Airbnb money grabbers

[Toetapper]

Airbnb hosts: Would you consider the following grounds for a refund?

The property was situated opposite a very noisy outdoor bar. I recorded 80db at 10pm at night, and I have videos to share. This was just the sound of the revellers - it was much louder with the music. The bedroom window on the top floor didn’t close, and so the noise was exceptionally intrusive. The property had not been adequately maintained. The listing does not reflect how the property looks now. Most indoor plants are dead. The garden was unusable, as it was dirty. We found a hair on the loo seat, a chip in the oven, mould on the window, and old laundry piled up. The windows were very dirty. Walls were scuffed and dirty. Decoration used for staging the property were taken down, leaving bare walls. The property is not adequately provisioned. We could not find the hair dryer. There was no washing up liquid, no bottle opener and just a handful of mugs. We complained as soon as we arrived, please check.

So, we spoke to Airbnb as soon as we got there. They didn’t resolve. The host declined to help. Said it was our fault for booking it as we should have known about the bar?! I disagree, and think that a/ he should have been honest about it, and b/ should have taken steps to mitigate noise for a comfortable stay. Instead not only was our bedroom window a rotting single glazed window, it wouldn’t close!

Offered a £300 ‘refund’ for our £1100 three night stay, but only if we vacated right away… assuming so he could rent it out again and pocket the £800 it would have cost us for the one night.

It’s now with Airbnb for arbitration, but I’m not holding out much hope. Any advice?

Personally, I would rather stay in a less-than-perfect little Airbnb place where we have the whole place to ourselves than in a hotel.

I dislike hotels for many reasons: the close proximity of lots of other people; being confined to one room; the lack of personal kitchen facilities; the lack of a private sitting room; the lack of a private outdoor sitting;dining area; the fact that hotels are usually in towns (I'm not keen on staying in built-up areas).

So sounds like a complete one off, for which the owner can’t be blamed

We booked it because of the garden. Somewhere private and outdoors for us to relax

but also it was a city-centre location 🤔

Noise isn't great but you knew it was in a busy place.
Hair on toilet seat, not fantastic but these things happen same as chip in oven.
Not having the staging decor is irrelevant unless they said it would be their.
Was their meant to be a hairdryer? Dirty windows not really on or having scuffs on the wall. Laundry pilled high is disgusting.
How was garden dirty, unusable.
No I wouldn't accept £300 back and to leave straight away.

Does it have lots of reviews, or just a few that could be from their mates?

I’m not sure the bar is the main issue here actually, but a property that hasn’t been cleaned - with food still in the oven, dirty toilet, dirty laundry and dead pot plants etc surely isn’t acceptable.

I hosted for years and got really great reviews. There were a few isolated incidents where guests complained, and given my generally great feedback and the fact I myself had lived in the property, I tended to think it was a them problem. A very few guests tried to say the property was uninhabitable, which was clearly not true. People complained about odd things, the smell of a plant in the garden, etc. There will always be a difference of opinion as to what is good and what is uninhabitable.

Every time I stay in an Airbnb or hotel for that matter, it's worse than the pictures. You have to expect that in this day and age of filters.

My property was on a flight path, like much of SW London and was single glazed, being a Victorian property. People complained about the noise, but what could I reasonably do about that?

People used to also think it was extortionately expensive. I sat one guest down and went through all the fixed expenses of running a home in that part of London (home, not dedicated professional rental) and demostrated to him that he was barely paying more than the cost of owning and occupying that property on a per night basis.

Was it a one off party? Live band ?

I always find Airbnb reviews pretty accurate. Those reviews would mention noise and dirt. I am sure as you have recorded the noise and filmed footage of the property that you will have plenty of photos of dirt and grime - rather than showing us a picture of some books.

I only ever book with Superhosts and that usually helps.

That said, I've just come back from an Airbnb stay and had a full refund because I hurt myself on something that was clearly unsafe. The host didn't quibble. I won't be leaving a review.

I do think that Premier Inn, Travel Lodge, Holiday Inn, etc., could make a bit of a killing if they converted some of their rooms into proper apartments with basic cooking facilities.

