AIBU to expect a budget Airbnb to at least be clean?

[buttermilkwaffles]

I am down in London for a week and due to a limited budget (and wanting to mostly self cater) I am staying in an Airbnb.

Given the price I was not expecting anything fancy, but surely even a budget Airbnb should be reasonably clean?

When I arrived my towel was dirty (had food stains/marks and black marks on it), luckily there is a washing machine here, so at least I could wash it. The bedroom skirting boards etc had a thick layer of dust and the bathroom and toilet were filthy. Kitchen had mouldy bread in the cupboard, fridge had milk that was nearly 2 months out of date and a brown liquid substance leaking out the fridge onto the floor. Tablecloth was a sheet, that was full of food stains and bits of food, so that went in the wash with the towel.

So I basically spent my first few hours in London going to the supermarket and buying cleaning products and then cleaning the place, so it was at least slightly less revolting!

The things is all the reviews are positive and most mention how clean it is. Hard to believe that they are describing the same place. This is the listing and reviews:

www.airbnb.com/rooms/26734272?

While I realise that £30 a night (excluding Airbnb fees and cleaning fee) for a room is cheap for London, given the £30 cleaning fee the host charges and given the good reviews, am I expecting too much for it to at least be a basic level of cleanliness? I am not a clean freak and have stayed in Airbnbs in several other European countries and never stayed anywhere that was as dirty as this, in fact most have been spotless. However a couple of the ones I have stayed in in the UK have not been clean at all, with this one by far the worst.

30 per night in London doesn't get you a place in a hostel. Honestly! It sounds like a total hovel what we're you thinking

take photos and contact him straight away, sounds disgusting.

That’s not normal! I’m an Airbnb super host. I would send a message to the host straight away through the Airbnb messaging platform outlining what you’ve said here, and asking if they can rectify it. Be polite but firm - you’ve paid a cleaning fee and were expecting the place to be clean as previous reviews have outlined. The next step is to complain directly to Airbnb. The host won’t want to risk a poor review. Do all the messages through Airbnb so there’s a record.

You were being silly to expect anything better at £30 per night there to be honest.

Doesn't sound right. I'd message the host to get it rectified ASAP

Have you actually contacted 'Javier' ?

I don't think it is unreasonable to expect the place to be clean, i wouldn't be expecting all mod cons but I would expect it to be clean and tidy. Have you contacted the host?

You were being silly to expect anything better at £30 per night there to be honest.

There's an extra £30 cleaning fee. If I'm being charged a cleaning fee I expect it to be clean. For that price I'd be expecting to compromise in other areas as you're right it's extremely cheap but I wouldn't compromise on cleanliness if I'm being charged for it.

Of course I would expect it to be clean, and would have trusted the reviews to, even if I would be wary of the price and the lack of cleaning fee on departure.

Have you contacted the owner?
That would be my very first move.

sorry, there is a cleaning fee, I missed that first.

I haven't looked at the link....but yes, if there's a cleaning fee charged to everyone....it should be clean.
You have to complain to Airbnb within the first 24 hrs I think. I would be asking for a refund of the cleaning fee.

@hollowvictory Plenty of hostel (dorm) rooms available in London from £13 to £25 per night.

www.booking.com/searchresults.en-gb.html?label=gen173nr-1DCAEoggI46AdIM1gEaFCIAQKYAQm4ARjIARHYAQPoAQGIAgGoAgS4AorH0-QFwAIB;sid=54f3992bd6e2ccfa5501d8b6cd752684;tmpl=searchresults;checkin=2019-03-22;checkin_monthday=22;checkin_year_month=2019-3;checkout=2019-03-23;checkout_monthday=23;checkout_year_month=2019-3;class_interval=1;dest_id=-2601889;dest_type=city;dtdisc=0;group_adults=1;group_children=0;inac=0;index_postcard=0;label_click=undef;no_rooms=1;postcard=0;raw_dest_type=city;room1=A;sb_price_type=total;search_form_id=18b55f05d57d001d;shw_aparth=1;slp_r_match=0;srpvid=8df25f1575890085;ss=London;ss_all=0;ssb=empty;sshis=0;ssne=London;ssne_untouched=London&;order=price

I normally pay around £50 per night for a budget hotel (single room, sometimes en-suite, sometimes shared bathroom) in a nice central part of London (eg Bloomsbury).

