I rented an Airbnb house in Okinawa, Japan recently. The photo of the living room appeared very nice and clean with cozy wooden floors, walls, and nice furniture. When I entered the house, I noticed the floor and walls looked rather aged, but I wasn’t worried. The rent was very affordable for such a large space (seven to eight guests, according to my host). The bathroom floor had many strands of hair probably left behind by previous guests even though I was told the place was cleaned after every stay. Still, no worries.

When I tried to prepare some food, I noticed that the microwave and rice cooker weren’t working. Their power switches wouldn’t go on. I texted my host and he simply messaged back: “read the user’s manual.” I didn’t want to bother him so I tried in vain to get the appliances to work, to no avail. I finally texted him back about my suspicions that the power supply in that corner of the house was probably out, and he texted me back saying “check the breaker box which is probably near the main door or the bathroom door.” I searched thoroughly and found no such box. We ended up boiling some water and had instant noodles.

I realized there were not enough beds for seven to eight people, only for five. I ended up crashing on the living room sofa while my wife and two children shared a single bed. I turned off the lights and tried to sleep, but noticed something dark the size of my thumb scurrying across the floor in front of me. I turned the lights on and found myself facing a huge cockroach who was staring straight at me. I froze for several minutes and it scurried under my suitcase. I finally mustered the courage to lift the suitcase up and that’s when it literally flew into my face. I freaked out and fell on my back. Then I saw the beast hunkering in the corner. I picked up a slipper and whacked it as hard as I could repeatedly.

That wasn’t the end: my host instructed me to wash the towels before checking out and the washing machine didn’t work due to the electrical problem. I told him I couldn’t wash the towels and checked out on time. Since then, he has been pressuring me to write a good review so he can write a good review about me. It was my first Airbnb experience and I am never using Airbnb again.