Airbnb and TV - AIBU?

[GoldOnyx]

DH, DMum, DS and I are on holiday in an Airbnb in Portugal.

We had a few problems with the shower and with a lingering smell of drying laundry, so messaged the host and she came today to try and sort these. She sorted the shower, which was good. The drying laundry smells have persisted for a while, which I think has pissed off my DMum, although they’re no longer there, which is good.

The other thing is we have a TV, which is good, but there aren’t many channels and they’re all in Portuguese. The remote I think we need to access the channels doesn’t work unfortunately.

When the host came today to sort the other stuff, we asked her if we could use the other remote and she said she’d drop off some batteries so we could use it.

The host didn’t drop off the batteriesI went out to get some, but the other remote still didn’t work unfortunately. I don’t want to annoy her, as I’m worried about getting a bad review, but would it be worth me messaging her again to ask if she can help firther with the remote?

We’re leaving on Sunday morning, so in a way it doesn’t seem worth it, but my DM quite likes watching TV before going to bed, which is fair enough, and would like some English language channels to watch if possible.

Could you bring up sub-titles on the screen for her?

A standard cable subscription in Portugal will not contain English language stations.

The original post is extraordinary. I’m staggered that the first thing someone would do on holiday would be hop onto MN to moan about these issues. What exactly does she want us to do?

She mentions the smell of laundry but neglects to mention that laundry is actually drying in the house. She mentions a second remote but neglects to mention that it links to the cable box. And then gets huffy when people are confused! These are key pieces of information in this ridiculous thread.

Here’s my advice. Forget about the TV. Stop posting on MN. Enjoy your holiday. leave your AirBnB host alone.

So can't she watch the news on your phone?

And maybe buy her a tablet for Christmas!

@NeverEnoughPants
"So you don't have 3 for your tv - which is what the previous poster was alluding to. "
Two of the remotes at least turn the TV on and off, and change the channels, but only the Sky one has access to the sky channels, as well as all the other terrestial channels. I guess that technically, BBC and ITV etc are technically being broadcast via the SKY box, but to the user (me), that's a technical issue I do not concern myself with, as it is the normal terrestial channels.

Ok. But not all the remotes are for the TV. One is for the TV. One for sky. One for the sound bar.

I'm sorry, but I can't explain any more clearly what the other poster was talking about. I don't know if you don't understand it if you are being deliberately obtuse, but honestly it doesn't matter.

Your tv did not come with three remotes. Two of them came with other equipment, that link to you tv.

I don't think you'd get English language channels anyway, we have a huge array or channels in our air bnb, all in English(because we are in england), no French person has ever complained or asked for access to french tv (i wouldnt know how). You do sound a little high maintenance tbh, I suspect a hotel set up might suit you better - they do buy in English language news channels and could also move rooms if there was a smell. Unfortunately some places do just have a smell, as an air bnb owner, I'd apologise and leave a few air fresheners around but ultimately what can she do!? It comes with renting a home, not a hotel, - it might be the weather, time of year, something local drifting in, it's all stuff she can't fix! I'd accept you're renting a home in a foreign country, not a generic hotel room and as such, some things don't work the way they do in the UK

Yeah but you don't have to be bloody Einstein to figure out what the OP meant. People are either being a bit slow or deliberately awkward.

If the remote and hence TV isn’t working I think it’s fair to inform the host

Sounds like you should be staying in a hotel, not an air bnb. The issues you’ve raised would either not occur in a hotel or would be fixed promptly, so suggest you try that accommodation choice on your next trip.

I don't disagree with you. I was talking to the poster that said they have three remotes for their TV, one for their TV and two for other devices, in response to someone accurately assessing that the second remote would be for a device attached to the TV, rather than the TV itself...