Strangers keep showing up to check in at couple’s “rental” property. But the owner never listed it

Justin Gray
·3 min read

A metro Atlanta couple says strangers are showing up at their home at all hours of the night to check in for their nightly rental.

The couple never put their house up for rent, but it’s listed on booking.com.

The ad touts the convenient location of the Vinings townhouse to nearby Truist Park.

Channel 2 consumer investigator Justin Gray has learned that people have booked a stay, paid for a stay, and showed up to find the homeowners asleep inside their house.

According to Booking.com, Nadeen Green’s Vinings townhouse is available for nightly rental.

The Greens only learned it was on the site when people started showing up at their front door at all hours to check in for the night.

“We’re starting to become concerned. Everybody has been gracious so far, but what about that person who shows up and thinks that we have scammed them?” Green said.

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While the address on the listing is Green’s home, the pictures posted are not. There are even fake reviews, with one saying it was “much better than a hotel for a Braves game.”

But another review was even negative, complaining the cleanliness could have been a lot better.

The Greens at first thought it was a mix-up. There’s another street with a similar name on the other side of town.

“We realized it was not a mistake. Somebody, for whatever reason, is listing our unit,” Green said.

In March, Channel 2 Action News Investigates told you how something similar happened with Brian Hamilton’s Gwinnett County home. His was listed for rent on Zillow, Trulia, and Hotpad with his name as the contact person

“They were talking to somebody and they thought it was me,” Hamilton said.

The Greens called the police the first time a group of men surprised them at 1 a.m. at their front door.

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But by the time it happened again, at around 11 p.m. on Monday, they knew about the Booking.com listing. The man even showed them his booking confirmation.

“For people who are booking this legitimately and showing up and planning to spend the night and lay their head down on a pillow, I know what it’s like as I travel. I can’t imagine what it would be if somebody said, ‘Well, you can’t stay here,’” Green said.

The Greens have repeatedly tried contacting Booking.com to get the sham listing pulled but have gotten nowhere. That’s why they reached out to the Channel 2 Consumer Action Center.

“We checked as recently as last night, and we could have booked a stay here in our very own space because that listing is still up and we can’t figure out how to make it stop,” Green said.

Gray has also been trying to contact Booking.com, trying to help the couple get the listing removed and to get answers for how it happened in the first place.

So far, they have not responded.

After our story aired Wednesday evening, the posting was removed the next day.

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