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Airbnb Host Expects Guest to do All Cleaning

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I planned a weekend in Montreal for my son and I and tried Airbnb for first time. Upon arrival I noticed food crumbs all over the sleeper sofa in the living room. In the bedroom, my son pulled back the blankets; the sheets were stained. We contacted the host and he told me I could find clean sheets in the closet or dryer. After driving 6.5 hours, apparently I should change the sheets. I would also have had to wash the blankets, clean the sofa, stove, the TV, and god knows what was on the table; it had a film of grease on it.

I left and got a hotel for the weekend. My host’s response was to tell me since I left he hoped I had locked the door because I was responsible for the house and he would look at the place in the morning. I checked in with him the next day and heard nothing back. He then contacted me to say his property manager went to check on the place and there was a couple of issues but nothing as bad as I implied. Stained sheets are a deal breaker.

I contacted Airbnb and asked for a refund. Even though I asked for a manager, the agent gave me a $11.32 refund because he felt my issue with the host could have been resolved by me cleaning the place at 11:30 at night and washing all the bedding. I don’t know about anyone else, but when I arrive at a hotel it’s really nice to not have to clean for three hours before being able to relax.

Was Someone Killed on the Mattress at this Airbnb?

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Welcome to Airbnb Hell. That’s our experience with a recent listing – I can’t actually call them “hosts”. People like that should never be allowed to rent out premises. The warning signs were there.

We entered the premises, and it didn’t quite look like the shiny photos. Anyway, we read the notice about not stepping loudly on the stairs, and the wifi details. The wifi didn’t work. So we contacted them, and found that in fact, those details were incorrect, and we were given other wifi details. The TV didn’t really work. After a few replies, the hosts stopped responding to that issue. Well, it did work, but none of the remotes operated it, it only had one channel, and there were no instructions at all.

We found the kitchen tap broken, the toilet seat loose, and the strip on the floor between the kitchen and living room was loose. We found no shampoo or soap in the shower. Well, all these things indicated a lack of care, but one overlooks them. What else could we do?

However, we discovered, to our horror, one thing that could not be overlooked. The mattress had a wrinkle in it, so we pulled back the sheets to find that not only was there no mattress cover, but the whole mattress was blood stained. Someone died on it? Blood was smeared all over it. It also had a lot of dirt, muck, it looked like it came out of a heroin doss house. Seriously, you wouldn’t put a homeless person on a mattress like that. Only a drug addict, completely out of it, would sleep on that mattress. No way we were going to spend another night on that bed.

We contacted for the hosts at 9:00 AM. No response. 10:00 AM, no response. We waited. No response. We contacted Airbnb. They couldn’t get a hold of them either. Finally, at almost 1:00 PM, four hours later, the hosts offered to get a mattress cover. We replied that the mattress was disgusting, and needed to be replaced. These people were charging good money for this listing, more than local hotels charge for a room.

Then it was the afternoon. No communication. I enquired what was happening at 5:00 PM, 5:30 PM, and 7:30 PM. No response. I called Airbnb. They couldn’t get a hold of the hosts. Finally at 10:00 PM the hosts informed us they were not going to replace the mattress. They were not convinced because we were upset and angry. If we had been nicer, they might have done it.

Wow. Who are these people? What are they doing running a business through Airbnb? They did not even believe the mattress was in poor condition. They claimed it happened recently, which is blatantly untrue; the mattress was clearly the result of years of dirt muck and personal grime.

So, this horrible experience left us high and dry. We had to go to a hotel that night, and arrived at midnight after all this trouble. The next morning at 7:00 AM, we were looking for other accommodations, but of course because it was the last minute, there was pretty well nothing left. We spent a further 14 hours dealing with Airbnb, to try to find a suitable alternative. Sitting in the car, with our food spoiling.

I had to argue with three Airbnb case managers who said they would only give us $200 towards another place, which was not going to work, as anything in that price bracket had disappeared months ago. Case managers promised to call back, but never did. Finally, at 6:00 PM, we got a case manager who actually helped, and got a proper voucher for us. Finally, at 9:30 PM that night, we located something (a few places I contacted were in fact not available).

To add insult to injury, that horrible mattress must have had bugs, which bit my wife; I took photos. Like I say, these people are dangerous as “hosts”. They don’t care, they have no sense of responsibility to their guests, and they have no standards.

Not Quite Airbnb Hell, but Certainly Uncomfortable

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A few weeks ago I had my first Airbnb experience. Reviews on the place in Lancaster were decent, and the photos looked nice. The host did not live there. It looked like a very quiet, countryside place. I was looking forward to it and having the peace and quiet of being alone. The host did warn me that a family member would/could be there, but their area of the house was private with their own bath, so no need to worry about being bothered. My stay was for three nights.

