Tag Archives: airbnb puerto rico

Penthouse from Airbnb Hell in Puerto Rico

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I have used Airbnb for several years now and it’s always disappointing. The pictures never reflect the actual unit and they are always enhanced. Most of the time there are always problems with the unit and it takes several days to have them fixed if the host ever fixes them.

I rented a unit that was advertised as a penthouse for two months, paying almost $3,000 for each month in Puerto Rico in a supposedly nice area. Well, the unit was in the outskirts of the nice area. The building was almost falling apart, the actual apartment had been renovated but with so many faults, and it had a tiny bathroom. The shower did not have a door like some hotels but it was so small that the entire bathroom got wet. On top of that, there was a very slow drain and it flooded if I showered for more than five minutes.

There was no hot water for the first 1.5 weeks. Even though I notified the host the first day, she did not send someone until one week later and I was not notified I had to be in the unit. He had to come back one week later and arrived 40 minutes late. Later when I tried to used the washer it was not working and I figured out by myself that there was only one plug for the washer and dryer and the water heater. I had to disconnect the water heater in order to use the washer and dryer. Something so simple that the man that came to fix it could have told me.

When I used the washer, the hose did not drain and it was loose and flooded the entire apartment. Every time it rained there were multiple leaks around the unit. The past few days there has been heavy rain and again the apartment has flooded every day.

The kitchen shelves were not properly secured. When I went to grab a glass they fell on top of me, breaking all the glasses and I got multiple cuts on my hands. On top of it all, there was an uncovered electrical panel in the laundry area; every time I used the washer, it splashed water near the panel. The AC unit made very loud noises making it impossible to sleep at night. I informed the host of all of these problems. She said she would send someone and never did.

I could not sleep in the living room since there were no blinds and the sun rose early in the morning, making the living room very hot. For my entire stay I did not have one good night of sleep. I have waited four weeks for all of these problems to be resolved because to book a hotel or another Airbnb with such short notice the price was three times more and there were not many options available.

I finally had enough and told the host I needed to check out early since I could not take it anymore. I did not want to spend my vacation unclogging showers and cleaning a flooded apartment every two days, or not being able to sleep well at night with loud noises waking me up all night. The host refused to refund me for the nights I did not stay and contacted Airbnb support. Airbnb told me that since I did not report the problems with customer support within 24 hours it was at the host’s discretion to give me a refund.

This is so unfair since I tried to solve the problems with the host and some of the problems I was not aware until days later. Airbnb needs to have their own inspectors to go and look for safety hazards and verify the unit is in the conditions the hosts advertises. This host is charging $3,000 for a unit plus the cleaning fees. I asked the neighbors how much the rent was in a similar unit and they told me $400-$600 .

No Refunds, No Matter What? An Airbnb Guest Weighs in

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It was my first time using Airbnb and I was excited. After researching and looking at over 20 places in San Juan, Puerto Rico, I found a place that looked amazing (which it does, in the pictures). But this is not about how amazing the place is or the conditions of the place once I arrived. This is about eight hours later booking the place for a last-minute trip.

Once I booked, a few moments later I got really sick, and it seems I got food poisoning. I’ve traveled around the world for work and always enjoyed using mainstream hotels. Because of this, I never considered that there would be a subjective and erratic refund policy where one place gives you a 48-hour full refund with no questions asked and another just plain no refunds… period.

I was finally able to get a hold of the host, and they advised me to ask Airbnb to resolve this. After finally getting someone with Airbnb they said they couldn’t do anything and the host was the one that could refund me… It turned into a ping pong hot potato game and was getting nowhere. At this point I was vomiting and feverish with a rash all over my body.

They said, “Well, it was on the refund policy when you booked.”

I was confused since I did not see “anything” about this anywhere, so I looked. After running a search on the page in the browser, I found it past “everything” including the reviews at the bottom in the footer area of the page.

