To think this AirBnB review was unfair?

[QuiteDisgruntled]

Recently stayed in a studio apartment with kitchenette (fridge, sink, hob, small worktop). Washing up liquid, paper towel and sponge provided but no other cleaning equipment.

Before leaving we washed breakfast things and left on drainer. Wiped surfaces and table, stacked placemats and scooped up some crumbs from the floor with my hands.

I’ve just read the host’s review which says “OK, but kitchen left messy”. I’ve checked other reviews from the host which are all in the style of “great guest, recommended!” so it’s not as though they’re generally leaving picky or negative reviews.

Honestly I’m baffled - I think how we left the place was perfectly acceptable. Am I missing something?

@Elphame no check out instructions. The lady has only been doing Airbnb for 2 months. Thank you for your help - is it worth emailing her and asking her what are ger expectations?

Don’t blame you at all. £900 for a 4 night stay in North Wales is daylight robbery. Which town (if you don’t mind me asking)? My mother spends a fair bit of time in North Wales for work and tells me Rhyl and Prestatyn are dumps but Llandudno isn’t too bad. I’m from South Wales and I’d advise anyone to avoid most parts of it, especially our overrated “capital” city.

Reading others’ experiences of some of the ridiculous hosts reminds me of a low budget horror film I watched 2 years ago called “Superhost.” Worth a watch. It’s about 2 travel vloggers, whose channel is on the ropes, so they are hoping to get more clicks by ramping up the content and manufacturing shocking content. The host of the air bnb they’re staying is also keen for her property to ge5 more visitors so at first is excited her place is being featured. However, things go a bit pear-shaped and it transpires the host is unhinged.

You do know it's not compulsory to make your own meals if you stay in an Airbnb don't you?

We like being able to make a drink when we like and it's hardly hard work is it? Also making beds, honestly how long does it take? Some posters make it sound like it is half an hour of extreme hard work.

I don't hoover unless I have made crumbs. I could leave them but I am not a lazy slob. I wipe the kitchen and bathroom sink round every day like I do at home and it takes seconds.

Just to let people know that mostly the cleaning fee doesn't reflect the true cost of cleaning, it's to make short breaks viable.

So I add £30 cleaning fee which bumps up.the price of a 2 or 3 night stay enough to make it worthwhile.

As to the time taken to clean, my one bed place takes 3 hours. You are doing a deep clean every time, the oven and fridge are cleaned out, furniture moved, skirting boards dusted, windows cleaned.

The cost of cleaning also has to factor in bedding. If they get it washed and ironed it's at least £20 per bedset ( which includes the towels) if they pay a cleaner it's at least £20 per hour in Cornwall, some charge £35 an hour.

I think you left it clean enough op. My view is that if there is an Airbnb service charge AND a seperate cleaning charge, then you have paid for the property to be cleaned. I’d never leave a property in a state but I frequently would load up the dishwasher before I go and let the host know it hasn’t been unloaded. I wipe down all surfaces and if requested I put the rubbish out and strip the bed but there’s no way I’m cleaning the shower, moping etc when a cleaning fee has been charged on top of the rental fee and service fee. The last holiday cottage I stayed in worked out nearly £1100 for a week and that’s plenty to employ a professional cleaner for a couple of hours.

I do tend to avoid airbnbs that are peoples homes though and only stay in those that are run as holiday homes. The ones that are run as holiday homes know to expect some wear and tear over time and to properly clean.

I have been running holiday lets for 25 years. Starting from when you put a pound coin in a slot machine for electricity and you brought your own bedding and towels.

I've seen huge changes in that time. Now Airbnb have made the whole process for inexperience hosts very simple, and the holiday lettings market has grown exponentially. But... it now seems the tide has turned and Airbnb have too many hosts and not enough guests.

The result is Airbnb Support bend over backwards for guests and hosts are booted off the platform if their rating falls below a certain level. As it should be.

I think one of their biggest problems is the rating system for guests. When this first came in it was like nectar for hosts. At last! We could name and shame! (Sort of). But this is now turning too many guests away from the platform.

I can see Airbnb ditching the review system for guests in the not too distant future.

I personally only ever book on booking.com. I hardly ever think about using airbnb as a guest. Which is very weird. But I think subconsciously it's because I don't want to be reviewed. I have enough of that as a host!

Which area and what type of property? We're looking atm but ours isn't on the market yet. Seeing whats out there and I see loads I like. But i know if you're tied to a very tight area/post code that it might he harder if you're looking for a specific property type.

