AI photos are making it harder to know what you're booking on Airbnb.
asserted
you → make → Airbnb
Here's what to look out for
It can be difficult to know when AI photo-editing crosses the line into deception
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editing → look → deception
Josh Wells, a college student from Iowa, was excited to explore Montreal on his first trip outside the U.S.
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Wells → explore → U.S.
But as he scrolled through Airbnb listings in search of a place to stay, he began to notice something that didn't seem quite right.
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that → scroll → something
Several of the hosts renting out their properties had profile pictures that Wells suspected were generated by artificial intelligence.
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Wells → rent → intelligence
"Your average person taking an iPhone photo, there's obviously like a little bit of imperfections," Wells told the CBC's Cost of Living.
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Wells → take → Living
"The AI photos, they just looked too perfect."
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they → look → ?
Still, Wells kept browsing.
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Wells → keep → ?
He was even close to booking one of the properties when a final look at the listing's photos raised another red flag.
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look → book → flag
He zoomed in on a piece of wall art depicting two halves of faces joined together.
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He → zoom → faces
At the top, the artwork appeared to read "Picasso."
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artwork → appear → Picasso
But in another photo of the same room, taken from a different angle, the artwork looked different.
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artwork → take → angle
"The text was all warped and funky," he said.
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he → say → ?
When booking his trip to Montreal, Wells found extremely polished-looking photos of hosts appeared in numerous Airbnb listings, leading him to suspect they had been generated using AI.
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they → book → AI
Short-term rentals in that city are subject to strict rules aimed in part at protecting the city's housing supply.
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rentals → aim → supply
That was enough to put Wells off the listing — and ultimately using Airbnb for this trip.
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That → put → trip
Unable to tell whether the photos showed a real place or an AI-generated version of one, he opted for an apartment-style hotel instead.
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he → tell → hotel
"The fake profile picture is one thing, but listings of the actual place that you're staying at and spending thousands of dollars was an immediate no for me," Wells said.
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Wells → stay → me
Wells isn't the only traveller to question whether the photos found on Airbnb or similar short-term rental-style platforms accurately reflect reality.
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photos → question → reality
In July, an Ottawa family reported that their daughter arrived at a Toronto Airbnb to find a room that looked significantly different from the listing photos, which they suspected had been generated or heavily altered using AI.
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they → report → AI
The family provided side-by-side photos showing differences in the room and bathroom.
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family → provide → room
Airbnb said the listing did not match the property and refunded the guest, but did not confirm whether artificial intelligence had been used.
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intelligence → say → guest
As AI makes it easier to alter photos, experts say travellers may find it increasingly difficult to know whether Airbnb-style listings accurately reflect reality, raising questions about consumer trust and protections in Canada.
uncertain
listings → make → Canada
When a photo makeover goes too far
The proliferation of free, quick and easy-to-use AI tools is making photo editing increasingly tempting, said Francis Syms, associate dean in the faculty of applied sciences and technology at Humber Polytechnic in Toronto.
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Syms → go → Toronto
Beyond the major AI platforms, such as ChatGPT, Claude by Anthropic and Google's Gemini, countless other websites offer free tools for modifying images, said Syms.
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Syms → offer → images
Hugging Face, for example, hosts thousands of AI tools that let users upload and edit photos.
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users → hug → photos
"In a matter of 10 seconds, you can upload a picture to one of these sites and ask it to remove all the smudges or to change the furniture," he said.
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he → upload → furniture
"You'll get that image back maybe 30 to 60 seconds later."
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You → get → image
Artificial intelligence platforms like ChatGPT allows users to quickly and easily edit photos.
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users → allow → photos
It's difficult to know where AI editing crosses into deception, said Daniel Guttentag, an associate professor of hospitality and tourism management at the College of Charleston in South Carolina.
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Guttentag → know → Carolina
"If you put in a fake hot tub on the back patio, I think basically everyone would agree that that is a blatant misrepresentation of what one's unit offers," he said.
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he → put → what
"Whereas if you just start to play with the lighting a little bit … I think most people would be comfortable with that.
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people → start → that
"But then there's a whole lot of space in between, when it crosses that line into, 'Wait, this isn't what I signed up for.'"
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I → be → what
Guttentag said another concern is the use of AI-edited images to make it appear that guests have damaged a property, potentially leading to compensation claims.
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guests → say → claims
In 2025, a guest from London, U.K., booked an Airbnb in Manhattan and was accused of causing more than £12,000 ($22, 665) in damage.
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guest → book → damage
She disputed the claim after noticing inconsistencies in photos of a supposedly cracked coffee table, which she suspected had been digitally manipulated or generated by AI.
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she → dispute → AI
Airbnb initially said she owed more than £5,000 ($9,444), but later fully refunded her after the case drew media attention.
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case → say → attention
Can you trust what you see online?
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you → trust → what
Relying on listing photos to decide which property to book makes trust particularly important for Airbnb guests, said Guttentag.
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Guttentag → rely → guests
"You can't try it on in advance, like a pair of shoes," he said.
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he → try → shoes
…and 21 more, not listed.
The Aporia
