to mention the smell?

[friedeggsandcustard]

On holiday this week and in an Airbnb. It’s a newly done cottage and its very comfortable, well equipped with lots of extras. I think we are some of the first visitors, the hosts have been lovely. 5 stars so far...

But, it smells. I am very sensitive to smell but even DH has mentioned it. When we arrived the whole place reeked of chemical air freshener and the scented conditioner used to wash the bedding etc. We’ve had to keep the windows open all week just to breathe... however we have now found out why - we thought they might be trying to hide damp - it’s an old cottage, but now we discover that the property shares its boundaries with a sewage works and a intensive chicken farm.

I appreciate this is the countryside and you have to expect smells... but the combination is nothing like any rural/ farm smells I had before. AIBU to mention this in our feedback?

I would definitely mention it in the review, yes. I live in the countryside and it doesn't inherently stink everywhere all the time at all. I'd want to know if the holiday home i was choosing was near something smelly 24/7. I wouldn't book it no matter how lovely it was. I HATE that smell.

There is a chicken farm a few miles away from here and it's an awful stink as you drive past. I pity the villagers close by.

I'd happily add that the owners were lovely and the accommodation itself was good ect. Some folk wont care about smells. But the smell would be the first thing i'd mention.

I don't use air bnb because of this exact reason. If you don't know the address, you have no idea what's neighbouring the property. Plenty of places advertise on multiple booking sites, so it's really air bnb's loss.

I'd speak to the host and then leave an honest review of the location.

@Chouetted. You have just made me realise that my ability to deal with smelly things, and breath through my mouth, dates back to when I worked on a farm as a teenager!

There are two separate issues. Smell of air fresheners, which can be dealt with easily by the host. Smell of chicken farm and sewage works, which can't. How badly do the latter things smell?

If bad, of course mention it in your review, it's a fact about the place.

Writing negatively about the air fresheners without giving the host a chance to rectify that issue, or just feeding back quietly, directly, would be unkind and appear petty.

I think it's very reasonable to mention both the sewage works and the farm in your review, it's a statement of fact. It's a shame for the owner but it is what it is.

I imagine the air fresheners are there to mask the sewage works and chicken farm. Without those you will get the full blast of the outdoors.

You do need to mention it in the review Is this it's first letting I would be surprised if no one had said anything before. The green park and ride route in York is right next to a sewage treatment place and that was stomach turning.

Can you actually smell the sewers or chicken farm? If not I’d just mention the overpowering air freshener to the host. If you can smell the exterior smells then I think I’d mention it in the review as I’d want to know before booking and host can’t do anything about it so no point raising it with them. Not an ideal location for an air bnb to be fair!

Don't mention it in a public review, but leave private feedback for the owner - Airbnb allows you to do this with a separate section

This

Can you actually smell the chicken farm/sewage works? Or is it just the artificial scent?

As PP have pointed out, some people just love their houses to be fragranced with plug-ins/pot purri/scented conditioner. Others - like you (and me!) - can't stand it. Either because you're allergic or simply dislike the smell.

If you can smell the chicken farm and sewage, there isn't anything you can do about it, but you do need to make it clear to your hosts that they should have alerted you to the proximity of the cottage to them, and therefore that there might be some 'rural' smells!

If you can't smell them, you'd be unreasonable to report it. But I'd also send a private note to your hosts about the over-powering scents - you don't say if you have any allergies, but it's worth pointing out that those things can trigger asthma.

I find it hard to be critical when I'm obv using someone's home. I detest the smell of fabric conditioner but a lot of people like it and think it's normal (weirdos). We rented an Airbnb in Berlin once that was clean enough for a private home and had freshly washed sheets but the whole place reeked of fabric conditioner. If I mentioned that in the review (can't remember) I prob phrased it as something like "if you suffer from allergies you need to be aware that ...") But I'll admit to being a bit cowardly - we rented a professional holiday let in Ireland that was very clean and well placed, had all amenities etc but was very damp. This was a problem because our washing didn't dry. I chickened out of being too direct, I think I said the place was "cold" and this meant it took a long time for laundry to dry. So I told people about the problem (but not really about the cause...).

Please mention it. I've just stayed in a horrible airbnb. It was dirty cramped (and dangerus, in my opinion) and it also had a flea infestation. It has a mark of 4.75 out of 5, heaven knows how.

I think the owners as lively as they are have been deceptive. I sewage farm stinks and so so chicken farms. My .other in law lives half a mile away from a treatment works and that often smells. It not fair I would extol the positives but mention the smells from chicken farm and the sewage works. I would be pretty pissed off to find that my holiday home was in that situation. The air fresheners can be moved the other stuff cant.

If there really is a battery chicken farm then you should report it to the RSPCA as battery farming of chickens has been illegal since January

I'm really sensitive to smell so this would definitely bother me.

If the smell of sewage and chicken farm could be smelled from the house while opening the windows, yes I would mention it in the review, you're just stating facts. As a guest, I would want to read these honest reviews. As for the air fresheners, could they be removed/unplugged? I hate air fresheners

I stay in a holiday home and the owner has plug-ins everywhere . I just unplug them all until we leave.

Where I live is surrounded by farms and there is a big difference between normal "farm smells" and sewage works or battery chicken farming. Can owners delete reviews they don't like? Seems odd that no one else had commented on the neighbours.

Is it the air fresheners ( yuk, but unplug/put in cupboard) or the sewerage/ chicken farm that bother you ? The first would not overly bother me but I’d want to know about the chicken farm if the smell was intrusive .