How to make an Escalation or complaint

[Piyush14]

Hi, need to understand how to escalate a support issue or make a complaint.

Here is the background:-

We recently stayed in Scotland and I booked the property through Airbnb. The property listed 1.5 bathrooms, a kitchen where guests can cook and a TV. 

Here are the contradictions:-

1.5 bathroom --> I thought 1.5 bathroom is what is defined in this thread  https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Shared-bathroom-classification-1-5-or-ZERO/td-p/280614?_ga=...

But, the property only one bathroom with only a bathtub in it and another small toilet with a sink & a seat

The kitchen had no extractor and fire alarm almost on top of the hob. As soon as we started cooking, the fire alarm rang and since there was only one window in the kitchen which we opened but you need at least two things for complete circulation, we had to stop cooking. 

TV - I have to admit, it was turning on but that's about it. No channels to view - not even Freeview. 

We were six people including two children and while we might have put up with other things, 1.5 bathroom discrepancy was a deal-breaker hence we checked out literally after the first night where we booked for 4. The host only agreed for early checkout if he charges us for one night and which we agreed but honestly, at that point, our biggest priority was to find another accommodation which was very difficult due to bank holiday weekend and ended up paying a lot more.

 Now here is the response I got from support people on above issues hence I need to escalate this as these are completely unacceptable.

1.5 bathroom - the support person won't agree this isn't what 1.5 bathroom means. They keep saying that what 1.5 bathroom is on Airbnb and if I am not happy, share feedback. I will but what about all the issues we had in that property and ended up paying extra?

Kitchen - the description says where guests can cook. A working kitchen means where you can cook without raising a fire alarm. The support person said to me, it is clearly visible in the pictures there is no extractor. Really, in old-style kitchen where the extractor is usually the one which you pull out, how can you tell that from the picture. Also, she said Extractor is not listed in the amenities. Really? I have been using Airbnb for a while and never saw Extractor as one of the amenities in Kitchen.

TV - It wasn't a big deal but what's the point of having a TV which doesn't even have Freeview. On this the support person said there is no mention of cable TV in the description. Again really? it's like giving someone bed without mattress and saying mattress wasn't in the description.

Now, it was supposed to be our holiday but above discrepancies caused us a lot of trouble and extra money in the end and in retrospective, I can't see what extra I could have done to avoid this.

I am asking Airbnb to refund me for that night as a platform owner, they are responsible for verifying the listings. Guest can't be confirming every single thing with the host especially the ones which are obvious!

Hence need to understand where I can make a complaint about this.

Thanks PG

[Huma0]

@Piyush14

What you describe is exactly what I would describe as 1.5 bathrooms. I have 3.5 in my listings and not all of them include a toilet After hosting hundreds of guests, I never had any feedback RE it being confusing. If the photos did not show a toilet in each one, then there was no reason for you to expect this. As you said you were a large group and this was a deal breaker for you, then yes, it was really up to you to double check this with your host and book a listing with a sufficient number of bathrooms.

There is no obligation for the host to provide x or y channels if they have simply listed a TV and not cable, for example. I agree though that one would expect to be able to watch something! Was there no aerial to allow you to watch terrestrial channels at least?

Re the extractor fan, well no, if it was not listed then you can't expect it. Right above the stove does seem like an odd place to put the smoke alarm. However, your host may have a point RE it depends on how the guests use the stove. I have a very large kitchen/diner with the smoke detector at the opposite end from the stove. Still, I had a guest who filled the room with smoke and repeatedly set off the alarm, literally every time she cooked (even with the doors and windows open and, yes, I have a large extractor above the stove) and she is the only person to have done so. Does this then become my fault? I'm not saying that was the case with you, but I can see that the host might think it if he had not had complaints about this from other guests.

No, Airbnb does not verify every listing, although apparently they are starting a verification scheme. However, from what I understand, it is to verify they have the amenities listed. You cannot blame the host if a guest books wanting amenities that are not listed. 

I'm sorry to say, but I think your host was generous to refund you for the rest of the stay and certainly don't think you have grounds to be refunded for the first night. It is the host's responsibility to provide the amenities as listed. It is the guest's responsibility to book based on the information/photos given and ask if they are unsure about something, not to make assumptions.

[Piyush14]

Thanks Huma

I don't know how to respond to that.

I don't think it's realistic for either a guest to ask all the questions and host to list every single thing. There is quite a lot of obvious goes in there or simply "you don't know what you don't know".

