Unclean, gross Airbnb stay but hosts were nice, feeling badly about giving bad review..

[Andrea2849]

Recently we stayed in an Airbnb that was not true to advertising, it was in a word, AWFUL. We were put in a children's bedroom with a mattresses that fell in on themselves, and I don't think we had clean sheets. The house had holes in the roof, it was unkempt and stuff was everywhere. The towels were very old, they smelled and had stains/holes in them. There was an ancient piece of gum stuck on the wall, a dirty bathroom, peeling EVERYTHING and clutter everywhere. Upon arriving home we kept our suitcases outside in fear we would carry in bedbugs. As I write this I still am wondering if someone in our family will come down with a case of head lice. After seeing the state of the house (and having no where to go because all the other places in town were booked) we decided to make the best of it. We politely declined breakfast for the next morning as well. After a terrible nights sleep we went down to grab coffee and the host asked us to sit at the table for a spell. THERE WAS CAT HAIR IN ALL THE BREAKFAST DISHES and the hosts looked like they hadn't showered in weeks. One host had food all over her face. We have never had a bad experience with Airbnb and have traveled all over the world using it. I realized going back into their reviews afterwards that I had missed several horrible reviews basically echoing our experience. My issue is I am torn...the hosts were VERY nice and obviously doing their best. However it was extremely unsanitary,  even one guest commented that they slept on a towel because they didn't want to use the sheets! We have connections in the town the Airbnb is and may have a residence there at some point. I feel badly about leaving a review because it's their income, nor do I want retaliation if we end up living in the same place. On the flip side, NO ONE SHOULD STAY THERE! I wish there was some way to leave the information or contact Airbnb and be anonymous. Does anyone have an idea or suggestion as to what to do? Many thanks!

[Sarah977]

@Andrea2849  You're very sweet to be concerned about hurting this family's ability to make $, but these people should not be listing on Airbnb as a source of income at all. They have zero business being hosts. 

Sorry for you that you didn't read the reviews in more depth. 

You need to be honest about this. You can decline to leave a review at all and simply contact Airbnb to report the condition of the place. But they may or may not do something about it. If you really want to help out future guests, you should write an honest review and don't feel bad about giving low low stars where appropriate. You're a seasoned Airbnb, you say, and obviously a nice person, and made the best of it, but what if a brand new guest books it- they'll never book another Airbnb again.

You don't have to go into gritty details in the review and you could also mention how nice they were. Something like "It pains me to have to leave a review like this, because these hosts were, in fact, very nice people. But this place is literally filthy- from the bedding and towels to the dishes, which were covered in cat hair. So no problem with the hospitality of the hosts, but the place itself is unacceptably awful."

[Andrea2849]

Sarah977 Thank you kindly. You are right. I’m just struggling with it. My Mom would say to me the old “ if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” To your point though, I don’t want anyone to be in our position either.

Thanks again🌸

[Sarah977]

@Andrea2849  Well, I'd say your mama raised you well 🙂 That's definitely a good adage to carry through life. But I think of it more like if a friend or neighbor shows me something they just bought that they think is gorgeous, I bite my tongue, even though I think it's hideous. Or if you thought the decor in an Airbnb you rented was butt ugly, the host obviously thinks it's nice, so as long as it was clean and comfy, rude to mention.

But someone charging money for a filthy place with collapsing mattresses just isn't right. There's people who live in mud huts who keep the place clean- you can be poor and not be able to afford to repaint, but it doesn't cost anything but care, time and a little cleaning fluid to make it livable.

[Andrea2849]

Sarah977 Thanks Dearie. Again, spot on❤️

[Sandra126]

If a host gets low stars for cleaning, Airbnb takes notice, sends warnings, then suspends listing if not improved. So as a guest, your ratings matter a lot!

[Andrea2849]

Sandra126 That’s good to know. Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. I know I do need to write something, I was just hoping I could do it somewhat anonymously 😔

[Sarah977]

@Andrea2849  Unfortunately, the rating won't post at all if you don't also write something. You have to fill out all required review pages before it can be submitted and posted. Bad system, in many's opinion, especially for those cases where a guests doesn't show up or cancels day-of check-in. Then both host and guest are bizarrely given the chance to review, but if someone hasn't actually arrived, the only thing that host and guest could logically rate is communication.