Host lockbox on different block than apartment?

[Kenneth12]

Howdy all,

Odd sort of question here-- host has a lockbox,  but lockbox is located a notable distance from the property.   It's not a huge deal, but was not revealed in advance.   (There are other problems with the host;  they appear to be using some kind of service called Airsorted that merely spits out canned responses and information,  via the email relay,  just to start).

I'm inclined to leave the keys on the table in the morning given that I don't need an extra ten minute walk WITH LUGGAGE to a third location in the morning,  and let them sort it out.  Anyone think that unreasonable or have a comment?

Thanks,  Ken

[Gordon0]

I tend not to book the more 'businesslike' listings because many of them have you pick up keys from another part of town in many cities. Personally I'd leave them in apartment after notifying them. But make sure there's not a clause prohibiting this, @Kenneth12. 

[Kenneth12]

Thanks @Gordon0 :

I hear you,  and try to avoid anything that looks like a business like the plague.  In this case,  it looks like Airsorted is a 3rd-party Airbnb property management company operating in the London area,   which purports to offer end-to-end "you do nothing" Airbnb management to property owners.   

Unfortunately,  I didn't get a sense of that from the start,  although there were two sketchy reviews this was listed as "our apartment" and had some nice reviews and pictures that looked far better than the reality yadda yadda (I've seen those threads about stuffed bookings / positive reviews,  but who knows).

There appears to be no host representative onsite and by now,  nothing but canned or no responses to inquiries and problems.   By this hour (I'm about to arrive at Portsmouth Harbour for a ceremony,  connectivity was sparse on the trip) those other problems and no response / person avaiable is really the crux,  the key drop issue an annoying bale of straw upon the top of that unattractive camel load.

Otherwise,  I'd probably have cancelled this if I knew what it is, not sure it meets ABB guidelines,  I'd balk at a key pickup across town unless revealed clearly in the listing,  and for a key box more than 100 feet or so away,  am currently of similar opinion-- it begs the question of why you've got the key box so far away.

[Gordon0]

As a matter of interest, what area is it in versus the key? Anyhow, good luck, @Kenneth12, I hope it isn't a dud. 

[Kenneth12]

Google Maps shows me that the key box is 420ish feet away:  down the block,  around a corner,  chained to the bottom of a bike rack (so that you must get onto the ground to use it) on the cross-street.  Even in Kensington,  odd,  odd odd if you arrive late with jetlag.
It's only a two-day stay,  and I'm taking the ferry to Normany tonight.   (If I'd stayed,  I'd need to have purchased linens for the second bed... last night I literally collapsed within 10 minutes of getting in).

[Sarah977]

@Kenneth12  I would suspect that a key box far from the listing might indicate that the place is actually being illegally rented. I.e. it's a tenant situation where subletting contravenes the terms of the lease.

[Kenneth12]

@Sarah977 I certainly thought of that.  There are signs that have been posted by other residents in the building,  providing a variety of instructions to ABBers in the building,  such as "don't bump luggage down the stairs in the middle of the night" and "don't loudly call a cab from the foyer in the middle of the night" and "Londeners work hard,  we need our sleep" so I did get the sense something was going on.