WWYD regarding terrible holiday?

[Badgoushk]

So back in December I found a perfect cottage to rent on Air bnb. I hadn't used Air bnb before and found it difficult to book. I think the owner had reserved the dates for us but it meant they looked 'booked' and I couldn't book them myself. It actually took 6 weeks to book it privately in the end.

The cottage sounded ideal. The thing I wanted most for a perfect holiday was a heated outside pool, which this had. I spoke to the owners twice in the lead up and got it confirmed in writing that the pool was heated.

2 days before arrival, I had to double check something (is there a freezer?) and the wife says in passing on the phone that the pool isn't heated. I'm really upset when I get off the call as that was the whole purpose of the holiday.

My husband gets involved and they admit it is a cost thing and they will heat the pool.

We arrive and the cottage is really dirty. The fire is full of old ash, dog poo in the garden, nettles all over the garden, one wine glass, filthy pans, no wifi (as advertised), no bath (as advertised), no stairgates (as advertised), no pushchair (as advertised!), pictures falling out of frames, damp bedrooms, and fleas!

We text to ask where the pool is and get this reply...

" The WIFI cable was taken down by a fallen tree last week and is out of our hands now . So nobody including us and the business have any WiFi.

The pool is not right so please do not swim in it with the babies / children .
We have the pool expert visiting Tues to test and diagnose .
It is heated, and you can swim at your own risk .

The waters and surrounding surface have taken a muddy appearance when the heating was turned on !"

We asked for a hoover and the stairgates and these haven't materialised yet, 3 days later.

Then I went for a run on Sunday night and go ambushed by their angry German Shepherd who cornered me on the lane.

It's awful. We can't afford another holiday. Do we just stick it out? There's no nice beaches nearby.

Btw, we're with our 1.5 yo and 3.5 yo, plus my mum and our dog. It's day 3 of 14.

You need to get your money back from AirBnB. I'm staying in an AirBnB now and I'd be buggered if I was going to put up with that.

Hold on and I'll get you the details of where to complain.

You could fill this in or phone this UK number: 203 318 1111.

I know my sister went to an AirBnB that was awful and she didn't stay there and got her money back (from AirBnB, not from the people.)

How long have you been there?

This is what the website says:

Contact your host: If you notice that something is missing, not working, or otherwise not what you expected when you check in, contact your host. Giving them the chance to fix an issue is the fastest way to make sure you get what you need, and can continue on with your reservation as planned. If you can’t reach your host, or they don’t respond, you can request a refund.

Within 24 hours of check-in

If it’s within 24 hours of check-in, check our Guest Refund Policy to see if the issue you’re experiencing qualifies for a refund. If it does, you’ll need to message your host through Airbnb to notify them of the issue, take photos to document the issue, then contact Airbnb. You can see a complete explanation of coverage in our Guest Refund Policy.

More than 24 hours after check-in

You can use our Resolution Center to request a refund from your host.

If you and your host have trouble reaching an agreement, you'll be able to ask Airbnb for help.

And:

Situations that may be eligible for a refund under this policy generally fall into one of three categories:

The host fails to provide reasonable access to the booked listing.
The listing booked is misrepresented (ex: number of bedrooms, location, lacks promised amenities).
The listing isn't generally clean, is unsafe, or there's an animal in the listing that wasn't disclosed prior to booking.
Airbnb will either provide you with a refund or use reasonable efforts to find and book you at another comparable accommodation for any unused nights left in your reservation. The amount of any refund will depend on the nature of the travel Issue suffered.

Submit a valid claim for refund

To submit a valid claim for your reservation, you are required to:

Contact us within 24 hours of check-in to document the issue and place a hold on the host's payment. Include photographs or other evidence of the issue as part of your claim.
Be responsive to our requests for additional information and cooperation.
Not have directly or indirectly caused the Travel Issue.
Have used reasonable efforts to remedy the circumstances of the Travel Issue with the host prior to making a claim, including messaging your host on Airbnb to notify them of the issue. We'll verify this in your account.
Review the Guest Refund Policy Terms for more details, including more information about the minimum quality standards for accommodation, and what qualifies as a travel issue.

That is horrible! How many things can go wrong? If you did get the money back, could you book somewhere else right now? A premier inn or a caravan would be luxury compared to this!

