misleading description of rental.

[Alison648]

I booked a reservation in April for October. With a few days left before rental, I decided to extend my guest amount. The host was a little rude. I decided to reread his reviews. There is a review left in september 2019 after I had booked. Agents profile guest review for the property but was not and is still not on agents reviews in listing. Cut a long story.... this review mention about 4 flights of stairs, which is not mentioned in his listing. As one guest is disabled there is no way that they could mange 40 stairs ( that has now been told to me by host today). The guest with a disability can manage max 10 stairs.

I have been in touch with airbnb customer support. who at the moment are not being very helpful, just stating I can cancel but will lose the total payment. 

The agent also stated that it was in the house manual- the house manual you don't get until you make booking and payment. Also this rental only had a 48 hour cancelation refund. 

The house manual: Please keep calm on stairs and BALCONY at night time in the building.

Airbnb agent claims that the above house manual covers the stairs.

Am i being unreasonable in requisition a full refund for mis leading description?

Also the host messaged today 

When you order something you have to ask in time- there are at least 40 stairs.

The host has another rental- which he has stated stairs and no lift in listing.

I ask the community for advice- should i pursue a refund under misleading description?

Below a link to the listing.

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/2549188?source_impression_id=p3_1571752496_JSogJxBrZb%2Bj81Mc

[Anonymous]

@Alison648  This is a tricky one...Airbnb encourages hosts to disclose things like stairs in the "Policies" tab of the listing, under "You must also acknowledge." That makes sure that it's foregrounded during the booking process, and the guest has to tick a box to acknowledge it. It's a good idea for hosts to fill this section out - but it's not a requirement. 

The listing would be genuinely considered misleading if it advertised stair-free access as an Accessibility feature. There's no rule, though, saying "all Airbnb properties are stair-free unless stated otherwise." Accessibility needs are not one-size-fits-all, so when a member of your party has mobility concerns it's crucial that you ask prior to confirming the booking. It complicates matters even further if the differently-abled person was added to the group after the booking was confirmed and the free cancellation window expired, because it's too late for the host to decline the booking and also possibly too late for the income to be replaced with another booking.

Perhaps you didn't know this person would be coming along, and therefore hadn't had cause to ask about stairs until this late stage - this is understandable. If your entire group's requirements have changed enough to warrant a cancellation, it should be done under the agreed cancellation policy - hopefully you have travel insurance that covers the losses.  Alternatively, it seems that a fair compromise would be for the booking to be amended to reduce the number of guests, so that a portion of you stay in the original home, and the remainder find a nearby property that meets your accessibility needs.

[Gordon0]

From the many (very good) reviews of the apartment I think you're on a sticky wicket, @Alison648. When booking for a disabled guest, my very first question would be around accessibility. Didn't you do this?

As far as I could see, nobody has mentioned the stairs - do you think you might have misunderstood there is 40?

[Alison648]

Gordon0 of course I read the reviews before booking. The reviews I came across below are what is on the hosts profile not listing and were after I booked. The person with a disability can mange some stairs but 40 is excessive and should as one review below states its better to know- but it appears the guest has to do detective work- which is a bit unreasonable

 

Stayed at 3 bedrooms APT Prague 1- "HISTORIC CITY CENTER"September 2019

I think Vincent needs to sort out problems with neighbours and be upfront about parking on booking Amenities and location to everything was excellent

Alison, Berwick, AustraliaJoined in 2018

Stayed at 3 bedrooms APT Prague 1- "HISTORIC CITY CENTER"October 2019

Make sure you stay in Lesser Town rather than the Old Town in Prague and this apartment in a grand old house is up four flights of wide stairs from an enclosed cobbled courtyard and very secure. It is very spacious with two separate bedrooms and another double bed in the large kitchen dining area. Plenty of plates and crockery and cooking utensils but there are plenty of restaurants and bars in the area. Walking distance to the famous Charles bridge and lots of other attractions. The washing…Read more

 

Stayed at Cute Apt. next Charles Bridge-Centrum of Prague 1.September 2019

Perfect location Right under the Charles bridge’s, next to the John Lennon’s wall, restaurants, supermarket, bars! The appartment is very comfortable, there is everything you need! There are four stairs and no elevator, its not that hard but its better to know 🙂

[Gordon0]

@Alison648 - Are you sure the listing you are staying at has stairs? The one below referencing stairs looks to be a different property ('Cute apartment').

[Alison648]

hello Gordon0

Cute Apt- is the hosts other listing-has stairs and is listed as stairs and no lift.

I booked 3 bedroom APT with no listing  with stairs. Just in house manual requesting guests to be CALM on stairs and balcony. Today I found out that the 3 bedroom apartment I booked had 40 stairs...maybe the stairs are a set of  step ladders hence requesting guest to be calm!.

[Sarah977]

@Alison648  I'd imagine the admonition to be calm on the stairs is perhaps that the host has had neighbors complain about rowdy guests being noisy when climbing the stairs past the other apartments.

You haven't said whether the guest with the mobility issues was among the guests you origianlly booked for, or was part of the amended guest count. In any case, it's really incumbent on guests, if they have any issues which might make a property undesirable due to accessibility, pet allergies, or anything else of a personal nature, to message the host to ascertain whether that property will work for them. A person with pet allergies, for instance, could arrive to find there was an unmentioned cat on the premises, resulting in an immediate and miserable allergic reaction. Of course the host should mention the cat in the listing description to avoid these types of scenarios, but a guest simply relying on that, rather than asking, can leave the guest in a position where they are scrambling for another place to stay after arrival, or a complicated and time-consuming cancellation/refund situation. It's just so much easier and better for all concerned if a guest mentions any special needs before they commit to a booking.

[Mark116]

It's true, the host should list 'must climb  stairs' under the acknowledgement section, but I don't know that this omission is going to be enough to get you a refund from airbnb.