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Consumer watchdog the ACCC has started proceedings against Airbnb over claims it allegedly misled customers into believing prices for Australian accommodation were in Australian dollars, when in fact for many, they were in US dollars.

The ACCC alleges that, between at least January 2018 and August 2021, Airbnb made "false or misleading representations" to thousands of Aussie consumers by displaying prices for Australian accommodation using only a dollar sign, without making it clear that those prices were in US dollars.

"While on at least some occasions Airbnb referred to the price as 'USD' in small font on the last page of the booking process, this happened only after the platform had already displayed numerous dollar ('$') amounts on earlier pages, without nearby reference to US dollars, and after the consumer had clicked to 'reserve' their accommodation," the ACCC said in a statement.

It said the accommodation firm has had "thousands" of complaints over the issue.

But when contacted by customers, the ACCC said it blamed them for selecting that currency, when often they hadn't.

"We allege that Airbnb's misleading conduct meant that consumers were deprived of the opportunity to make an informed choice about whether, and at what price, to book their holiday accommodation on the Airbnb platform," ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.

"In addition to paying higher prices than expected, some consumers who were charged in US dollars also found themselves further out of pocket through currency conversion fees charged by their credit card provider."

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