Host perpetuating hazardous situation

[Arya513]

Hi Airbnb community. I've been trying to report a host about unsafe/unsanitary conditions in the units they have listed.

The issue started a couple of days after check in, when heavy rain caused the roof to start leaking in the common area of the unit. The manager was diligent with the issue and offered to move us to a different unit, as the repairs would take a couple of days, to which we accepted. He told me he would update the reservation via airbnb to reflect the unit change, but that never happened.

Later, as the stay was coming to an end (day before), the second unit presented a much more serious leak with roof cracks (along with other issues), to which the manager responded that he could not do anything because "they are adults (my family) and accepted the unit change as it was". To which I responded that I was kindly trying to report the issues with the unit to find a friendly resolution with them and I was receiving bad treatment from them; they then offered to change to another unit but we only had a few hours to check out.

Later that day we discovered that the bathroom had a serious water leaking problem with black mold (the most dangerous kind), cleverly hidden behind the waste bin, so we wouldn't be able to notice.

When I was writing a review to tell my experience, I realized the second unit I was given was reviewed by someone else saying it had problems and that they had been "moved" to another unit. Which means they are moving around guests and hosting them under unsafe conditions. I'm outraged that after I made these reports to the host, the building has not been closed for roof replacement and mold remediation. These units are available for immediate booking and I see they have been booked already. This is a real hazard for these and other future guests.

I'm trying to get  in touch with support, but they have escalated the issue and I haven't heard back. Does anyone know if there's anything else I can do?

[Huma0]

@Arya513 

What type of resolution are you hoping for?

If it's getting the listings taken down, well only Airbnb can do that and you've reported it to them. If its' warning future guests, then that is what your review and ratings are for. I know you cannot review the listing you were moved to, but you can mentioned all of these issues in your review for the first unit.

If you want some sort of refund, that is an entirely different matter, especially to be refunded for a stay you've already completed. I assume you have some photographic evidence of the issues that you sent Airbnb?

[Arya513]

Thank you @Huma0 .

I'm really hoping the listings can be taken down. They are rated 4.5+ (maybe they were fine before) and people will continue to rent them. This particular host has 19 listings. I know there's not much I can do about my case, but I'm uncomfortable with the scheme this host is running and I will try to take it as far as I can.

We did gather all photographic evidence and sent it to Airbnb support, but they've been unresponsive. 

[Huma0]

@Arya513 

Contrary to what you might assume, 4.5* is not actually a very good rating on Airbnb. Hosts are supposed to maintain 4.7* or above and 4.8* or above to qualify for Superhost. 

Obviously, reporting the issue to Airbnb is one way to try to get the listings dealt with. However, your review is still important and Airbnb will send a warning if a host gets even one low rating. If they get several, then in theory, Airbnb should be looking into the listing and potentially suspending it. Well, that's in theory. What I have noticed from other threads on the CC is that hosts with multiple listings seems to get away with a lot of stuff that us small time hosts simply couldn't.

I would definitely also leave a really honest, factual review as well as appropriate ratings to warn other guests.

Leaks do happen, as does water damage, unfortunately. It's something I have to deal with all the time because I have an old house. The difference is your host's attitude about it. I found out by accident (the guest didn't think it was important so didn't tell me) that water was occasionally leaking into a bedroom from the bathroom above. The difference is that I called the plumber straight away. To say that you are 'adults' and therefore should just deal with it is not great communication! 

[Arya513]

Thank you @Huma0 it's very reassuring that there are still hosts like you, who take issues seriously and deal with them right away.

I do understand this happens, in fact all the time. I have had issues with all the Airbnb's I have stayed in (like washing machine not working, even leaks), but all the hosts have been kind and eager to resolve them quickly. 

I did report other small issues to the host like the internet never working or the kitchen not heating (these we could live with). I could not live with leaving my father and mother in law in a house where probably the walls are covered in mold from all the moist. And the fact that another person had already reported the unit that was given to us, really did get my nerves.

[Huma0]

@Arya513 

Sorry you had this experience. For the future though, I would avoid booking with hosts who have so many listings. I am sure some of them are great, but we also hear so many problems from guests staying in these types of set ups and, here in the UK at least, they have gotten a lot of bad press. I've also had feedback from some of my guests about negative experiences with these. Personally, I would always prefer to stay with a small time host who is more hands on. That doesn't mean they only have one or two listings. They could have a handful. But look at the reviews to see if the guests have commented favourably on their interaction with the hosts, not just comments on the space.

Also avoid listings with lower ratings because 4.5* is a bit low. It doesn't hurt to search for Superhosts either. It's not the be all and end all, but I always prefer to stay with a Superhost when I have the option. I've stayed at two listings where the hosts were Superhosts and both experiences were great. I stayed at one where the host was not, but had decent reviews. The stay overall was not bad at all, but I'd say there was a huge difference in terms of the communication and friendliness. There were no problems but, if there had been, I am not confident this host would have been helpful. I just had one important question before the trip but it took weeks of chasing to get her to answer it. Not ideal.

[Arya513]

@Huma0 thank you so much for your advice. It is very helpful. I didn't know there would be such a difference, but you are absolutely right; my best experiences were indeed with Superhosts and they didn't have as many listings.

In this occasion, we needed specific accommodations. Being low season, a lot of options were not available for booking "yet". After looking at many listings, ultimately we did choose based on the space and the location, did not really focus on the Superhost batch.

I will keep this in mind for booking in the future and will be more thorough.

[Jenny]

Hi @Arya513 

I'm sorry to hear about your experience.

I've been touch with Support to ask that they assign someone to deal with your query - hopefully you'll hear back soon.

Jenny

[Arya513]

Thank you @Jenny , I have a case already open with support in the messaging platform.

As I mentioned in my message to @Huma0 if there's nothing to be done about my personal experience, it's fine, but I'm hoping that this host receives some sort of warning or penalization from Airbnb for listing these units in these conditions. Renting a place to others with leaks on the roofs and black mold growing in the bath walls is not ok. I'm upset they get away with it.

[Arya513]

I didn't realize I could attach pics until now, here they are.

First unit cracks and leaks on the ceiling.

You can see it's not new and hasn't been repaired in a long time, the floor is discolored where the roof leaks.

Second unit leaks

These were taken from a video

And of course the cherry on top, the black mold in the bathroom that we found when we moved the waste bin.

These are just the most horrifying ones (the ones we couldn't live with), there's a whole list of issues with the apartments.