PESACH DISASTER: Hundreds of Homes “Double-Booked” In Orlando, Many Left Without Place For Yom Tov

It’s been brewing for weeks already, but it seems the disaster in Orlando is growing by the minute.

Thousands of Jewish families have been renting homes in Orlando for this Pesach, all looking forward to a relaxing and an enjoyable Yom Tov. But for many, it turned out to be a nightmare.

According to multiple sources, more than 200 homes were “double booked”, many without the original renters knowing about it until the last minute.

It seems there were a few ways that people lost their rentals.

It began months ago, as thousands began placing deposits on homes for Pesach. Some homes were being rented for $6,000, and when brokers saw that there was a massive demand for homes, they began renting them to others – some for as much as $25,000. The problem is, some brokers never even told the original renters anything. Some brokers simply lied and said that their credit cards had been declined. This was a blatant lie, and in fact many had been charged, but the brokers had simply “refunded” the money, and taken their next customer who was paying three times the price. Other renters were told the home couldn’t be rented “due to COVID”, “burst pipe”, “roof leaks”, “air conditioning issues”, and other creative lies.

One victim said they booked their home a few days after Chanukah, and found out 5 days ago that they had lost their rental. We are aware of two families that were cancelled on Tuesday morning, and another on Monday night.

The second – and even more disturbing scam – was that people began placing “down-payments” on many homes, showing intent to purchase them, with the condition that they can use it for Pesach. These people have no intent on buying these home, and many are cancelling their “contracts” after Pesach. Their down-payments are less then the amount they would of had to pay to rent a home for Pesach. In fact, YWN has been told that some “brokers” themselves went into contract on many homes to they could rent the homes for a profit. It appears that these “down payments” were done by brokers themselves.

The results of these scams? Hundreds of families finding out a week before Pesach that they have no where to go. One family had already shipped their food on Monday and were flying on Tuesday evening only to find out on Tuesday morning that their home had been cancelled.

Lawyers are now being hired and the authorities are already looking into this.

REAL STORY SENT TO YWN: I was double booked. First house we booked via AIRBNB around Chanukah and after 2 weeks the host said sorry, the house isn’t available and gave it to someone’s else. The second house was through VRBO. The house never existed and were given a fake address! The host never responded and we thankfully got our money back via CC dispute. Our 3rd house we booked and about a month later someone else booked the same house via another listing on the same platform! We are hoping when we get there no one else will be in the house. This is just crazy!!!

REAL STORY SENT TO YWN: I booked my home on Airbnb, and I found out that someone else has the same booking! They canceled them (they booked back in august), and next they they canceled me. And two days ago I saw the same exact listing on Airbnb for double the price!

REAL STORY SENT TO YWN: “Hi, I would like to be apart of whatever repercussions or actions against what happened in Orlando over Pesach. I have been a victim as well. I booked my Home in Orlando’s Champions Gate (1481 Rolling way) in October 22nd 2020 through VRBO and received an email this Sunday night at 10:30pm that my reservation has been canceled. I quickly messaged the owner and they said they cannot accommodate us due to one of their part guest we’re impacted by COVID-19 and any more than that they did not share or discuss all they mentioned was they “gave us enough notice to find another home) . I contact vrbo and they said their “book with confidence” policy cannot cover this. My parents were already on their way driving to Orlando and my food was packed on the truck headed towards Orlando. Almost $10k+ in damages”

REAL STORY SENT TO YWN: “We booked 6132 Broad Oak Drive in Solterra on Jan 6 through vrbo. End of February it got canceled, saying that that owner “didn’t want to rent it”. A few days later KosherVillasOrlando.com rented it to someone else.”

REAL STORY SENT TO YWN: “We rented in December a house and paid in full and then in February got an email that we are being fully refunded. The house was off all websites so it’s not like someone by mistake was able to book it. Airbnb claimed that the owner wants it themselves for that week. 7654 Fairfax Drive in Encore was our address.  We are going to go down on Pesach to see who stole our house. But anyone who took it knew there were no homes available in Encore as of the end of January. It’s not like they could claim they didn’t know.”

REAL STORY SENT TO YWN: “We booked a house on November 23, 2020 in Solterra through airbnb and found out at the end of January that the host gave us a fake address and when we contacted them for the right address, she said she didn’t have our booking or reservation. Even though, she charged our credit card over 3k for the deposit. Airbnb refunded us but at this point, we had to book two smaller houses, for more money to fit. Now, we don’t even know for sure that when we show up in Windsor at Westside, that our houses won’t be double booked G-d forbid. Let’s get a class action together against these hosts. I’m happy to provide whatever info an attorney might need.”

