A Chinese woman accidentally pays $8,300 for a hotel room by confusing the yuan and Korean won symbols

BEIJING (SCMP): A woman in China mistook the Chinese yuan symbol for the Korean won when she booked a hotel apartment in South Korea on Airbnb, ultimately paying 60,000 yuan (US$8,300) for a single night.

The woman, surnamed Xiao, from eastern China’s Jiangsu province, recently sought help online with her Airbnb payment.

On October 13, she booked a serviced apartment on Jeju Island through the vacation rental platform for an overnight stay with a friend. After returning to China, Xiao was shocked to discover that a total of 60,904 yuan had been debited from her account.

According to a report from Airbnb, the hotel’s one-night rate was 51,944 yuan. In addition, Airbnb charged her a service fee of 8,000 yuan, tax of 800 yuan, and cleaning fee of 160 yuan.

At this point, Xiao realized that the price was quoted in Chinese Yuan, not Korean Won.

“It’s not a high-end hotel. We assumed the price was in Korean won,” Xiao explains.

If the rate had been in Korean won, it would have only cost $37 for one night.

Xiao suspected that the property owner had accidentally used the wrong currency when setting the price and contacted the hotel to request a refund. The hotel responded that they would issue a refund as long as Airbnb approved her request.

Initially, Airbnb rejected Xiao’s appeal, stating that the hotel had not provided a full refund. After multiple contacts and complaints to the platform, Airbnb offered Xiao a refund of 44,000 yuan, followed by another 6,700 yuan, and eventually agreed to grant her a full refund “as a gesture of goodwill.”

Online observers expressed divided opinions about the incident. Some blamed Xiao for not checking the price more carefully, while others saw it as a “trap.”

One commenter on Weibo stated: “Such prices that defy common sense are clearly a trap that careless people can fall into.”

Airbnb’s policy allows guests to request a refund before the date specified by the host. Post-stay refunds are generally subject to the host’s discretion.

Hosts on Airbnb can choose from a variety of cancellation policies, ranging from flexible (where free cancellation is allowed up to 24 hours before check-in) to strict, where guests are charged 50 percent of the booking fee if they do not cancel within 48 hours.

Many social media users expressed their frustration and criticized Airbnb’s cancellation policy as “unreasonable” given the frequent changes in travel plans.

Lawyer Chen Zhen of Henan Zejin law firm told the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald that consumers are legally liable for currency misunderstandings.

However, if the trader indicates the price incorrectly, consumers have the right to request cancellation of the contract. – South China Morning Mail