A picturesque beachfront getaway in Northern California was supposed to be the perfect remote-work escape for San Diego resident Kim Coutts. Instead, it turned into a frustrating ordeal.

Coutts, an experienced Airbnb user with over 40 bookings under her belt, splurged about $1,200 for two nights in September 2024 at a cliffside Airstream in Half Moon Bay, San Mateo County. 

She was road-tripping up the coast with her new puppy, Wigbert, looking forward to stunning ocean views while working remotely.

“I decided to take a road trip,” Coutts said. “I was working remotely, I just got my new dog, and I thought we would go up the coast.”

On check-in day, Coutts logged into her Airbnb account to read the host’s instructions, and that’s when she saw a detail she said surprised her:“The power system will go into power-saving mode from midnight until 8 a.m.”

That meant no working outlets, no TV.

By then, it was too late to cancel.

“It was a lot of money,” Coutts said. “I didn’t want to lose the money.”

Airbnb and the host told NBC 7 Responds that the message about power savings mode was in the listing when she booked, and we saw it in the current listing under the House Rules section.

Coutts arrived at the Airstream around 3 p.m., soaking in the breathtaking daytime views.

“I thought I would try,” Coutts said. 

But as dusk fell around 7 p.m., discomfort set in. She packed up, drove to a hotel in Carmel= and messaged the host.

“I am not asking for a refund, but I would hope you can meet me in the middle,” Coutts wrote, hoping for at least a partial refund.

The host offered two free nights for a future stay instead. Coutts accepted.

A year later, Coutts reached out to redeem those nights.

“I waited until September, which is the same time I traveled, and I reached out to rebook,” Coutts said. “He read my message and closed the conversation without saying anything.”

What Coutts didn’t know, and Airbnb confirmed to NBC 7, is that booking message threads automatically close themselves after a year. The host didn’t close the conversation.

Not knowing how to contact the host, Coutts contacted Airbnb.

“Their response was that they’re not responsible for agreements I make with outside parties,” Coutts said.

Frustrated, Coutts decided to call NBC 7 Responds for help.

NBC 7 reached out to Airbnb on her behalf.

“I think about 10 days later, I got the gift card from Airbnb out of nowhere, and I knew someone from your end had reached out,” Coutts said.

In a statement to NBC 7 Responds, Airbnb said:

“We encourage guests to thoroughly review a listing page before booking to ensure it meets their needs, and contact Airbnb in the event of a concern. In this case, at the time the guest booked the reservation, the listing description specified the Airstream’s overnight ‘power-saving mode’ and which amenities would be temporarily unavailable. While the guest did not contact us during their stay a year ago, and no electricity outage was reported to us or the host at the time, we have reached out to provide support with a goodwill coupon for a future trip.” 

While $400 didn’t cover her full original cost, Coutts was very happy to get something back and grateful for the resolution. But more than the money, she wants other travelers to learn from her experience. 

Coutts said that, to prevent surprises when booking vacation rentals, be sure to read every word of a listing before booking. 

As Airbnb and the host confirmed to NBC 7 Responds, the information was there when Coutts booked. It even includes a note that if you aren’t OK with the power savings mode, let the host know in advance, and they will work with you. 

SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – There are signs that things are changing in and around Balboa Park. Paid parking signs were being installed by City of San Diego Transportation Department crews on 6^th Avenue for metered on-street parking in Balboa Park on Wednesday.

Come January 5, 2026, free parking here is gone, and paid parking is coming next year.

“I come down every Monday and Wednesday for pickleball here in the gym,” Tony Puyot, who lives in Ramona, said. “It’s going to be a big burden to pay that much for parking for something that, you know, we’ve always had for free.”

On Tuesday, the San Diego City Council voted to implement the paid parking starting in January.

Outside of the $2.50 an hour for on-street meter parking, the price to park in the lots in Balboa is broken up into 3 levels. 

For lots considered “Level 3,” like the one at Lower Inspiration Point just off Park Boulevard, they cost $5 a day with three hours free. “Level 2,” lots, like the Upper Inspiration Point lot, is will 5 bucks a day but no free time. “Level 1” lots like the Organ Pavilion lot is going to be $8 bucks a day.

However, that pricing is for San Diego residents. If you live outside the city, it’s twice as much to park. 

ABC 10News spoke to a family from Ensenada who visits Balboa Park a couple of times a year when they’re in town. They said the new parking prices would be a reason not to come to Balboa Park, considering that free and affordable parking was a major bonus.

“That I will not pay it. I mean, I will prefer to visit some other place or go to other places. I would not like to pay $16 for a parking spot here, really,” Ernesto Garcia, who lives in Ensenada, said.

The City is offering parking passes with all of the new changes. $150 a year for San Diego residents and $300 for non-residents. 

But the parking pass will be per vehicle, not per household. It’ll be a virtual copy, not a physical one.

“When registering online, City of San Diego residents can use one of the following to verify their residency: driver’s license, vehicle registration, or utility bill,” Leslie Wolf Branscombe, Senior Public Information Officer for the City of San Diego, told ABC 10News in an email. “Residents will need to provide their license plate when creating their account, because their daily visit and passes will be tied to their license plate.”

Puyot said having the pass tied to a specific vehicle could be a major expense if he needs to get a pass for every vehicle he tends to drive to get to Balboa Park.

“I actually also ride a motorcycle, and I have two vehicles that I mainly rotate,” Puyot said. “Obviously, the motorcycle is easier for me for gas and savings as a retiree. But then, if I can only use one vehicle, then that knocks that out in foul weather.”

Some wonder if there still can be some changes made before they have to start paying to park.

“I would hope that they would do something for seniors. I would hope that they would make the single vehicle rule maybe a little more flexible or changeable,” Puyot said.

POINT LOMA, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) — A woman from Point Loma pleaded guilty in federal court last Thursday, admitting she embezzled more than $8.5 million from her employer and spent a portion of the stolen funds on luxuries and high-end fashion.

According to a press release from the Department of Justice, Ping “Jenny” Gao, 55, embezzled the funds from her employer by draining four bank accounts belonging to his U.S. companies.

In her plea agreement, Goa admitted to funneling company funds into fraudulent accounts she created. She reportedly used the stolen funds on lavish shopping sprees at high-end fashion retailers and also purchased a $160,000 Porsche and a $2.9 million home overlooking San Diego Bay.

When the employer discovered the stolen funds, he attempted to sue Gao in San Diego Superior Court, during which she falsely claimed that the person suing her was an imposter and that the real owner of the company in China authorized her actions.

To support her false defense, Gao reportedly paid more than $100,000 to people in China to help fabricate evidence, and she also committed perjury at her deposition by claiming the funds in the companies’ bank accounts belonged to her, according to the report.

While the Superior Court issued orders barring Gao from further spending, transferring,
or dissipating the funds during the pendency of the civil case, she reportedly disregarded the orders and wired $1.6 million to a bank account in Hong Kong.

In 2023, the civil case went to trial with Gao testifying in her own defense. In her defense, she falsely claimed a manager from one of the companies was helping her move the funds to the U.S. by using “underground banks” to avoid Chinese overseas transfer laws.

The court ruled against Gao and turned the preliminary injunction into a permanent one.

However, Gao violated the court order and continued to spend the funds, which reportedly included selling the Porsche to CarMax for $75,000 and exchanging a $70,000 cashier’s check for cash.

To date, more than $3.9 million of the embezzled funds have been either squandered or remain unaccounted.

Gao’s summary of charges includes Wire Fraud, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, and Concealment Money Laundering, which carries a maximum penalty of 20 years and fines of $500,000 or more.