Pest infestation on Luxury property and very unfair outcome to guest

Juan2943
Level 2
Austin, TX

Pest infestation on Luxury property and very unfair outcome to guest

Hello,

 

I had to cancel my Vacations due to a Flying ant infestation at the house I rented. I stayed at the property for only 1 night, and I was still charged $770. It is very unfair to me! Please read on for the full story.

 

Check in was Saturday, it was a last minute booking, 4 night stay, for a total of $3502 (I think it was listed for $600 but comes out to $875 per night, because fees, cleaning charges and taxes that are also built in that number. I can't find the per night rate anywhere on airbnb). I'm talking about a beach front house in South Padre Island, TX, with a beach front, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, private pool in front of the beach at the 1st floor, and a beautiful 2nd floor deck above the pool with a great view.

 

The host was responsive and took care of maintenance last minute as well and explained about an issue with the door to the deck on the 2nd floor (big disappointment for a beachfront house, but I accepted it as I needed a place to stay).

 

What I didn't know, and neither did the host, taking her word for it, is that there was an infestation of flying ants in the house (those are some big wasp-like insects, that apparently don't sting). The flying ants were located on the two rooms in the 1st floor that have access to the pool and the beach. After the sun went down, the ants started to come out, and there were at least 200 in one room, and another 50 on the 2nd room, and it was already 8:40pm. I texted the host and she replied that, if I could find another place to stay, she will reimburse me. She also recommended to contact Airbnb to help with the re-location arrangements.

 

I immediately called airbnb in distress, but they wouldn't respond until 10:50pm! Apparently they wanted to re-locate me (I don't know where) but I told them that it was too late for that. With the whole Covid 19 situation, this is a very difficult decision, but I cannot expose my family to a hotel room because, upon arrival, me and my wife would need to clean the hotel room (just as we cleaned several parts of the house earlier) just to have some piece of mind. IMO you don't really know whether someone infected with Covid stayed or visited the house (or the hotel room) in the last 72 hours. Without assurance, you can't be too cautious when it comes to health!

 

The "Airbnb Support Ambassador **" listened to me and agreed that we couldn't just go out to a new place that late at night, specially being so tired after such a difficult day. There were another two rooms in the house, in the 2nd floor, on the opposite side of the ant infestation, that didn't have any signs of ants on them, so we all stayed in those two rooms, and blocked the infested rooms with towels so the ants coulnd't come out of them. Jaydee from Airbnb did say they were going to make arrangements so that I could stay for the rest of the nights on another property, and asked me to send him links to properties that I was interested in.

 

Next day, early Sunday I tried to contact Airbnb, several times without any responses. I also sent them the links on a chat as requested, but no responses on the chat messages either. I've foreseen that I was going to be charged 1 night due to the lack of response from Airbnb, so we left the house by 11am (official checkout time). Airbnb finally contacted me back around 1pm, they told me to make arrangements for the two listings myself, and that they were going to refund me for something, but they never told me for what, or how much. I followed their lead and tried to book one of the properties myself, this time at $800 per night, similar house, beachfront and private pool.

 

By 2:30pm, Airbnb finally changed the one night stay in my account for $1145! I contacted them again, and they replied back that they "reduced it" to $770! WTF! One night at $770 for the worst day/night my family ever had? By 2:45 I decided that I wouldn't pay $770 (or any number for that matter) + $3600 for an extra 3 nights at South Padre to Airbnb. We finished our short beach visit, barely cleaned up at the public beach shower, and drove back 6 hours to Austin, TX. I don't think I will ever use Airbnb again in my life.

 

If anyone has suggestions on what is it that a guest is supposed to do under such stressful circumstance, or how to get my money back, please let me know.

**[Name hidden due to privacy concerns - Community Center Guidelines]

6 Replies 6
Helen3
Level 10
Bristol, United Kingdom

Yes ask the host to reimburse you for the night you stayed. The listing was not as described.  @Juan2943 

 

surprising they or their cleaning company didn’t spot the flying ants.