A bit about me before I continue on. I am 69 years old. I don’t act it, don’t look it – so I am told – and I certainly don’t feel my age. I am very healthy and my energy level is way beyond others my age. Mentally, nothing gets by me.

I had traveled all day, flying from PA to Lancaster, having rented a car at the Charlotte airport. I was anxious to get to the place I was staying at. I had received directions for entering the house, which was very detailed, saying once I parked, I would be at the back door. A code was given.

Once I pulled in, I looked at the back door, which was on a deck that had 14 steps that I had to carry my 30-pound suitcase up. I just sit there in the car for a moment, wondering why this was not mentioned when it did mention having to climb steps once inside to get to my room.

Oh well. I am 5’2″ tall, and average weight. I lugged the suitcase by taking a few steps, then hoisting it up, another few steps, hoist, another few, and hoist, until I was finally at the door.

The whole while I was climbing and hoisting, I was thinking about how I was going to have to deal with getting my suitcase back down in a few days when I left. I entered a lovely sunroom; it was dark, but dimly lit inside. I moved to the kitchen area, which had been explained in the instructions.

I immediately was drawn to the kitchen sink, as I parked my suitcase so I could make a second trip with my other smaller pieces of luggage left in the car. The kitchen sink was filled with dirty dishes. Not just a few. I frowned and wondered why this would be left for a paying guest to see. Next I see a cast iron frying pan, sitting near the stovetop, with remains of cooked meat and grease.

After retrieving all that I needed from the car, I then began my ascent of the stairway to my room, having to go through a foyer. All was quiet, the stairway was lit. I then saw outdoor debris on the steps and realized they must not have vacuumed, and again thought and wondered why they didn’t have it cleaned better.

I am an immaculate housekeeper, so tried to shrug it off as just me being too clean. After all, I really couldn’t do anything about it. The house did look like a lovely house, and it was only for three days. I would basically only be sleeping there.

The Airbnb listing stated, in several places, that there were at least four rooms that were shared with owners, one being the kitchen. It even stated you could cook your own meals. This was not my intent, since I was there for a wedding and visits with family, so after eating a cup of yogurt and banana in the mornings (which I bought), I would be gone until the evening each day and leaving by 6:00 AM after my third night.

I never went into any other rooms, nor even peeked into other rooms. I only went through the places I had to go through to get to my room. Once in the room, it looked decent enough, but the carpet was dirty around the doors – actually black. The color of the carpet was a light tan.

I looked at the bed, which was very high, with about a dozen decorative pillows and cushions on it. I went up close to the bed and stood there in wonder as to how in the world I was going to get into it. It came up to my breast area in height. I looked around for a stool; there was none at the bed. I tried to swing my left leg up on it, then tried my right leg. No go.

Even though I am in decent physical condition, I just knew I would not be able to run and make a flying leap onto the top of the bed. I stood there questioning, out loud, wondering how they could not think that someone short would not be able to get into this bed, and how they didn’t provide a stool for that purpose.

I stacked up about five pillows and attempted it that way. I didn’t work, because I sank too low when stepping on the pillows. I was perplexed. I looked at the end to see if I might step on the foot-end frame to climb up. Due to the high curve and no decent ledge to step on, that was out of the question.

I decided to just use the bathroom and then come up with another plan for getting myself into the bed. The bathroom was referred to as the “Jack & Jill bathroom”. I’ll let you determine what that meant. Immediately I saw the dirty floor. It was white tile and obviously had not been mopped properly in a long time, as there were shoe prints and hair on the floor, and two throw rugs that were linty and matted down, so you knew they hadn’t been shaken or washed in sometime.

The toilet seat was open, the water inside the bowl was brown, and remnants of one of those toilet things that hang on the side was sticking to the side in a blue glob. I was really feeling disgusted.

I then returned to tackle how to get into the bed. I spied a chair in the corner. It was too heavy for me to move, but it had a rocker/glider foot stool at it. I wondered if it might be high enough to give me the boost I needed to get into the bed once I showered. I brought it over to the bed, not yet having pulled back the covers.

Well, it worked. It was just high enough, but of course the minute you put your foot on it, it would glide back and forth. I wedged it up against the side table next to the bed, now it only glided to one side instead of back and forth. I quickly steadied my elbows on the bed and swung the free leg up. I was on it.

