Safety concerns

[Carmen1600]

I booked a two night condo stay with my teenage daughter, new 16 year old.   I went out our first morning there to get breakfast while my daughter was sleeping. We arrived quite late the night before after an 8 hr drive. I was gone about 30 min. While I was gone, the exterminator came into the condo. My daughter said she was awakened by someone knocking. She got up to open the door thinking it was me needing help with the lock. Before getting to the door, a man entered the room. He told her he was the Exterminator. She said to come back later and he left. I reached out to the host explaining my concern for safety and that a simple text or call would have allieviated the problem. The host had my telephone number as we had texted the night before due to a toilet issue.  The host also knew I was traveling with a teen. The host was unable to perceive a safety issue for my daughter or even a liability issue for the Exterminator since he was unacompanied with a minor. The interaction did not end well with the host and I reported my concern to Airbnb. I would like to leave a fair review of an otherwise good place to stay. However, the host lack of awareness of this potential safety risk is alarming. Families should be informed.  

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Carmen1600 Agreed. Minor being present or not a host should not enter, or send someone to enter, a listing without agreement from the guest unless there is a real emergency in which case they should still try to contact the guest first.

[Lisa723]

@Carmen1600 that host seems truly clueless. It's not clear what your question is, though. Of course, leave an accurate review.

[Sarah977]

That your teenage daughter was there alone is immaterial- a host should never send someone over or enter themselves without prior notification and an agreed-upon time. It's not only a safety issue, it's just plain rude.

@Carmen1600

[Emiel1]

@Carmen1600 

Good morning ! I am the Exterminator, feel free to sleep a little longer and just ignore me, I only need a few minutes to eradicate the bed bugs !

[Helen427]

Brilliant @Emiel1 

@Carmen1600perhaps @Emiel1  line could in part be included in your review...maybe they had complaints of bed bugs... Read  previous reviews to see what's written & star ratings to see if it gives an indication why the Exterminator  was there.

Definitely not ok to just turn up or enter a room. Very unprofessional.

Make sure you include it in "Private feedback", and/ or message systems so you can converse appropriately,   however be mindful it's not necessarily the hosts doing, but that of previous guests, that there may have been bed bugs.

One must be careful of consequences and reputational damage online comments can have on innocent people who through no fault of their own are caught up in such situations.

[Cathie19]

Bahahahaha 🙌🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

[Carmen1600]

The host freely adknowledged the exterminator comes on a monthly basis for palmetto bugs and I should be so grateful for such! 

[Colleen253]

@Carmen1600  With the host's laissez faire attitude about this, thinking it's all 'a-ok', definitely be specific in your review and warn other guests that they can expect a total stranger to just walk in the space at any time with no notice. The sooner you do this the better. 

[Kath9]

@Carmen1600apart from the obvious safety/privacy concerns, what is the host doing sending an exterminator over when there are guests there anyway? How would you like some toxic chemicals with your breakfast?

[Sarah977]

Right on, Kath. On her last night of a week-long booking, one of my guests came downstairs to tell me there was an ant invasion in her bathroom. I went up to look and sure enough, there were a bunch of big ants coming in the window, running randomly around the walls. I'm familiar enough with the ants here that for myself, I wouldn't have paid it any mind (when they do that, those are scouts, looking for places to nest their eggs), but my guest was understandably a bit freaked out, so I told her I could go get my bug spray, but that she might not want to sleep with freshly sprayed insecticide around (it was about 9PM), and we could go for the low-tech solution and just smash them instead. She opted for smashing them and it was pretty funny- I was up on a stool with a shoe smashing the high ones, she was smashing the lower ones. At one point I looked down from the stool and said "Just don't mention this in the review, okay?" She didn't. 

@Kath9

[Kath9]

@Sarah977 , classic! Love those guest moments 🙂

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

If the exterminator comes on a monthly basis to spray the entire building it is possible that your host just forgot he is coming or ... the exterminator doesn't come every month on a specific date.

Here in Zagreb we have exterminators, gas and electricity control and a chimney man periodically but we don't know when they will come. They just ring on the door. That's why we unplugged the doorbell at our Airbnbs.

[Cathie19]

Hi @Carmen1600 .
Never ideal to maintenance spray when the space is not empty of guests. That is, no registered booking should be in situ, when any chemical spraying takes place.

The host should have communicated with you via the AIrbnb message board AND text messaged  via your mobile as back up. He may have genuinely forgotten, but then he should have an electric calendar reminder, OR some other means to remind him for specific time / dates. Maybe he didn’t know the exterminator was attending that day, BUT he should also have mentioned the possibility of the exterminator turning up in his check in message details to you. 

Memories can be at fault on any given day; but the lack of sensitivity & safety awareness is a different matter. 

For a host, or a guest to ever just “assume“, makes an “ass” out of you and me!
like rock, paper and scissors.... good communication and safety, wins every time! 

[Laura2592]

Does this host own the space? if so they probably just forgot the exterminator was coming. We have one that treats the outside of our cottage and sometimes they give us a very short notice window. We always try to reschedule if a guest is there or arriving, but its not always possible. They do not have to enter the space. Same with our landscapers.

If the host is renting, they may have no idea when the exterminator is scheduled as the landlord will have that arrangement. I actually lived in an apartment in Chicago years ago with this sort of arrangement The exterminator was the LL''s  brother-in-law and he just showed up whenever he had a moment in his schedule. I would call the LL to verify he was supposed to be there. We had to move dishes from cabinets, etc so it would have helped to be prepared. There were many times I had to send him away and get ready for him to return. 

You never have to allow anyone into your space. While I agree that it would have been best to give you a heads up, I honestly don't think this would be enough to ruin my stay. As long as the man did not come into the space while your daughter was alone but merely announced his presence,  I certainly would not have elevated it to Airbnb unless the host was very rude or defensive. If the host was apologetic and there were not other issues, I would have just left some private feedback. But that is me. 

Hosts do their best to make their guests comfortable, but we can't always control what goes on in the environment. The techniques used to address your concern would be the only area where a host might have some agency or impact. 

That said, we would get more complaints if our cottage was not treated for various insects. As it is, people have lamented that our rural property is, in fact, in nature. Sometimes hotels with more strictly managed protocols are a better choice for certain guests.