 

Emiel1
Level 10
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands

@Juan2943 

 

The price breakdown on a listing and/or reservation shows the nightly rate + discounts (if any) ,the Service costs, the Cleaning fee (if any), the Taxes (if any)

 

Flying ants in summer are generally normal ants, having wings only on their "mating" day (google for more info). It may be experience as overwhelming, but it is mostly short duration (only 1 day) and fade out soon as most ants will die.

 

Most likely there were already one or more ant nests inside the house.

You could ask the host if willing to give some more refund.

 

Best regards,

Emiel

Sarah977
Level 10
Sayulita, Mexico

@Juan2943  If this was the " worst day/night my family ever had", you should consider yourself lucky.  Sounds like a lot of drama over what was probably just a one night event, rather than an "infestation".

 

As Emiel stated, flying ants (they were likely termites) do a hatch once a year, they fly around, mate, and yes it's annoying, but not life-threatening, and chances are they would have been gone by the next day.

 

This happens every year where I live, and everyone has to put up with it for a night or two, whether they live in a modest little house or a 2 million dollar mansion.

 

If insects freak you out so, I'd suggest you don't book places where they are endemic to the area.

Sandra126
Level 10
Daylesford, Australia

It's a one night a year event where I live too. It's freaky, but brief. All you can do is turn off the lights and keep things shut.

Michelle53
Level 10
Chicago, IL

Chicago has "flying spiders" in the summertime. Yep, even the Hilton Hotel has them. 

 

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/its-flying-spider-season-in-chicago/

Pamela229
Level 1
North Carolina, United States

Juan, I feel for you.  I am now in an airbnb with flying ants.  We are staying on an island in the Caribbean.  My husband and I returned late yesterday evening after being out all day and they were everywhere.  We had to mop all the floors and spray a nearly empty "winged insect" bug spray (which was strangely handy).  Look, I have never seen winged ants before ever.  My husband and I were a little freaked out by the number and also their sudden appearance.  Apparently others on this thread have seen this and say it's apparently a one-night deal.  I hope that's correct but a nearly empty can of RAID tells me a different story at my rental.  No one knows for certain whether it's an infestation that is going away in one day.  I googled this at length last night and never ran across this info but rather that the possibility of an infestation is possible if not probable.  But that shouldn't be your problem to figure out.

 

My thinking is you had two issues.  First, that the owner may not be doing the necessary in taking care of managing insects, whatever they are, and needs to make it right.  You said your host said, " I texted the host and she replied that, if I could find another place to stay, she will reimburse me."  The host needs to stick to their promise.  You should have been reimbursed for the remainder of your stay.

 

Second issue is AirBnB.  You said, "The "Airbnb Support Ambassador **" listened to me and agreed that we couldn't just go out to a new place that late at night, specially being so tired after such a difficult day......** from Airbnb did say they were going to make arrangements so that I could stay for the rest of the nights on another property, and asked me to send him links to properties that I was interested in."  As you mentioned there wasn't complete clarity and then Airbnb wasn't available to clarify and the clock is ticking.  

 

My view is the host needs to reimburse you the entire stay.  If you rent any property, proper maintenance includes professional pesticide control.  That will eliminate these little surprises.  You should be assured of a reasonably pest free rental.  Second, Airbnb created an additional problem in your unfortunate circumstance.  Airbnb should facilitate prompt refund from host. It seems they did not and for that they are culpable.  However, your subsequent rental fees for remainder of your stay at a different property is your responsibility.  I assume you agree but it wasn't clear.

 

I wasn't clear on a few other details but I hope my thoughts were helpful.  Your comment raises questions about Airbnb support, consistency / follow-through, and clear policies around these issues.  Thank you for sharing your issue.  

**[Name hidden due to privacy concerns - Community Center Guidelines]