Airbnb has been a Huge Disappointment

Airbnb owners broke their promise to offer us a nice clean place to stay over the winter. The posted reviews on Airbnb for the unit were nice. When we approached the host on June 6, 2018, she asked us to deal with her directly instead of going through Airbnb “to avoid the unneeded formalities.” She repeatedly advised us that “the place is nice, has all the basics and more and she wants us to be happy there.”

We dealt with her and with someone who was introduced to us as her agent. Later we discovered that he was listed as an owner of the place. We wondered if he has a license or not.

We intended to stay in the rented unit for four months. We came from Winnipeg, Manitoba, making 3,060 km during our four days of driving. We arrived in evening of December 8, 2018. The agent met us at the place. During this first meeting he repeatedly posed as an agent for the host by confirming it verbally as well as by calling her several times to get instructions.

We discovered the following shocking deficiencies to the unit: it was dusty and filthy; the carpets were black and dirty; most of the cupboards and drawers were filled in with old useless objects, rubbish, old packaging, all dusty and in disarray; the entire unit was cluttered; all corners and shelves filled with dusty artificial plants; even an old TV was stored on the living room floor.

Please note that the place was small: only 400 square feet. We asked the agent if he could take all that unneeded stuff out of the unit. He said that he would consider taking out only some of it. The bed, pillows and bedding looked dirty and worn out; the bed was not made. The fridge and freezer contained a lot of containers with old food. The fridge was leaking with dirty stale water on the bottom of it. The fridge was producing a very loud uncharacteristic noise.

The hot water tank was not working; there was no hot water in the unit. Later the agent told us that it was fixed. However, we learned from a different source that the tank was leaking, and, if so, it could not be fixed. The agent suggested going to the clubhouse for showering. All the windows had worn out dusty curtains and paper “blinds” that were deteriorating.

The front door lock was not working properly, behaving rather “finicky” as per the agent’s description. We were instructed to use the door leading directly from outside to the bedroom. That door lock was also malfunctioning. The toilet and sink faucet were filthy. One window was not closing as it had a cable wire running through it.

The unit had a bad smell (possibly from the sewer). The parking stall turned out to be small and our truck stuck out on the road. The outdoor furniture was also old and filthy. The whole place was in an unhealthy state of disrepair and disarray: worn out, full of dust and stinky.

We were supposed to pay $1090/month for that place… we were shocked. We had no choice but to stay there overnight. We were tired and afraid that it might be difficult to find a hotel room on a Saturday night. We spent all evening behind the computer looking for an alternative accommodation and moved to a hotel the next day.

We stayed there for a week before finding a place to settle for the remaining term. Please note that there were five reviews that were very nice referring to the place as being nice and clean. We realize that one review was probably referring to a different place as those guests were staying over a weekend and the place “was located walking distance from a festival ground.”

In fact, the location of the subject property is quite remote and renting for a period shorter than one month term is not permitted by the Almar Acres Association. We consider those nice reviews as fraudulent misrepresentation. We consider the whole situation as a fraud. We were tricked by the sweet promises.

In fact the unit has deteriorated far beyond a quick clean or quick fix. The owners are not considerate or trustworthy people. They lied to us about the place and about their own status in respect to the ownership. It feels sneaky and it is not acceptable. They inconvenienced us and made us pay for a hotel. It is so unfortunate that our vacation started with a huge disappointment.