Now to get off? I would just slide off on my belly till my feet hit the floor, as to step on the glider might be too hazardous. Once off, I pulled back the comforter and folded it nicely at the foot-end, after taking off the dozen pillows. I then saw the pillows. There was a brown stain on one that looked like dried blood. Then I saw further down a stain on the sheet, more towards the foot-end.

Fortunately, I brought my own pillowcase, because these pillows smelled like someone’s greasy head. I cringed and was feeling so disappointed in what I was seeing thus far. I placed the one with the stain on the floor and used my pillowcase on the other.

The room was too warm and the host did message me earlier, stating that if it needed adjusting to let him know as it was controlled by the wifi and he would have to adjust it. After showering I went straight to bed. The shower stall was okay, but it really was in need of a good cleaning; the corners looked yucky. I slept okay.

While having my yogurt in the morning, I sat at the kitchen table and messaged the host about the heat and requested it be turned down a few degrees, which he did take care of. I told him of the bed issue. He apologized and offered for me to sleep in another room they rent out. I decided just to deal with the room I was in, not wanting to cause more work for them by tearing up another bed.

I had brought my own tea to make, so used the microwave to heat it up. Other than that, I did not use the kitchen at all. The counters were dirty, too. I had asked the host, when I messaged him about the heat, where the dishwashing liquid was so I could do up some dishes in the sink that were there when I arrived. He told me it was under the sink. I didn’t not find any and decided I was not going to bother cleaning up the kitchen, as this was not why I was there, to clean for them.

On my last day there, I was gone all day and returned around 5:00 PM, having brought with me a premade salad from a store to eat for my evening meal. When I arrived, a family member was there, which had been talked about in the listing. She was watching TV in another room with a friend.

As I passed that room to get to mine, I introduced myself and asked if it would be okay to eat my salad at the kitchen table. I did not want to invade on their privacy. She assured me that it would be okay. They left shortly after that and she offered for me to watch TV if I wanted. I thanked her and told her that I wouldn’t be watching TV, as I was leaving early in the morning and needed to get some sleep.

I found a message on my phone during that time, from the host. It was strange; this was my third day and I would be leaving. His message was asking me if this was my first time doing Airbnb. The message had been left earlier in the day. I was with family all day, so didn’t realize until then that he had messaged me.

I answered that it was my first time and asked him why he was wondering. He responded saying because I had asked about the dishwashing liquid, that indicated I was using the kitchen, which wasn’t part of the rent. Naturally, I was stunned. I messaged back that I had not really used the kitchen – only to eat my yogurt in the morning, which I stored in their fridge and to make myself a cup of tea. I then reminded him that his ad indicated it was okay to use it.

After sending that message off I pulled up the Airbnb listing to read it again, to make sure I had not been mistaken or misinterpreted anything. I saw it was in at least three different places about the kitchen and other rooms being shared with owner, so I messaged him again to let him know that it was clearly stated in the listing that it was shared with the owner, but told him that I didn’t use it anyway.

It was obvious that he was now feeling insulted that I was right. He wrote back, telling me that no one else has ever done this before – other guests, he meant. By now, I felt he was accusing me of doing something I should not have done. I stopped responding. He wrote again, saying, “Congratulations, you are the first.”

I started shaking, wondering why he was acting this way. I did not respond. I showered and went to bed. However, I was not able to sleep at all, as I could not believe how this all turned on me in an instant. I could not wait to get out of there. I felt so uncomfortable about being there.

I was not going to say anything to him about the dirtiness of the place, the dishes in the sink, the greasy pan, dirty bathroom, sheets, etc., but now I decided to take pictures of all that I have explained here. They are on my phone and I don’t know how or even if I could transfer them to the computer, so won’t be putting them out here.

I don’t see how to save what I am writing here to see if I can do that later. It would have been too hard for me to write all of this from my phone, as I had to file a resolution complaint on the phone to do the pictures and it was difficult due to the small space, and having to write so much.

I waited several days, once home, and it was Christmas a few days later. Right after I contacted Airbnb via phone and explained all of this to them and asked them how to handle this with them. The only way to send the pictures was to open a resolution complaint, so I did.

Well, it all backfired. They ended up telling me my complaint was not valid since I didn’t contact the host, first, and also because I stayed the entire time despite the place being dirty. I have gotten numerous messages from Airbnb since I began the process. I’ve called them two more times. I wanted to explain further, but it has all been too much hassle.

I sent the pictures to prove it along with my initial complaint. I told them I did not want a refund, I just want for the host to see the pictures. I’ve decided this just isn’t worth it. I sit here now, just wanting someone to know the truth about it all.

Would I do another stay with Airbnb? Yes, as my son told me to just stick with those who are Superhosts and he will help me find one who is better, as he has much more experience with Airbnb.