At this point I spoke with my business credit card company and will need to wait for the charges to post, so I can submit a claim. This is absolutely unethical and in a world where most services are customer-centric I am baffled. I spent some time reading about nightmare situations from hosts here. Airbnb seems to be based on an overall unethical business model. I’ve had people rent my home and destroy it to the point it cost me $30,000 to repair, so I understand the side of being a host. It seems the business model is focused on a win-win model that only Airbnb can win.

Do not use Airbnb unless you are comfortable losing money. Look for the refund policy, which is randomly set by the host. Airbnb is not there to protect you as a consumer. They are there just to make the process easier for you to spend money and not be safer.

If you are a host, you need to be comfortable in being able to resolve issues without Airbnb being involved or have insurance that covers vandalism. You are playing in their sandbox, and they hold all the cards. Unless you are one of those individuals that have the time to go after them and get pleasure out of it… your time on this earth is better spent elsewhere.

To my friends and people in Puerto Rico: you are the reason our reputation at Airbnb has fallen so low. I am deeply disappointed. My time is worth more than your petty no-refund unethical smoke screen expense. As a business owner, I know personally you will pay a hefty price, and it’s not always in money.

Waking up with Ants and Insults in the Room

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I had a terrible experience with my stay. We saw condiments and a drink left in the fridge and thought nothing of it. I saw two ants in the room upon arrival and thought it wouldn’t be a problem. We had left to explore the city of San Juan and then arrived back to the Airbnb at night and went to sleep. In the morning, the hotel room had ants all over the bed and night stand. We woke up in the morning with ants all over us. Then we knew something was up when there was mold on the shower curtain, the bed sheets had stains and someone had left their bathing suit on the balcony.

We were about to leave the hotel room in the morning and a man was trying to enter the room saying that he was housekeeping, even though he didn’t have any cleaning supplies. The area of old San Juan has not recovered at all. We hardly saw any guests or people in the area. The closest beach was closed due to the Hilton Caribe reconstruction. The nightlife in old San Juan is a 40-minute walk so nothing is really walkable distance like the post had said. I explained my situation to the host and the host immediately became aggressive. Then resorted to name calling. They called me a millennial. I thought it was pretty funny at first but it was pretty rude.

Worst Possible Reaction from Airbnb in Puerto Rico

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I spent the last 15 months working with my extended family to arrange a trip to Puerto Rico where my wife’s family is from. If you can imagine the time it takes to get three families, their children ranging from 2-14, and your in-laws to settle on a date that all can miss work, school, sporting event’s, doctor appointments and save you know this is no small task. That being said, we worked hard at it as my in-laws are aging and we felt it was important for our children to experience the island with them and share stories.

Finally the date was set and as we drew nearer to the trip the excitement increased for all involved. Then the hurricane hit and our mood quickly changed. Our thoughts changed to concern over loved ones that we could not contact and overall remorse for those on the island. My attention turned back to our plans and it was evident that we would not be able to make this trip with small children and aging parents that have some medical concerns.

When I reached out to the host about the cancellation I was told that they had strict cancellation policies and I would lose half of what I had paid. this was escalated to Airbnb as a extenuating circumstance. The site states that “valid extenuating circumstances include: significant natural disasters or severe weather incidents impacting the location of destination or location of departure and urgent travel restrictions or severe security advisories issue and reason after the time of booking, by an appropriate national or international authority (such as a government office or department).”

Both of these reasons were valid in this case. I was told by Airbnb that this did not meet the definition and they suggested that I rebook with the host or try to work it out with her. It amazes me that this was their response and that they provided no assistance whatsoever. It is disturbing to know that both the host and Airbnb are will to risk the well being of their guests to make money. The current state of Puerto Rico is still a disaster area and the money I lost is small to what they are suffering. I do wish I could have that money back to spend time with my family but it would have been even better to be able to donate it to my family still in Puerto Rico. Shame on them.