And:

1. Minimum Quality Standards, Host Responsibilities and Reimbursement to Guest. If you are a Host, you are responsible for ensuring that the Accommodations you list on the Platform meet minimum quality standards regarding access, adequacy of the description on the Platform, safety, cleanliness, and do not present a Guest with Travel Issues. During the 24-hour period following the Guest’s check-in, Hosts should be available, or make a third-party available, in order to try, in good faith, to resolve Guest issues. If you are a Host, and if (a) Airbnb determines that a Guest has suffered a Travel Issue related to an Accommodation listed by you and (b) Airbnb either reimburses that Guest any amount up to the amount paid by the Guest through the Platform for the Accommodation or provides an alternative Accommodation to the Guest, you agree to reimburse Airbnb up to the amount paid by Airbnb within 30 days of Airbnb’s request. All determinations of Airbnb with respect to the Guest Refund Policy, including without limitation the size of any refund to the Guest, shall be final and binding on the Guests and Hosts. You also agree that in order for you to reimburse Airbnb up to the amount paid by Airbnb, Airbnb may off-set or reduce any amounts owed by Airbnb to you by this amount. If the Guest remains for part or all of the stay despite the Travel Issue, the Guest will receive a refund that will reduce the amount of the Accommodation Fees ultimately paid to you. If the Guest is relocated to an alternative Accommodation, you may lose part or all of the Accommodation Fee payment for the booking and you may be responsible for reasonable additional costs incurred to relocate the Guest to the alternative Accommodation. The rights of the Guests under the Guest Refund Policy supersede the cancellation policy established by a Host. If you as a Host dispute the Travel Issue you may notify us in writing (airbnb.com/contact) or via telephone and provide us with information (including photographs or other evidence) disputing the claims regarding the Travel Issue, provided you must have used reasonable and good faith efforts to try to remedy the Travel Issue with the Guest prior to disputing the Travel Issue claim. You agree that all determinations of Airbnb with respect to the Travel Issue shall be final and binding on the Guests and Hosts regardless of your submission of a dispute against such Travel Issue. In the event of one or more Travel Issues, Airbnb, in its discretion, may elect to take additional actions. These actions include, but are not limited to, negatively affecting your Listing ranking, automated reviews indicating Travel Issues, cancelling future bookings, suspending or removing the Listing of the Accommodation or imposing penalties or fees for the administrative burden associated with the Travel Issues.

OP, where are you (roughly). Maybe someone could recommend somewhere nearby, based on personal experience? Your holiday sounds dreadful. Please don't stay for the fortnight of you can possibly avoid it.

i think you will probably be able to get a full refund. best thing to do is contact airbnb asap and explain. make sure to tell them that you have heated pool in writing and the text you received from them etc. i hope you manage to sort this out!!

ImperialBlether, the problem is that I was never able to book it through air bnb. I found his wife's number on the internet in the end as it said she runs the local riding school. I paid them directly because he couldn't understand how to release the dates on air bnb!

That's sneaky of them!

We're in Somerset but it's tricky because we need self catering, at least 3 bedrooms, dog friendly, enclosed garden.

We have a fridge freezer full of lovely food for the fortnight. It's so frustrating.

My husband doesn't think it's that bad!!

Plus did I mention we spent the afternoon in A&E for my Mum as she has had terrible abdo pain for a few days!?

There were good reviews on air bnb but after this pool heating debacle before we arrived, I looked again and there was a terrible review which said it was dirty, etc. But it felt too late then. And the owner had replied, shocked snd incensed! But it is worse than that review!! Xxx

Sorry for the kisses. Force of habit.

Gosh, that's tricky. If they're reasonable decent people, could you say you'll stay for another couple of nights but ask for your money back for week 2?

AgentProvocateur, yes I think we'll do that. And I think they're probably reasonable.

I had a similar experience but not Airbnb- was so looking forward to it and we couldn't use the pool, decking around it was unsafe, electric cables loose etc etc

Totally ruined our holiday and the villa company gave us a tiny refund and the owner was extremely aggressive. We left it but it still pisses me off when I see it as one of the 'recommended villas' on their website.

I hope Airbnb deal with this better than the company I went through did. Hopefully you can salvage something and get a good chunk of money back at least

Did you pay by credit card?

Make sure you complain to Airbnb- perhaps they can remove them from their system

We paid by online banking. My husband is a good negotiator. I'm pretty sure he could get us a refund from the owners but I'm just sad to ruin my children's holiday. My eldest has been talking about the pool for months.

TheAntiBoop, yes I suppose I should as I wouldn't want someone else to be so disappointed.

Sounds like they well and truly saw you coming. Ask for a refund. You'd be better off going home than putting up with that crap for another week+

But there are loads of good reviews on airbnb and in the guest book here! I wonder if we just had unrealistic expectations! No one else mentioned the pool though (it is not visible from the house) so I guess no one else wanted to use it.

Can we see a link to the airbnb profile?

If you can get a refund can you not find another place locally to move over to rather than going home?

use a credit card to pay next time so at least you have that consumer protection behind You.