Host torn on how to review a recent stay as a guest....

Jennifer1897
Level 10
Irvine, CA

Host torn on how to review a recent stay as a guest....

Jut looking for some opinions on how to review a recent stay. I am a host, so I feel like I might be overly critical and do not want to review another host and their space unfairly. 

 

As a Christmas present I planned a trip to Las Vegas for my parents and I (They love shows). To make things comfortable I booked a 2 bedroom Airbnb. The host had 2 listings. The one I chose had 91 reviews.  All the reviews were steeler with the exception of one. The overall rating per category was 4.9's and one 4.8.

 

I happened to arrive before my parents (We live in different areas and commuted separate) and was a bit disappointed. Here were my issues 

 

-Hair and nats in the fridge and freezer

-Toilet seats were up and had visible urine stains

-Popcorn and sunflower seeds on the floor of one bedroom

-Bathroom fan broken

-Lightbulbs out in 2 of the lamps, making them unusable.

-Dirty dishes in the dishwasher 

-Clothes in the dryer, despite them saying the washer/dryer amenity was available. I just feel odd removing and handling people's personal items.

-Wifi went in and out the entire stay rendering the bedroom Tv's unusable because they only offered Netflix and Hulu

 

Lastly, our first day there they had a shooting about 3 blocks away, and someone ended up passing.. Granted I knew the general location prior, it is sometimes hard to judge the quality of the neighborhood when you are from another state. It just didn't sit to well with me or my family. 

 

How would suggest reviewing them?

6 Replies 6
Rowena29
Level 10
Australia

@Jennifer1897 

Teh stay certainly sounds less than ideal.

However did you make any contact with the host at all regarding your concerns adn disappointment and give her a chance to rectify?

I would be fairly peeved to find a guest was unhappy about issues but hadn't let me know so I could try to make things right.  It sounds to me as though maybe the cleaner had forgotten to clean? There are rather a lot of problems albiet minor ones, but cumulatively a bit irritating,

 

RE teh shooting - maybe it's just me, but I dont' see the relevance of that at all personally. a host can hardly be held accountable for something that happened 3 blocks away, however unpleasant.  Perhaps  I am missing something.  I'm sure other people will be along to offer their opinions...

Helen3
Top Contributor
Bristol, United Kingdom

I agree with @Rowena29 

 

Your review will depend on what the hosts response was when you asked them to fix the issues you mention and whether they offered a discount for the lack of wifi.

 

How did the host respond @Jennifer1897 

Emilia42
Level 10
Orono, ME

@Jennifer1897 Honestly, I am starting to recently come to the realization that what you describe is just the life of Airbnb. I have encountered many of the things you mentioned in my handful of stays as a guest. Yet all these Superhosts were still rated with 5 star reviews and I gave them 5 star reviews as well because "the host was nice." Reviews really mean nothing on this platform. And the line between excellent and okay is extremely blurry.. 

Jennifer1897
Level 10
Irvine, CA

The host was apologetic when the issues were brought forth, but aside from resetting the router, she simply offered explanations for things, stating the items in the dryer were clean sheets and towels, the fan was scheduled to be fixed, the toilets were clean but older with some unremovable stains, and due to the heat nats were unfortunately common at times, but insisted the fridge was cleaned. While all those explanations were likely valid, as a host myself, these are things I would normally catch in between guest as I do check lights,  the wifi, dishwasher, etc. 

 

A lot of these things were easily fixed by us, we turned on the dishwasher, swept the floor, etc, so I didn't expect an attempt to rectify everything, but the response seemed a little lackluster.  Looking at the bigger picture and all the minor issues together, the overall stay was not what I would consider 5 star (which is what is essentially reflected in all reviews) 

 

As for the shooting, I do not in any way place blame on the host, as the events that happen outside of the home are beyond her control. However, the neighborhood was described as a safe quiet place, where you could walk to restaurants and attractions. I feel like that is somewhat of a misrepresentation. The neighborhood was not quite, did not feel safe (not just based on the shooting) and in all honesty I would not feel comfortable walking anywhere. I did research the general location prior to booking, but as Vegas is a massive area, it was hard to find anything relative to just that neighborhood/area.

 

I am trying not to ruminate on the fact that this trip had a special meaning to me, thus allowing the issues to seem larger then they were. That is why I posted prior to actually leaving the review, looking for some feedback.

 

I appreciate the responses 

 

 

Rachel0
Level 10
London, United Kingdom

@Jennifer1897  Apart from the shooting, which I cannot comment on as I live in London and we have our own issues here, there is simply no excuse for any of the other problems you mention.  You paid good money so that you and your parents could have a Las Vegas break and having to clean the floor, look at other peoples' urine stains, do other peoples' dirty dishes and find hairs/gnats in the fridge is appalling.  Please review honestly and factually rather than letting her get away with it.  

Rowena29
Level 10
Australia

@Jennifer1897 Since you brought it to your attention adn she essentially did nothing, it certainly sounds like far from a 5 star experience! I think things like the bulbs and even stuff in the dryer could potentially be overlooked - each thing on it's own could potentially be overlooked - but cumulatively I dont' see how this could rate 5 stars. if she'd said "oh goodness it looks like the cleaner and I had a communication break down, that would be one thing, but to just shrug it off, is very poor IMO. The wifi alone should come with an something extra  The same thing happened to me recently as a host  - it kept dropping in and out due to a fraying wire so I went out and purchased a pocket wifi for the guest.. I have an older listing myself so I know things stain and can look dirty when they're actually scrubbed, but food remnants on  floors and dirty dishes are a no brainer.  I'd definitely be marking her down on cleanliness adn possibly communication.