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?

I stayed at 3 Airbnbs this summer in France, Austria and the Netherlands and all had check-out times of 11am, with later possible by arrangement, which we didn't want.

Our holidays are very much based around sight-seeing and exploring cities etc. They're quite tiring really and when evening comes we want to be relaxing in a private environment in which it is possible to be as near to horizontal as possible! DC are teens now and feel similar, but when they were younger I wanted them to have a private space to be loud and silly in, which would not have been possible in most hotel lounges and gardens, especially the nicer ones.

Obviously we all enjoy different things and have different requirements of a holiday, but I don't understand why so many people have come onto this thread, as they always do when Airbnb is mentioned, to go on about how great hotels are and make out everyone who stays SC spends their entire holiday cleaning and has foolishly booked an 'underperforming holiday,' as someone upthread described it.

SC and hotels provide completely different experiences and both are available at a huge range of different prices, so why not accept that some people do not want to stay in a hotel and the fact that someone had an issue with their particular Airbnb does not mean that the whole model is shit, just like someone having an issue in a hotel wouldn't mean that the whole hotel industry was shit.

You can avoid this by only staying with Super Hosts. I've never had a bad experience.

I find this type of thing so annoying when the cleaning fees for air bnb are so expensive! We stayed in Scotland in a 2 bed place this year it was £110 cleaning fee for a 4 night stay! I obviously did what you did but I wasn't willing to sweep floor etc

We dont really cook when on holiday but I want the option to have my snacks when I want them, we virtually exist on wine and cheese in the evenings after a meal out anyway. we eat out for most of our meals

We're normally cycling so things get grubby I like to be able to wash things if I need to, we dont always.

An iron is essential, I like to go out each day and night looking smart and well presented, no matter how carefully you pack things get creased.

I spend about an hour before we leave making sure I leave it how I found it. Theres no week long cooking and cleaning. I dont even clean at home as I have a cleaner

And of course there is the cost, a hotel like others are describing on here are way way more expensive than renting self catering, thats why people go self catering because its far more cost effective. I dont want people bringing me food in a hotel in any case, I want to go out and have lots of different experiences but still buy in things I might want to snack on and store. I dont want to have to order drinks or store them in some cupboard sized fridge, I want to have things that I want around me, plus the space. We struggle to find places thta have good bike storage anyway, hotels never do, although once we found one where you had to go into the basement, ask for a key, hang around waiting for a member of staff, blah blah blah, never again

Sometimes we want to fix or tinker with teh bikes in the garden.

Are you actually from this planet?

Yes, I cant sit there in my undercrackers shouting at OH to grab me the crisps!!!

Really can't be arsed with the 10.00am check out that seems to be the new norm.
You barely have enough time to work your way through the guests' to-do list - sometimes you have to pay for another night just so you can finish regrouting the bathroom and clearing the gutters.

How did you get crumbs on the floor?
Gravity - do you not have it where you're from??

God, tell me about it. Last time we stayed in an AirBnB we paid for an extra weekend so DH could lay them a new patio.

You should have put the dishes away.

I've stayed in airbnb type places (one on airbnb the other was a Sykes cottage) and I'm not keen to do it again, I'd rather an actual bed and breakfast or a hotel next time to be honest. I always tidy up food mess, put stuff away and follow any instructions that are left re bins etc but I'll be buggered if I'm doing a deep clean at 7am to be out by 10. I'm on holiday and that's what they pay the cleaners for surely.

I got a bad review on airb&b for not stripping beds.
there was NO information to say we had to strip beds, I checked all emails and correspondence so replied to the comment saying so and telling them they charge a cleaning fee so they can strip their own beds!

Sound like u didn’t do something that was in the list of rules.

Just move on, they employ cleaners, as long as you didn't leave it like a tip. I always put the washing up away though.

I am finding hotel offers make Airbnb look expensive. The fact a host supplies creamer makes them a five star host and I guess charge more.

Airbnb with all the rules and cleaning charges just make it stressful.

Quite right too I have never stripped a bed.

I just leave it as I found it and put everything away, strip bed, take rubbish out etc. As you would do staying in a lodge. Does seem a bit unfair I know as a clean will hopefully be done but just me, I like to leave anywhere as clean and tidy as possible, including hotel rooms. Your review does seem harsh though, I've heard some b and b owners find the place a mess, things missing, toilet mess left and so on. Xx

If it’s just DH and me I enjoy a hotel. But when travelling with our teen DC we almost always book something self contained to have more space and let the DC have privacy in their own bedrooms. We do longer, multi city trips so having laundry facilities is essential.

Up until 5 or 6 years ago we used a lot of Airbnbs but these days I prefer to use one of the other booking platforms. The cancellation policies are better, you don’t have your accommodation cancelled at the last minute and you aren’t expected to vacuum the property and strip the beds before you leave. I put dishes in the dishwasher and turn it on and put the rubbish out if asked but I don’t think it’s necessary to leave it as I find it because there will be cleaners coming in and that’s their job.

Same just isn’t worth it

This is not nonsense, and your analogy with climate change is off. As of last December, there were nearly 90,000 AirBnb listings in London alone. Some of those will be homes that are being let out when their owners are away on vacation, a few are rooms where the owner is in residence, but many are let out continuously, and these are properties that could be sold or rented out to people who need somewhere to live. Aren't you aware that there is a housing crisis in the UK and many other countries? In tourist destinations. for example,coastal towns and villages in Cornwall, the locals are living in caravans and temporary accommodation as there is no affordable long-term accommodation due to AirBnb and second homes.

AirBnb also destroys communities, and is responsible for a lot of antisocial behaviour; that's why it's already been banned or severely restricted in several major cities, including Barcelona, New York City, and Paris. I've stayed in a few AirBnbs in the past; they seemed poor value for money and there were so many rules that it did not make for relaxed trips. Since I've had a clearer idea of the ethical issues I've avoided them.

No way there’s a housing crisis? Must have passed me by. Having worked for decades in the industry, I know better than to suggest someone choosing to rent an air bnb is contributing to the problem of a housing crises.

My comment was to suggest how futile it is when you look at the bottom of the problem. Look to the top. You’re not going to change anything by blaming people renting from air bnb or any type of holiday rents.

To think most Abnb charge an add on for cleaning, but you're still supposed to spend your holiday cleaning?

Somebody told me the add on cleaning charges are usually really used for the Abnb fees.

Used AirBnB once, purely because of location/availability; never again. First of all, they aren't b&bs, they don't provide breakfast. Secondly they take the piss with cleaning rules that commercial holiday let's don't have. Finally they charge ludicrous amounts for crummy flats that wouldn't let in a commercial situation. I'm fundamentally against them anyway as they compete unfairly with true b&bs without offering the same facilities. I will never use one again. I feel exactly the same about Uber; unfair, unregulated competition for regular cab companies.