I wish I could add my videos. I suppose I’m most bothered by the basic lack of courtesy extended to us the guests by providing somewhere that is at least comfortable (where it’s quiet enough to be able to sleep) and clean. I understand that hosts need to make their money, but we paid a lot for what was marketed as a luxurious property. It was for a special occasion - for my daughter finishing her GCSEs. Im
bothered by the unfairness of it. Not lots of reviews (a handful?) and a fairly new listing. The garden was unusable as the furniture cushions were dirty, the paving slabs were mossy, dirty and unswept, and most of the big plants were dead. They’d obviously potted them up for the pictures, and then neglected them during this recent dry weather. There was also a random broken hanging rail. Just not nicely kept or welcoming.

Who knows if you'll get a refund, but you can at least leave a factual and honest review letting future potential guests know about the noise and the lack of noise mitigation.
I've used Airbnb a lot and have had good experiences, even though I don't tend to go very expensive. I do read the listings and the reviews carefully and take note of things people say about street noise/bar noise etc, as well as what they say about the condition of the place. A host's response to reviews can be very revealing as well. I've just been very lucky and/or stayed in places where people are honest!

Think about what you're prepared to accept op.

If the property is so dirty/under equipped as to be unusable I'd expect a full refund.

If it's significantly unpleasant/not as pictured/not as described, I'd want a 25% refund.

If the owner told me to vacate when I complained, I'd want a full refund for the two days I wasn't there plus cleaning/fees and £100 for inconvenience.

Agree with others that this is why I don't book self catering now unless through an agency eg Sykes or similar where I know there's some oversight. Airbnb is the equivalent of a supermarket notice board, no one is accountable or responsible and no one actually checks the properties.

Sorry you've had a mare OP.

I doubt you'll get a refund but you should leave a poor review - no more than 2 stars - location was bad - cleanliness was bad - resembling the listing was bad - host communication was bad. All bad. What was the star rating? People are often more polite in the written review than they are in stars.

My husband booked it and was careful to choose as we wanted somewhere special. Our host s a superhost, and the listing is described as a guest favourite. I’m just confused as to how there could be such a huge discrepancy here. Would other guests accept mould and dirty laundry? Pah.

Yeah like those aparthotels you get in places like the canaries. I love them - cheap and cheerful and you can do yourself some toast/noodles when you don't fancy eating out.

I think this sounds like an unfortunate one off TBH. If you can get some money back great but none of this sounds horrendous. If you’re in a city centre, expect noise. The garden doesn’t sound unusable to me.

The whole point of Airbnb is that these are people’s homes or places people have owned but don’t live in. Things like watering plants and washing sofa cushions are incredibly difficult to get someone else to do if you live miles away/ in a different country. And yes no one does Airbnb for altruistic reasons so the books about property management are irrelevant.

If you want complete consistency better to use a hotel. I don’t use Airbnb now as I couldn’t cope with vacating a property by 10am and having to clean the place to ridiculously exacting standards as well as paying a cleaner (and with 4 kids)!

Agree.

What is the point of going on holiday if you are going to self-cater and clean?

Hotels don't work for us for more than a night or two; don't want to spend a whole holiday in a family room.

The window not being able to close gave you unnecessary stress. I think you’re being reasonable

Am an Airbnb super host: send your photos to Airbnb customer support and request a resolution. This is why the platform exists- and actually they hold your funds not the host

If the issues are genuine you will get a refund of some sort. If the property is unacceptable ask Airbnb support to find you alternative accommodation

It is strange that your feedback is so out of line with other guests : wonder if they’ve had a cleaner let them down or similar

Because sometimes we want the option to selfcater and more living space.
Did airbnb last week, gorgeous little cottage for DH and I. We ate in every other night, also having a living rooms means we dont disturb each other if we want to stay up.

Well I have never understood why people use Air BnB and I am not sure that I agree with the business model in the first place.
However, for that money, could you not have gone to a lovely hotel (and had change)?
As I travel quite a bit for work, I did once look up where I was staying on Air BnB - out of curiosity/for comparison - the only place that came up (think medium to large European city) was somewhere about 25km away for a cost per night that was well over the price of a suite in one of the city's 5* hotels.

Unless you have a suite for a room with a kitchen and living room in a hotel you are comparing apples with pears.

Where’s the dirty laundry piled?

noise in a city centre location, a hair in the bathroom and a chip in the oven are hardly big deals. Same with moss in the garden really.