I would assume an extractor if there is a hob in the kitchen same way as I would expect a mattress if there is a bed. The same way something appearing on the TV if there is one. (to answer the question, the TV had nothing coming up).

Because there is so much inside a house to list/describe and that is why it is even more important for Airbnb to standardise things. Not saying everything but what is 1.5 bathroom? An FAQ would have helped. And if that description matches with property, I am happy to back off. If it matches my expectations, I am right to complain.

Anyways, I don't think there is any point discussing this here. I was after how to escalate or raise a complaint and got the answer - there isn't. 

I will just have to find out myself.

Thanks again, PG

[Helen3]

An extractor fan is NOT the same as a mattress. The mattress is an essential. The extractor fan is not . The cooker will work fine without one.

Many older UK homes don’t have one.

in your case you said the listing had one.

I think the issue here is your making too many assumptions 

[Sarah977]

@Piyush14  Things are not always perfect in life. This seems to me like a matter of you assuming things that were never mentioned in the listing as provided. Of course when it says a TV is available, that doesn't just mean that it's like a piece of furniture sitting there, it has to show something when you turn it on. But you can't expect cable if that wasn't stated in the amenities. Are you saying that when you turned the TV on, all you ever got was a blank screen?

Of course a guest can't be expected to ask first if there is everything in a listing, but if having 2 toilets was important to you, then it would have been wise to ask before booking. I really don't see it as some huge hardship for 2 adults and 2 children to share one toilet for a few days. In fact the set-up sounds pretty good- one person can use the toilet while another is having a bath in the other room. My 3 daughters and I shared 1 small bathroom for 25 years and no one suffered.

There are something like over 6 million listings on Airbnb, so no, Airbnb can't go around and check that each one is verifiably exactly like what was advertised. If it isn't, you can address that in your review and ratings.

Personally I think your complaints are quite petty and that the host was generous to refund you what she did. To ask for more is quite entitled behavior. I'm assuming you dirtied towels and bedding which had to be washed, used hot water, electricity, etc? You think the host should be out of pocket for that because you couldn't watch your favorite TV shows?

[Piyush14]

Thanks Sarah.

It was a blank screen.  We were 4 adults & 2 children. I get it, I should have verified with the host the bathroom situation. 

My fault, believing what's written on these forums as reality!

I don't agree with that. Airbnb running this platform are responsible for verifying things.  Imagine a seller on Amazon/eBay sell you something rubbish and they reply to you because we have millions of sellers on the platform, they can't verify everyone. We will take this as feedback for future buyers but sorry what happened to you. I am sure this will be completely unacceptable to you.

I am not blaming the host, I am blaming Airbnb.

Anyways, thanks for the response.

PG

[Helen350]

@Piyush14 I don't know how long you've lived in the UK, but you appear to have no concept of how  people live in Britain/UK.  ONE toilet in a three bedroom family home is quite normal! And not only amongst the poorest in society, but also in more affluent families! Many houses are built in a way that it would be impossible to install a 2nd toilet, even if the owners wanted to!

The bathroom situation WAS accurate: The pre 1960s British Bathroom containing a bath only IS A BATHROOM! - What else would you call it? - Airbnb choose to call a toilet a half-bathroom; I guess that's an Americanism; Americans say 'Can I use your bathroom?' when they mean toilet!

- No one is conning anyone, it's a problem of standardising terminology across different countries, whose norms & expectations are different. You talk of the need to standardize, but ironically, it's Airbnb's very attempts to standardise which have led to your unreasonable dissatisfaction!

[Sarah977]

@Piyush14  The thing is, even if Airbnb verified all the amenities in every listing, that doesn't mean one of those things couldn't suddenly stop functioning before your stay, often without the host's knowledge. That TV probably did function at some point, but maybe a cable came loose or a TV antennae became disconnected. If the previous guest didn't report it, it's not likely that the host or their cleaner would be trying to watch TV between bookings, so they might be totally unaware. Or maybe the host knew the TV didn't work, but they just totally forgot to remove it from their amenities list. And when things like a hot water heater finally break and need to be replaced, that happens without warning- one day it just stops functioning.

A guest is entitled to a refund for non-functioning listed amenities, and the appropriate amount of the refund is dependent on how it impacted the guest's stay. If the electricity goes out at 8PM, so the guests are in the dark all evening, and it's a hot night, so the AC or fans don't work, and everyone has a terrible night, unable to sleep because it's 85 degrees in the house, that's a lot different from the TV not working or the hair dryer being broken. I hope you can understand that.

