Severe safety breaches and non provision of amenities

[Brielle289]

My host has an electric shower which shocks people whilst washing and breaks down completely every few weeks. She refuses to repair it by licensed electrician and instead uses an on-site handyman. The shower is clearly a safety hazard and pictured with gaps between connections and water running into the wall. An apartment with unequal facilities only one small aircon instead of a full and a small is offered as alternative. Since death is not an option I had to take it. Airbnb offered me an 8 dollar refund after writing a 100 page report with images.

 I am booked for three months and the host also refuses to supply listed amenities such as weekly laundry, toilet paper and soap simple saying she listed those in error 🤷‍♀️

the Airbnb officer handling this refuses to send me information about the complaint escalation process or even which jurisdiction I have to file in. 

my residence is in Australia and I am in Brazil - which small claims court do I file this with? (Of course I’ll report local authorities about the electrical and also chambers of commerce about false advertising)

[Brielle289]

Ps she says it’s perfectly normal in Brazil to get an electric shock in the shower. Literally. On their app. And the customer service guy does not care. It’s insane how this is being handled and the amenities aspect is theft, pure and simple

[Sarah977]

If an Airbnb isn't acceptable to a guest and the host is unwilling or unable to correct the issues, as a guest, you have the choice to cancel the rest of your booking and leave, or stay and stop complaining. Continuing to stay indicates that the situation is acceptable to you.

What isn't a option is to continue to stay and then expect a refund.

You can ask Airbnb to try to find you alternative accommodation and apply the remainder of your payment to a different place.

@Brielle289

[Brielle289]

That’s obviously not practical at this time of year and in a pandemic. If your only option is put up or **bleep** off that’s not legal. Are you a Mexican host?

[Sarah977]

I'm not sure what you think isn't "legal". I was just explaining the Airbnb protocol and how they deal with things. If you purchase something that's defective, you return it for a refund, you can't just keep it and also get a refund, right? If you order a meal in a restaurant, eat it but don't like it, you can't get your money back, right?

I wasn't by any means saying that this host isn't at fault for not providing what she said she provided or not fixing unsafe things properly- but if she refuses to address these issues, your only choice is really to leave. Airbnb can't force her to do anything. I'm not sure what you mean about "not practical at this time of year and in a pandemic"- have you tried to look for a comparable listing in the area? Of course you could sterilize everything in a new place yourself to make sure it's safe for you.

I host in Mexico (although as a home-share host, I've been closed to bookings since March due to COVID), but I'm not Mexican. I don't understand what that has to do with your issue.

@Brielle289

[Brielle289]

I have engaged the local regulatory authorities, they can see the electrical shower is not safe and not compliant and will do the basic license, logbook checks against the applicable electrical standard and take action accordingly. I have found the rest of the escalation steps in T&C. No equivalent is available obviously, I’m stuck until the festive season is over. In my next destination I will choose a platform with good safety protections in place though I’m sure there are some wonderful hosts on here who follow the law and keep travellers safe. It’s just not a risk I can take again.

[Dimitar27]

Cancel and find another place to stay. There is not so many options in front of you. The system works...like it works. If you are staying somewhere, the system assumes, that you are OK with the place.

Just out of curiosity...what is the rating of that host?

Any positive reviews at all?

[Brielle289]

It’s Xmas so my options are this or homelessness, everything affordable is booked. Her review ratings are based on high volume processing, she has multiple other people here who didn’t even notice everything she was doing. For example her listing states the apartments are not suitable for children under 12 so she’s not liable but still booked a family with two little girls who are now also desperate to move out. Telling people with limited funds and time in foreign country to put up with whatever or leave at their own cost is irresponsible and dangerous. It’s good to know that is the general stance, buyer beware. 

[Sarah977]

BTW, Airbnb hosts often do not provide things like soap, toilet paper, etc. on long term bookings- long term guests are usually expected to provide those things for themselves after the initial amount provided, which may just be a week's worth, runs out. This is considered reasonable because long-term stays are generally discounted quite a bit as opposed to the nightly price.

But the host needs to make that clear when the guest requests to book, not just tell you they forgot to say that in their ad or to tell you that when you booked.

@Brielle289

[Brielle289]

She said she had no idea she had put it on the listing. This is not an individual hosting a personal space or second property as I was expecting. Such a person knows their property and cares for it as their own. This is effectively a real estate agent with loads of apartments she doesn’t really know and part of my objection is that it goes against the brand of Airbnb and ruins the reputation for others. But the real estate agents bring the big numbers so...

[Helen350]

Several hosts in this forum have observed that the tick boxes of amenities on their listings, become spontaneously changed @Brielle289 . Perhaps this is what happened here? - Very annoying when we hosts tick 'No' to 'Do you have a coffee maker?', then a few weeks later, up it pops, stating we have one, when we thought we'd crossed it out!

[Brielle289]

I get that happens  but guests have no power over this so address it with the platform; and if you have one maybe two listings in line with the brand would you not notice or at least check the brief list before confirming? A few minutes of detailed attention before taking payment, I would hope that’s standard.

she is now blaming reception staff for not providing me with free weekly laundry and amenities but they are nice and helpful, they just genuinely didn’t know.

my big concern is though that she used a general tradie to do electrical repairs because a licensed sparkie would cost her too much I let it slide the first time but after my second shock I put my foot down, my arm was tingling for days it was so scary 😧 

[Sarah977]

So it wasn't at all evident that this wasn't a "real host" run listing? From the reviews or that they had tons of listings? Did you communicate with the host before booking?

Yes, hands-on hosts are really quite upset that Airbnb has not only allowed, but encouraged all these faceless, uncaring property-managed listings and hotels to crowd the platform, without separating them in search so guests can transparently choose. We've been asking Airbnb to do this for ages and it falls on deaf ears. 

The brand image you refer to is just that- an image Airbnb likes to promote, all touchy-feely "world where everyone belongs", which has little resemblance to the reality of what it has become. And if you read through a few pages of posts on this forum, you'll quickly see how unsupportive they are of small-time hosts, as well. 

I'm sorry you've found yourself in this situation. There are still plenty of us hosts offering the type of rental you would have liked, it's awful that you ended up with one like this.

@Brielle289

[Brielle289]

The communication with the host was sweet as pie before I paid but yes there were many many listings -I did not notice it at the time Because I didn’t look for it because I relied on the brand and thus had a induced blind spot.

yes I hear smaller brand style hosts are starting class actions for various problems too, hope it works 

i guess absolute power corrupts 🤷‍♀️

[Sarah977]

One thing you could try is to look for other listings in the area that would suit you, ad eve if their calendar shows they are all booked up for this time of year, send some inquiry messages (which doesn't commit you in any way) to those hosts, putting in whatever dates in the future are available, briefly describe your situation and ask them if they should get a cancellation for the dates you actually want, to please contact you. There are lots of guests cancelling bookings everywhere these days as COVID restrictions are constantly changing. You might luck out and find something like this- maybe worth a try. 

Also, I can tell you that your 100 page report to Airbnb likely worked against you-  the best way to get appropriate action from Airbnb customer service is to be as brief and concise as possible. And if you get an unhelpful rep, try again, as if it's a new issue, in the hopes you get a more knowlegeable and helpful rep the next time. You can also request that your case be escalated to a supervisor.

@Brielle289