Thinking of Using Airbnb? Think Again.
If you’re thinking of using Airbnb as an alternative to a hotel, bed and breakfast, or other type of accommodation, I urge you to read this first.
Our Airbnb nightmare lasted four days and ruined my daughter’s college graduation weekend, as well as my mother’s 70th birthday celebration. Know the risks you’re taking before you use Airbnb.
I have been wrestling with my thoughts for the past year. Given some factors, including a recent, poignant conversation with a stranger, and some current articles I’ve read about Airbnb, I’ve decided to publish my story. This is bad news:
“When it comes to lodging, Waliszewski said that short-term rentals such as Airbnb and VRBO could outperform hotels in the near-term as travelers attempt to avoid interactions with strangers.” –Travel and Leisure
I try my best to keep my website a positive place, however, it’s simply unbalanced and unjust for experiences like this to be dismissed and ignored for the sake of positivity. Just as I feel strongly when I enjoy a fabulous hotel, or restaurant, and want to share my experience with you, I feel compelled to tell you about this terrible experience in order to help you avoid a similar situation.
My family’s Airbnb encounter last year was hellish: a Hotel California-esque ordeal which no one should ever have to experience. Airbnb not only mistreated us during the time we were there, but afterwards, too. They firmly refused to provide a full refund. This should have been the least they could have offered as a gesture of apology.
Updated March 2025: Frommer’s and others are following my suit in writing about ditching Airbnb, thank goodness.
I realize that this year’s college (and high school) seniors won’t have a graduation weekend at all, however, I want to make sure that if Airbnb stays in business, that as many people as possible are better informed about their ethics and protocol as a multi-billion dollar company.
What my family experienced during my daughter’s university graduation weekend was nothing short of reprehensible. I hope that telling you our story may help increase the probability that it never happens to anyone else in future.
NB: I am sure that many Airbnb hosts are honest, reliable, communicative, have clean rentals and take pride in being welcoming and helpful. However, given my experience last year, clearly there are some hosts that are the antithesis of these hosts. I feel that I need to highlight how disgracefully, and unfairly Airbnb handled our situation, during, and after our stay.
When we can Safely Travel Again~
Think of how clean you want your future accommodations to be: will you trust a company like Airbnb that has no oversight on how clean or safe their rentals are? Or will you stick with hotels that have certain procedures and protocol with which they must comply?
There is literally NO ACCOUNTABILITY with Airbnb. After reading my experience, I think you’ll be opting for hotels, too.
Thinking of Using Airbnb? Think Again.
How a horrible host and Airbnb ruined what should have been a very special weekend for my family.
A weekend we’d looked forward to for four years–my daughter’s graduation from Villanova University last May–was nothing like we’d imagined. Instead of the joyous weekend, family reunion and serendipitous celebration of my mother’s 70th birthday, we found ourselves in a filthy, and disgusting situation with no other place to go.
It appeared that we had arrived at our accommodation unannounced, despite the fact that I’d booked over two months in advance, and had already paid in full.
Background on the Booking.
Exactly one year prior to the date of needing accommodation in the Villanova (Pennsylvania) area, I attempted to book at minimum, two consecutive nights in the same hotel. This was the first available date to do so, and I managed to secure two rooms, however, when I tried to book the second night the next day, the hotels were already full.
If you’ve had a child graduate from university, I probably need not explain anything to you. However, given that there are over 60 universities and colleges in the Philadelphia area, booking hotel rooms during graduation season is a major challenge. I never did manage to secure consecutive rooms in the same hotel, despite consistently checking, and waiting for cancellations.
Enter Airbnb
In early March, someone had mentioned Airbnb to me so I checked the listings and found an entire house for rent not too far from Villanova University. The reviews looked good, one even commenting on the cleanliness of the property.
Edit (June 1, 2020): due to many commenters stating that this must simply be my fault for not checking the reviews, maybe these visuals will help. The 14 reviews includes my 1 star review, so the ratings would have been even higher when I checked them.
These are two of the reviews I read. So for those of you saying I didn’t check the reviews, I guess I should also have known these were fake?
I booked the house on March 10th, and cancelled the two separate hotel reservations. I felt so relieved that we wouldn’t have to change locations due to not renting a car, and I also extended our stay for two more days. This way we could have a mini family reunion/vacation. I was excited!
