Looking for advice

[Sam5278]

hi all. Sorry in advance for the long message …

I recently rented an apartment for two nights through an air bnb host.

upon arrival it became apparent the shower was not working. The host was not overly helpful with this, refusing to speak to me on the phone and insisting on communicating via the air bnb messaging system. Hardly ideal when I was waiting 20 to 30 minutes for responses. The host suggested I had either not pulled the cord outside the room or pressed the switch in the room before admitting she had no idea how it worked and suggesting I checked the fuse box instead. Upon expressing my views to her via text she agreed to send someone out. By this point it was too late and we had to go out without showering after travelling all day.  I requested she contacted me when it was fixed.

later that evening I got a message from the host saying it was a fault and was too late to get a replacement part so would be fixed at 10am the next morning. 

due to only being there for the weekend we had planned to pack a lot in to the two days. Therefore we waited in as we did not want to go out without showering. By 10.30am nobody had turned up. It took repeat messages to the host to eventually get a response saying sorry the maintenance man had been delayed and would be there shortly. Due to time getting on we opted to having to wash in the kitchen sink. The repairman eventually turned up around 11.15 at which point we were heading out without showering again for the second day. Due to the late start several things we had planned to do we were unable to do as we had planned to leave at 9ish. Better communication from the host would have ensured we did not waste our time staying in.

i expressed my dissatisfaction to the host and requested her to let me know when the shower is fixed so that we could go back for a shower before heading out again to a sports event that evening. As no one had contacted me we just stayed out assuming it had not been fixed. When we arrived back later that night it transpired that it was now working. Eventually I was able to have a shower the next morning, my first in three days.

Other than a message saying sorry for the inconvenience I have heard little from the host. No offer of compensation or an offer to check out later on the last day. Should I expect compensation for this and if so how much? I understand that things can go wrong but I feel the inconvenience, poor communication from the host and general lack of care is unacceptable. Having to repeatedly message someone to try and get an issue sorted and going without a shower for three days on my weekend away has left a sour taste in my mouth especially when the apartment wasn’t exactly cheap. Perhaps if she had of actually spoken to me on the phone we could have got someone out quicker and it could have been fixed on the first night.

thanks.

[Huma0]

@Sam5278 

1. There are very good reasons why a host insists that you communicate via the Airbnb messaging system, especially about any issues. Basically, you need to have a record on the messaging system if anything goes wrong, e.g. a guest trying to scam you for a free stay. This is normal.

2. Perhaps the host was slow in responding, but if you were using the App, it is glitchy and messages often get delayed, not just by 20-30 minutes, but often for hours and, occasionally, even for days.

3. I have no idea what location your airbnb was in, but I do know that where I am it's virtually impossible to get a plumber out the same day, especially if there are parts to be bought, and the following day would even be a small miracle. So, quite likely the host was doing everything she could to get the part and someone out to fix the problem.

4. Maintenance people show up late all the time. Sometimes days late. A delay from 10am to 11.15am is nothing. That is usually out of the host's control, but she did let you know.

5. The host should have let you know when the problem was fixed, but perhaps she could not get an answer from the maintenance man (takes me sometimes days or weeks to get responses from tradespeople, that's just normal) so perhaps she was chasing for an answer on this. Ideally, a host would either be nearby or have a co-host nearby to go and check on the situation.

6. Not sure why you were expecting a late check out because of this? Did you ask for one or were expecting the host just to offer, somehow being psychic and knowing that was something you expected? If the host had other guests checking in on the same day, this could well have been an impossibility, which is why it was not offered.

7. Yes, I do feel that you deserve some compensation for this. Not having a working shower is not okay. So, message the host and ask for one. If she refuses, you can raise a claim with Airbnb but, in theory, you are supposed to do this within 72 hours of noticing the problem.

[Sam5278]

Thanks 

what sort of refund do you think would be fair? 25 per cent ish or more or less than that?

[Anonymous]

@Sam5278   The host was actually doing the right thing by keeping all communication on Airbnb messenger. This is exactly what Airbnb advises them to do, so that there's a clear paper trail and timeline to refer back to in the event of a complaint or compensation claim. By arranging a technician to come the next morning, the host resolved the issue as swiftly as possible. It was inconvenient for your plans that the technician arrived later than expected, but this is completely normal and totally out of the host's control. The majority of the inconvenience you experienced in this situation was a product of your busy itinerary, which the host can't really be blamed for.

It's always irksome when an important feature isn't working properly, and some hosts may offer a token discount to soften the blow, but it's not my view that every discomfort or inconvenience needs to be compensated for. Throwing money at you after the stay is over isn't going to sweeten the taste in your mouth. And if you'd like to rent an Airbnb again in the future, you don't want to have a review on your profile depicting you as a difficult guest who kept complaining and demanding money even after an issue was resolved. 

Personally, I'd just let this go and move on. You can either choose to keep a chip on your shoulder about missing a shower, or you can instead focus on how nice it was to spend a fun weekend with someone you love.

[Sam5278]

Andrew

if you think I have a chip on my shoulder because I expect to be Able to have a shower when I spend a large amount of money renting an apartment then perhaps it is views like that to why Airbnb is getting a bad reputation. Perhaps unlike people like yourself, people save up for a long time to be able to afford trips like this not to have them ruined.

no I am not bothered about being labelled a difficult guest. This is the first and last time I will be using air bnb. I will stick to the tried and tested method of renting a hotel room next time. Far easier and treated far better.

funnily enough we spoke to a taxi driver during our stay who advised against using air bnb in future saying he had had two bad experiences on there. Enough to put me off for life to be honest.

[Anonymous]

@Sam5278  I think you're probably right that hotels would be a better fit for your travel needs. Things go wrong in hotels all the time too, but one huge advantage is that unlike Airbnb hosts, they can usually move you to another room if the shower doesn't work.

Missing a shower on your first night is frustrating, of  course, but whether you consider it to be a trip-ruining event is really just a question of your state of mind. It's happened to me several times that the place I was staying lost power or water and thwarted the shower I hoped to have. But actually every city I've ever visited has had some kind of place where I could shower if I wanted to, be it a public pool, sauna, gym, or day spa. I'd be very surprised if your destination had no such opportunities available, had you just been willing to be a bit more creative with your plans. I know you're not here for general life advice, but being willing to adapt and get creative when things don't go as expected really is the secret to having happy vacations and being a fun person to travel with.

[Huma0]

@Sam5278 

I stayed in a 5 star hotel in Barcelona when the temperatures were around 35 degrees C

(95 degrees farenheit) with high humidity. One morning, the water went off completely (not just the shower, but all faucets, toilet, everything). 

We were told after breakfast that the problem had been fixed and everyone else in my group went to shower, but the water was still off in my room. I was on a business trip and so just had to get going and go to work and run around in the heat without taking a shower. 

When I came back, the water was still off. Whenever I went to reception to ask about it, the attitude was basically that there was nothing they could do. They gave me a couple of bottles of water so I could wash my face etc. but only when I asked. Eventually, I got angry with the attitude and asked why they weren't offering me another room seeing as everyone else seemed to have water. This is when the water in my room magically came back on. At no point was any compensation offered, not even some kind of small gift/token gesture, e.g. a bottle of wine or something.

My point is, that even in 5* hotels, stuff like this can happen and it sounds like your host was much more responsive and proactive than the staff at the hotel.