Am I being picky/unfair on this airbnb, or is this below expected standards?

[Eeyoreismyspiritanimal]

Stayed at an airbnb on the weekend. My only other experience was last year when I stayed in a modern apartment which was immaculate, so don't know whether this place was below standard or more normal?

Big, old, five bed house in the middle of nowhere countryside. Host was great at communicating, directions, house instructions etc but the house wasn't very clean at all. There were cobwebs everywhere, strong smell of damp in the downstairs loo and cleaning cupboard. A lot of the kitchen cupboards were broken and a few of the glasses and mugs needed washing before use. Rusty cooking trays amongst newer/useable ones.

Also, the kitchen didn't have any kitchen roll, foil, cling film etc and only one dishwasher tablet left (which we used on Friday night then had to wash everything by hand...there were eight of us eating three meals a day plus snacks so quite a lot of dishes!).

There was also no toiletries or hairdryer, which were provided in the apartment last year so I was expecting them (real pain not having a hair dryer, and would have brought my own if I'd known).

So is this fairly normal, or would I be within my rights to contact the host and let him know how disappointed we were?

I do expect cleaning supplies, but I don't expect food/drinks (although most airbnbs I have stayed in have provided hot drinks at least). I don't expect hairdryers but most do have them, and I don't expect toiletries except hand soap. To be honest, if you got a good deal on cost and the hosts were nice I would've just gone bought dishwashers tabs and left them there.

last year the airbnb provided a box of eggs, bread, milk, handsoap in every bathroom/ensuite and dishwasher tablets, Fairy and clean cloths. Shampoo, conditioner and deodorant and hairdryer. That's why I was expecting it again. It's unrealistic to expect them all to be the same - they're all individual property owners who will do different things. Unless they say they provide x,y,z, then you have to assume they won't - they're not hotels where things like toiletries are a basic expectation. We've stayed in some where they havn't even provided towels nor loo rolls. Don't assume anything.

Your previous Host went above and beyond the call of duty. Did you honestly think that was normal?
Would expect it to be clean though.

YANBU on cleanliness/rust. YABU to have expected a different host to provide similar to a previous host. IME dishwasher tabs etc are often not provided and the organiser should have checked what was listed or queried what was provided in advance.

This is all really helpful - thanks everyone! Definitely don't want to look like a bellend So have just revisited the listing on the airbnb app and realised I could have clicked on amenities and seen shampoo and hairdryer not provided - whoops. So I'll say in my private message that we had a lovely time, but the house could have been cleaner. And to make future guests' stay even better I would recommend getting a hairdryer and making sure there are dishwasher tablets (like I said; there was a bag in cupboard under kitchen sink, but it only had one tablet in it). I'll also recommend he replaces the chipped and broken crockery, and the stained and threadbare tea towels, and bins the rusty baking trays. Oh, and there was no handsoap in the main bathroom so will mention that as it is on his listing.

Oblomov18 like I said, I'd only ever stayed in one, so had no clue what normal was? I'd expect it to be as clean as my house when we have guests, and it was nowhere near.

Loopytiles this is chat not AIBU

Urgh, for some reason my return button isn't working on my phone! So can't do paragraphs... pumpastrotter £550 for two nights. There were two families so £275 each. Not exactly "cheap" for SW England I wouldn't have thought?

That's funny about your return button not working , neither is mine but I checked it out on FB and it's fine.i had tried trouble shooting but was thinking of doing a factory reset. I've glad I've seen your comment, it maybe a bug on MN. ( sorry no paragraphs!)

It sounds just like any other holiday rental. There are no rules IMO. Some will give you a lovely little welcome basket and some won't even leave washing up liquid. I tend not to expect anything these days. Things should be basically clean though.

notacooldad deffo MN as someone has just started a thread about it! And is now reporting the thread to alert MNHQ to the problem.

The place should have been clean regardless of any items in the listing. I took a room in August via Airbnb, and there was a charge for cleaning.

I should have been clear that the charge was to be paid in advance, so if I had to pay, then others would have too, and if people are taking the money and not cleaning, that's something to report

@MulticolourMophead we paid £60 for cleaning.

Speaking as someone who lives in a very old house in the country, damp often goes with the territory, no matter how clean it is!

If you paid for cleaning, I'd report to Airbnb.

@VeryFoolishFay yeah, I used to live in a 300yr old cottage so know they are much harder to keep clean. This place had cobwebs everywhere tho, and crumbs and general detritus under furniture (kids liked playing hide and seek so were crawling under and behind things!).

we paid £60 for cleaning.....This place had cobwebs everywhere tho, and crumbs and general detritus under furniture

£60 is in no way a "deep clean". It would cost that much for someone to go in, change the beds, quick vacuum round, wipe the kitchen & bathroom, etc. It wouldn't cover getting rid of cobwebs or moving furniture to vacuum under it.

I'm not saying the place shouldn't have been cleaner generally, but they're not going to do a deep clean for just £60 at every changeover.

You're right to mention it in passing, and those things should be dealt with on an occasional basis, but it's not what your £60 was for.

Urgh, for some reason my return button isn't working on my phone! So can't do paragraphs... pumpastrotter £550 for two nights. There were two families so £275 each. Not exactly "cheap" for SW England I wouldn't have thought?

Nope, not cheap then! Yes, I would've expected full cleaning supplies for that

Yeah, I know £60 wouldn't cover the cost of a deep clean. But you could tell that the place hasn't had one for a very long time. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable charging someone £275 per night for somewhere that sticky and cobwebby.

Will definitely complain but don't know what can be done now. Have just had another look at the place we've booked next month and as it's a modern house that's just been refurbished, and breakfast and a hairdryer are included, then I'm pretty sure we'll have a much nicer experience.