Communication with the host didn’t start out on too well. As per Airbnb’s suggested protocol, I messaged her immediately after I had booked, just to say hello, who was coming to her rental, that I was looking forward to the stay, and asked details about our arrival.
I texted again 12 days later, to no avail. She responded another 12 days later, which was over three weeks after my first message. However, she still never answered my question about how to check in. Her response also goes against Airbnb recommendations to always message through Airbnb (which I had done.)
Check In
May 16th arrived and I messaged the host in the morning, but didn’t hear back, so I called later. I finally spoke to her and she said her parents would be at the home to let us in.
Her parents were there, all right. Her mother was hanging drapes (and we wondered why the last minute drape-hanging was happening.)
And her father was laying sod in the backyard. We felt like we were intruding, arriving while they were working in and out of the home. We didn’t say anything, hoping they would leave since most of us had arrived (my daughter had come with us, but she wasn’t staying there.)
Upon our arrival, we immediately noticed how dirty the floors were and smelled a very strong pet odor. All of us noticed; it wasn’t just my mother who is usually the first to see anything that isn’t immaculately clean, or smell something bad.
It was also hard to miss a huge flat screen TV on the couch (see photo above.) I felt a knot in the pit of my stomach, and it kept tightening in response to everything that I was seeing. In the back of my mind, I knew if this wasn’t going to work out, we had no other place to go. I spoke to the host’s mother about the dirty floor and the TV and she said that we could help put the TV back up. I just looked at my family in disbelief: was this really happening?
At this point, another person was in the house. A young teenager appeared, seemingly coming home from school. He didn’t acknowledge us, but walked through the house as if everything was normal (he seemed not to notice strangers were in the house.)
At this point, my whole body was starting to react to this bizarre situation as we started seeing more and more dirt, fur, hair and dust everywhere we looked. The windows looked as though they hadn’t been cleaned in years, and it became clear that we could not stay in these filthy conditions, especially since we had wanted to cook here.
I called the host since I couldn’t communicate with the host’s mother. Several times, she said things that made absolutely no sense. For example, “the food on the floor is from the comforter” and she brought a TV remote in from another room, and called it “the internet.”
I told the host over the phone that the house had not been cleaned, the floors were filthy, there was a TV on the couch, and many other issues. She sounded shocked, and said she was on her way.
At one point, the doorbell rang and my father opened it as we were all standing by the front door (we didn’t even want to sit anywhere.) I have no idea who it was, but he asked for the the host, and then said, “Oh never mind, I’ll come back another time”, and left. If you’ve ever seen The Twilight Zone, this could easily have been an episode.
Before the host arrived, we had done a quick inspection of the main floor and upstairs. Both floors were disgustingly unclean.
Even some sheets and mattresses were stained. There are simply too many photos and videos to upload all of them. Every room smelled, too, it wasn’t just the downstairs.
The Host Arrives
Without making assumptions about why the host wasn’t there to begin with, and why she said and did all the things she did, let me just say, she was not based in reality. She was absolutely taken aback about the fact that I said her house was filthy. She said she’d had a cleaning crew come in and clean it top to bottom! Clearly, the evidence all over the house showed that it couldn’t have been in the last six months or more! It was obvious that we weren’t going to get anywhere when I tried to show her how dirty the floor was, but she refused to look (I’m serious.)
She started to tell me a sob story about how Airbnb hadn’t reimbursed her for damage to her house from some past guests, and how she works hard and didn’t like how I was speaking to her. I told her that she just didn’t like what I was telling her, and tried to speak to her rationally.
I attempted to make her understand that these things had nothing to do with me; the point was that her entire house was filthy, and not in any condition to be occupied. She was in denial, and seemed as though she honestly didn’t understand anything that I had said (no, there was no language barrier). It was as though she was not present, mentally.
Calling/Texting Airbnb
There was no other choice but to get Airbnb involved. My mind was blown by this woman who was telling me to my face that her house was clean. In fact, she went so far as to say the “upstairs is immaculate.” You’ve seen a few of the photos from upstairs, but here are a few more.
