AIBU to raise concerns about an Airbnb after kind hosts helped us?

[Bunnyfuller1]

So..we booked an AirBnB near Nimes. Our wonderful Ryanair flight was delayed 2 hours, which was then a domino effect to getting out of the airport to where we were collecting our car. The hire place closed 5 minutes before we got there, despite me pleading with them and updating them all the time.

i had been in contact with the AirBnB owner since before the holiday and he had asked me to keep him updates to our arrival time. When I had updated him with our situation he immediately offered to collect us from the railway station, and offered us dinner. An absolute gem, we are so grateful. We sorted our car out the next day, so all good there.

The problem is the AirBnB itself - it’s a small gite attached to the owner’s house. The grounds are very neglected with stuff everywhere. The advertised aircon is actually one portable air conditioner with a pipe taped to the door to vent. The owner has given us a couple of fans which make it possible to sleep Everything is very tired r unfinished or needs repairing. Bedside tables are plastic chairs.

Theres a pool which is very cloudy, and again everything around it is unkempt. The cherries on the cake are their 2 labradors which they mostly keep control of, but they take into the pool twice a day.

We are really torn - owners are so welcoming and nice (a bit too chatty sometimes) but we’ve never stayed in an Airbnb like this before and as much as I like dogs, I’m not overly keen on swimming in water that two huge labs go in.

What to do - if the hosts were any different we would immediately speak to them and Airbnb and hopefully get moved to something better, but (I know, grow a pair) I’m really feeling bad and ungrateful over speaking to them. DH is fully for raising our issues, it’s me feeling awful.

what to do, dear MN, and if we were to raise it, how….

I'd leave a review on the hosting and just add 'general' pics of the accommodation. So show the broken cupboard in the bottom hand of the pic as if you didn't mean to acknowledge it, but others will be looking at the pics and seeing it for themselves. I'm a wuss when it comes to criticising someone who has done something good for me, but I believe the right thing would be to give others a sneaky peek/accidental view of what the reality is. You're taking a pic of the kitchen to show the size, and not as the main focus but the bad air con set up is in the background, that kind of thing. Regarding the dogs in the pool, a little subtle passive aggression, 'it was a nice surprise seeing the dogs swimming in the pool each day!'

Don't come at me, I said I was a wuss but a sucker for decent people going out of their way to help someone. You're not slating the place and feeling like you're two fingers up to the kind host, you're just showing pics of the accommodation which is to be expected. If they don't want their shabbiness exposed, then it shouldn't be left like that, so it's the most neutral option, imo.

That's not fair.

It's hardly going to say on the listing "the grounds are a shit tip" or "the aircon is a jimmy rigged pipe" or "pool shared with two animals".

You can't post photos on Airbnb reviews

Yes difficult… but I would let it go… they have been incredibly kind.

My error. That's for hosts xxx

Yes, I'd put it in a private message, seeing as they give you the option to do that. Maybe give it 4 stars in review and say it's not for guests who want everything to be pristine or don't like dogs?

And not a single review mentioned any of this?

Oh jeez.

that’s not good OP.

did you know the pool was shared with owners (even if not their dogs)?

we are staying at at Airbnb in August where I’ve just seen that and old review that mentioned the owner took a swim in the pool at 6pm every evening 😮😮 that’s from 2023 but if it happens when we are there, they’ll get short shrift 😡

This

Surely you checked the reviews before you booked.

As you can see from this thread people are weirdly reluctant to give honest reviews of poor airbnbs

I specifically asked if the pool was shared, as so many listings saying ‘private’ turn out to be ‘private for you, the other 3 gites I let out and my family’. This host said shared with the couple but they avoid the pool when they have guests.

There was only one review slating it, which always makes me err on the side of perhaps a clash?

Can we get their link please? I like a bit of ramshackle

You owe it to others to be honest. You can mention them going out of their way to collect you and they were friendly. Then just add however the accommodation was disappointing. Then list the reasons.

Love the 'do your due diligence' posts.

A couple of years ago we toured around southern Italy staying in Airbnbs that we'd checked out very carefully. Three were lovely. The fourth and most expensive was a real shock. Lovely owner, but his place was depressingly decorated and crammed with junk. I particularly remember a model sailing ship kitted out with mini spirits bottles that looked like it hadn't been dusted in decades. The terrace, which had been a real draw for us, turned out to be tiny and equipped only with two ancient folding chairs.

Let's just say that the photos had been very carefully taken. And the reviews did not reflect the reality, presumably because we now have this ridiculous situation whereby paying customers are held responsible for not making owners of restaurants and accommodation destitute by leaving accurate reviews.

We moved to a hotel the next day. Owner was perfectly cheerful when we handed the keys back and we got a 50% refund - seemed like it wasn't the first time he'd experienced this!

Thing is, as others have suggested, you don’t have to slate it. You can record that the hosts were extremely accommodating and cheerful and that you appreciated their generosity and helpfulness when you had such an awful time with Ryanair.

You can also say how much you enjoyed the company of their two large labradors in the swimming pool.

I think that the state of the house can be described as cheerfully, unconventional and unpretentious and that you were grateful for the portable air-conditioner. And so on.

What I’m saying is thatyou can be truthful without being scathing.

Exactly. It’s not a hotel it’s someone’s place.

This.

Give 5 star but mention it’s tired and the dogs . To be honest far be it’s so hit and miss I’ve had wonderful status abut most airbnbs in France are not truthful to the photos at all . France is definitely one of the most challenging places to find truthful places . We stay in France often up to 5 times a year using Airbnbs or booking.com and we never have high expectations

They shouldn't give 5 star! It doesn't match the description, which is basically what 5 star means on Airbnb

It's not law to leave a review. Why not just be nice to nice people?

What about other nice people who will spend their money on this place and have a similar unpleasant experience because nobody has the guts to leave an honest review?

The worry in Airbnb is that the host leaves a review too. This makes people reluctant to be honest.

I just wouldn’t leave a review for this one

Can you add pictures to your review? The one of the dog in the pool would be a good start

Are you in fact obligated to leave a review at all ?