I am now already in a +10 day discussion with Airbnb on an i...
Latest reply
I am now already in a +10 day discussion with Airbnb on an issue of blocked days that are being switched to 'active' in the c...
Latest reply
I rented a long term Airbnb property, from mid-August through November 1st. There were a few minor issues early on, but recently things are getting really bad. The owner is not in the country (the place is in Baja, Mexico and he's in the U.S.) - he has a local property manager that is supposed to handle things but has rarely shown up and is now not responding at all. 99% of the time when I contact the owner, he says he'll contact the property manager and then I don't hear back, email again and the whole thing starts over.
The more major issues include:
There is an Airstream trailer on the property we assumed was being stored here, but suddenly without any warning a woman with 3 dogs moved in. We didn't see her, only the dogs initially, and thought they were wild dogs that had snuck in which is common here. When we went to shoo them off, as we have 2 little dogs - a woman came screaming out of the trailer at my partner that it was her property. I immediately messaged the owner who told me he had no idea what was going on, but that he co-owns the place with his brother and maybe he knew and that it was probably a crazy ex-girlfriend. She's still here, he's never responded when I've asked again about it and the dogs bark continuously, most of the time they're just left outside. Sometimes they come right to our door and bark incessantly, making it difficult not only to take our dogs out but to actually enjoy the property.
There was a big rain storm last week and with the high heat and humidity, the front door has swollen so much that it's cracked and is very difficult to shut at all and likely unsecure, and easy to break in. Part of the ceiling also being chipping off as there are cracks in the concrete with bad water leaks - they're developing in many other places in the house, so another rainstorm is likely going to make that worse.
The property manager is also supposed to be taking care of the landscaping which has gotten out of control (not a big deal to us but it really looks bad), and pick up the trash once a week - we haven't seem him in 2 weeks now so it's really piling up and there doesn't seem to be a place we can take it too here - we're in a small village in Baja, Mexico. I think he's supposed to be doing something to the water to prevent algae too, but that's not happening since he isn't here, and algae-filled water has been pouring down the side of the house near the front door.
All that said, we are managing for now, this is a beautiful village with very little other options and is generally a nice place - it would be fairly easy to correct those problems I would think and I'd rather not have to try and find another place, but with 5 weeks left if some of these issues are not taken care of, it may not be livable. Airbnb's policy is that the renter has to pay for 30 days after giving notice when leaving early - I can't find anything that talks about a policy as to what happens in this kind of situation. I have taken photos of many of the problems just to keep things documented.
Does anyone know if there is a policy on that or have any advice? I feel like I've been really reasonable and patient but that we're also not being treated for well or at minimum, getting the run around.
Thanks for your help in advance.
@Karen457 This is not OK. In your shoes I would contact the owner once more and tell him that if these issues are not resolved within XX days you will be calling Airbnb for a refund and rehousing. Then do so.
Thank you, I think I've been pretty reasonable too, my only worry is that I will end up with no place to stay as there are only limited, far more expensive options since I received a better rate for long term and the busy season is starting here soon. Going to give it until tomorrow morning and then do what you suggested as it's getting so ridiculous.
Thanks for your help again.
@Karen457 This totally not acceptable. @Lisa723 is a lot more nicer than I would be. I would call AirBnB immediately. You need to be relocated. Leaking roofs, no lawn maintence, the lady with the dogs, no trash removal, etc. Some of these issues are safety related and need to be fixed now especially the door. You should be refunded and relocated immediately by AirBnB it is just not a safe environment to be in. Cut and paste your post into the AirBnB messaging system and then call. Offer your photos up as proof to AirBnB.
AirBnB number:
United States and Canada | +1-415-800-5959 |
AirBnB Mexico +52 55 41 70 43 33
Hi @Letti0Letti, Yes, as @Lisa723 said, I'm really concerned about not having a place to live - I just checked and there is nothing at all available here - and the rates all go up starting in October in most areas so they're far more expensive for places that are even an hour or two away now.
That said, I agree definitely could be a safety issue and needs to be fixed asap. I sent one other long email again just now with all the concerns again. I might just have to end up paying another $800 to $1,000 a month to be in a decent place, assuming Airbnb will work with me to get my money back. Really hoping it doesn't come to that and the owner will take action, there has to be someone else he can find to replace the missing property manager, I would think.
@Letti0 I don't disagree with you, however @Karen457 said she does not want to leave and has concerns about finding another place; so my advice wasn't about being nice to the host, just about maximizing her shot of getting the place back in order so she can stay. This host is clearly irresponsible, but maybe the prospect of losing the booking will concentrate his mind.
