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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Air BnB

16 replies

IanHBuckells · 07/06/2021 21:01

This is hypothetical- I saw a post on Instagram this morning from a lady who airbnb's her very large, fancy farmhouse in Kent for school holidays (they move into a newly created annexe). I get the impression she can only afford the big fancy house by moving out of it regularly which in itself is weird to meHmm

She was complaining that the guest's children had used makeup left in a drawer in her daughters bedroom and had asked them to reimburse the cost. She admitted that makeup wasn't locked away.

Aside from the hygiene factor that using someone else's makeup is gross AIBU to think this is foreseeable when renting your home out to strangers but not locking your personal possessions away?

I am not a fan of Air BnB so maybe I'm just being grumpy but feels like she's moaning about something which surely is an inevitable risk when you let strangers live in your house for weeks on end!?

OP posts:
partyatthepalace · 07/06/2021 21:59

Yes, but - why do you care?. If they have any sense the Air bnbErs will tell her that If it’s not locked away it’s fair game, so she won’t many the same mistake again.

ScottishNewbie · 07/06/2021 22:08

I hate staying in Airbnb's where their belongings are left out!
I actually deleted my Airbnb account recently because it got hacked and someone tried to book some very expensive stays and also cancelled a none refundable booking I had coming up. So stressful!

Ginuwine · 08/06/2021 07:38

Stop looking at other peoples lives on Instagram and venting in envy. It's healthier honestly.

Floobydo · 08/06/2021 07:42

Haha yes I follow this account too. I felt quite uncomfortable about the repeated very public criticism towards the family who had rented the house. It just sounded like an unfortunate incident with responsibility all round and she’s just lucky this is the first time in 3.5 years that it’s happened.

You’re right they can only afford the house by renting it out - they were initially going to be pig farmers then switched to this. It’s an amazing house but would be too stressful as a lifestyle for me to risk it.

AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 08/06/2021 07:45

@Ginuwine

Stop looking at other peoples lives on Instagram and venting in envy. It's healthier honestly.
I'm not getting envy, the OP is surely remarking that it's not sensible to leave sessions out when a stranger is staying in your home and then complain if they abuse them.

Sounds pretty indisputable to me

I love a house Instagram account, what's it called?

Ginuwine · 08/06/2021 08:08

@AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair

You're not getting envy?

Not from this comment from the OP:

" I get the impression she can only afford the big fancy house by moving out of it regularly which in itself is weird to me Hmm"

If that's not envy then call me brainwashed.

AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair · 08/06/2021 08:13

[quote Ginuwine]@AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair

You're not getting envy?

Not from this comment from the OP:

" I get the impression she can only afford the big fancy house by moving out of it regularly which in itself is weird to me Hmm"

If that's not envy then call me brainwashed. [/quote]
No, that just sounds like an observation to me. Thinking something is odd doesn't equal being envious of it in any way

More like the opposite in that the OP would not want to have a nice house if she could only afford it by having paying guests

StarryStarrySocks · 08/06/2021 08:18

That's not envy, it's the OP acknowledging that the situation is weird, which it is. Why would you want to spend time, money and effort doing a house up if you don't even get to enjoy living in it most of the time?
Anyway, back to the OP, the woman is BU to ask her guests to pay for this. If I had paid £££ to stay in a property and was then asked to pay to replace something that shouldn't have been accessible in the first place, I would be seriously unimpressed. I'd also mention in my review to warn others.

Ginuwine · 08/06/2021 08:24

" Why would you want to spend time, money and effort doing a house up if you don't even get to enjoy living in it most of the time? "

Because one day when the finances balance and all that AirBnb money pays down whatever is financing things, perhaps she'll move in there.

Why is it "weird" to anyone, how someone else finances their lives?

I don't have any mortgage or finance on anything but I don't sit there commenting on people who do.

So yeah I will call it out - thanks.

bigbluebus · 08/06/2021 08:40

Not sure why you think this sort of arrangement is new/unusual or exclusive to Airbnb. I was at school in the 1970's/80's with a girl whose parents ran a small hotel/b&b. In the summer the 3 children slept in one room which was like a cabin with bunk beds on one side and a single on the other and not much space between. The parents had a bed which folded out of the wall in the living area behind the kitchen. From October to Easter they had the run of an 8 bedroom house with 2 large reception rooms.
I have also rented a large house in Cornwall for a holiday in late 1990's where me, DH and toddler DS had the run of a massive house whilst the owners (family of 5) lived in the basement - which I assume had considerably less space. This was all long before Airbnb existed.

Wrotten · 08/06/2021 08:41

I just want to see the farmhouse.

Floobydo · 08/06/2021 09:10

[quote Ginuwine]@AllThatFancyPaintsAsFair

You're not getting envy?

Not from this comment from the OP:

" I get the impression she can only afford the big fancy house by moving out of it regularly which in itself is weird to me Hmm"

If that's not envy then call me brainwashed. [/quote]
I also don’t get envy from this...the opposite in fact.

Probably because those were my exact emotions - I saw the amazing house on IG and thought wow, what an incredible house, how lucky are they to live there / afford that then realised how they afford it (& until the last couple of weeks they have had to move themselves to friends’ houses every time they’ve rented the house) and swiftly realised that would not be the lifestyle for me. But fair play to them as it obviously does work for them.

In fact one of the things I really like about this account is how open Sally is about how they fund the house & how difficult the juggle with finances is. Which is why I was also disappointed by the post encouraging lots of negative comments about a guest as I didn’t feel it fit with her usual approach / ethos.

AtoZed · 08/06/2021 09:11

@StarryStarrySocks

If I had paid £££ to stay in a property and was then asked to pay to replace something that shouldn't have been accessible in the first place, I would be seriously unimpressed. I'd also mention in my review to warn others.

Most normal people wouldn't touch other peoples make up no matter that it wasn't locked away. It was obviously an oversight but some people will help themselves to anything not nailed down. Let alone leave a bad review for being asked to pay for what you stole!

Shock
soreenqueen21 · 08/06/2021 09:12

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Bourbonic · 08/06/2021 09:41

YABU to not share the link to the house.

Original poster
IanHBuckells · 08/06/2021 10:29

Just catching up- I'm definitely not jealous; too much cleaning for me and I'm a city girl!

I don't think it would be fair to share given I was'dissing' the owner but a PP hit the nail on the head when she said it seemed so unlike her normal posts

OP posts:
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