Advertised Ameneties and Utilities Missing

[Jacob612]

Hi, first pose here. My wife and I were having some issues with compensation for a stay where there were amenities and basic utilities missing. This is an apartment in Miraflores, Lima, Peru that was new and still had some construction.

The first problem we had was lack of hot water. The building was brand new, and they were still installing some utilities. We were not informed before we arrived that this would be an issue. We agreed with the host on the 3rd day that we would be compensated for $60 for the first 2 nights without hot water, under the promise that the hot water would be available later that day. Instead, we had no hot water for all 5 nights of our stay and had to bathe ourselves with hot water from an electric kettle because there was no gas for the first few days for the stove, otherwise our only option was a cold shower.

The place was labeled pet friendly, and we had dog who peed all over the place. $35 was taken off that compensation for cleaning. Fair enough, I can deal with that.

The 2nd issue was the apartment was listed as having washer and dryer in-unit, and those were never there, nor any laundromat in the building. We had to find a nearby laundromat and carry our clothes there. What can we do about that?

Next, there was a rooftop pool and dining room and we should be entitled to use it as we are paying guests. We swam in the pool, but the building staff told us we were not allowed, so we had to call our host and have him tell them that we were paying guests and to allow us to swim. We also were denied the ability to use the dining room for the same reason. These were all listed as included ameneties.

Because of the construction, people were entering the apartment without our knowledge while we were out. We had many valuable items such as drones, laptops, jewlery, etc. Some stuff of lesser value went missing or got thrown away.

In terms of local laws, Peru's law #29571 protects consumers against false advertising. My Spanish is bad, so my wife knows more about the details.

So my question is, what can we do about compensation for these missing ammeneties? The apartment was excellent, but we arrived to a place that was incomplete, missing stuff, or we were denied usage of ameneties by building staff.

[Linda108]

You can negotiate for advertised but missing elements of the listing with the host.  You elected to stay there in spite of the missing amenities, so you are not due a refund for nights' stay.  False advertising is a civil issue unless there is proof of intent to defraud so I would stay away from that.  If the host is not forthcoming with compension for your having a less than expected experience, your review would reflect that fact.  If you want to report the listing to Air BNB, there is a "report this profile" option on your reservation email or a flag on the host's profile.

[Rory85]

In my opinion, if you allowed your pet to “peed all over the place” that would destroy furniture so I would think you’re the one that should be paying. 

[Mark116]

@Jacob612   I'm sorry, I just can't find sympathy for someone who brought a dog to a brand new development and let it 'pee all over the place'.  You might consider yourself lucky that you aren't being charged for replacement of rugs and flooring.

[Helen3]

In what world do you live in that it's acceptable to let your dog come to someone else's accommodation and 'pee all over the floor' why have you not trained it not to do this or at least used puppy pads - that's disgusting behaviour in anyone's book.

If a place is not as described and amenities were missing you should have asked Airbnb to cancel the booking and found somewhere else.

[Sarah977]

@Jacob612  Why are you travelling with an unhousebroken dog???

"Pet friendly" does not mean it's okay for your dog to relieve itself in the house, chew things up, or misbehave. It means the host accepts pets and expects guests to be responsible pet owners.

If you arrive to a listing to find that it is not as advertised, or missing advertised amenities, you have a choice- you cancel and leave, or you dialogue with the host to come to some mutually acceptable remedy. You don't get to stay there, using the utilities, the toilet paper, the soap, dirtying the bedding and towels, the kitchen facilities, and then expect to get some refund.

You should be grateful the host only charged you $35 for cleaning up the dog pee. 

And what do you mean that you "should be entitled " to  use the rooftop pool, etc. You are not "entitled" to use anything that wasn't stated as available for free in the listing info.

I would suggest that the maturity level evidenced in your post needs to be upped if you are going to book Airbnbs in the future.

All that said, it sounds like this host listed the place and accepted bookings before it was really ready to rent. That isn't okay, but if you opted to stay in spite of that, you aren't eligible for a refund.