NB: I commend you if you’ve made it this far without getting physically ill from these photos, but I’m going to warn you, the worst is yet to come. So don’t go any further if you’ve just eaten a meal. I love sharing beautiful pictures, but seeing and uploading all these are making me feel sick all over again. This is so not me, it’s difficult to share these. Just THINK: Airbnb saw all of these photos and deemed that nothing was wrong: now that’s SCARY. In the end, after I fought and fought with them, they still made us pay 50%!
I barely had any battery left on my phone when I contacted Airbnb, so I asked them to call me back on another number, which they failed to do. Luckily, my phone had not yet died, and I started to explain my situation. I went outside the front door for privacy as I didn’t want the host to hear me tell the rep that her house stunk of dog in addition to the filth inside.
As soon as I divulged this to the Airbnb rep, the door flew open and the host reprimanded me, saying loudly, “My house does not smell of dog!” I told her that it was not okay to eavesdrop on my conversation, but clearly things were heading south.
Yes, I had tried to see if any hotel rooms were available, but it was a joke: everything had been booked for a year in advance. Note the time: we arrived at 3 pm.
I cannot write every single thing that transpired because it was incredibly drawn out. In a nutshell:
- I continued my communication with Airbnb over text as the call kept dropping. They said there was nothing else available and I needed to work with the host and allow her to have cleaners come in.
- I said there was no way they could clean the house in a few hours, due to how much needed to be done, but I finally agreed, given there were no other options.
- The host said her cleaner was in the driveway, but she was sending him away because she didn’t want him in the house with me since I wasn’t nice (!!!)
- Her father pulled out of the driveway right after this (her father was “her cleaner.”)
- She had someone else come over, saying he was her attorney. He stayed in the kitchen with her while she mopped one floor for over 30 minutes. At this rate it would take her over a year to clean the house.
- The rep at Airbnb said it was time for his break and left. I honestly couldn’t believe he just left.
- My entire family: mother, father, husband, and son left in my son’s car to go for a tour of Villanova University with my daughter while I stayed behind and tried to deal with Airbnb and the host from hell. I felt even more sick knowing I was missing out on this special time with my family that I would never be able to get back.
No Choice but to Stay
- I finally couldn’t take being in the house with them any longer as they were talking about the situation and how the house was clean, they had done nothing wrong, and talking about me, etc. The agent came back after more than an hour break.
At this point, I asked the host and her “attorney” to leave. All she had cleaned was one floor, which was probably the cleanest floor in the house. Now it was up to me to clean what we had to use, such as the bathrooms, kitchen sink, beds, etc. However, no matter what I cleaned, it wasn’t going to help the dog odor!
No one in my family was happy about the situation, but we all knew we had no other alternative. I felt the worst for my mother who is so meticulously clean, more than any of us. I felt like a failure, although I’d done nothing wrong.
The Backyard
I had to call the host as the backyard had a sprinkler going and was flooding a small area. The host’s father came back and turned it off. However, as my son was sitting out back reading on another day, he returned, just showed up in the backyard without any notification whatsoever.
Who knows how many times he came over as we tried to stay out as long, and as much as we possibly could. I was not happy that he felt he could just wander in whenever he wanted while we were there.
DiscoveringThe Degree of Filth in the House Using Airbnb
I am not exaggerating when I say the house was FILTHY. Just look. Can you imagine being told this is “immaculate?”
Cleaning the toilet literally made me gag. The only reason I did it was because I had to for my family. My mother would never have been able to manage the feat, and I was the only one left at the house at this point. I truly wanted to run away from this disgusting hell-hole and the entire situation, but where could we go with every hotel booked for miles around?
Absolutely nowhere. My daughter’s graduation ceremonies were being held the next two days and my husband and parents’ flights weren’t until Monday (and this was Thursday!) We were stuck here.
I would have considered sleeping in a car over this house, but we didn’t rent a car and my son just had a Honda Civic. Then where would we shower and dress? It was an impossibility.
Allow me to Show you the Kitchen when Using Airbnb
For those of you who don’t know, this is mouse poop. And it happens to be in a frying pan. How does that strike you? Can you believe that all these photos and documentation meant nothing to Airbnb? Let me show you more and we’ll get to that in a bit.
The back of the drawer. No clue what this is, but it shouldn’t be here. Everything was reprehensible.
