Tag Archives: airbnb dirty

“Superhosts” from Hell in Los Angeles

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The arrangement at our Airbnb was of the kind where you let yourself in. This means that there is no one on the premises to talk to, and if something is wrong, there is no one who can set it right. Although we paid for two people, the apartment was set up for only one. There was a solitary towel in the bathroom and one on the floor, and bedding for only one bed. The owner did not answer the phone and communicates only by texting, so there was no way of remedying any problem in real time.

Although this was supposed to have been a non-smoking apartment, the air was stale and it was reeking of cigarette smoke. The apartment was superficially cleaned. The floor was not quite washed (there were unwashed spots), there was dust on some furniture, and there was junk behind appliances in the kitchen. There were fruit flies in the kitchen and the living room.

Although it was advertised as an air-conditioned apartment, I was not able to find any air conditioning (only a floor fan). This was a problem because the house faces a major traffic artery and it is impossible to keep the window open because the soundproofing is poor, so there is continuous traffic noise and noise from the neighbors, especially from upstairs. The area under the sink was all rotten, with mildew on the floor and the pipes, and as a result, the garbage can was left outside the cabinet, open, and without a lid.

In general (unrelated to this particular apartment), I think that properties where guests let themselves in without meeting the owner should be advertised as such. I would not have taken an apartment if I knew that there was no one on the premises to talk to. If there had been, I would immediately have declined this place, if only because of the fact that it had been smoked in and the area under the sink is rotten and mildewed, which is a health hazard for people with allergies.

I was charged $45.16 for the second person. After a lengthy correspondence with Airbnb, I found that the cost of an additional guest for two nights should be $22. I requested a refund, since the place was set for one. The “superhosts” refused. I think these people are beyond belief: dishonest and greedy, they both overcharged and did not deliver the service.

Finally, Airbnb (hopefully) issued a refund of $30 (why this particular amount?). I haven’t seen the money yet, as it takes them up to 15 business days. A normal service provider should take responsibility, issue a refund, and then solve the problems with the hosts. Airbnb… never again!

Hosts Be Warned About Airbnb When Guests Cause Damage

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A warning for all owners who may rent out vacation homes through Airbnb. We own a couple of villas on the island of Aruba. For almost ten years we have rented out to vacationers and 99% of the rentals have been great: satisfied and happy vacationers.

In August this year, our luck changed. We rented to a Dutch family who totally disrespected our house. The reservation was made through Airbnb, who stated that they had verified the renter. All seemed well. The first day they moved in the complaints started, from stupid comments like “we don’t like the taste of the water in the swimming pool” to “we don’t think cooking with gas is safe.” Then they broke a toilet. This was followed by drapes being pulled down. “The fridge makes a noise and we can’t sleep.”

Each and every time we were advised of any issue we had our property manager involved and he visited the house within an hour. On several occasions, he had to tell the renter to stop having their kids jumping on the furniture and dropping food on the expensive furniture. In addition, they did not know how to light the BBQ and demanded the property manager go and light it.

The renter was moving to the island to take a position with a bank. They had already rented a long-term house and it seems the house became available sooner than they planned. We were sympathetic and refunded some money to them as a goodwill gesture. We found out that they did not pay the rent… it was their employer, yet they pocketed the money.

They walked out early and left the house in a disgusting condition: unflushed feces in toilets, open food on counters, wet towels on beds and furnishings, broken artifacts and glass ornaments, caked on filth and food on the outside patio. I could go on, but I think this describes it somewhat.

After they left, neither our administration manager nor the property manager could believe the mess the house was left in. For example, in July we had the furniture professionally recovered at a cost of thousands. The kids jumped all over it and ground in food, spilled greasy food on it, and pushed dirty muddy footprints into it. We photographed and video recorded all this along with reports from both the property manager and admin lady and forwarded everything to Airbnb. They recorded everything.

Then the bizarre happened. The wife made a complaint to Airbnb who issued her a refund. Subsequently, Airbnb agreed with us and decided to partially cover the costs for cleaning and repairs. The amount they agreed on they did not send us as they had refunded money to the renter. They did not contact us before refunding money to the renter.

Airbnb admitted that someone in the organization made a mistake. We have been calling 2-3 times a week and so far have been unable to get any resolution. We will probably be forced to go through a legal route at this point. In reviewing other owners’ entries in an Airbnb blog, it seems we are not alone in having this experience.

