Not as Advertised

[David7150]

Hi all, 

We have Stayed at a few Airbnbs and had a great time and met some amazing hosts. 
...... However, stayed in Cornwall last weekend got the key from the safe and went in after climbing over a pile of surf boards. There was no welcome pack / note or any kind of guidance to find the right room.  Despite the listing saying Breakfast waking next morning  none was provided and we were still on our own despite someone being there the previous evening. The host didn’t even lay out a tea or coffee and without searching the kitchen for breakfast we would not eat or drink. We simply did not bother as we didn’t want to take someone else’s property as the hosts son and brother were there apparently. The WIFI was not connecting other than a pay by the day WiFi service which was not made clear.
There was other concerns such no sanitizer for cleaning hands but there was a deep cleaning fee of £20 but we found a dirty pair of shorts in the room hanging on the door. There was no bedside lamp so you had to get out of bed to turn the light out. (There was a lamp in the room pics). In the bedside draw was a broken CO2 detector which set a nice tone but on checking there was an operational one downstairs.

The place was amazing but the host was not there and we saw no one.  We have mailed her to ask for her comments but are getting no response other than an initial text. 

I'm feeling very annoyed and want to take this further but am I being an idiot? It cost us £116 to stay in a room for a Single night without even a cup of tea despite the amenities that were advertised. 

Appreciate your thoughts 

Dave

[Alexandra316]

@David7150 Really sorry to hear that you had such a shabby experience. I would send the hosts another message through Airbnb messaging and let them know that if you don't hear from them by X date (soon) you will contact Airbnb. Unfortunately, Airbnb may or may not do anything, because if you don't complain right away (on arrival) and either get the host to fix the issues or cancel your stay, sometimes they won't help. However, as Airbnb does tend to be fairly guest-centric, you may do alright. It sounds like it wasn't a good experience, and the amenities offered on the listing weren't available, and I'm not sure how you'd know about the lack of breakfast in advance. 

I'm curious if this host had other reviews, and if so, were they recent, and what did they look like? 

If you're not able to get any joy from the host or Airbnb, I would definitely review them honestly if nothing else. 

[Anonymous]

@David7150  What sort of remedy are you looking for?

Airbnb's Guest Refund Policy does claim that you're entitled to a refund if you have to relocate because the host could not resolve problems that made it impossible for you to complete your stay. But there's currently no "Satisfaction Guarantee," saying that there are goodies for people who complain after their stay is over. (They've hinted that they'll eventually change this, thereby opening the floodgates for all kinds of fraudulent complaints, but that's another story).

Your recourse here? Write an honest review. And in the future, take a careful look at the recent reviews of a place before booking it. Listings with consistently positive reviews, thorough texts, and high levels of direct host engagement (rather than, say, overstretched property managers) are the likeliest to deliver on what's offered. 

Sometimes, though, you have to accept that not every disappointing experience in life demands compensation.

[Emilia42]

You say "The place was amazing but the host was not there and we saw no one." Given the current state of the world, there are a lot of guests who would appreciate just that.

While I can gather some slight annoyances from your post, my general thought is that you have been spoiled at great Airbnbs in the past. While a lot of hosts go out of their way to welcome guests, some hosts (if not many) are hands-off and simply provide a place to sleep. Reviews are important but they are not a guarantee that every guest is going to fit with a host's hosting style.