I was so disappointed in how it all turned out for me this time, but the host showed his true colors in the way he reacted to me being right about what was in the listing. I never did sleep a wink that last night. My intentions were to leave around 6:00 AM; I ended up leaving at 4:30 AM and being relieved I was out of there.

That morning, while my car was heating up, I ate my yogurt in the car so as not to have to eat it at the kitchen table that was not included in the rent, as he claimed. I don’t know if Airbnb showed him the photos that I sent, if they did that is all I wanted, anyway. The person who is supposed to be taking care of the place is the family member. She isn’t doing it and the host needs to know.

At least I was able to get this off my chest. Sooner or later there will be others that complain about the dirty place or nothing mentioned about the deck steps or the too high bed and no stool. The last I checked on the listing, which was about a week ago, the ad still reads the same. How do you tell them their place is too dirty while you are staying there?

I had no other place to go to and could not afford a hotel, but according to Airbnb, because I didn’t leave, it made my complaint invalid. What a poor way to handle this when pictures tell it all. I stated that it wasn’t about getting a refund, so it wasn’t costing Airbnb anything by having to return my money. Yes, I stayed, but that doesn’t mean I wanted to.

Complete Dump Misrepresented on Airbnb

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The Airbnb house was infested with rodents. This was not a mild problem. There were multiple rodent droppings in the cupboards inside the pots and pans, strainers, tupperware, etc. I discovered new droppings in the pantry on our second morning (where we were keeping our food). The host had to provide us with large plastic bins to safely store our food and protect it from rodents. Droppings were littered under the refrigerator.

The house needs major repairs. The deck is completely rotten and unsafe to walk on with the second floor railing about to fall off. The septic system leaked sewer gas into the house when it rained or if we took a shower. We saw a pipe draining out of the side of the house with brown/soapy liquid that smelled like sewage, but can’t verify that it was. Smelled bad though.

The host does not present truthful information in the listing regarding handicapped accessibility. There are no bedrooms or bathrooms that are accessible without climbing stairs. There are also no railings on the stairs at all. I specifically asked the host about this because my elderly father was traveling with us and he needed an accessible bedroom and bathroom. The host assured me that there were accommodations for my father “on the main floor” but failed to mention that it involved climbing four stairs without a railing. I guess he just wanted to rent the house.

The dishwasher does not work. It is worn out and even after we got it to run through a cycle, it did not clean the dishes. The host sent a technician during our stay who was supposed to “order parts”. We were left with a moldy dish rack (yuck) so we could hand wash dishes. I complained and the host sent a new dish rack.

The pots and pans were so worn out and scraped up that the non-stick coating came off in our food. They were unusable. I complained and when a lady (his wife?) delivered us a new set of pans and told me “well, it’s just a rental”. People renting a $486/night “rental” have the right to expect a clean kitchen with usable appliances and cookware.

There was a waste can half full of moldy water underneath one of the downstairs sinks. The trap on the sink was a worn out rubber type that completely leaked. Obviously the host knew and just put a trashcan under it. It smelled bad and we poured out the moldy water. Again, $486/night.

Years ago this was probably a nice family home. Currently it needs major repairs and has health and safety issues. The host is misrepresenting it as “a truly magnificent meditation retreat” and even though Airbnb is now aware of this scam, they refuse to hold the owner accountable. They obviously make a lot of money from high end listings like this, even if guests are scammed and it’s a dump.

Worst Airbnb Experience at their HQ, San Francisco

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We rented a unit for a month and regretted it. Read this to understand what you might experience at an Airbnb location. When we arrived, the owner gave us a key, took us through a dark garage, opened the door and wished us luck. When we walked in, the place smelled bad. The owner gets paid for cleaning between Airbnb visitors but it didn’t look clean when we arrived.

However, we had been traveling for ten hours so we just collapsed. There was no welcome card, no information about the area, or even basic information like which day the garbage would be picked up. It turned out that the regular entry to the apartment was down a dark, dank, dusty hall that looks like no one has been there for years. Spooky.

The bedding looked very used. On top of that, the mattress squeaked with every movement. When we took their bedding off, we found stains and rips in the mattress protector. If you are allergic to dust mites, good luck; no amount of Zyertec will help.

The next morning we went to IKEA and bought our own bedding. My husband was starting a new job the next day. When he left for work I bought my own cleaning supplies. There was no mop or broom or anything else to keep the apartment clean. No paper towels. Nothing. Yet the minimum rental is a month. I guess you’re just supposed to let it get dirty.