Owners are warned: don’t expect Airbnb to be on your side if things go wrong. We also found out after the renter left that illegal drugs were used in their house during their stay. We have a witness. Airbnb admits that this alone contravenes their policy. That should be enough to bring this to a conclusion, but it hasn’t.

Airbnb Doesn’t Live up to Expectations

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I recently booked an Airbnb in Toronto to visit my granddaughter. The apartment is in what looks like a city housing building in a very rough area of Toronto; the building and grounds are in a state of disrepair, and the elevators were scary to ride. I would never bring my granddaughter there for a sleepover. The apartment was a mess; food was left over from other renters, and all the dishes were sitting in a dirty dish rack on the counter. The beds were just a bunch of mattresses thrown on the floor with no couch and no living room. The furniture was all beat up with blankets thrown over them, and broken old pictures taped for repair. The stove was not fit to cook on.

I have been trying to reach the host, and much like Airbnb he took my 500+ dollars and became unreachable. The Airbnb folks are turning their backs on me. When I asked them how this location was approved, they stated they cannot check each location, and became very rude and short on the phone. If you are booked into an unacceptable location, Airbnb could care less. I have resigned to the fact that I have been ripped off by both Airbnb and the host and am hoping this post will avoid anyone else booking this Airbnb hellhole. I stayed there one night, paid for five, slept in an office chair and picked up take out. So much for Airbnb.

Airbnb House Nightmare, Just Wanted a Clean, Quiet Place

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Our experience was horrible at an Airbnb in New Orleans. We paid the place five months prior to our convention and was expecting to have a great place to stay as advertised.

As soon as we arrived at the place, we knew it was unacceptable. From the posting, it says eight people could stay in four bedrooms. However, there were only three bedrooms. The previous guest wrote all over the wall, making the place filthy… and the notes were inappropriate. The washroom was filthy and disgusting. Mold was everywhere and the floor was so dirty. The neighborhood was unsafe; people were looking at us and checking the car park in front of the place. There was one comment that if we stayed a bit longer, we would get robbed. It was a serious situation. Neighbors were screaming and yelling in the middle of the night.

The same day we called Airbnb, complained, sent pictures of the place, explained our situation, and asked for a full refund. Instead they helped us to relocate to a better place. Again I had to call multiple times to be relocated. It took our Airbnb representative 17 hours to figure out how to transfer the funds to the new place. We had to pay the difference on the top of the original charge. Now, we are in the process of calling them to get that refund.

On the same day, Airbnb only gave us $500 to cover the costs and our credit card still got charged. If someone could help me: what else should I do to get compensated for this trouble? Our first day in New Orleans was a nightmare. We don’t know how we can get compensated for this matter. We all lost sleep and didn’t get enough rest; that ruined the first day of our convention.

Sub-Standard Standards at Wales Airbnb

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A week in Wales went wrong from the start. We booked Friday to Friday but weren’t expected until that Saturday. The property was new to the host and not ready for letting, with many pictures and mirrors on the floor waiting to be hung. The host’s partner asked if he could stay over for a night to carry on with the preparation, leaving the Saturday afternoon after hanging a few pictures.

Our five-bed property had two usable bedrooms. The host had spent lavishly on bedding and towels, yet failed to clean the property which they had recently acquired after it had been empty for over 12 months. The host had inherited crockery, cutlery, and white goods from the previous owner. The crockery and cutlery was filthy, greasy and contained food residue from the last use (some months earlier) The cutlery tray was mouldy and contained dead insects; it was obvious that none of it had been cleaned since the property was purchased. The host had left a pair on her knickers hanging with the aprons in the kitchen. The lovely garden had a number of piles of dog dirt which ought to have been cleaned up before we arrived.

Rather than post a poor review we decided to give the benefit of the doubt to a new business (particularly as the host’s partner is a lovely man) and offered advice on where improvements could be made, in person, when we left. The host then posted a vicious personal attack on us, probably because she thought we might have left negative feedback. Unless the host has learned how to clean, or employed an outside cleaning company to deep clean this property, I would avoid it like the plague. Speaking of plague, we all had flea or bedbug bites on our feet and ankles during our stay at this holiday. I can’t say for sure where they came from but I have my suspicions. This ought to be a beautiful property and could be if the host takes on board guest feedback instead of posting vicious small-minded comments from genuinely disappointed guests.

