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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Most real airbnbs are dirty

82 replies

hellosunshineagainx · 03/09/2021 23:09

So I have been fortunate enough to have three breaks away this summer but in each place I have stayed I have had to clean once I got there as they really weren't clean!

All booked on airbnb but varying locations and prices. Wondered if it was just me so looked at reviews and no one has said anything negative about cleanliness.

Having a toddler and a Labrador I didn't think my cleanliness standards were high but apparently they are!

Aibu to say that airbnbs are dirty and not want to pay the cleaning fees they add on!

Examples of dirtyness:
Muck around taps
Dirty toilet hinges
very dusty trinkets and ornaments
dirty dish drying rack
toddler getting dirty feet from just walking around the place
dirty doorframes with fingerprints on
dirty mirrors and windows
very dirty oven
rug that has a texture to it as obviously full of grime (didn't clean that obvs but rolled it up out of the way)
Stained mugs

Maybe these are small things but once you notice one thing I felt like I then noticed lots of others and then just had a feeling of being unclean so had to get supplies to clean, the next two I just took cleaning supplies with me and was prepared. Maybe I need to star booking souless but clean hotels

OP posts:
Givemethatknife · 04/09/2021 07:39

Generally I find they are clean, but yes some of the cheaper ones will have rugs or cushions in the sitting room that are probably a bit grubby. But never found that bathrooms or kitchens aren’t clean.

If you are checking knickknacks for dust I suspect your standards are high, but it’s worth leaving a balanced comment in reviews if you think things should be better.

HasselbackForLife · 04/09/2021 08:31

I just can't imagine going on holiday and cleaning a door frame or the oven...
I think you need to either care less about it (because, it doesn't matter as much as you think it does, not matter what the Mumsnet brigade or Mrs Hinch will have you believe) or stay in hotels

CloseYourEyesAndSee · 04/09/2021 08:33

Do you look at the star rating as well as the comments? If they have an average under 4.5 stars for cleanliness that's a warning sign.

Pedalpushers · 04/09/2021 08:35

I've stayed in hundreds of airbnbs and never found one anything less than spotless.

Jennybeans401 · 04/09/2021 08:41

Yes, this is my experience of Airbnb. We stayed in a cottage, it seemed a bit worn but we didn't mind. The carpet in the living room was very old, my dd had been lying down watching TV one night, she was bitten and had fleas in her hair. We put this in our review and complained but it mysteriously didn't appear on the website.

We've not stayed in Airbnb since!

Onlinedilema · 04/09/2021 08:45

Never stayed in one.
Surely if you rent your house out it should be cleaned. However if it's a house you live in I fail to see how it is going to be as clean as a hotel.

knittingaddict · 04/09/2021 08:46

I think you're doing it wrong op.

We've just come back from a week in an airbnb and it was spotlessly clean. We went with a super host (daughter suggested this) and reviews specifically mentioned how clean it was. It's no good looking at what the reviews don't say. You need to look at what they do say about the property and that includes cleanliness. I also look for other keywords, like good wifi signal and whether it's a peaceful setting and if there's a local pub or shop.

I've only stayed in one holiday cottage that was dirty and we rang the caretaker to complain. That was years ago and before airbnb, but we've learnt a few things since then. Looking back I should have put in an official complaint for that one and written a review, but I was too soft at the time.

lljkk · 04/09/2021 08:47

Cleaner than my home so I couldn't complain.

Chocaholic9 · 04/09/2021 08:48

I've stayed in over 80 airbnbs around the world, including lots in the UK. It isn't you - the majority of people don't have high standards for cleanliness. I'd say maybe 2/3rds were not clean.

I even stayed at one luxury place which cost hundreds of £ per night and it had muddy shoe prints all over the wooden floor. I complained and they came and cleaned it up.

I look at the reviews to find out what it is likely to be like. If none or hardly any of them mention how clean it is, in my experience it usually means it's not clean.

AfternoonToffee · 04/09/2021 09:03

YANBU, whilst they look clean when you actually look there is often lots of missed bits - dust in the corners in showers, rubbish behind / under furniture (that is easy to access), really furry kettles etc.

My usual standards at home aren't really that high, but when I paying a hundred pound plus a night to stay somewhere I expect high standards. I am not going back to the place I stayed this year again (we usually return) as next year they want £200+ a night and I am refusing to pay it. (This year we paid less but only because I booked this time last year)

I will say though, during restrictions I stayed at one (you couldn't stay in hotels but could in self contained accommodation) it was just a room with ensuite and it was spotless.

shallIswim · 04/09/2021 12:16

We stayed in one k. Edinburgh. Beautiful New Town apartment. Filthy though. I complained to the manager who said the owners had stayed there the previous week and assured him they'd clean it. Well they didn't. Bits of old food on plates, dirty skirting boards, mouldy grout.
I own a holiday let (not Airbnb) and my mantra is Leave No Trace of Previous Guests. Not a single hair.

NotAnotherBloodyNameChange · 04/09/2021 12:19

The ones I’ve stayed in were really clean, one did have dust under the wash stand in 5e bathroom but that was the only thing I found.

Tallisimo · 04/09/2021 12:22

My friend runs an Airbnb and I have to say it is absolutely spotless!