I started cleaning. It took days. When I mopped the floor, the water was black. Whatever I wiped showed layers of dirt: the tables, chairs, headboard, cushions, the shelves, everything. I took videos to show my family and friends. They couldn’t believe that such an expensive place was in that condition.

We decided it would better if we covered the couch. It smelled bad. There was an old carpet that looked very dusty, and it was. When I lifted it to clean there was a cloud of dust. We set it aside, not wanting to it to foul the air through our visit.

The kitchen utensils look like a mixed bag of whatever other visitors may have left behind. The sprayer on the sink was rusty and there was rust on the refrigerator too. We didn’t want to touch the dishes so we ate off of paper plates and plastic utensils. When we sat down to our first meal at the table, we could see sticky spots from previous visitors.

When you see the picture of the outdoor patio it looks inviting. In fact, all the furniture is covered in dirt and mold. I tried to clean it but it was way too beat up and old. The chaise has a couple of old, moldy cushions. You can’t sit on the furniture anyway because it’s falling apart.

It would be nice to open the sliding door to the patio for the pleasant air. Unfortunately, there is no screen and the bushes are filled with mosquitoes. When we did leave the door open, bugs and flies would come in. On the walls you will find squashed mosquitoes left behind by other visitors. My husband was bitten many times. I took pictures of the red blotches on his face.

The door to the unit is next to the host’s garage. Several times we opened the door to find that their car had blocked our exit. Either we had to climb over the bumper or push through the bushes to get out. This was unsafe.

I hope you’re not looking for a quiet evening. On random evenings you’ll hear pounding on the ceiling. It’s the kids jumping and running around above you.

Now about safety; the address is “2022 A.” The main house is “2022.” The only indication that there is an entrance to “A” is a tiny half-inch letter. If you have any mail or packages, you’re in for trouble. Twice the owner took my packages and opened them. A bigger problem is theft. Two very large packages were delivered at the owner’s door. They were new clothes that I had specially ordered. After a couple of days, I noticed that they hadn’t been delivered to 2022 A. They were stolen, so we had to file a police report. I have my copy.

Here’s something else creepy. I was in the kitchen and I heard a noise in the bedroom. I went to see and found that someone was trying to get in from the main house through the door from the owner’s garage. It was a woman who called herself the nanny. If I hadn’t remembered to lock the door while I was cleaning, the owner and other people in their house could have just come and gone unannounced. Don’t leave anything valuable behind.

We left ten days early, and we were glad to go. I know what the owner will say: “Why didn’t you tell me?” Shouldn’t an owner who constantly rents their property do more to make it livable, clean, sanitary, and safe? Is it our job to point all this out to the host, who lives upstairs?

The second bad experience was trying to post a review on Airbnb. We posted our review at the end of our rental which meant it was available for Airbnb to review at any time. They waited 14 days to see if the owner was going to write a review too.

After 13 days and 18 hours (late in the evening) Airbnb sent an email saying: “I wanted to reach out to you about the review that you left about the host. We wanted to let you know that we investigated the review and in the review you give out the address of the listing which is a violation of the Airbnb Policy, so because of that we will have to remove the review.”

We hadn’t listed the address, only the street numbers because of the problems we encountered. But, okay, no problem. We could make a tiny edit. However, by the next day they said the “time limit” to edit the review was up, so it did not appear.

I called Airbnb four times and also emailed them. The operators were pleasant but in the end, no one would listen. I simply explained that they had not given us any time to make the tiny correction and that we wanted to post the review. We let the host know about our review. She immediately threatened us writing, “Do not spread a bad review and rumors. I would consider it libelous to do so. The Airbnb lawyers will handle this.”

Airbnb prohibits “extortion” saying, “reviews are a way for Airbnb guests and hosts to share their experiences with the community. Any attempt to use reviews or review responses to force a user to do something they aren’t obligated to do is a misuse of reviews, and we don’t allow it.” That includes “hosts asking a guest to take specific actions related to a review in exchange for a resolution to a dispute between the parties.”

Beyond that they say the hosts and guests agree to follow all Airbnb guidelines and policies, including the Extortion Policy and that failure to do so may result in the restriction, suspension or termination of your Airbnb account. “If you think you’ve experienced extortion, please contact us”, which we did. There was no response. I know this is a lengthy review but if your experience was like ours, you will regret not paying attention to this story.

After Night in Toronto, Never Booking Again

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I just stayed at an Airbnb for the first time on Halloween, in Toronto. I live in Toronto but wanted a place to stay downtown after going out. I only booked one night for me and my friend. In my request, I had mentioned that we might be checking out at 10:00 AM (check out is 11:00 AM) because of work the next day.