Dishes and Dirty Diapers Filled this Seattle Airbnb

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I’ll try to keep this short and sweet. I booked a second floor apartment with a nice view of Seattle. The host switched us to the floor below because the nicer property wasn’t available. In exchange, he gave me a $30 refund (…so generous). All of the dishes were filthy with crusty food on them, even the wine glasses they had on display on the counter. My girlfriend went to look outside and saw a dirty diaper on the patio. When we ran the dishwasher, water immediately started pouring out of the bottom.

The best part is I tried to just leave them an honest review, highlighting the positives and the negatives, and they called me a liar. They said I stayed on the second floor and there was no patio. Therefore, there couldn’t have been a diaper (they didn’t mention that they downgraded us to the dungeon below it) and in general said I was cranky. I’m sorry for being unhappy about an uninhabitable filthy property at midnight after a five-hour flight. The smoke detector wasn’t even functioning.

When I contacted Airbnb support, someone who hardly understands the language I wrote in wanted me to send him videos of the property. I got there at midnight and it was filthy… I was so embarrassed in front of my girlfriend I started cleaning immediately. I guess that was my mistake; I should have documented it. Airbnb doesn’t hold hosts accountable. I’ve spent five grand through them in the past four months. I have requested my cleaning fee back for this location and am not expecting it. I’m also not planning any more Airbnb trips.

Nightmare in Quebec Followed by Inept Airbnb

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I reserved a non-smoking room through Airbnb for 30 days at the last minute due to a change of plans. Upon arrival, the entire building smelled like an ashtray and the room was even worse. As a non-smoker, I was literally gagging and knew this wouldn’t work.

Upon further inspection, I discovered stains on the cover that looked liked dried blood. I pulled back the cover and saw dirt, a paw print, and hair (presumably from an animal but at this point, it didn’t matter). I notified the hosts who sent around an air freshener and finally some clean sheets.

The hosts refused to issue a refund and wanted to keep the entire fee (over 1,200 CAD) for a few hours’ stay. I was out of there as soon as another place could be found. I went through two case managers, who decided the best solution was to allow these creepy scamming hosts to keep half of the fees.

I pointed out to the case managers that it’s illegal to obtain funds through misrepresentation of goods or services but they evidently weren’t bright enough to grasp basic legal concepts. They gave me their final final decision tonight and basically told me to get over it. That’s not going to happen; I don’t like scammers. At least I will be going down swinging.

Please Avoid Airbnb’s Customer Service

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I really want to tell someone about my horrible experience with Airbnb. I will never use their services anymore. It is so much better to stay in a hotel and avoid all your frustration rather than dealing with Airbnb. I reserved a luxury two bedroom townhouse in Short North area of Columbus, Ohio. After we checked in, we found the house was old with lead paint everywhere in the house, dirty (my kids’s feet immediately turned black), rusty (the kitchen pot, the bath tub were all rusty), and filled with cheap supplies (kitchen utensils, bedroom sheets, etc).

We requested to move out. I was offered for an alternative and I was told that I had to wait for 4-5 days to know whether it would be available. I stayed for four nights and was then showed an apartment by the host which was nice. However, I was told that the apartment would not be available for eight days. That meant I had to stay in that dirty place for eight more days. I reached an agreement with the host to discontinue the rent and moved out. The host refunded me the money I asked for.

However, some genius at Airbnb decided that I should not be refunded for the whole trip. Their calculation was like this: my entire trip cost $3100 (36 nights); I paid $2700 upfront. I requested $2300 refund based on my payment ($2700 minus the cost for the four nights I stayed). The host immediately refunded me the money. However, Airbnb decided that my cost was $3100 and I only paid $2700, so I owed them $400. They refunded me $1900 ($2300-$400). What a math genius. How did I owe them money for things never even happened?

One month later, they sent me a bill to remind me to check out the apartment and to pay them the remaining $400 balance ($3100-$2700). They had no records to show that I checked out one month earlier. I’ve called them three times so far. Every time I get the same answer. The customer service representative (he or she) would explain to me why they held the $400 from me the same way every time and they had no intention to listen and accept my explanation.

