To think the way the host is behaving is completely unacceptable?

[notonthebeachrightnow]

On holiday at the moment and booked via AirBNB. Theoretically we should have the apartment to ourselves but the host lives next door. So every time she heard our door open she would pop out asking if we were okay and where we were going and what our plans were. It was nice, but did get pretty exhausting especially when going to the car with a picnic and beach things having to stop and chat.

But then she started coming in when we were there and she has walked into my bedroom three times now. Just now I had just taken a shower and was lying naked on the bed (with a towel underneath me!) and in she came. ‘Oh, you are here!’ I ended up shouted ‘PLEASE WILL YOU STOP DOING THIS, THIS IS VERY EMBARRASSING.’

I’m actually really angry, some money is missing and I can’t prove anything but I think it’s her.

So you were lying naked on a wet towel and the owner strolled in, what did she/he say?

How did she respond when you said " ‘PLEASE WILL YOU STOP DOING THIS, THIS IS VERY EMBARRASSING.’?

Yes, how did she respond to that?

Heard nothing but horror stories about air bnb. Why not stay in a hotel? Is it JUST about budget? Surely sooner or later air bnb is going to become one of those things that no one ever uses?

Really ... Is saving 10 or 15 percent of the holiday costs really worth all this horribleness? I’ve stayed in budget hotels without any of the bizarre/unpleasant experiences of air bnb. Sounds like a lesson learned for the future?

We stay in Airbnb’s, not because they’re cheap, but because we like to cater for ourselves and we like something a bit different from a bog-standard characterless hotel. We have stayed in several, and never had a problem at all. In fact all of them, and all the owners we’ve met, have been lovely.

YANBU OP. And very unlucky. She is well out of order.

How did she react to you shouting?
Is she British or Spanish?

We stayed ina fab air bnb in Paris. Proper 3 bed apartment, far more space than a hotel room for 2 adults and 3 teens. Proper kitchen. A real home from home. It was the hosts family home which she rented while on holiday. Far better for our needs than a hotel.

And the host was very respectful and friendly.

We've stayed in AirBnb in UK, France, Italy, Canada and Spain. Only one that was mildly off was Canada. And that was just that the dude didn't have a clue.

Other than that, have had fabulous accommodation, met great people, and had a great time at every one.

We avoid hotels whenever possible, absolutely nothing to do with cost, in fact a hotel would often be cheaper. We prefer the extra space you get from most airbnb, having the option to self-cater if we want to and they are usually much quieter than hotels that tends to have thin walls and echoey corridors.

Have stayed in loads of AirBNB places and never encountered an issue like this. It's absolutely unacceptable and I would be reporting and leaving a terrible review.

We had something similar years ago in a cottage type let in the Channel Islands. It turned out that most of the flat was on the first floor, but the kitchen was downstairs, and the owners had to walk through it to get to the back garden. On the first day we went out quite early and on our return were harangued by the owner shouting that he'd never had his property treated in such a disgusting manner - we'd left the breakfast things to drain next to the sink, and as we only had a few groceries had left them on the kitchen counter. Nothing was dirty - and even if we had left the washing up undone, we were renting the flat for the week and so long as we left everything in a good state at the end of the holiday, he had no grounds to be so utterly vile. We complained to the lettings company about the kitchen access and the owner's behaviour, but it was high season and they couldn't move us. We had a substantial refund but the holiday was ruined - couldn't avoid the horrible owner.

I've also stayed in lots of Airbnb's all over the place, and genuinely every one of them has been fantastic. I don't choose them for the price (there are often hotels that are cheaper), I just prefer staying in a flat or a house to a hotel.

Re the actual issue, definitely call Airbnb and complain, now rather than at the end of your stay. On forums I've seen hosts whinge that Airbnb lean heavily in favour of guests when issues arise, so hopefully they can help.

@Bootikin we've stayed in loads of Airbnb's and never had any problems. It would probably be cheaper to stay in a hotel but why would we want to be surrounded by loads of other people when we can be in a beautiful house in the middle of the countryside. Hotels have their place for certain holidays but I much prefer having a garden, self catering, can take the dog, more space etc.

Booti, we always stay in AirBNBs and have not really had any problems before. On the contrary it’s generally far nicer than a hotel.

The people demanding to know exactly what happened since you’ve posted all over reddit, I will tell you.

I had had a shower. I lay on my front on the bed to read a text but I was still not quite dry so I had put a towel on the bed. The door flung open and in cams host. I gasped. She said ‘oh you are here’ and stood there and I was a bit shocked but then I shouted at her.

I have now spoken to her and made it clear we want more privacy and if it happens again it will be reflected in the review.

Put it in the review anyway! Potential future guests need to be warned. It sounds like she has no boundaries and will just be telling herself you are unusually uptight!

Heard nothing but horror stories about air bnb. Why not stay in a hotel? Is it JUST about budget? Surely sooner or later air bnb is going to become one of those things that no one ever uses?

There are Airbnb stories on this very thread that are the opposite of horror stories.

No, it's not just budget, although that is a factor for me. You get a huge range of properties in a vast range of locations; your own space where you don't have to get dressed to have breakfast or make tea with a tiny kettle perched on a cheap cabinet and fake milk; you're not confined to one room; often (IME) the hosts are a delight and give you local tips you wouldn't get otherwise.

Personally I hate most hotels. They're always overheated and you can't open the windows, and I generally find the staff fairly unhelpful/inept, even in expensive places. They're horribly overpriced IMO too.

Can’t stand it. Rented a cottage thru Airbnb and it stated that the owners may come to water the garden but otherwise would leave us in peace. But she came first evening to see if we arrived. Came in next day to collect fire thingys as needed annual check. Came back following day to put them back in. Came another day to put out bins (didn’t come into house). I texted her to say I’d bring them back in to save her a trip. She drove by saw one bin still out texted me about that. I texted said they’d collected rubbish not recycling. She came by to check it. She dropped by another time to drop off veg from her garden (nice but was hoping for fresh eggs web listing had boasted about).
In the end I was jumping every time a car drove by!

Definitely complain and ask for a refund OP. Totally unacceptable behaviour on her part - if a man had walked into your bedroom like that I doubt would be saying it's ok. Sorry your holiday has been tarnished ☹️

Sorry typo:

I doubt anyone would be saying it's ok.

I would 100% report this.

Report it if you can it’s weird if it was a man who walked in when you were named in the towel we would have our pitch forks out!