Upon check in, it took the front desk 15 minutes to open the door, and when we told them we were a “guest of [host]” she looked at us like we were crazy.

I said “for an Airbnb?”

She said “well do you have a key?”

Puzzled, we said no and she literally just told us to go upstairs, without showing our ID or anything. Later on, when I had another friend come by to do our makeup, they wouldn’t let her upstairs at all and insisted I come downstairs.

The place was honestly small, but it was cute. We got ready, had a few drinks and went out for the night. We came back to the condo early, because we honestly both don’t drink often and got pretty sick and wanted to sleep.

The next morning, I called in to work saying I would be starting at 1:00 PM instead. This was at 9:30 AM. My friend was still sleeping since she was a lot sicker than I was. When I got up and showered I noticed mold in the shower, which looked like they tried to cover it up.

As soon as I got out of the shower, at around 10:00 AM, I heard a knock on the door. The cleaners came early assuming we would have checked out at 10:00 AM. I kindly told them that there had been a change of plans and we need to stay until 11:00. This was mainly because we needed to clean up and pack, but my friend was still sick.

Now, I understand that I had mentioned to the host that I might check out early, but this does not change the check out time. Especially if it was only an hour difference and was never confirmed. I spent the next hour packing and cleaning up, the cleaners knocked on the door 15 minutes before 11:00 and my friend (who was sick) answered in, to be honest, a rude tone at first but then quickly apologized.

We talked to the cleaners for around 20 minutes before leaving. Well, they talked about nonsense to be honest. Now, the property may not have been sparkling clean, mostly because of all the sponges and counter towels left for cleaning smelled terrible, but the place was not “disgusting”.

This is what the host chose to write about my stay. He even accused us of chipping the porcelain in the bathroom. I don’t even know how that could even happen. He was petty, complaining about little things like coffee stains, shoe marks, stickiness on the counter or towels/sheets having makeup on them. Wouldn’t you have to wash them, anyway?

He wrote more than an essay on how disgusting we left the place, how we checked out twenty minutes late and made his cleaners wait an hour that he paid them for. He proceeded to over exaggerate so many things: the wrappers in the bedroom, and the ashes on the balcony (smoking on the balcony was allowed).

This guy literally disgraced my name on Airbnb and I only stayed one night. I barely had enough time to make a mess, let alone clean up. I was extremely rushed out during a hangover. In his review about me, he made it seem as though I missed work because of my “heavy drinking” and questioned my personal character. So uncalled for.

He then proceeded to BS how he paid his cleaners over $800 for three and a half hours of cleaning? Firstly, the cleaning ladies looked like they were his mom and grandmother based off of his picture, and secondly can I become his cleaner? What is that, $50 an hour? Pay me and I will leave the Airbnb spotless.

Jokes aside, you pay a service fee and a cleaning fee, and all of a sudden $130 a night is $250 and he wants the place spotless before I leave? I have to get on my hands and knees and scrub his damn floor? No thanks. Never again – back to hotels for me. As a suggestion to future renters of Airbnb, take pictures before and after you leave.

Another Person Staying in my Booked Airbnb

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My worst Airbnb experience happened in Tours, France. I arrived around 21:00 to pick up the key from the box to the apartment just to find out there was no key from it and there was already someone staying in the same apartment. The other guest was surprised too. It happened that this other guest had a cousin living in the same town, so she left the apartment for me.

At first I was happy that I didn’t have to look for another place to stay… until I entered the dirty apartment. There was hair on the sheet, wet towels, and crumbs on the table. The host promised me clean sheets just the next day, but she gave me a refund for a one-night stay. The most ironic part is I got a bad review stating that I left the apartment dirty. I left it the same as I found it and a cleaning fee was included. Not recommended.

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Locked in Small, Disgusting Airbnb Room

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I rented a small room through Airbnb. It certainly was the stay from hell. The sheets were filthy. The room was filthy. There was a safety issue with the keys; I was locked in my room for three hours and unable to get out. I was terrified. All attempts to contact the owners – phone calls, texts – were ignored.

Although there may be many good reviews on the property this was not my experience. The owner attempted to bribe me with a cheap bottle of champagne to not write a negative review on Airbnb, stating he was a politician in Brugge and didn’t want any negative reviews attached to his name.

Shortly after arriving at the Airbnb, I went to sleep before heading out for the evening. Pulling back the sheets, it was obvious they had not been changed: the pillows had hair on them, and the sheets were crushed and filthy. I guess someone had slept in them with shoes on, bits of grass, dirt, gravel.

