Fellow unscrupulous Hosts

[Preston42]

Hey All,

How do you handle bad experiences while staying at fellow AirBnB host' accomodations? If we're being honest, AirBnB's customer service has certainly changed in the last few years and it leaves us in an awkward gap. I'm half way through a 4 night stay (my fiance is the booking party) and there is a significant sewage back-up (literally shi* in the showers).  Fellow host is blaming it on our actions (unfounded) and now we're just stuck in a bathtub shi*-filled limbo. Any suggestions? Has Airbnb lost all customer service since going public? Should I host/rent exclusively on VRBO?

Thanks!

[Linda108]

@Preston42 @Erica1130   Having looked at your profiles, I would be delighted to have your group and would bend over backwards to ensure your experience was a good one.  You are the type of guest that most hosts would value.  Between the two of you, there are many positive reviews going back over several years.  As to the host's response, I can't say whether it was "unscrupulous" but it certainly was poor hosting.  As for Air BNB customer service reaction, it was what I would expect.  The host was responsive and the problem was addressed.  That he chose to blame you is just poor hosting.  Probably every platform has people who are  not good hosts, but years of using Air BNB would be the deciding factor if it was me.  Just a thought.  Linda

[Laura2592]

@Linda108  The host has no way to know if this group did it or the last, or twelve guests ago. They likely think that whatever guest reported the issue may be responsible. I probably would. People tend only to speak up about a toilet not flushing if THEY can't flush it, which usually means its gotten to a critical mass of clogging by something they were trying to get rid of.  But nonetheless, the hosts seem to have tried to fix it. If the guests are still unhappy they need to move to a different spot. There is no remedying this situation. 

[Kelly149]

@Erica1130 part of the disconnect here could be that you haven't hosted or been a guest since '19 (if my quick perusal of reviews is correct) and the difference between ABB of '19 and ABB of '21 are barely distant cousins, they are not at all the same. Hosts have been beaten mercilessly in the last 18 months and yeah, they're probably not as generous as they once were. Good luck with the rest of your trip.

[Erica1130]

@Kelly149 Your perusal is wrong, as our last Airbnb trip was March of 2020 (with a review), one week before the world shut down. This is my first time with a REAL issue, so it’s been very eye opening and interesting to watch this play out by Airbnb and the host. Take care. 

[Kelly149]

@Erica1130 Perhaps to beat a dead horse, but your last trip was “before the world shut down” and here we are with the world shut down still. Abb is different now than then. 

[Mwo3]

 Has Airbnb lost all customer service since going public?

Yes and ditto This THEY need to arrange a better way to communicate with hosts because this isn't working

That is an unfortunate thing to have to happen and hopefully, the rest of the stay was better, I can understand that you don't always know when a pipe is backing up.

[Sarah977]

@Erica1130  While I agree this was a nasty situation and I would have simply apologized and refunded the $, this really leapt out at me in one of your posts-  "We had dinner plans at 7pm and had to do “hose showers” outside. It was a nightmare. "

Someone who characterizes having to take a hose shower, because the host couldn't get a plumber there until after you had to go out, as a "nightmare", is someone who, to me, should not be booking an Airbnb, but should have booked a luxury hotel in the first place. 

There are plenty of people who would have accepted that plumbers don't just show up the instant they are called and that the host was doing what they could to remedy the situation. They would have been adaptable, grateful that there was at least somewhere to rinse off, and not created a dramatic "nightmare" out of it. And was there really only one bathroom in a house for 7? Could the another bathroom not have been used, even though it was inconvenient?

[John5097]

@Preston42 This is an older topic. But that looks like an antiquated bathroom, and plumbing. Regardless, I would have just canceled the reservation that morning and found someplace else. As a guest I would expect any unused nights to be refunded back. As a host I would offer to cancel the reservation and issue back refund for unused nights and one extra night for inconvenience, or if they wanted to stay issue one night refund, maybe two because that looks really bad. I can't imagine who on earth would shower after a tub filled was with s*it. I guess some guest, host, will do anything for a $400 refund. Yuck! I would have been packed and headed out the door in less than 5 minutes. 🙂