See the photo below? That’s the inside of the freezer door. See the dog fur/hair? Yep, that’s in the freezer; not kidding. Remember, I can only show you some of the kitchen, and the house. There was so much more!
Want to see the dishwasher? Probably not, right?
Looked like these had not been used or cleaned in YEARS.
The microwave was revolting. Who am I kidding, everything was revolting.
Downstairs/Basement Using Airbnb
And finally, let’s take a walk downstairs to the basement. This is just a little part of the disgustingly dirty floor.
This wall is disgraceful. Remember, I DID MY DUE DILIGENCE AND THE REVIEWS WERE STELLAR!!
Thank goodness we didn’t do laundry here. I’m adding a video clip below that I took downstairs.
My Mother’s 70th Birthday Celebration that Didn’t Happen
I already had a huge bottle of bubbly and planned on making Mum a nice dinner, buying a cake, and celebrating her 70th birthday with our family since her birthday was a week later. My family lives all over the US, so this was the perfect time to celebrate my mother’s special birthday.
Alas, there was no special dinner being made in that kitchen. No cake was going in that fridge. Proper restaurants were slammed with existing reservations due to the graduations, so we just popped the bubbly at my daughter’s house where everyone didn’t even have a seat, and that was it. The most pathetic 70th “birthday party”, ever.
Airbnb’s Lack of Successful Resolution and Pathetic Customer Service
I called Airbnb upon my return to Los Angeles, but even though they had all the documentation and photos (more than I’ve shared here), they refused to take into account the fact that we COULD NOT LEAVE. They stated that if we complained about the condition of the house, we should have left in order to receive a full refund! It was a vicious circle of me telling them there was no place to go, and Airbnb saying, if it was so bad, you should have left.
After weeks of spending valuable time on the phone and waiting for them to make a decision, they refunded 50% of my payment and offered a $100 towards a future stay! What a joke–after this experience? At minimum, a full refund should have been given, and that still isn’t even close to making up for our ruined weekend! No amount of money can fix lost and ruined time with family.
Also, I discovered that although the listing says the home sleeps 8 (with 4 beds), there are only 3 beds and one is a twin, so it only sleeps 5. It still has not been corrected. How does Airbnb monitor these listings? There is simply no accountability.
Here’s why Airbnb Failed Miserably~
- The fact that Airbnb absolutely refused to look at the facts and realize that there was literally nowhere for my family to go during those four days says a lot about the company. They are focused on making and keeping money, not doing the right thing, or providing good customer service.
- Airbnb didn’t take into account that we left the premises CLEANER than when we arrived. When has that ever happened? They also didn’t take into account our wasted time, and the time we spent cleaning (and the vomit factor of cleaning strangers’ urine, disgusting toilets and sleeping in filthy premises.)
- Airbnb also blamed the victim by saying that I should have allowed the host to have someone come to clean WHILE WE WERE THERE. When this woman had over two months to prepare for our arrival, it’s okay to have hours and hours of our time taken away when we should have come to a clean house in the first place? Why is the responsibility never laid on the correct shoulders anymore?
Graduation
Given that this year (2020) no one will be able to graduate in the manner shown in the photo above, I’m grateful that my daughter was able to participate in her ceremony. However, our weekend hardly went as planned, all due to some bizarre lack of planning on our host’s part. Had she hired a cleaning crew to do a major (and I mean, MAJOR) cleaning inside her house before our arrival, things would have turned out much differently.
Is my story not enough to dissuade you from using Airbnb?
Then maybe the thousands of other submissions on this site will be.Airbnb Hell
I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Please share the word about my experience. Have you had a nightmare experience with Airbnb? Would you have done anything differently than me if you would have been in this situation? Let me know.
✧
Two Final Notes
- I never took one photo of my daughter alone in her cap and gown that weekend. I honestly think that the chaos, anxiety, and stress from staying in that horrible filth was the reason I just wasn’t thinking clearly. I’ve been a professional wedding photographer, and I shoot photos as part of my job. This is just not like me, and it breaks my heart that I didn’t get just one of her alone. This is a shot (taken by a friend) the week before with her friends; Denisa is in the center. Thank goodness she and her friends arranged this shoot.