@Lisa723 I do understand that, but by calling she can state she will stay if he instantly remedies these issues. Maybe a call from AirBnB might get him to actually do something. The door is a really big issue in my mind, the woman from the Airsteam or anyone for that matter could enter and rob them blind while they are out and there would be nothing they could do about it. If she can get a full refund, which I feel she should recieve in this case, it would help to pay for the more expensive place. This is a health and safety issue with conditions mentioned. Without lawn maintence they could step on a snake and be bit. The roof could actually cave in during another heavy rain. The trash not being remove can attract animals and bugs. There are so many issues.
@Letti0 - Eahh... you're right, I hadn't thought about the snake part - we have to take our two little dogs in the back now because of the woman in the Airstream's dogs (although they can get back there too we try to do it as quickly as possible before they realize it) - but because of the landscaping getting out of control, there's definitely a greater possibility of getting bit by a snake or a scorpion for the dogs and for us. We bought a black light and saw a few scorpions out there the other night.
The other issues are pretty serious too - I haven't heard back from the owner yet and also contacted Airbnb this morning, they're supposed to have a case manager get back to me, hopefully soon. Thanks again for your help, I've never had a situation like this with Airbnb (or used one for a longer period) so I really appreciate it.
@Karen457 We just killed a 3 foot copperhead the other day and although they are the least poisonous of the snakes, if our grass was over grown we would have missed him. We killed a rattlesnake last year and this year, well I should say my construction workers did. So as far as I am concerned it a saftey issues as both of these snakes are in your area also.
@Letti0 That's really scary. I just went out and took pics and sent those to the owner too and to document for Airbnb.. it's pretty bad out there.
Just thought I'd update you both since you were so helpful - An Airbnb case manager contacted the host right away who promised him he'd reach the property manager, suddenly he was able to - he promised the guy would arrive within 2 hours. Never did, no message, nothing. Finally about 8:30 he messaged that the guy's car had broken down and that his dad would give him a ride over and he was leaving right then and that he would also come back at 7:30 in the morning to work on the landscaping problem. He's just a few minutes away. 20 minutes later, nothing and I had to be up at 5, it was dark and he wouldn't be able to see many of the problems anyway so I told him to have him just come in the morning - he could start the yard stuff and then afterward we'd show him the problems, that we would be here all day until about 5.
So, of course, he never shows. I message him to see when he's coming. No response. Message the owner - finally after he receives a pic of the algae covered wall that has gotten much worse he says "emergency time" I will contact my brother who knows people there - he's promised he'd contact him several times before but apparently he never really did because once that happened, his brother (the co-owner) sent over a couple that lives nearby and knows the house very well. They were shocked and said it was extremely unacceptable and it was well-known that this property manager takes peoples money but rarely does anything and is totally unreliable. They also found more major problems that we hadn't noticed - and things have gotten worse, pools of water on the floor now. They took a lot of pictures and said they would be sure both brothers would receive them.
In the meantime the Airbnb case manager is on his weekend and won't be back until tomorrow, The owner said he was firing the property manager and trying to find someone else, but we finally leave to go out to eat at 5 as we'd told the property manger, and then we get a text from him just as we got there that he was here waiting outside -knowing full well we wouldn't be here. After what the couple said and the experiences we've had, we totally don't trust this guy. And, he still has all the keys. I messaged the owner and told him to call him to let him know because I really didn't want to go back there and deal with that at this point. He told me he couldn't reach him, but we got back and he was gone, with the trash taken and a few weeds taken out in the front. Haven't heard anything from anyone after that. We still have no cleaning supplies and have gone through almost all the towels soaking up the water... messaged the owner again that the priority is now to get us cleaning supplies, towels and to get the backyard cleaned up because it's gotten so much worse since even 2 days ago and we can't take the dogs out front. The couple that saw it said how dangerous it was too - they were blown away about how bad everything it was as the wife was a caretaker here a year ago and said it's just gown completely downhill fast.
Anyway, this is not looking good so I really hope Airbnb helps us, at least if we have to stay I hope they will give us a partial refund or something, or will refund us everything so we can get another place. I've never had to go through such a housing nightmare! Can't believe the owner hasn't been in touch yet today after all that (he's in a later time zone).
@Karen0 What a terrible situation. My daughter lives in Baja (Todos Santos), not sure where you are. The host sounds like a loser- he obviously doesn't care all that much, he's just talking like he does. If he did care, he would have found a way for either himself or his brother to fly down and deal with the situation and find a real property manager. You'd think he'd be concerned about his property investment and the fact that the house is leaking and insecure. If the neighbor used to be the caretaker, I'd bet that he decided to cheap out and pay some guy who does nothing, which is actually more expensive than paying more to someone who actually looks after the place.
Here is a list of the all-purpose Mexican excuses for not answering their phones, or showing up on time:
My phone was out of time.
My phone was on the charger.
My phone broke.
My car broke down.
I had to take my mother shopping.
I had to take my mother to the doctor. (Now, how could you possibly get mad at someone who had to take their mother to the doctor?)
Good luck, keep us updated.