Free parking

[Denis168]

Hi All,

Would like your opinion on a recent visit I had.   Rented a place that said it had free parking.  So I head over there, get in,  and it is appartment 7.  So I park in spot labelled #7.   Thought that made sense. 

I get towed.   Turns out,  I had to use spot # 15.  

So,  host didn't greet me when I got there nor give me the spot number in the self entry instructions and I kind of feel that was a miss on their part.   When I inquired as to where this information was,  it turns out it was in the "house rules" on the internet site.  Fair enough,  I missed it,  but it is the first time I see parking instructions there.  I usually get told where to park,  or there is a nice book or sheet when I enter the location telling me the lay of the land.   Nothing of the sort in this case. 

So am out of line here if I ask the host to split the towing 50/50?  And if so,  what's the best way to do it? Do I contact the host directly or just ask Air BnB support directly about this? 

Much appreciated. 

[Matthew285]

@Denis168 the host should certainly increase the number of places that the parking information is available, including sending it to the guest the day before arrival. (Which is what we do.) The host should want to minimize the chance that the guest would not find out what parking space to take.

That being said, it is still mostly your fault that you parked in the wrong space.

It is a bad assumption that parking space #7 goes with apartment #7.

If you were unsure about where to park, you should have made more effort to contact the host and ask where you were supposed to park. If I were a guest and had not received instructions about where to park, I would not park in the building garage yet. I would have dropped off my luggage and them moved to any other outside legal parking space until I could find out where I was supposed to park.

You can certainly ask the host if he is willing to help with the cost of towing, but it was not his fault your car got towed, and he would not be unfair to say no.

[David126]

I thought Guests are required to confirm they have read the House Rules as part of the booking process?

[Vinay7]

Hi @Denis168, I agree with @Matthew285 that you shouldn't have assumed the parking spot. It was best to contact your host to confirm the parking space. 

Although most hosts have a house manual to assist the guests, it is not mandatory for the hosts to have this.

While booking it is necessary to have understood the house rules. If your host has mentioned the parking space, it would have been best to make a note of it.

I do understand, at times we don't get into the details especially when we are traveling in a hurry. I see there is a lack of communication on both sides here.

However it is not unreasonable to request your host to split the parking fee. Take it up politely and your host might be able to split it. But please remember that he is not obligated to do so, but will be doing it as a courtesy, it he agrees.

I hope you are able to resolve this issue in an amicable way. Pls don't go spoiling your travel over this!