5 Star Reviews Yet No Hot Water, Dirty Dishes, Ants, Noisy Neighbors?

[Karen457]

After many great Airbnb experiences, I seem to be running into a bad streak of luck, but it's made me wonder if guests are just afraid to leave a poor review for fear of looking like a complainer and not being able to book a stay? After a recent nightmare experience that I wrote about here previously - multiple problems, including dangerous situations that were left without anything being done other than promises for weeks - I was re-housed by Airbnb for the last 8 days of my stay. I carefully read through every review (35 of them), all were positive and felt comfortable going there. While it isn't near as bad as the last there are some major issues that no one has mentioned leading me to believe they're worried about doing so, or maybe I'm just expecting too much? I don't think so, but I'd love to hear other's thoughts on this.

I'm definitely not going to leave another bad review because it will surely make me look like a complainer, but this place has no hot water. I told the host and he said something about the batteries needing to replaced in the hot water heater - it's a small box on the outside of a house wall , this is in Baja, Mexico. He said they hadn't replaced them because it's been so hot. The weather is changing and while it is still warm (not nearly as hot), taking a cold shower isn't fun and it's impossible to really get the dishes clean, probably the reason there were so many dirty dishes in the cabinet, with food dried on them. There are ants all over the kitchen, and the next door neighbors are really loud, blast music frequently and have a little dog that's left outside day and night barking constantly (that I know the owner can't control, but surprising no one has mentioned it). The listing also said it includes a washing machine, but it's broken- obviously really old and rusted so likely for some time.

Any thoughts on this? Thankfully we only have a few days left so I'm just dealing with it in the meantime but after this and the last place I really don't know if I can trust booking another Airbnb in the future.

[Victoria567]

Hi@Karen

It always amazes me when guests holiday in less developed countries with countless problems that the homes hosted on sites such as air bnb have all round high standards.

Sorry but the phrase “buy cheap, spend dear” comes to mind.

[Karen457]

There are quite a few private apartments and houses here for $30 to $40 a night.  If you look at rates here you'll see that this one is actually quite a bit higher than that. This isn't the U.K., accommodation rates vary around the world.

[Victoria567]

Yes @ Karen

And so do standards vary and rule of thumb is that if something is cheap and too good to be true.....it usually IS too good to be true, no matter where you are in the world, including the UK

[Karen457]

@Victoria567 However, it is NOT cheap for this area, the rate is actually higher than many others in this city. I've stayed in multiple places across Baja, Mexico as well as in Ecuador in other developing countries. The rates are just cheaper in general. Hot water has always been provided before and I've never been to a place where there was dried food left on the dishes. I have also stayed at the Hyatt hotel here in this city - the rate there is only $69 to $80 per night but they are $300 to $500 in the U.S. They're standards are just as high here as they are there. 

[Sarah977]

@Victoria567  I don't think a guest expecting there to be hot water for showers and dishes and arriving to find the dishes in the cupboard caked with dried food, and the washing machine that was listed under amenities to be non-functioning, could be considered to be expecting the Hilton. And how do you know she paid a "really low rate"? I think that was an unfair comment. 

[Victoria567]

Hello@Sarah

I don’t think any third world country is somehow going to be heaving, with self catering listings with expensive nightly rates, on a site such as air bnb?

If something is cheap and sounds too good to be true.....it usually IS ,too good to be true, whether in the UK or elsewhere around the globe.....with standards to match.

[Karen457]

@Victoria567 Again - that isn't true, I'm a world traveler. Cheap is relative to where you're at. Ecuador, for example, is a very cheap place to visit with accommodation rates around $25 a night, have stayed at many places there and never experienced a lack of hot water and dirty dishes either.

And as mentioned, this house is NOT cheap for this area, the rate is actually higher than many others in this city. The rates are just cheaper in general. I have lots to compare to. Hot water has always been provided before and I've never been to a place where there was dried food left on the dishes. 

[Ange2]

Hi @Karen.   A good idea, hosts approach reviews in the same way,  try to point out the positive about guests while mentioning the negatives in a factual, impersonal, calm manner.  The shorter the better or it begins to look like a rant.

As for hosts looking at reviews guests have written, and deciding whether to host the guest based on any complaints they have made about a prior host,   it's probably another way to mitigate risk.  A well written, fact-based, negative review (i.e. not a rant)  from a guest about a prior host wouldn't phase me or many hosts.

But, you do want to know the guest is in control of themselves, thoughtful  and not entitled (i.e. pay little expect a lot) –  a rant, or series of rants, signals otherwise – and may not be a risk a host wants to take. Same applies vice-versa. I have taken guests with poor reviews from hosts and they were great.  A big pinch of salt is always worth it when making decisions based on reviews alone. In the end I am sure this all washes out for both guests and hosts and the swirling internet drama about it is just that, drama.