So I didn't think a less central, less fancy location, for around £40 a night (including Airbnb fees and cleaning fee which goes to the host) for a single room in a shared flat was that unrealistic, given that Airbnb is supposed to be a cheaper option to hostels and hotels and that all 13 of the reviews were positive, one was a repeat stay and most of them mentioned how clean the place was...

No, the op was not being silly at all. No one wants to stay in a dirty room so the Air BnB host is being silly, if anyone is, for thinking he can get away with skanky standards just because he is charging a low price.

Also, the op is not being silly because all of the reviews mention the cleanliness of the room.

I'd say you've had good advice from NightManagerFan OP. Are you still there? If so I'd highly recommend a walk to London Fields and nearby Broadway Market.

Was the actual room clean? Perhaps it is the other residents that have left the shared kitchen dirty?

I think you need to contact Javier and give him the chance to put it right.

£30 is bloody cheap though!

I think any room on Airbnb should be clean, yes, irrespective of budget. Definitely complain.

Unfortunately I stupidly just got on with the cleaning without taking pictures and also Airbnb said you need to complain within 24 hours which I didn't do as had a full day of things to do yesterday and arrived in the early evening the night before, so by the time I had investigated how best to complain etc 24 hours had passed.

I will contact the host and perhaps request a refund of the cleaning fee, although I did contact him when there was a problem getting the key from a local newsagents and he never replied, so not sure how responsive he will be ..

Also, of course for the price I was expecting the place to be very basic and just a place to sleep, no problem with that at all, it's the total lack of cleanliness that is the issue, especially given the reviews saying how clean it was and the £30 cleaning fee charged to all guests...

Of course it should be clean! Gone off milk is pretty gross.

Have you contacted the host?

well, who would have thought it! it looks too cheap to be true and it was.

would you buy a top for 99p and then moan that it shrunk in the wash or went baggy or pilled?

My DM does this all the time. she goes cheap and then wonders why she gets cheap.

the owner can get away with skanky standards by getting his friends and family to write favourable reviews (or use different e mail addresses) and knowing that there is always someone who will go cheap and he/she isn't worried about repeat business.

Airbnb is a nightmare because owners don't have to prove that they comply with fire risks like people who own holiday accommodation that's inspected by the AA or VisitBritain.

I think the host forgot about the booking - especially with no reply to your message yesterday. Is there anyone else at the flat? I would still complain. Do you have receipts for cleaning stuff?

Hi @bibbitybobbityyhat thanks for the recommendations, yes I am here until Wednesday, so will check those out, also the flower market on Sunday I think.

Sounds like it didn't get cleaned.

Complain and try and at least get your cleaning fee deducted.

I think the host forgot about the booking - especially with no reply to your message yesterday

Yes, I wonder if this is what happened

@Movinghouseatlast

No the room was very dusty and the towel left on the bed was dirty.

There are two other guests here and they seem to be keeping the kitchen and bathroom clean since I cleaned them at least, so not sure if they left a mess. But I would assume that who ever was supposed to clean my room, change bedding etc would have also have cleaned the bathroom and kitchen, given that the previous guest would also have paid a £30 cleaning fee each, so that's £90 cleaning fee for the flat.

The listing also says that the rooms will be viewed by prospective long term tenants, so I assumed that might be another reason for a reduced price (slight inconvenience to guests) and also a reason for the landlord to keep the place clean. No wonder nobody has rented any of the rooms long term yet!

Unfortunately as you've cleaned everything without taking before photos you have no proof. I would still contact the owner and appeal to their better nature but don't expect anything.

This kind of thing is what always puts me off Airbnb.