I called the owners. They promised to come over and change sheets immediately. Three hours later I called the host to ask why she had not arrived as promised. She rudely stated, “I have more important things to do. I have to pick up my child from school.”

If you can’t manage to juggle your business and your family life, then don’t become an Airbnb host, and certainly don’t lie to guests. When I said I would not sleep in filthy sheets she rudely said she would send a cleaner over to change the sheets, which she could have done in the first place.

The cleaner arrived an hour later, four hours from my initial call. The cleaner was shocked when she viewed the sheets and promised to inform the owners. She also agreed that the floors had not been vacuumed, the toilet had certainly not been cleaned or flushed, and the basin had not been wiped – it was disgusting, with old soap and toothpaste left. The shower had not been wiped clean. This room had obviously been missed.

The following morning I had planned to head out for a walk early but was unable to unlock the door after trying numerous times. I called both owners for help and sent texts but they were ignored. Three hours later, the cleaning staff arrived. I had to yell from my room for help. The staff acknowledged that this was an ongoing issue and both owners were fully aware of the safety issue regarding the key and had done nothing. The cleaning staff told me they had had previous issues with guests being locked in this room before.

Shortly later as I was packing my bag to leave, I could hear the host speaking with a staff member in the garden/courtyard below my room chastising the staff member for not cleaning the room or changing the sheets. He spoke to her at length and I heard all of this conversation. Yet the host stated the sheets had been changed and I was overreacting and not staying calm regarding the keys. Instead of taking responsibility and simply apologising for the mistake, they chose to shame me in an attempt to make themselves look better.

Later as I was leaving the property the host approached me and attempted to tell me why the room had not been cleaned. He offered no apology, just “My wife is a very busy person and doesn’t always have time to clean the room between guests.” He then went on to hand me a bottle of champagne -which I refused – as a bribe to stay quiet, begging me to not put a negative review on Airbnb as he was a local politician in Brugge and did not want any negative reviews against his name.

Their review on me was completely dishonest in an attempt to protect themselves and their tardiness and deflect any responsibility. I was disgusted and disappointed by these hosts: unprofessional, dishonest and simply low-lifes. Do not stay at here. Absolutely the room and hosts from hell.

Breezehome in Overveen Haarlem Netherlands near Amsterdam

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I have been visiting the Netherlands since the 1990s and have come to understand the mentality of the people quite well now. It is quite normal for some Dutch people to misrepresent something in the interests of business.

This Airbnb rental is located in Overveen close to Haarlem or Harlem, which is about 17 Km from Amsterdam in The Netherlands, or Holland or Nederland Europe for Dutch speakers. In the near future, Formula 1 racing events will be held at Zandvort or Zandvoort, which is close by. This operator told me about all the money that can be made by local people renting out rooms locally.

I don’t want to seem harsh to the host because he isn’t a bad guy and is quite pleasant and interesting to be around. However, I do have some objections to his listing as it stands on Airbnb right now (October 2019). Unfortunately, this rental is listed in a way that is not representative of the condition it is really in now.

The main complaint I have is of misrepresentation and omission. Haarlem is a nice alternative to Amsterdam, an authentic medieval/Golden Era town which is well worth a visit, with easy and quick railway connections with Amsterdam and the airport. The location of the apartment is 15-20 minutes from the town center or the railway station on foot.

The room that you will be renting is not a separate room, but is on a blind landing at the very top of the apartment, with no door. The room is a good size but has no window and no form of external ventilation. There were two fans but the room was still very stuffy even though the fans were on and the summer was over by then.

Sleeping in this room for me was similar to sleeping in an underground bunker. With all the lights off, it was absolutely pitch dark and too warm. The in-house ventilation fan in the electrical cupboard in the room made a continuous noise. I resorted to sleeping on the floor in the living room. The room made me feel very claustrophobic. It was not really possible to hang-out in your bedroom because it was not a comfortable experience in that respect. The lighting was provided from one energy-saving bulb in the ceiling.

There were other problems. The living room was cluttered and untidy and in need of a cleaning, as was the whole apartment. The sofa covers absolutely stank. When I removed the covers from the duvet and pillows to wash them at the end of my stay, I saw they were not very clean and in need of dry cleaning. The mattress had a few old stains on it. The kitchen area was not all that clean and there was always a huge pile of washed utensils in the drying area by the sink.

There was a tiny part of the fridge for guests. When I offered the host some coffee I was planning to brew he said that he did not drink coffee, which meant that there was nothing to brew it in available. I was not really invited to use the kitchen so I did not use it.