2. On Monday, after leaving “Hotel California” (I cannot tell you just how wonderful it felt leaving that place), Denisa and I took my parents into Philadelphia. After having Philly cheesesteaks for lunch at Reading Terminal Market, I witnessed a pedestrian being hit in a crosswalk by an SUV. I got the license plate and gave it to the victim (luckily he wasn’t seriously hurt.)
Within 5 minutes, I had my new iPhone (with graduation photos) stolen right out of my hand as we were walking down the street! My 83 year old father started chasing the thief, and fell on the sidewalk, injuring his chin and chest. Later his legs would become completely bruised!
I yelled, “Stop him, he stole my phone!” and someone actually did! I got my phone back, but not after the man who had been hit by the SUV tried to subdue the thief and also fell, injuring his hand quite badly.
He had been waiting for the police to arrive. Meanwhile, my daughter took my dad inside a Dunkin’ Donuts as he thought he was going to pass out. I also got two photos of the thief right after getting my phone back! Sounds like a movie, no? This photo says it all: the aftermath.
Let’s just say, it wasn’t the best weekend we’ve ever had. Bottom line: avoid Airbnb and be super vigilant in Philadelphia.
OMG! Thank you for posting!!! What a crazy awful experience. Hope you get some resolution.
We have stayed in dozens of AirBnBs over 5 years, and have never seen one like this. There were red flags up front here.
Here’s what I recommend to avoid questionable situations: I only choose Superhosts, as shown on the listing page. Experienced hosts live by reputation.
Second: Read each listing carefully, and if the host doesn’t contact you PROMPTLY and cordially, move on! Read that hosts reviews! Do they have pets?
Third: if you are booking a special occasion, ask a lot of questions by phone: Will the OWNER be greeting us? If not, who is available if we have questions? What time would you like us to arrive?
Re: the author’s disaster. I get it, hard to find space in that area for graduation. BUT, I feel this could have been mitigated. I’ve had nastier hotel experienced. The most fabulous AirBnBs I’ve stayed in were rated as such by many.
1. If you read my post completely, you’d know that all hotels, b & b’s and accommodations were booked 1 year in advance. Looking for a Superhost wasn’t an option! This was literally the only option, and since it was available in March, I assumed that it was only open due to a cancellation.
2. I DID READ THE HOST REVIEWS (how does everyone miss that? I’ve put it in RED text now) they were really good and the rating was almost 5 stars!
3. If I was a host and someone barraged me with a ton of questions as you suggest, I would see that as a red flag from the guest (i.e. someone that will complain about the slightest problem.) Probably a picky and hard to please guest, right?
It’s easy to throw out a lot of suggestions, but the bottom line is that this could have been mitigated if the host had CLEANED THE HOUSE BEFORE WE ARRIVED. She had TWO months to get a cleaning crew in there. Heck, she could have had the whole house painted in that time! How about blaming the person who caused us all this grief and not me?
Thank you for reading, Maureen. At this point, it’s just all about warning others.
We also had a horrible Airbnb story during the beginning of Covid-19. We had plans to go to a wedding in Florida but due to health issues we didn’t feel safe flying or going anywhere in general so we contacted Airbnb to get a refund but the host refused. We got a doctor’s note and we were still refused. The wedding gets cancelled and Florida had a two week quarantine for people traveling from high risk area (we are from the tristate area) and the host still refused. My husband now wasn’t taking no for an answer. He contacted Airbnb everyday. We had to harass them and still to no avail we were told no. A week before our “stay” Airbnb extended their refund policy so now our dates fell into their policy that we could get a refund ( we were originally off by ONE day) and we still had to contact them multiple times to get the refund. I will never use Airbnb. The way they do business is horrible. I have learned I rather spend more money (go to a hotel) to have peace of mind. Vacation should not be stressful.
Did you read the reviews? We would never rent an air bnb unless the reviews are sterling. If there are no reviews, move onto another listing. We have had excellent experiences and only one that was bad.
We usually use Booking.com and fiter to apt listings as they do not add on fees like air bnb.
How is it possible that so many people miss the fact that I wrote that I READ THE REVIEWS; in fact I posted a screen shot of two of them on this post along with a screenshot of the ratings (almost 5 stars!) Please go back and look at them. One of the reviews even commented on the cleanliness. This was not negligence on MY part.
