Baltimore host's bedbug infestation

[Molly36]

On January 14th I booked an airbnb near Baltimore, where I was going for the weekend to visit friends. I arrived after my five-hour drive, tired, to let myself into a pitch black stairwell. The light fixtures had no bulbs in them, so I used my phone flashlight to find my way upstairs to the apartment. I let myself in, set my bags down and went to check out the bed - standard procedure for anywhere I stay. There was evidence of bedbugs on both sides of the mattress - little black specks and stains in the creases and hem of the mattress, plus many gross unrelated stains on the mattress itself. I immediately got out of there with my stuff and canceled the reservation from my car. The host accused me of "scamming" her and "ruining airbnb for everyone"; then continued to harass me during what was otherwise a lovely weekend catching up with friends. Two full days after the TEN MINUTES i spent in her dirty, infested apartment, I received a request for $120, claiming that I had stolen her hairdryer and towels - I guess she wanted to try and squeeze some money out of me in some way. I declined this request and she threatened a police report. Beyond the bedbugs, the place was dirty, unswept, and smelled bad, kind of like body odor. Super unpleasant and not somewhere I'd want to sleep even if there weren't bedbugs.

This was my first experience with airbnb and it was awful. The host was a nightmare - incredibly rude and immature - and frankly shouldn't be allowed to host guests and expose them to bedbugs. Airbnb was relatively helpful and I've been promised a refund, but after this I am pretty unlikely to use airbnb again. Nothing quite like arriving after a long drive through sleet and snow, hoping to relax, to realize that you have to very quickly find another place to stay. I ended up having to book a hotel that was more expensive, but worth it because unlike the airbnb it was very clean. 

Here is the profile of the host: [Link hidden]

I'm not seeing her place listed right now so hopefully airbnb took well-deserved action against her. 

what a nightmare. I think airbnb should allow guests to leave a review for hosts even if they cancelled the reservation if it was due to a cleanliness issue.

[Sabine42]

Hi Molly,

what a nightmare, i'm sorry this happened to you. in case you want to give airbnb another try, try booking with superhosts or hosts with LOTS of positive reviews, it might not always be the cheapest option but lots of hosts out there are doing a superb job of hosting. you were right in contacting airbnb and reporting her, sadly a couple of bad eggs can ruin it for lots of us. i hope you flagged her profile too, best of luck to you!

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Molly36 - sorry this happened to you.  It's a little strange that the person's profile that you posted has only 2 reviews from guests, one for a property in Pittsburg, where you are from, and one from  property in Baltimore, where you went. The review in Baltimore is actually pretty good and from after your stay.  

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

It's also a little uncanny how much you look like the girl you are reporting.  With the exception of the hair, you look like the same person.  

[Molly36]

lol. wait, what? other than being two white women there's literally nothing similar about our appearances. also not sure why anyone's appearance is relevant to my topic?

[Molly36]

she told me she is from pittsburgh, and has a pittsburgh area code phone number, so that part isn't so strange to me. also, the good review on her profile is from january 2017 but it must have been before my stay, because mine was this past weekend, and her listing isn't available anymore as far as i can tell. 

[Lizzie]

Hello @Molly36,

Welcome to the Community Center. I am very sorry to hear about your experience, it is sad to hear this has put you off using Airbnb in the future. As @Sabine42 mentioned though, there are lots of fantastic hosts all over the world - so I hope you will try again. I am not sure how you booked, but you can speak with your host before you arrive and before you book, so you can find out more about what the listing is like and what will happen upon arrival. Plus, reading a listing's reviews and the host replies can really help to provide extra information too. 

Just to add, I have had to remove the link to the host's listing from your post here in the Community Center, this is for privacy reasons and so we do talk in more general terms.

I hope this is fine with you and if you do stay in an Airbnb again, I hope you have a wonderful time. 🙂

Lizzie

[Molly36]

hi lizzie! sorry about including the link - i didn't realize that wasn't allowed - but including it was the only way i could think of to alert others about the bedbug issue at her apartment, since i can't leave a review due to cancelling my reservation with her. i think there should be some way i can notify others about the property so they can avoid having the same experience i did, without compromising her privacy, etc. is there some kind of solution to this? i already took it up with airbnb, but bedbugs are a horrible thing to have to deal with, and i think it should be taken seriously by the community. 

[Molly36]

Update on this - the host whose apartment was infested has changed her name on airbnb and is now listed as "Jasmine" instead of "Sarah", and her apartment is listed again. How is airbnb not looking into it, and how shady is it that she changed her name on here? I just don't want other people to get bedbugs OR have to deal with this nightmare of a human being. 

[Denise118]

It’s unfortunate that the Airbnb as NO ability to manage the review part of their software.

I’m sure they purchased a third party review system so they didn’t have to write the code but this is a major issue for many cases which I don’t care to list at the moment.

This is one example where a guest is unable to write a comment in regards to their experience since it was cancelled. 

[Ruth419]

It was my first experience.  I thought I had a huge bedbugs problem however the bed bug exterminator in Long Island who treated my room very kindly and I felt sure that all would be well. As they were professional and was not disturbed by the numerous amount of questions I asked.

[Mary1355]

Hi Molly. I am in Pittsburgh. I would love to host you. I am totally new to being an Airbnb host, so I have issue with previous comments recommending you to only consider “Superhost’s” properties.

I imagine price and location was the reason for booking the Airbnb near Baltimore. I know my Airbnb is in your hometown, but at least you won’t have far to run if you choose to cancel! (I don’t think you will if you choose to come.)

I would like to offer you my listing which is a private, entire house in North Oakland/Polish Hill, private parking, for you and one other guest at 60% off my price. Try it for one night.  

I am a nurse/secretary/landscaper/cleaning lady in Pittsburgh since 1989. I am clean and I want you to try out my Airbnb. So, look at my listing. I think it is Mary Jane’s house overlooking Children’s Hospital. Pick a date. Message me about your date and I will price it accordingly for you. 

Give Airbnb another opportunity to make your stay a good one. 

Sinerely,

Mary Jane