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Airbnb to Pay $10 Million Fine After Charging Australian Customers in U.S. Dollars Airbnb admitted to falsely representing its prices to Australian customers.

By Sam Silverman

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

On Wednesday in an Australian court, Airbnb was ordered to pay a $10 million fine (about AU$15 million) for charging Australian customers in U.S. dollars without their knowledge.

The company admitted to making "false or misleading representations" to about 63,000 customers in U.S. dollars for Australian accommodations between January 2018 and August 2021, per The New York Times.

RELATED: Man Documents 'Insane' List of 'Excessive' Rules Plastered All Over Hamptons Airbnb Rental

Following Airbnb's admission, they were ordered to pay the fine within 30 days for breaching Australian consumer law, plus AU$400,000 in prosecution costs. Airbnb will also pay as much as AU$ 15 million in compensation to affected customers.

As a result of the ordeal, Airbnb revised its platform to clearly state "USD" in August 2021 to avoid confusion.

RELATED: Airbnb Renter Discovers Hidden Door, Says Police Confirm There's a Secret Unit Upstairs With 'Surveillance': 'A Terrifying Experience'

"While only a very small percentage of Australian guests are believed to have been impacted, we are disappointed that this happened," Airbnb's Australia and New Zealand regional manager Susan Wheeldon said in a statement, per Reuters.

"Airbnb would like to apologize to those guests," she added.

Sam Silverman

Content Strategy Editor

Sam Silverman is a content strategy editor at Entrepreneur Media. She specializes in search engine optimization (SEO), and her work can be found in The US Sun, Nicki Swift, In Touch Weekly, Life & Style and Health. She writes for our news team with a focus on investigating scandals. Her coverage and expertise span from business news, entrepreneurship, technology, and true crime, to the latest in entertainment and TV news. Sam is a graduate of Lehigh University and currently resides in NYC. 

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