REAL STORY SENT TO YWN: “Our Passover airbnb home was booked in January. We shipped out personal items and food this past Sunday night. Today (Tuesday), one day before our flight it, we were contacted by the host saying the AC unit is out and he cannot accommodate us.”

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Rabbi David Stav Advocates Sefirah Weddings to Support Hall Owners

 

Rabbi David Stav, co-founder and chairman of the Tzohar Rabbinical Association, on Tuesday, issued a statement saying that “in light of the Corona’s economic crisis people need not refrain from buying new things throughout the entire Sefirat HaOmer period,” to support business owners. He also promotes celebrating weddings after Lag BaOmer, for the same reason.

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Police identify 21-year-old Ahmad Alissa as suspect in Boulder shooting

The suspected gunman in the Monday’s horrific shooting in Boulder has been identified.

The suspect in the Boulder King Soopers shooting has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder, police said on Tuesday.

Boulder Police Chief Maris Harold identified the alleged gunman in Monday’s massacre as Ahmad Alissa, 21, of Arvada, about 20 miles south of Boulder.

She also identified the 10 slain victims, who range in age from 20 to 65, saying the last body was removed from the scene at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday.

Family members were notified about two hours later.

“I want to say to the community, I am so sorry this incident happened,” the chief said with tears in her eyes, “and we are going to do everything in our power to make sure this suspect has a thorough trial and we do a thorough investigation.”

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The Gerer boy That was Murdered by His Father.... Filmed at his Bar Mitzvah

 Sitting at the head table between Rabbis

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Defying Satmar Ban on Kotel ....Candidates for PM Run and Daven at Kotel

So far it seems like Lapid and Lieberman  follow the Satmar Shitah and stay away 

 

Sara Netanyahu also davens 

Benny Gantz Finds Religion 

Gideon Saar Doesn't Need a Siddur 

Ayelet Sheked is hopeful 

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Tucker Carlson Tonight' guest arrested days after appearing on the show

 

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Biden imposing severe restrictions on news outlets covering border crisis

 

The ability of news outlets, including The Post, to document the crisis at the US-Mexico border has been severely restricted in recent weeks, despite repeated assurances from the White House that President Biden is committed to “transparency.”

Tens of thousands of Central American migrants — including thousands of unaccompanied children — have flocked to the crossing since Biden took office and repealed former President Donald Trump’s more stringent immigration policies, creating troubling humanitarian and security concerns.

But journalists traveling to cover the chaos have encountered levels of restrictions not seen under prior presidential administrations, Republican or Democratic.

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Who Needs Nazi Newspapers When You Have The New York Times?

 

A Jewish organization worked tirelessly with non-Jewish allies to help win clemency for indigent prisoners, including many non-Jews, who had been sentenced to excessive sentences.

Rather than praising it, the New York Times targeted it on the Sunday front page with what the paper itself described as “an investigation.” The Times inaccurately smeared the work as an effort for “wealthy or well-connected people,” the product of what the Times called a “network” of “influential” “Orthodox Jewish leaders” operating “behind-the-scenes.” As if anyone could miss the point, the Times illustrated the article with a Protocols-of-Elders-of-Zion diagram in light blue and mustard yellow showing how all these rabbis have their tentacles in President Trump.

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Biden Puts Illegals in Concentration Camps

 

Every Biden voter is complicit. https://t.co/Da7kDjRbtJ

— David Harsanyi (@davidharsanyi) March 22, 2021

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The Irrelevant King Abdullah of Jordan

 

According to media reports in Israel and the United States, on March 11 Israel’s ties with Jordan stood on the brink of the abyss. But then, five to 10 minutes passed and everything went back to normal.

Last week’s fleeting yet existential crisis of relations with the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan disappeared without a trace. But before we forget all about it, it is important to consider what happened in some depth. Doing so will help us to understand the nature of Israel’s relations with Jordan in the era of the Abraham Accords, which all but ended the Arab-Israeli conflict.

Two events fomented the crisis. First, on March 10, Jordanian Crown Prince Hussein was supposed to visit the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Arrangements for the visit, including those related to Hussein’s security detail, were assiduously discussed and agreed upon by Israeli and Jordanian officials ahead of time. But as became clear when Hussein and his entourage arrived at the Allenby Bridge Crossing to enter Israel, the Jordanians decided to ignore the agreements. Hussein was accompanied by a personal security force much larger and better armed than anything Israel had agreed to.

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