Saying ‘most real Airbnb’s are dirty’ (whatever you mean by ‘real’) is like saying all hotel rooms are clean. Which obviously isn’t true, either.

mbosnz · 04/09/2021 12:27

We stayed in one in Canada. We got there early hours of the morning, just sank into the (unmade) beds in utter exhaustion.

Next morning, opened the oven, took one look and said 'I'm not cooking in that in the state it's in, and I'm sure as hell not cleaning it either'.

It was touted as a luxury air bnb.

Owner was most put out, and sent his father (?!) round to inspect, and to clean it. Father didn't speak English, but he sure spoke dirty oven, and the look he gave me spoke volumes. He did a lovely job. And gave his son a right bullocking, as the son rather resentfully told me. The dust accumulated under the beds was ridiculous.

CherryPieface · 04/09/2021 12:33

I think it depends on the type of accommodation. I’ve stayed in houses that are dedicated holiday lets and they have been beautifully clean. But I’ve also stayed in people’s homes - they have obviously moved out for a couple of nights - and those places have been grotty. One place hadn’t changed the bedding and it was smelly. And another had a filthy fridge full of food about to go off.

BroccoliFloret · 04/09/2021 12:37

@Redglitter

Certainly not my experience. I've stayed in 4 different Air BnBs and they were absolutely spotless when we arrived
Agree.

Our first experience of Airbnb was an apartment in Paris which was a family home, rented out when the family went on holiday. It was very clean and tidy and absolutely brilliant, a home from home and having all the stuff which you don't get in a hotel.

This year we had an Airbnb in Dorset, large self-catering property which the owner lets through Airbnb but through several other self-catering portals too. Again, immaculately clean and professionally cleaned on departure.

Airbnb is just an accommodation portal with varying standards, just as the self-catering properties you book through Booking.com, or Tripadvisor, or Cottages 4 You have varying standards.

2bazookas · 04/09/2021 12:59

In my personal experience, every air BNB we' ve both used has been immaculately clean.

Before and after covid.

RuthTopp · 04/09/2021 13:03

My dcs are not so little anyone , but we used to caravan holiday in Haven camps . I would wash all plates and cutlery and give everything a wipe before we would use things , so I can sympathise that you feel the need to clean .

Original poster
hellosunshineagainx · 04/09/2021 16:14

@spicychickenwing

I generally get the ick staying away from home. I get queasy if my feet touch the carpet or bathroom floor. Sliders help. I don't like my bare skin touching the sofa/bedding. And i just get all itchy and irritable and feel grubby the Whole time i am away.

The irony is i live in no show home! And am fairly laissez fair usually. Im not sure if its just a new fun way my anxiety is manifesting itself. But am home after a week away and in my own bed after a hot shower and loving it!

This is exactly how I feel!
OP posts:
Original poster
hellosunshineagainx · 04/09/2021 16:16

@knittingaddict

I think you're doing it wrong op.

We've just come back from a week in an airbnb and it was spotlessly clean. We went with a super host (daughter suggested this) and reviews specifically mentioned how clean it was. It's no good looking at what the reviews don't say. You need to look at what they do say about the property and that includes cleanliness. I also look for other keywords, like good wifi signal and whether it's a peaceful setting and if there's a local pub or shop.

I've only stayed in one holiday cottage that was dirty and we rang the caretaker to complain. That was years ago and before airbnb, but we've learnt a few things since then. Looking back I should have put in an official complaint for that one and written a review, but I was too soft at the time.

This is super helpful thank you, sounds so obvious now
OP posts:
Original poster
hellosunshineagainx · 04/09/2021 16:18

@Tallisimo

My friend runs an Airbnb and I have to say it is absolutely spotless!

Saying ‘most real Airbnb’s are dirty’ (whatever you mean by ‘real’) is like saying all hotel rooms are clean. Which obviously isn’t true, either.

By real I mean the ones that are people who just rent it out when they aren't there/holiday homes rather than these companies that run serviced accommodation as a business and property investing strategy
OP posts:
Original poster
hellosunshineagainx · 04/09/2021 16:22

@RuthTopp

My dcs are not so little anyone , but we used to caravan holiday in Haven camps . I would wash all plates and cutlery and give everything a wipe before we would use things , so I can sympathise that you feel the need to clean .
That's totally it. I think before I had a child I maybe wouldn't have noticed as much. But he has just turned 2 so is on the floor etc a lot so maybe it's partly that and my anxiety around him and making sure things are clean. I was neglected as a child and lived in a disgusting house so I wondered maybe if it just triggers me now I have my own child. I don't live in a show home but it is clean, I mean clean and not just tidy which is what a lot of people call clean it seems
OP posts:
HoollyWugger · 04/09/2021 16:23

One I stayed in still had hairs in the shower tray. The most recent one smelt damp/musty, to the point of having to wash everything we'd taken when we got back home.

Caspianberg · 04/09/2021 16:24

Well most don’t have time to clean them properly. We have one, 2 bedroom house. Check out 10am, check in 3pm onwards. So if on same day that’s Maximum 5hrs cleaning, bedding, etc. Often guests leave late so less time. 5hrs is tight for me alone to get it all done.
So when people show 4bedroom places with same check outs, unless they have a multi team of cleaner, there’s no way.

Whitedressparis · 04/09/2021 16:25

I’ve stayed in 30+ I’d say (for work and holidays) there’s been one that was less than spotless - funny enough this was the only one that ever left me a bad review and tried to get extra dosh out of me. Chancers