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 Kitchen had mouldy bread in the cupboard, fridge had milk that was nearly 2 months out of date and a brown liquid substance leaking out the fridge onto the floor.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.

I have a receipt for the cleaning stuff, but it was only 3 or 4 quid as I went to Lidl (needed food so was going anyway).

Host did not forget about booking as they sent an email with check in instructions and WiFi password on the morning if the check in day.

That’s really bad, the cleaning fee is meant to cover that!
I know you said the host didn’t forget but maybe they hire a cleaner for post-check out and got mixed up with dates?

@PrincessScarlett

Yes, it was a stupid of me not to take photos, as you say I don't have proof.

Most Airbnbs I have stayed in abroad have been great with lovely hosts, but I always read reviews carefully and did with this one too. But the reviews here are so at odds with the reality that I don't think I will ever trust Airbnb reviews again!

Maybe the host had a regular cleaner who did a good job and then they quit and the new one is useless, or maybe there isn't a new one? (But then who made the bed, etc?). Or maybe the reviews are not genuine (allegedly) ?? But I thought you had to book, pay for and complete a stay to leave a review?

You didn't complain within 24 hours and didn't take photos beforehand!

I think the host might refund you some of the money but up to their discretion.

Have to also say though the £30 per night (what part of London are you in?) is incredibly cheap.

What does this boy mean I gonna show the room to rent long term one time per day in the afternoon (gonna take 10 minutes)? Is he renting it out to different people throughout the day? If so, they would explain some of the filth. But the thought makes me shudder.

Bit, not boy

I think you’ve just been unlucky - there are lots of rooms in shared flats in London on Airbnb with good reviews. We used to rent out our spare room this way and it was always spotless! Anyone saying it’s too cheap has missed the point - when you’re charged a hefty cleaning fee (£30 is three hours cleaning at average London rates) the least you’d expect is a clean room

Just to say, you can't generally put fake reviews on ABB. Money has to change hands through ABBfor a review to happen. It would cost the host the service fees for both host and guest ( so 15% of nightly fee) to get a fake review.

In this case each review would only cost £4.50 So it is possible I guess. Generally it wouldn't be worth a host doing it.

I would contact the host OP.

I think the problem is that it's a shared flat so it could be argued that the kitchen and bathroom were left filthy by the current occupants of the flat. If that's the case I don't understand how the owner can guarantee clean facilities for every new occupant that turns up.

If it's a shared flat the host can only really be held responsible for the cleanliness of the room.

I'd be more concerned about Javier's interest in "video making" to be honest. Have you checked for hidden cameras OP?

I got a ten pound deal on Travelodge a few years back at London Euston. I still expected it to be clean!
Basic yes, no facilities bar a bed, bathroom and a door fine but dirty no.

Thing is you would expect the flat to be cleaned in between guests, each guest pays £30 cleaning fee so times 3 rooms that's £90 for cleaning the flat. So you would expect the kitchen and bathroom to be cleaned as well as the rooms.

Yes, guests may leave them messy between cleans but that does not account for a level of dirt that would take weeks or months of no cleaning to build up. Eg thick layers of dust on skirting boards, toilet bowl below the water line stained solid brown with shit stains, bath stained black, washbasin stained and covered in soap scum, milk in the fridge that went out of date on 06 February still there on 20 March, etc etc.

Suggests that the flat is hardly being cleaned at all between guests. It was obviously clean at some stage as it's clean in the pictures, but now looks as though it has not been cleaned in weeks or months judging by the level of grime that has been allowed to build up. If almost no cleaning has been done apart from a few basics like floors, then the host could potentially have taken hundreds of pounds in cleaning fees for almost no cleaning?

But have you contacted him to tell him?

Yes, have contacted him but still waiting for a response. This morning one of the other guests told me that the toilet was not flushing. The other guest also contacted the host this morning via Airbnb message to tell him this. He has not responded to that message either. I was out all day and came back tonight to find toilet not fixed and has in the meantime been used by other guest, so whole bathroom stinks.

Contacted host but no response. Phoned Airbnb who said they would call me back in an hour, 2 hours later and still they have not got back to me.

Air BnB usually respond very quickly to stuff like that. They will find you somewhere else.

I would call them again. Or contact them via Facebook. They will really jump to it then!

Sounds bloody awful, you can't stay somewhere without a toilet.

Air BnB usually respond very quickly to stuff like that. They will find you somewhere else.

They don't find alternative places for people to stay or even allow people to cancel and get refunded and find their own alternative.

I have now had replies from both the host and from Airbnb this morning, all Airbnb said was that they can see the hosts message in which he said he would send a cleaner today and a handyman on Monday to fix the toilet. The message from Airbnb then says I can make a claim to get a refund of the cleaning fee via their dispute resolution and gives a link to an online form to fill in to initiate this.
That's it.

Sounds bloody awful, you can't stay somewhere without a toilet.
I agree and that is exactly the point I made in my message to Airbnb but they have only responded as above.

I am.a host, and I can categorically tell you that they DO find places for people to stay. In this case you don't have a toilet so they should do it.

When my heating broke down in boxing day they were willing to find my guests somewhere else.

Well I have contacted them again and all they have said is that I should ask the host for a refund. But this doesn't mean I will get one (so far host has not even offered a refund of the cleaning fee). There is nothing in the message from Airbnb about offering me any alternative accommodation.

'They don't find alternative places for people to stay or even allow people to cancel and get refunded and find their own alternative.'

They did with friends of mine and their policy states that they will also

'Airbnb will either provide you with a refund or use reasonable efforts to find and book another comparable accommodation for any unused nights left on your reservation. The amount of any refund will depend on the nature of the travel issue.'

If the host isn't being co operative you go straight to Air BnB and tell them so. They have to deal with it if the host won't.