If guests were given full refunds for anything at all that wasn't as advertised, that would be like a host charging a guest extra for any little thing they did wrong. You left 4 unwashed coffee cups in the sink when the check-out instructions were to wash your dishes? $15 fine. You got something on the sheets or towels which entailed the cleaners spending an extra 15 minutes pre-treating the stain before washing the item? $25 fine. Your kids wiped their sticky hands on the wall? $10 fine.

Neither hosts nor guests are perfect people. I'm a firm believer that in order for Airbnb to work, both parties need to cut each other some slack and not be so critical of each other. And while I have tons of criticism about the way Airbnb deals with things, the company can't be expected to hand out full refunds for anything that a guest complains about. No one would host at all if that were the case.

[Piyush14]

Thanks Sarah.

I do understand what you are saying and agree. All I am trying is to make sure I share my feedback if nothing else because discrepancies in Airbnb policies and ways of operations do put host & guest in unnecessary conflict.

And as I said earlier, I have nothing against the host. We both have quite a nice conversation hence I left nothing bad in the review either.

But again, the way I see it. The only way I could have avoided this situation is if Airbnb had a clear definition of 1.5 bathrooms or I would have clarified with the host before booking. The latter won't be required if the first one was there.

Thanks PG.

[Sarah977]

@Piyush14  One thing to be aware of is that Airbnb is an international platform and what is meant by 1.5 baths may be different in different parts of the world. Bed sizes, for instance, vary throughout the world- "Queen size bed" has different measurements in the US and Canada than it does in Mexico or Europe. 

In North America, "first floor", referring to a house, means the ground floor. In Europe, from posts I've read here, it means that it's one floor up from the ground floor. "Stove" may mean an appliance with four burners and an oven to a American, it may mean any appliance you can cook on in Holland, like a 2 burner hot plate.

So it's a near impossibility for Airbnb to have clear definitions of everything.

And while you say your beef isn't with the host, when a guest demands that Airbnb refund them, that is very much a blow to the host, because they won't get paid for the stay. 

[Anonymous]

@Piyush14  It's a completely normal part of traveling, even with your own country, that details don't always match your expectations and things don't work exactly the same way they do at home. Working in various parts of the tourist industry, I've seen so many people spending their holidays getting angry and entitled, constantly complaining, making things miserable for their families and everyone around them. If that's how you like to spend your life, why waste all that money traveling? The people who enjoy life most are ones who can take a little inconvenience in stride, adapt their habits to whatever environment they're in, and enjoy the experience of being out of the familiar. 

To be able to travel at all, especially in these troubled times, is a luxury and a privilege. What a charmed life you must have if this is what you have to complain about. Imagine what you could have done with all that time you've spent getting worked up about a stupid extractor fan and bathroom layout - surely there's something in life you enjoy more than complaining? Well, maybe there isn't. 

Anyway, if more standardization and verification is what you require, there are plenty of more selective, curated platforms out there catering to preferences like yours. You may have to up your vacation budget to afford them, but fussiness is expensive.

[Piyush14]

Andrew, that's extremely rude!

There is no need for such a reply. At least I went on this trip and asking for a refund hence spending time on this. You have none. Get a life!

Thanks for your suggestions, time & effort. Don't bother with anymore as I won't be reading or responding.

[Anonymous]

@Piyush14 I have a life, and I quite enjoy it these days! Not because the circumstances are perfect - it's a hard year for all of us - but because if this crisis has taught me anything it's to appreciate every experience I get to have and take nothing for granted. My family lives in a Corona Hotspot, it might be a year or more before I get to see them again, but you're lucky enough that you got to travel with yours to the beautiful Scottish Highlands (really one of the world's loveliest places). Those kids will grow up so fast, what a shame it would be if what they all remember most about their adventure is how upset you let yourself get about the Airbnb.

[Helen350]

@Piyush14 - I accused @Anonymous  of being rude in his response to a posting of mine a few days ago! - (Actually I think he'd misunderstood; perhaps I hadn't been clear?)

- But HERE^ I think @Anonymous  is absolutely right! - Spot on, in his analysis of your petulant, unreasonable & entitled attitude.  - If the cap fits....!

[Emiel1]

@Piyush14 

You can always sent feedback to Airbnb to improve the platform:

Airbnb Feedback

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Piyush14 If the TV was such a big deal (and a non-working TV would be to me) why didn't you mention it in your review? Same goes for extractor fan