Glasgow man banned from AirBnB after trying to ‘squeeze’ further $2,000 from American COP26 delegate

An AirBnb host from Glasgow has been banned from taking bookings during the COP26 summit, set to take place on Sunday, October 31.

The ban by AirBnb, comes after the host tried to squeeze an extra $2000 dollars from an American delegate who will be attending the summit.

Tan Copsey, from Brooklyn, New York decided to report the landlord to the company after he sent Mr Copsey a message, justifying the hike in the price.

The unidentified landlord was unaware that the booking was for the climate conference and was concerned that he was missing out on extra money.

It comes as short-term rental prices in the area where the summit is set to take place have skyrocketed, as the average room price in the area has risen 400%, according to the now banned host.

Copsey tweeted pictures of his correspondence with the landlord, and his tweet read: “Having a great time with the COP26 accommodation, this guy tried to add another $2000 to my booking. Love experience all-round”.

In the exchange of messages, where the landlord tried to justify the massive spike in price, he said: “I have been made aware that over the course of your stay the average room price has gone up 400% in my area.

“It troubles me that I have missed out on a great deal of money due to your early booking. I had meant to contact you earlier but was on holiday for three weeks and was distracted.”

In response to this, a spokesperson for Airbnb said, “We have zero tolerance for this behaviour and have taken action against the host, blocking them from accepting other bookings during this period.”

Copsey, a New York native, is a senior director at Climate Nexus. On their mission statement via their website, they claim their purpose is to ‘galvanise America’s will to act by telling the stories of people impacted by or fighting climate change’.

Airbnb also confirmed they would help Mr Copsey find alternative living arrangements whilst the summit is on.

Around 30,000 people are expected to attend the climate change summit in Glasgow, which runs from October 31 and November 12.

Among the 30,000 will be world leaders from 120 countries.