[Karen457]

Thanks @Ange2, I really appreciate your well thought out response! I agree, that makes the most sense. 🙂 

[Sarah977]

@Karen457   In all your posts here on the forum about your unacceptable housing situations, you have come across as a reasonable and polite person, not someone entitled, not someone who rants and is demanding, but just expect things to be working, safe, and comfortable. I'm quite sure you are capable of writing an honest review without sounding like a complainer who no one would want to host.

As for the barking dogs, the loud music,  the ants- you're in Mexico, dear. It sort of comes with the territory. There may be areas that are reasonably quiet, or very quiet (I hope this next one you've been waiting for is), but I'd say it's the exception, rather than the norm. And I've seen cockroaches running around in the desert in Baja, nowhere near anywhere that there is food. They are endemic to the area, and doesn't mean a place is dirty. So don't get freaked out if you see some. 

The hot water- I also haven't used my hot water tank since May. I have one of those big water storage tanks on the roof that the water comes out of and it's plenty hot enough from baking in the sun all day until towards the end of this month, at which time I light the water heater again. But I know it can get chilly in Baja in the evenings. For dishes- can you not heat a kettle of water on the stove for the dishes? 

I'm not at all saying it's acceptable not to provide hot water for guests (I get few, if any, guests here in the summer months, but if they wanted hot water, I'd definitely light the hot water boiler for them) just suggesting a work around.

And yes, it's gross that the dishes had dried food stuck to them when you moved in. But that isn't a result of no hot water, it's just lax dishwashing. They need a better cleaner.

[Karen457]

For some reason I can't tag you in the post @Sarah0, but thank you, you've raised many good points - I think I'm just worn out and obviously not thinking clearly - our new place in Todos Santos has quite a bit of space around it and is in an area without many other houess so it will definitely be better. This house has about a foot in between and the dog is outside all the time in that area so it's a lot louder then what I've normally dealt with but yes, something that is common in Mexico so I really can't complain about that, or the music. I should have thought about that beforehand, with the traffic and houses so close together the noise makes it really hard to sleep, I'm just not a city person but that's not the host's fault for sure.

Good idea on the dishes, I'll boil water on the stove for them I just hadn't even thought of that for some reason. The shower is pretty cold, goose bump cold, but not anything I can't deal with for a few more days. Dishes left with food on them, definitely gross. In any case, at least it's not nearly as bad as what was going on with the other place, I'm just really ready to be settled. 

[Karen457]

ha, the tagging worked 🙂 

[Sarah977]

@Karen457    Earplugs. They'll make your life in Mexico so much more bearable. Even when it's a quiet neighborhood, the Sony gas truck can come down the street at 7AM with their loudspeaker blasting their stupid ditty 🙂  I live in the countryside, and while it's reasonably quiet compared to in town, I still put in earplugs if there's a loud music event in town, or like right now, my neighbor has a building project going on. The workers arrive at 8AM, with their loud truck, my dog barks at them, then they immediately fire up their tinny little radio with bad music and start talking in really loud voices. It's been going on for 3 weeks.   

[Karen457]

@Sarah977 Yes, definitely  - I do use them but I think I need some better earplugs for this dog, it's the really high-pitched yippy kind, I'm even using a white noise app but it still gets through. I am going to look around and see if there are some that are better quality, in the meantime, counting down the days to Todos Santos. I know exactly what you mean about the gas trucks, I've heard them in TS too. I usually wake up by 5 a.m. as I have clients on the U.S. east coast and in Europe so that doesn't bother me, it's more the nighttime stuff. Hopefully the noise in your area will quiet soon. 🙂

[Sarah977]

@Karen457  It's the roosters I hate. That sound goes right through my earplugs. Luckily there aren't any in my area, but there were where I lived before.

Funny rooster story- I have a Mexican friend who speaks perfect English (I also speak Spanish, but not fluently). I went to his place one day and saw he had a rooster and a hen in a big cage in his yard. 

"So tell me, Sammy, why does every Mexican need a rooster?"

"Well, cause we want eggs."

"But hens lay eggs whether there's a rooster or not."

"No they don't."

"Yes they do. I have several friends in Canada who keep chickens for eggs and they don't have any rooster."

"Must be a different kind of chicken."

So I started doing an informal survey among the Mexicans I know, asking if they thought you needed a rooster in order to get eggs. They all said yes. When I pressed them, saying that hens lay regardless, their response was that "Yes, but they're not good eggs." They actually believe that unfertilized eggs will make you sick.