Number of guests misleading? Need opinions

[Stephanie881]

Hello, 

I am unsure if I am being unreasonable, so I need opinions on this matter before taking further steps. 

I booked a room in a house where it said in the listing of a 4-bedroom house: "There is only one bedroom for homestay guests with maximum 2 people at the same time."

Based on this, I assumed it would be me + the host's family. It turned out that there are a total of 5 guests (3 bedrooms for 2 guests each., 1 for Airbnb guests, 2 for short term rentals). You can guess that this makes a big difference, as we are all sharing a bathroom and kitchen and there is lots of "traffic". 

Am I being unreasonable to be angered about this, or is this a standard practice? I was looking for a quiet place and even said so in my messaging with the host, and there was no word of other guests (people renting for 2 months are guests to me). 

Thank you! 

[Lisa723]

@Stephanie881 I think you are being slightly unreasonable-- why does it matter to you whether the other people are renters or the host's family? It could be the same number of people either way.  A four-bedroom home can house a lot of people. It's best not to assume anything, but ask about things that are important to you. On the other hand, I also think the host could/should make their listing clearer on this point.

[Stephanie881]

Hi Lisa,

thank you for your answer.

In my experience, it makes a big difference whether you are living with a family or independent guests. A family of 5 people does not constantly use the kitchen for instance - usually it is 1 person cooking for all of them. Here, we have "dinner cooking time" from 5 till 9 pm and as the kitchen is in the middle of a tiny house, this causes considerable noise and smell. 

Also, it is a big difference socially when there are random people sitting around who don't even all share a language and the place feels like a hostel, not a home. It's really a different experience. 

[Emilia42]

@Stephanie881, could you share a link to the listing?

[Stephanie881]

@Emilia42

It's this one: 

https://de.airbnb.com/rooms/20712354

The problem is also that the host is not the best at managing all the guests. We are essentially left alone all day long and nobody looks after the kitchen, bathroom and shower....I would expect the host to check these facilities on a daily basis when there are so many guests using them! 

I realize it might just be my opinion, that's why I'm asking. In the future, I will always ask for the total number of guests in the house and who else is living there. 

[Emilia42]

@Stephanie881, it is rather misleading as there is no mention of other guests but just that the space is "shared." It is best not to assume whom you will be sharing with. I personally think shared spaces are hard and not for everyone. A family of 5 that you don't mix well with could have the same effect. As some feedback to the host, you may want to suggest that she be a little clearer in the listing for future guests. Sorry, I couldn't be much help.

[Sarah977]

@Stephanie881  I agree that it's a very different experience sharing a house that is shared by multiple guests than sharing a house with the host and their family. The listing description is open to interpretation- I don't think it's particularly clear- I don't get the feeling that the host is purposely trying to mislead anyone, but rather that they haven't worded it in such a way that it's evident what the scene is. I do notice that the place has good reviews, and a couple guests mentioned how clean it is, so either the host has fallen down on their cleaning (they should certainly be cleaning regularly with that many guests all sharing a bathroom and kitchen) or there were cleaner, tidier guests that those reviewers were sharing with. And people do have different standards of cleanliness.

What are you wanting at this point? If you're not comfortable there, maybe you should look for another place. Or contact the host to report the state of the bathroom and the kitchen? I get it that you wanted a quiet place, which this isn't. And you say you told this to the host when you booked, who didn't think it was worth mentioning at that point that there were multiple guests and she couldn't guarantee quiet. I think she was remiss there. From the reviews and the listing, this doesn't really sound like a bad host, but like you say, isn't adept at managing what she is doing.  

[Stephanie881]

@Sarah977

I mostly want to learn what I can do better in the future when I am booking, so I don't get into the same situation again. If hosts are not always clear about such things in their listings, I need to pay more attention and ask in detail about who lives with them. 

As for the bathoom/kitchen, I will tell the host that the situation is not acceptable. It is possible that prior guests where tidier because right now there are first semester college students living here who might be used to their moms cleaning up after them....on the other hand, the host has not cleaned the bathroom in 2 weeks and even with the tidiest guests, this is unacceptable when 5 people are sharing! 

[Sarah977]

@Stephanie881 Exactly. Ask all the questions when booking that you need to verify to make sure it's a situation that will be good for you. FYI hosts run into the same situations with guests. It's impossible to anticipate what is important or worth mentioning to each and every guest, which is why many hosts are constantly tweaking their listing information- they thought something was clear, then found out a guest interpreted it differently. At least it sounds like you're a guest who actually reads throught the description, you wouldn't believe how many just look at the photos and the price and click IB.

I have a friend who booked a private room in a host-shared home. It was obvious when she arrived that it was normally the host's bedroom, there was only one bedroom in the place. The hosts, a young couple, were sleeping on an air mattress in the living room, which had to be passed through to get to the bathroom. My friend felt really uncomfortable with the situation and checked out after one night, even though she had booked for 10 days. She told them they were very nice, she had no issue with them, but the situation wasn't comfortable for her, a 65 year old woman, and to her credit, she didn't ask for a refund. The place might have been fine for some 20 year old, but not for her. 

Agreed- it's totally unacceptable for the host to let 2 weeks go by, even 2 days, without getting in there for a bathroom and kitchen clean-up and sterilization with that many people sharing the space, especially a bunch of college-age guests. 

[Giedre-and-Andre0]

Hallo @Stephanie881 

to "read" a listing like this for future trips:

This host has 2 listinds / 2 guests each room (1a and 1b).

So you need to be prepared to have  another group of 2 in the house.

But however, I can understand your irritation as this situation should be disclosed in the description,

and giving the host this credit, there shouldn't be more than 4 guests in total + host

(and if the "host" is a family of 5, this also should be pointed out in the description).

Gruesse aus NYC nach Berlin.

[Stephanie881]

@Giedre-and-Andre0

Thank you for the advice, I did not notice that. I only read "max 2 guests" and did not check if there are other listings by the same host. I believe at the time of my booking, the second room was not available anymore and did not show in the search results. 

As you said this does not explain the third bedroom, but at least the second 🙂 

[Giedre-and-Andre0]

@Stephanie881 look up always hosts profile for additional listings and reviews 😉