Checked in to dirty, moldy, not as described property in Prague

[Kenneth12]

Just checked into a property in Prague,  priced towards the top of the range.  It has many problems,  though the pictures looked good.

It has bugs.  I just lined all the bottoms of drawers with paper towels-- they had water damage and were nasty.  A bowl of fowl water was underneath the leaky hose-- it smelled-- I’ve removed,  but there’s still a mold smell.

It’s dirty.  Pictures taken,  keep finding more.  Mold around the entrance to the shower.

The futon/pullout bed is broken-- plastic pieces that connect parts broken.  In the photos it was a nice single bed with cover.  We got here and it was broken in two,  with the cover strewn unkempt on top.

The pictures make it look like there are separate rooms,  a bedroom with bed and another living room with the futon/pullout and a chair,  plus kitchen.  In reality there is only a small kitchen and bedroom.  (I’m with a companion,  we could split the bed and futon or couch in another room,  but not this).

Photos have been staged by moving furniture-- or taken elsewhere-- to make this look much different than what it is.

Etc.  The shower doors were off-track and won’t close fully when put back on track.  I could probably tolerate the conditions for under a week if the mold isn’t bad,  but the guy I’m with probably can’t and will take a hotel.

Current plan is thus to stay one night and figure it out from there,  but property is not as described-- somewhat surprised reviews have been so kind (inaccurate).

Host appears to be a front account for someone else.
 

Any comments or thoughts on how to best handle?  I’m pretty tolerant as a guest who is also a host,  but this one is below the bar of the 100 or so stays I’ve had.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Kenneth12 - you have a choices -

1. live with it and review it as you see it
2. contact the host to ask them to fix the problems - an addtional cleaning, repairs, etc
3. cancel and find another location - you will still get to review it

The last two you need to contact Airbnb right away if you want to get a refund of any kind.  You will have to spend some time proving that the place is dirty, not as advertised, and why you think you deserve a refund.  Up to you if you want to spend your vacation doing this.  

As a fellow host, how would you want your guests to handle this situation if it was your property? 

[Kenneth12]

Thanks for the reply.

This is a work trip,  and the question you post is alas not parallel.   I am quite familiar with the Czech Republic,  and this propery appears to be operated by a Russian immigrant in CZ,  using a fake profile of a young woman.    Repairs are unlikely or impossible durign the time we are here-- they'd need a plumber and to replace cabinetry,  then to address mold proactively to get under control.

But this is not 1998 and the price,  comparable to a 4-star hotel,  is not appropriate. 

IMO this is a situation where Airbnb should step in and find a solution,  but past experience shows that they do not do so effectively,  especially with a time difference.   

I'm likely to rebook on Airbnb myself if possible,  in a hotel if not,  then figure out.

P.S.  once my immediate situation is worked out,  I'm likely to offer the best advice I can-- but there's something pretty wrong here,  and it's hard to know if the other party will care to fix.

[Alice-and-Jeff0]

@Kenneth12 - Airbnb is a listing service. They will get involved if you:

1. Provide feedback on the reservation reflective of your actual stay
2. Call them now and cancel since you are unhappy and have already pre-determined that the host will not respond to help you get things corrected.  Then you will be assigned a case manager and you can tell them directly.
3. Flag this listing and the host and inform Airbnb of their potential activities and inaccurate pictures.  
4. Provide them with additional feedback about this account during the review process - the "anything else you want to tell Airbnb" box.  
5. Post your concerns here: https://www.airbnb.ca/help/feedback  

Good luck.

[Cathy172]

@Alice-and-Jeff0 I think your question "As a fellow host..." is not relevant. The accomodations Kenneth has encountered have been offered by someone that a concientious host has nothing in common with.

[Lyndsey2]

Definitely contact Airbnb immediately. Tell them you have photos. After you speak with them, they will send you an email asking you to reply and attach the photos. Make your own plans for new accomodations as Airbnb is not likely to respond quickly enough to assist you as immediately as you would like. If you go to another Airbnb rather than a hotel, Airbnb may give you a light discount on the cost of the new accomodation. 

It may also be a good idea to contact the host and tell him you are not happy and specifically why. If you use the phone app, you can even include photos. If he does not immeidately rectify the problems (and it sounds like he can't), it will boost your position with Airbnb customer service.

[Kenneth12]

Thanks.  After booking a hotel for my companion (and me if needed),  I reached out to Airbnb via Twitter,  and have been in touch and exchanged photos.

The primary source of the problem here seems to be a leak under the sink, which must have been there for some time.   They may have removed the heating until from the wall to get to the problem, but they didn't solve it much.

I'll think of reaching out to the host,  but it seems there's nothing they can easily fix in the short-term.  They may benefit from being told that baking soda,  bleach and a mold retardant would help a great deal;  on the other hand pics and description make this place look like a recent rennovation,  and it's far from that-- the shower is also problematic-- they have to clean,  and may not get that point.

[Marzena4]

@Kenneth12 I would definitely "Flag this listing and the host and inform Airbnb of their potential activities and inaccurate pictures." And report that front person/fake account. Russian/Ukrainian immigrants are also in my country and the quality they provide is often below standards. Once I narrowly escaped such a problem when planning to visit another city. 

[Kenneth12]

Ahoj Marzena,

This was in a neighborhood I know,   the host's "representative" was two hours late for check-in and so I walked into my favorite place on the block... and got an earful about them from the owner of the cafe,  which I ignored until I was in the apartment.

Frankly I fear retaliation while here,  (I can deal if they want to try something when I'm out / in Prague again),  so will play it buy ear.  There are good Russian and Ukrainian people,  the majority in fact I think,  but the bad apples are another story.

[Helen3]

Hi @Kenneth12

I am so sorry you had this experience, but a little suprised, as an established host,  that you didn't know to follow Airbnb's advice which is if a listing is not as advertising to contact the host first to resolve and if the issue isn't resolved contact them within 24 hours with a view to refund/cancellations.

If you demonstrated the listing wasn't as adveritised and that you had contacted the host who hadn't respondeed, they would then have given you a refund and 10% voucher to find somewhere else.

Prague is a decent sized city I think it's a little overly dramatic to talk about retalitiaton by a host,  because you cancelled a booking.

[Kenneth12]

@Helen3:

I have satisfactorly resolved this matter with an Airbnb case manager.  

I know Prague very,  very well even if my Czech is a little rusty.  While I'd originally come here looking for some moderate path (between "contact the host to work out" and "flee and contact Airbnb"),  after some consideration as this developed,  contacting the host (given what was clearly by then,  a fake profile) did not seem at all well-advised.

A year or so in Istanbul,  a travelling companion left a bag on a train platform without knowing he'd lost it.   A few hours later,  to his great surprise,  as he was still not unaware that it was missing, the police delivered it to him at the cafe where we were sitting.

It seems to me that your reply is a bit naive.  I think it reasonable to be concerned,  that whatever corner of the Russian mafia is involved in human trafficking and other activities in central Prague,  is relatively as good at tracking and finding people as Erdogan's police.

Otherwise, the only thing the host could have corrected during our stay time was a broken / unusable second bed.  Primary among other factors was that the heating system had been removed (likely to deal with the water damage,  but who knows).   We booked a hotel given sub-50s temperature that week,  which made getting the second bed fixed irrelevant.