I couldn’t make this up if I tried. My daughter had used Airbnb in Paris the year before and she knew how to navigate the site, so we asked her to make our reservation. We made our reservation in September 2017 for July 2018. We flew into Paris after a week’s stay in London (also an Airbnb stay). We called our host once we landed as requested in writing by the host. We took a taxi and were about 20 minutes late due to traffic.
Our host then proceeded to chastise my daughter for our tardiness because she was late getting back to work (her ad stated the check-in time was flexible) and she was informed while we were in the taxi of our arrival time to her flat. Our host gave us keys at the bottom of the stairs to the flat and a magnetic key to work the entrance door. She asked my daughter to follow her upstairs to explain the air conditioning, electrical and door lock. We were told to stay downstairs.
Our host then came racing back downstairs with a large bag full of trash and then proceeded to explain to us where to take the rubbish when we left. When I entered the unit, I saw dirty footprints on the bathroom floor and black hair in the sink. The bathroom mirror and tiny sink had crusty residue from previous guests. I ended up cleaning the shower, sink, mirror and floors before we could use. The shower was gross and in desperate need of re-caulking due to mold stains.
The flat was four flights up (not the two stated) with steep and narrow steps. There was a hot plate and two sets of dishes (for three guests). Not a kitchen as stated in the Airbnb ad. There was no air conditioning. There were two small electrical upright fans. The mini fridge didn’t stay cold enough to keep perishables fresh for more than half a day at best and was next to the far wall. We had to open the windows of the studio flat to get air into the tiny unit.
The neighbor one floor up would sit in a chair and stare into our flat while his cigarette smoke had no where else to go but from his window into out flat. The walls between the atrium were about 12 feet apart and our only two windows faced the apartment directly across from us. It was disgustingly humid and we ended up opening the windows in an attempt to cool down the room.
My oldest daughter woke up from her futon “bed” to find the neighbor staring at her from his open window while she slept. When my daughter caught him, he laughed and made a disgusting gesture which I witnessed and pulled the curtains closed over the two windows. He followed this behavior up with us having to listen to him and his partner have sex. I ended up closing the windows and hurried my girls out the door to find breakfast somewhere. It was close to 6:30 in the morning. This jerk pulled the same thing the very next morning. No lie. At least this time I didn’t let my daughter sleep in her underwear.
We thankfully had a flight to catch and needed to be out of the unit by 6:30. So, my best advice to you is do your homework when booking an Airbnb. Read all reviews from all sites that your unit may be posted on. My daughter told me the next day that the owner had taken her ad off the website. Looks like she made enough money off of us to make some repairs. Paris was beautiful but this Airbnb was disgusting in every way.
That’s not considered third party booking, Kate.