The open hats and coats area by the front door was a cluttered jumble of shoes, very untidy and certain to create a poor impression with many visitors. There were two very steep flights of stairs from the living room to the guest room. Not a problem for me, but should be mentioned in the listing. The bathroom and toilet need a cleaning. The cover to the toilet cistern is missing and the toilet bowl below the water is black and denotes a lack of care over a long period of time.

The décor in the apartment is rather tired and there is a huge pile of water-soaked cigarette butts in a dish out on the terrace and more on the floor. This is the best part of the apartment, but again it was neglected.

I did ask the host if he could print out my return bus ticket, offering him a couple of Euros for his trouble. He said it was okay and he would do it. I left an old USB flash drive on his coffee table where it remained for several days and then I noticed it was gone. Because time became short I got it printed at a local printers.

I asked him if had picked up the stick and he said that he hadn’t seen it. In order to be diplomatic I shrugged off the incident and make no conclusion about it. The stick was worth nothing, only had the bus ticket on it, but it did disappear from one day to the next and I had to accept a denial from the host. I did also check the living room very thoroughly when he was out, but it did not turn up. He did not further enquire as to whether I had got the ticket printed.

This is one of those pointless and quite surreal incidents when using Airbnb when you have to make an instant decision to insist on something or just laugh it off. If he had said that he lost the stick rather than presenting me with an adolescent explanation then everything would have been fine.

I paid just over £200 Sterling for six nights here (approximately US$246). It is not the worst Airbnb rental or the worst host, even if he could be described as bad, I have encountered by a long way and I am used to accepting differences and inconveniences as part of the interest in staying in different places. I think that this rental is probably worth half what I paid.

I have given up complaining or making suggestions to hosts or Airbnb. I do not like leaving bad reviews on Airbnb because I do not wish to get into an on-line dispute and Airbnb sanitises reviews anyway. Airbnb expected me to provide pictures of this let, which strikes me as a strange and anti-social activity in itself.

The presumption that the paying customer is somehow a bit of a fool and that they are there to be milked by the Dutch is still alive and well in the minds of a lot of them. If you are pleasant, personable and respectful then it is possible that you will be seen as something of an idiot.

Airbnb is not going to ask the host to list his property more accurately, because I did not take any pictures during my stay. My comments are corroborated by the feedback given by other guests. I did not read all of the feedback when I booked in the Spring of 2019 and so missed the crucial detail about the lack of a window.

Cleaner Mattresses at the Tip than this Airbnb

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My friend and I booked a “Cosy Mid Terrace House” in Bangor, North Wales. We were attending a five-day yoga course which commenced on the evening of Thursday, September 26th a short drive away. We checked in at the house where there was a key box; anytime after 4:00 PM was supposed to be okay.

We arrived at 3:45 PM and entered the house. On first inspection, it looked a little grimy and uncared for, but it was only five nights. However, on further inspection, we found that the kitchen surfaces were very greasy and there was mould in the fridge, the carpet into the sitting room was frayed and coming away under the door strip causing a trip hazard.

On venturing upstairs, again everything was tatty. The shower was full of black mildew. But the worst thing of all was where I was supposed to sleep for those five nights. Firstly, I could feel the mattress springs through the duvet that was on top of the bed but what really finished things off was when the bedding was pulled back, the mattress was covered in various stains. I have seen better mattresses than this at my local tip.

We contacted the owner to advise her we were not happy and would have to seek alternative accommodation. She gave us a spiel about running late as a single mum she had to collect the children from school and was on her way over. We told her not to rush as there was no way we would be able to stay and started to tell her all the things that were wrong, whereupon she hung up.

As the course was starting at 4:00 PM, there was little time to find alternative accommodation and we ended up sharing a very small twin room in a hotel not too far away who could luckily fit us in as most places we tried were fully booked over the weekend. I requested a refund from the host via the Airbnb site – which she, of course, refused – so I waited the 72 hours and asked Airbnb to intervene.

I have since then been corresponding via email with an incompetent “Senior Case Manager” who has become quite threatening in her gobbledygook English stating that I must accept her offer of a “coupon” to be used on a future booking within eight hours – four hours at one point – and now 24 hours. I feel that as they have offered a “coupon” for the full amount that they must believe our story with photos provided, but as we do not know when or if we will be booking through Airbnb again, this is simply not good enough.

I am awaiting her response as to how long the “coupon” is valid for (probably 24 hours). Despite my requests for her to escalate this case on two occasions she continues to email me in English that is barely recognisable as the language I was brought up with, totally ignoring my requests and just threatening me with more deadlines. It is interesting to note that the “Cosy Mid Terrace House” is no longer listed in the site but if ever it should reappear I do not recommend booking it or the host’s cleaning skills.