Some possible detective work.

"Alex B" (alexb420)
05/10/2015 at 17:47 • Filed to: None

So we are looking at !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! for our vacation to Hawaii this summer. It’s by far the best property we’ve found. We emailed the owner regarding dates, still waiting for a response. In the meantime can anyone find any evidence that she’s a fake? She seems to have a good description of the property and pictures. Thanks!

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DISCUSSION (22)

E. Julius > Alex B
05/10/2015 at 17:51

Damn if that place is real it’s sick. I love airbnb. My buddy and I got a badass apartment in a cool neighborhood in Prague for barely more than we’d pay for a hostel.

Alex B > E. Julius
05/10/2015 at 17:55

I know, if it were real it would be awesome. We've never used it before. Hoping it works out well!

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > Alex B
05/10/2015 at 18:00

This one appears to be a scam, maybe.

GIS links back to this article and many more. Weekly rental price is acording to the article places this house at $47,000-57,000. http://www.homedsgn.com/2011/07/07/jew…

E. Julius > Alex B
05/10/2015 at 18:01

I don’t know anyone who has had a bad experience using it. I think they do a pretty good job verifying people, although it sketches me out that the host has been a member since 2013 and doesn’t have any reviews. 60% response rate is also not very good. Sometimes things are indeed too good to be true.

boxrocket > Alex B
05/10/2015 at 18:13

She has an over-reliance on the word "beautiful" , but the place looks great. Anywhere on Hawai'i is great, unless you're staying in a volcano. My preference is for Kaua'i, but I like its more laid -back and remote atmosphere. My wife and I liked it so much we bought a Starwood timeshare there.

Alex B > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis
05/10/2015 at 18:16

Thank you so much. We had a strong feeling this was too good to be true just wanted to verify!

Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero > Alex B
05/10/2015 at 18:16

Seems fishy to me, her profile is all in German and says she lives in germany

Alex B > E. Julius
05/10/2015 at 18:18

Yeah, Dwhite basically just confirmed that it is indeed a scam. If this was legit she would probably have tons of reviews and it would have been booked for our dates. We did a reply email saying it was available, but it looks extremely scam-ey. It's been featured in numerous places, no way she owns it.

Alex B > Sampsonite24-Earth's Least Likeliest Hero
05/10/2015 at 18:19

When your translate her bio, it says she is French, living in Germany. Hm.....

E. Julius > Alex B
05/10/2015 at 18:19

Ah yes. Oh well : / plenty of other cool places I’m sure! Enjoy your trip.

Where have all the lightweights gone? > Alex B
05/10/2015 at 18:20

How long are you going for? If it’s for a longer vacation, VRBO & homeaway might be better places to look. They verify their renters and provide you support if anything goes wrong.

Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis > Alex B
05/10/2015 at 18:22

The no reviews was really what piqued my suspicions, especially with the caliber of the houses that she has available.

Too bad, that is an awesome house.

Alex B > Where have all the lightweights gone?
05/10/2015 at 18:24

10 days. Thanks for the tip, We have plenty options from VRBO & Homeaway as well.

Alex B > Dwhite - Powered by Caffeine, Daft Punk, and Corgis
05/10/2015 at 18:29

Yes ours too. We found it on another site for 6k a night, that sounds about right. Haha

Alex B > E. Julius
05/10/2015 at 18:31

Thanks! We’re in the process of (property) elimination right now. Nothing can compare to that phantom property though! Haha

CAcoalminer > Alex B
05/10/2015 at 18:54

Here’s info about the lady:

https://www.linkedin.com/pub/anne-gaëll…

However, I find it odd that she lists herself as the “Senior Relationship Manager - Real Estate” and yet she isn’t even listed under the “real estate” section of HSH Nordbank AG’s website:

https://www.hsh-nordbank.com/en/corporation…

This could just be a coincidence but it is definitely something to keep in mind.

Here’s the house:

http://www.bing.com/maps/?FORM=Z9L…

Some info about it:

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandh…

http://www.homesnap.com/HI/Lahaina/7-K…

Here are the rental rates for it:

Kinja'd!!!