They would say that they had to talk to a case manager who would be available to talk to them but not to me directly. They would then tell me that I had to wait for a case manager to contact me. I would then receive an email from Airbnb to say “case closed”. I’ve spent more than five hours of my precious time to call them so far and there has been no resolution yet. This is really a great way for Airbnb to make money. I have no idea when I can get my money back. When you book on Airbnb, you will have no idea what you get yourself into. For me it has been a nightmare and horrible experience. The worst part of Airbnb is the customer service.

Airbnb Bat Hell in Malaysia – Why is it still listed?

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I booked and prepaid in full for a house near Terengganu, Malaysia for our main family vacation in July. Before doing so I checked out reviews which were positive. I also kept in contact with the owner through Airbnb’s website. We had a long-haul flight from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur followed by a domestic flight to Terengannu. Our party consisted of three adults plus our six-year-old twins.

We were met by my friend who lives locally and drove a hire-car to the house. An old lady who spoke no English met us and we had some trouble opening the door which should have tipped us off that no one had entered in quite a while – certainly not to clean. The house looked like the photos on Airbnb but, within a few minutes we noticed a bat flying in the entrance hall. Then another bat appeared and another… and another. Three things I know about bats: they like unoccupied buildings; they are nocturnal; they live in colonies.

By now my young girls and wife were screaming so I got them into a bedroom while I dealt with the bats. This entailed killing them one by one. It was obvious we could not stay there. The bedsheets had not been laundered in months and my wife found a rodent’s decomposing body under a bed. Clearly, no one had entered this house in months as they would have known about the bat infestation.

The owner came but said she could only reimburse me at the end of the month. In that event, it would be two months before I was repaid. Now we had to find a hotel suitable for a family which of course turned out to be expensive. For the next month we had to move every few days and lacked a set base. On return to Abu Dhabi I contacted customer service and eventually got my money back; however, there was no compensation for my extra expense and inconvenience.

The worst thing is that this property is still on Airbnb’s site along with my negative review. What does a host have to do to be deleted from their site? I challenged Airbnb about this so they know the story with this house and owner – a perfect illustration of how they value hosts more than guests. The property is still on their site. The key lesson I learned is never ever to use Airbnb again but to use booking.com when you can pay on arrival. If booking a place near Terengannu take great care.

Airbnb Host Lied About Refund to Cover up her Mess

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On March 21st this year, my niece, her husband, and I stayed at an Airbnb property in Merimbula NSW, Australia. The three of us were on a road trip taking in parts of NSW and Victoria, and unfortunately our stay there was near the beginning of the trip. This property was not a good introduction to travelling in this country for my relatives who were visiting from the U.K.

On arriving at the property and taking an initial look around, my niece, who was walking upstairs to the main bedroom, could see the side of the bed where the doona was not fully covering the mattress. She was horrified to see a mark on the sheet, and on closer inspection, to realise it was blood.

She then called me and her husband to take a look and we found several more blood stains on the bottom sheet. The doona had obviously been laid on top of the sheet while the blood was fresh as there was a mark on the doona cover directly above one of the blood stains on the sheet.

I immediately rang the host, who sounded genuinely horrified and asked me to send some photos over to her, which I did right away. On receiving them, she rang me straight back and told me that it was the first time she’d used the cleaner (her usual cleaner was away) and was appalled and what we’d found. At the time she couldn’t apologise enough, telling me there was nothing she could do to help as she was on a course in the mountains, but promised me a full refund.

We then spent some time searching the property for clean bed linen (most of the cupboards were locked), only finding two doona covers which were a screwed-up bundle in the bottom of a cupboard. We stripped the stained linen off the bed and replaced it with these two doona covers and as we had no other option, my niece and her husband spent a nervous and uncomfortable night, sleeping on bedding that they didn’t even know whether or not was clean, but felt it was better than sleeping on blood-stained linen.

I declined from writing a negative comment on Airbnb as the host had been so obliging in offering us a full refund for the inconvenience caused. It is a decision I have come to regret, as despite my contacting the host I have received no refund at all. My niece has also sent two emails to her from the U.K. through the Airbnb site, and heard nothing. We are assuming she is totally ignoring us.

The experience we had here was a great disappointment, very unsettling, extremely unhygienic and totally unacceptable. I feel that other people should be made aware of what might await them at this property and that this host should not be permitted to continue to offer it for use. I would also like to add that we stayed at many other Airbnb properties on our trip which were all lovely and restored our confidence in other hosts.