathroom a few days before I went out there to watch the football.

"When we were on the train the guy messaged me saying there was a problem with the running water and do I want to cancel. I said no because we didn't have an alternative at the time."

The football fan paid £100 for the stay.
Ben Speller / Facebook

He continued: "When we arrived, we drove past the container three times in the taxi because couldn't believe that could be it. I then checked the listing again and he'd changed it to container home."

Understandably miffed by his booking, Ben found a last-minute room in a hotel for £230 after the host refused to refund him.

Despite the experience, Airbnb came up trumps and not only returned the £100 for Ben's booking, but also covered the cost of the hotel he was forced to take last-minute.

And with every cloud comes a silver lining after it was reported that the cheeky host's shipping container was later towed away by the city, according to Dutch news site AT5.

The advert branded the container as a 'clean home'.
Ben Speller / Facebook

An Airbnb spokesperson told Pretty52: "We have removed the host and listings from our platform.

"Misrepresented or fraudulent listings have no place on our platform, and our team works hard to constantly strengthen our defences and stay ahead of bad actors.

"Over half a billion people have travelled on Airbnb and, with over two million guests checking into an Airbnb every single night, issues like this are incredibly rare."

Featured Image Credit: Facebook/Ben Speller/The Spurs Show

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