To be honest I wouldn't be interested in any new build. The quality is generally rubbish and not nearly as good as older properties. So whilst the government might now try to drive up house building, I doubt they would appeal to lots of people. Have a friend who bought a four bed new build a couple of years ago. It's only recently that the 'snag'list has been completed. And you can hear the tiniest bit of noise through the ceiling/walls.

Fair enough. But you did mention that you liked being able to make your own food and drinks whenever you like? For me, having someone else do that for me is part of the enjoyment of being on holiday. Same with making beds. I do it every day at home, so even though it only takes moments it's nice to not have to do it myself.

There's nothing inherently virtuous about cleaning your own loo or hoovering up crumbs.

I take it if your hotel is making drinks for you, you are talking about all inclusive holidays? I have never been to a hotel that will make you tea and coffee when asked unless they have a bar area which serves hot drinks.

Me and DH both enjoy cooking so cooking on holiday is no big deal and at least we can eat what we want when we want and we know it's going to be nice. We do often eat out but like having the choice.

Making the bed is not something I even think about. I let the bed air for quite a while (which is something that is not going to happen in a hotel) and then just a quick smooth of the bottom sheet, plump the pillows and pull the duvet up.

I don't feel I need people to wait on me, make my drinks, my bed and clean up crumbs I have made.

Having been a cleaner for holiday cottages and a B&B and also (many many years ago) a chambermaid in a hotel I know that so many people are literally disgusting pigs and make loads of mess and just leave it for someone to clean/sort out. I am just not the sort of person that can do that

I can't think of anything worse than sitting in a public lounge of a hotel no matter how 'lovely'.

I use booking.com because you can see exactly where it is before you book it. You can see the postcode etc. On air bnb you only get an area.
Also the pricing structure is much clearer on booking.com the price you see when you click is the price you pay.

You're basically running a home but with a different view.
This - paying through the nose to spend your precious annual leave doing someone else's housework is the very epitome of an underperforming holiday

How odd?

Could not agree more. A nice living room or even a garden or balcony is far far nicer

YANBU op that's ridiculous.

I've stayed in a few airbnbs and have decided not to use them again, the whole platform/premise just doesn't work for me. I'd rather pay a bit more and stay in a travelodge. I don't come on holiday to clean.

I have never stayed in a hotel where they won't serve you tea or coffee in their lounges. And if you choose a good hotel then the food will be nice or even lovely, hopefully. Hotel bed always left open to air whilst we shower and get ready for the day.

Fortunately, I'm not a disgusting pig and my home is always immaculately clean, but I just pay someone else to do it. I have no interest in doing housework and certainly wouldn't ever do it on holiday.

I have had problems twice with booking.com and never any problems with airbnb.

If you click on the map at the bottom of the airbnb details it is pretty easy to see where the property is. Maybe not down to the actual postcode but good enough, in my view.

We're starting to move away from Air BnB and back to hotels. Really can't be arsed with the 10.00am check out that seems to be the new norm.

Again, any good hotel will usually have lovely gardens to enjoy (that someone else has to maintain). And, if abroad, you usually have a good sized balcony or private patio area (that someone else has to maintain). I must just be super comfortable letting someone else do everything for me whilst on holiday.

I don't want to sit in gardens with strangers thank you and what difference does it make who is maintaining it?

Fair enough. The difference to me, is that I can enjoy the gardens without the hassle of having to maintain them myself (hate gardening, so pay a gardener at home).

What is it with the cleaning fees on Air BnBs? I don’t remember it being a thing before - perhaps a refundable deposit that you’d get something deducted from if you damaged something? Why not just build it into your nightly price? Puts me right off.

I would have personally dried and put the stuff away. Was there stuff left out on the draining board when you arrived? A bit OTT to criticise you so harshly though. We just stayed in an Air BnB in Spain and swept, hoovered, wiped down the shower glass and surfaces, emptied all the bins and took the recycling to the recycling area (that we researched and found ourselves)

If you pay a cleaning fee it makes you feel disinclined to do all that work but I’m just used to doing it now.

I’m trying to book a place in the UK for 3 nights in December - the quoted price per night is £150, the Service charge is £95 and the cleaning fee is £115! That takes a ‘£150’ per night price to £220 per night. I totally won’t book it because I think they’re ’at it’ by advertising as a £150 per night place. Rant over.

This is why I would never use Airbnb. You always run the risk of being 'hosted' by some very petty minded, precious and unreasonable people. People who charge you a cleaning fee and then expect you to do a deep clean without providing any equipment, tell you not to walk on the carpet with shoes (WTF?) and so on.
Imagine a hotel treating guests like this!