Wow, wow, wow, Shawna! This is bad! How on earth this company continues to stay in business is beyond me. I’m with you: spread the word, tell people of your experience, and things will change at some point. They cannot keep treating guests and hosts in such a manner and get away with it!
Thanks for sharing and stay safe.
I been doing Home Away most of them been good. I only been in Michigan. I live in Michigan so I try to look them up before hand. I have been burn before said one think an it’s not had to clean before. I also know someone that rented an the place wasn’t even there. try to do has much homework as you can. I check all web site chamber of commerce . There is good ones out there . Also try going through a realtor some do vacation rentals.
Thanks, Linda. I’ve read articles about non-existent Airbnb rentals. Seems hard to imagine they can get away with it, but apparently they do!
We are going through Airbnb hell now during this covid times. Our vacation to Paris was cancelled so we requested a refund from the host who did go ahead and approve it. Airbnb would not refund stating that the host did not approve. We produced all the emails and texts as proof. And Airbnb still refused and sent us a host response that said they didn’t approve. The name of the host they provided was not the original host. So they continue to refuse to refund after this switch! We are not in a position to lose 2000, so will try to pursue legal action. I will never use this disreputable company again.
I’m so sorry to hear this, but after my experience, I have to say, I’m SO NOT suprised to hear this. Hopefully you have it on your credit card and they can help?
Sometimes we dont pay attention to the red flags waiving in our face. When you saw the communication was terrible, that’s when you should have canceled. There are also ratings by both Airbnb customers and Airbnb about their hosts. I used Airbnb and had a fabulous experience, but I only looked at SUPERHOSTS. I sympathize with your experience, but your experience is not the norm if you are diligent as a consumer. Hotels aren’t as clean as you might think they are and they are way overpriced for what they actually offer. You got 50% of your money back and probably spent too much time freaking out expecting them to fix it instead of just cleaning it and focusing on making your daughter’s graduation celebration special and getting the pictures you didn’t take. You could have dealt with the issues with the host and Airbnb afterwards and worst case scenario, gave them a scathing review and poor rating Airbnb so this way others will see and not book. Calling them out on your personal leaves me suspect to your true intentions.
All of this! I’ve stayed in a ton of AirBNBs and most were good, some great, only a couple not so good. Always check for reviews, actually read them, and look at the photos. All of AirBNB isn’t to blame for your one bad time.
Goodness, I’m really getting tired of repeating myself on these comments. Why does no one read what is written?
I have gone back and added screen shots of the rating and 2 reviews as a solid example of what I saw/read before booking (feel free to see them for yourself.) Contrary to your belief, there were no “red flags waving in my face.” I’m a travel writer, Sharon. I probably booked more accommodations in 2019 than the average American will book in 10 years. I traveled for 4 months last year, so I know a little bit about how to do my research in booking.
Here’s the thing: I agree that the lack of communication was an issue, however, if I cancelled at any time after booking, we would literally have no place to stay for my daughter’s graduation. Yes, very easy to say, “I would have cancelled.” but follow it up with what you would have done next? Remember, there’s been nothing available for a year.
You say I “probably spent too much time freaking out expecting them to fix it instead of just cleaning it and focusing on making your daughter’s graduation celebration special and getting the pictures you didn’t take.” Seriously? Instead of saying, “Yep, the host was absolutely awful and should have cleaned it in the two months that she had before your arrival, you’re going to blame ME and tell me I should have cleaned that entire house? I would love nothing more than to be able to zap you into that situation and tell you, “Off you go, then, have at it.” Cleaning that house would have taken one person WEEKS of work. It’s insane to even suggest it!
I did leave a scathing review and 1 star rating, but guess what? She still has almost 5 stars because all the other reviews are great. Since I can’t back up my review with photos, no one will believe the lone bad review, which is another reason I wanted to write this post.
Pray tell me, because I’m dying to know, what do you think my true intentions are for writing this post? I have absolutely no clue what they could be.
The communication or lack of at your onset was an absolute red flag!
Your right the condition was inexcusable and you deserved better. But, there are MUCH better Airbnb hosts than this clown and there was a big warning at booking. I am wondering what previous reviews said. You absolutely need to read those.
