Rats in Luggage and pool turned green.

[Kate2262]

We rented a villa in Majorca for 10days costing £11k.  During our stay we discovered rats in our luggage and the pool turned green.  We raised several complaints with the 'super host' and Airbnb .  Initially we were fobbed off with  Airbnb's policy Is no partial refund is possible as we didn't report the issue within 72hrs of checkin.  After checking t&c's we discovered this was a blatant lie, it is 72hrs from first discovering the issue.  We highlighted this and Airbnb accepted, we were then asked to provide evidence of issues including when they were reported.  We created a 18page document detailing all correspondence/timeline including videos of the rats in luggage and the pool turning green.  The case handler accepted we had a case on the phone.  2days later we were emailed to say the host had set expectations prior to arrival and we are not due a partial refund.  I sent a reply to say we didn't accept this response, the case handler (Josua) simply closed the case the following day.  Any advice welcome, is there a complaints department in the UK?  So disappointed how Airbnb have dealt with this complaint.  What would need to wrong beyond rats and a green pool hopefully someone senior within Airbnb will read this and make contact.

thanks.

 

 

[Emiel1]

@Kate2262 

"2days later we were emailed to say the host had set expectations prior to arrival "

Rats and a green pool to be expected ?

[Helen744]

@Kate2262  could be blue /green algae a known toxin and detrimental to humans . Rats well could be a random rat but ,yes , very bad.The issue would be fundamentally Did you leave ? did the host attempt to fix the situation or simply ignore it ?Expectations on both sides were obviously different so thats not good enough . H

[Kate2262]

We were a party of 8 so finding accommodation in aug in Majorca not possible at short notice plus we had already paid £11lk  We just ended up going to the beach instead.  The super host wasn't that super, always had a reply such as 'the noise is not rats it the aircon'. It wasn't until we sent a video of the rat she then replied with 'pest control called'. That was it, no apology or a call.  On several occasions we tried to call Lenka but she failed to answer, at no point did she come to villa to try and resolve.  No pest control come during the stay.  Would be great if anyone has any advice, we held off leaving a review while we tried to resolve only to find out there is time restriction.  Thanks.

[Z-2]

@Kate2262 Had the pool service (cleaning) come to do service while you stayed (10 days). If yes, when? how often? Also how big the pool?

[Z-2]

@Kate2262 I asked the question because if it's a big pool, it should have at least 2 pool services during your stay (10 days) to make sure it's clean. Even for a small pool, it should at lease have weekly service. I have two houses with pool.  One will have service twice a week.  Another one just weekly service, but if we have full bookings, we add another service. If the host already did that, then it's the people make it too dirty as the pool water takes time to be clear out. It takes time to clean the pool which the host cannot control. But if the pool looks bad when the guests arrive (the previous guests too dirty). I normally will do partial refund depend how many days needed for the water to be fully clear.

[Kate2262]

Hi thanks for the info, the pool (8m x5m) was semi clear when we arrived, but as the week it got worse.  We noticed the pump filter wasn’t working we told the host and she said ‘it’s on a timer’. This wasn’t the case as we checked through the day/night,  when the gardener arrived he checked in the pump room and said the pump filter had failed and a pool technician would be required.  He shocked the pool see the photo.  2 days later a technician arrived cleared the shock debris out of the pool and fixed the pump.  In all we couldn’t use the pool for 5days in a 10day stay.  This combined with rats, intermittent aircon and a ruined bike bag luggage all for £11k.  My main issue was the host just refused to take calls and failed come to the property.  We have used Airbnb many times without a single issue.  Wondering what we should do next, social media with videos, legal?!!

[Kate2262]

[Z-2]

@Kate2262 It's the pump stop working, or filter need change cause that, if I were the owner, I will refund some of money because half of time you can't use the pool. 

[Gwen386]

@Kate2262 I just want to understand the timeline. 
please give an example like this. 

DAY 1 - checked in at 3pm.  Enjoyed the pool

DAY 2 - explored the area, went sightseeing. Enjoyed the pool

DAY 3 - Noticed a rat (or a mouse) In luggage or around luggage. Was this one person’s luggage out of 8 or several guests’ luggage? How many rats did you get pictures of? Notified host

DAY4 - Notified host and airbnb of pool’s green water. 
DAYS 5 – 8 was correspondence ongoing?

So my questions are:

What day did you see rat and how many? When did you complain to host? What action did host take in relation to your complaint? Was it immediate?

What day did you you notice water in pool turning green? When did you complain to host? What action did host take and how long in relation to your complaint was the problem remedied. Was it immediate?

What expectations is host speaking about? Totally confused. Did host say pool was not operating properly before you arrived? Did host say there was a pest infestation before you arrived. Example, construction nearby so you may see a field mouse or two. 

Were all the discussions between you and host carried out on airbnb’s platform? I hope so. 

You responded that it was 8 people and you had no other place to go. If place was infested with rats and algae in pool, why not split the guests up and stay nearby in hotels. 

If it had been me, I would have definitely filed a complaint due to unsanitary conditions and left. I would not have stayed. So are you saying a partial refund would suffice for these unsanitary conditions? 

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Kate2262 A significant missing utility should really get you at least a partial refund (say 20-30%). To get more would have required you to vacate but I agree that it might not even be possible in high season.

Did you leave a review of the property to warn future guests?