Superhosts are the way to go with Airbnb. I have stayed at many Airbnbs and am a Superhost. You cannot beat the price and the feeling like a local experience.
Better luck to be you at the hotels.
My God. My house has never been that filthy. Gas stations keep their toilets cleaner than the one in that house!!! Is that home still listed?!
I’ve rented several homes through them. Every experience has been fabulous. The hosts were responsive and helpful. Their homes were pristine. If they are rated as a “super host” you will get a super place.
I’m sad to read that the organization did not take care of you. I’m sad to read that people actually live in those conditions and think they’re clean & acceptable. I’m sad you had such a miserable experience. Normally, when things go upside down on a vacation, you end up laughing about them as time goes by. Nothing about your experience will ever be funny. I’m sorry it turned out that way.
Wow, how awful for you and your family! I can’t get over that mom “cleaning” the floor with her socks. My mom would die if she saw me doing that in front of her, let alone in front of guests! We stayed at an Airbnb about this time last year, while we were in Rochester with my mom, who was getting her initial consultations for cancer treatment. The place we stayed at was Caesars’ Palace compared to this, but left a lot to be desired. Especially for the price.
Even before that experience, the whole idea of Airbnb seemed weird to me. I mean staying at a strangers house with little to no oversight by the booking company? Seems awfully risky. Likewise for those renting out their place. After our experience there, I vowed never to use Airbnb myself if I could help it.
This is the most Karen of all reviews. This woman is clearly as white as they come and clearly paid for her daughters entire VILLANOVA college tuition (go look up rates if you are unsure). She obviously has the means to pay for a Superhost with features as she and her mother cannot live without. This is probably the first disappointment of this woman’s lifetime. Hopefully her Villanova graduate is smart enough to figure out that if there is no communication after weeks of booking, GTFO. No wonder she had her iPhone taken right out of her very hands, people can smell the weak and righteous!! Hopefully this experience will give her some calluses and mental strength.
You couldn’t be more wrong on every single thing you have written. But you are also not worth arguing with because of the fact that you are simply A TROLL. Get a life.
I was sickened by the description of your terrible experience and am so sorry that this happened to you and your family. My wife and I have been hosting on Airbnb for a couple years now and have never subjected guests to anything close to this. Please know that your experience is not the norm for short term rental hosts. I just want to give your readers some recommendations for when they are in the market for a short-term rental to make sure this does not happen to them.
1. Only book with super-hosts who have a proven track record of satisfied guests. (I I am assuming that your host was not a super-host.)
2. Read the reviews carefully and look at the date of the reviews. (It sounds like the host was either a new host, or had not hosted at this location in the past, or possibly in a long while.) Also note that hosts may have reviews for multiple units if they are renting out more than one place. Make sure that you are reading reviews for the location that you intend to stay. (We had to sell our Airbnb in Colorado because my mom had a stroke in Washington and we had to move there. Both listings reviews still show up on our host page.)
3. If your host does not reply to your reservation being made within 24 hours, cancel your reservation immediately. Airbnb should give you a full refund for any reservation within 48 hours of the reservation being made.
Finally, know that Airbnb typically will find another place for guests if the guest is dissatisfied with the place that they have reserved upon arrival. (We had a guest that flooded our basement and Airbnb found them another unit even though it was the guests fault that our unit became uninhabitable.) It is truly unfortunate that there was nothing else available because of all of the college graduations.
We have loved sharing our home on Airbnb and our guests appreciate what we do as evidenced by the 70 ‘5 star’ ratings (with only one four-star rating ever because the guest’s office was farther away than he thought when booking.) Please don’t throw out the baby with the bathwater because of this one negative experience. Thank you. I hope you all have a great day.
Hi Dean, thanks for your detailed comments. Sorry, but I will never give Airbnb another penny. I think you must be able to understand that it’s the principle of how they handled my situation during and afterwards and the scores of other nightmare stories (from both guests AND hosts.) Just read the comments on this thread to see so many horrible experiences and situations.
It must pain you to see fellow hosts treating guests this way, and I’m sorry for that. This host and Airbnb ruined a very special occasion for my family that we will never get back. That’s not okay in my book, especially when they didn’t even give me a refund for everything I paid. Just wrong.