Electrical/fire hazard and accommodation quality

[Laura5829]

We are staying in a very expensive "luxury" apartment. There have been non-stop issues throughout the stay that have impacted the safety of my family, overall comfort and ability to enjoy the holiday.

Host is slow to respond and dismissive of any compensation. Have issued a formal complaint.

There was a power outlet that was smashed out of the wall with exposed wires in my child's room hidden behind the bed. My child found this as she went to plug the bed lamps in (no wonder they were out!) and this could have killed her or caused a fire, host fixed the issue but has so far refused to gracefully compensate. 

Aircon didn't work as described.

Kitchen amenities are extremely poor quality and nothing is in a set so we can't eat together. There is also no basic comforts such as milk, sugar, oil or pepper etc. Coffee supplied was motel style sachets of cheap quality.

Outdoor setting missing pieces, not as described through photos.

Lighting in the bathroom are sensor/timer based and go off when not in use. Due to the room setup this lights up the bedroom and will wake you up. They will also go off within a minute so you are left in the dark during use.

Hole in shower where the soap dish would be.

The place came with a buggy for transport at the destination but the electrical socket seems faulty and it only charges occasionally. 

Door to the toilet (all glass) can't be opened more that part way before it jams against the tiles, worry it will smash. Hard to get in to use the loo.

Beds are really bad, no doona covers on a Kmart quilt and only flat sheets to cover the layers of blankets they have tried to use to cover the cheap mattress. My neck is ruined from this. It is like sleeping on a fold out couch...

I really don't know what to do next. I'm flabbergasted at how poor this property is for the 7k price tag for 6 days. The edge, apartment 19 @hamilton island is where we are.

Has anyone had any success in getting a refund after such a situation? This had impacted our only vacation for a long time. Was meant to the the trip of a lifetime and everyday I've woken up tired, sore and worried about what will happen next. Constantly having to chat to a maintenance attendant and having very little resolved.

[Laura5829]

I don't think trying to hide electrical hazards from a refund resolution is reasonable.

I don't think wanting major appliances to work is unreasonable.

The rest is just poor service for the price.

Mate if this is your idea of slightly sloppy, I would hate to see what you think is dangerous or below acceptable.

We have strong standards here and in conversation with the people in our holiday location, this isn't anywhere close to what is expected for the price or the location.

I'll avoid any properties you suggest or rent in the future as I think we are very different people.

Thanks for your response though and have a good holiday break.

[Bhumika]

Hello @Laura5829 ,

Hope you are well! It would have been an exhausting experience for you to not be able to enjoy your vacation. From your post, Did I understand correctly that you connected with Airbnb Customer Support about it?

We're happy to announce the Month of Celebration!

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[Laura5829]

Hey there, 

We contacted Airbnb and they were extremely polite, helpful and supportive. 

The host was penalised and we have received a partial refund. 

It was strange to me how the forums, and the host, seemed to mostly focus on the trivial issues and not the serious one (sometimes outright ignoring/omitting it)

Airbnb did not make me feel like a 'Karen' for my expectation of safety for my child and working listed amenities. I am thankful for their response time and courteous attitude.

I think having safe wiring is not unreasonable 😅

I also think having a responsive host is important and one that doesn't try to omit serious faults during resolutions...

The small things? One or two are fine. I'm a farmer and I don't live a fancy life.. Multiple issues are not, especially after the electrical hazard and broken spa (also due to electric fault..) This isn't someone's personal home for $300 a night, it was around 1.3k a night and is a professionally rented apartment on a luxury island. The issues have been reported for over a year in some reviews. Also attitude counts. Don't lie, don't fob me off and don't dare endanger my kids. Wouldn't have given a toss about the rest honestly if the guy had just been honest and decent. I can buy my own mug for a coffee in the morning...

I get the feeling a lot of the negative support I received here was from owners and not people renting? Thanks, I'll avoid you guys in the future.

The rest of my stays through Airbnb have been good experiences, even when things have gone wrong. Clear, honest and responsive conversations. This was the one negative over the years.

I hope the apartment gets fixed and the host changes their approach in the future. It was a nice view and I'm sure it could be a pleasant experience if the effort and honesty were in place.

Thanks for your response, have a wonderful holiday break x

[Huma0]

@Laura5829 

While I think it sounds like you definitely had grounds to be unhappy with this listing and also the host's lack of concern, I was just wondering why you chose it when you say:

---

@Laura5829 wrote:

The issues have been reported for over a year in some reviews.

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And @Gillian166 mentioned that there are reviews from two years ago mentioning some of the problems.

The view might have seemed nice, but in future, I'd avoid booking properties with a history of dissatisfied customers!

[Laura5829]

The island accommodations had been booked out for a long time. When we saw there was finally somewhere free, we booked it. There was another option but they had listed the wrong dates and had double booked, so they cancelled.

There are several apartments in that block which is collectively called 'the edge'. It is hard to know which one people are talking about. Some of them seem really good and people seemed happy with the stay.

I don't tend to look back such a distance in time and assume that "broken this" would not yet be fixed. Usually if the place has a good overall score and is run professionally (not someone's home) that's good enough indication that it'll be in good condition. Never had issues before, this is the first bad experience. 

Stuff breaks all the time. Things go missing. That's life. You do however assume that these are dealt with.

Thanks for your reply. 

It has been very interesting to see the thought processes people on this forum have.

[Gillian166]

@Laura5829  to be fair, we hosts see a lot of dubious guest behaviour... like people demanding refunds due to bugs, or the weather, or all sorts of trivial issues. 

Your electrical issue was of course, utterly unacceptable, I feel we all glossed over that too much, sorry you didn't feel supported. 

[Huma0]

@Laura5829 

I am not sure what star rating the listing had, but something that guests often don't understand (and it's not their fault as Airbnb kind of misleads them about this) is that anything below 4.7* is considered sub-par.

I know that sounds strange, but Airbnb's 'minimum requirement' is 4.7* and for Superhost, it's 4.8*. That is totally at odds with how most other rating systems work, and especially for hotels/accommodation. Usually, when we see something has 4.6*, we think it must be great. Not on Airbnb. Hosts who fall below the 4.7* can be threatened with suspension and delisting, although this doesn't seem to happen so much to the huge, multi-listing hosts for some reason...

For most hosts, at leat the smaller ones like me, it's therefore so important to get 5* for almost every stay and we go out of our way to  ensure guests are happy. That's the thought process going on in my earlier reply. As a guest, I am very wary of listings with a 4.3 or even 4.4. I just wouldn't book them.

Still, I can totally see why guests who are not also hosts and don't know about this would. I recently hosted a guest who told me about problems with previous stays. I asked him why he was booking listings with such low ratings. He didn't understand. He said everywhere he booked was at least 4.1 or 4.2*. He was astonished when I told him that is quite bad by Airbnb standards.

[Bhumika]

Hello @Laura5829 ,

Thanks for coming back and giving us such a detailed update. Really glad that it was sorted out. Also, Thank you for your best wishes for the holiday season. Merry Christmas to you 🎄. Have a good time🌻

We're happy to announce the Month of Celebration!

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[Huma0]

Also, just want to add that, from what I understand, the UK and Australia are some of the countries that have quite strict electrical safety standards.

If you are renting out a property, it is mandatory to have a periodic electrical safety inspection by a qualified electrical engineer. I believe in Australia, you need to do this every two years. 

So, if the listing did indeed have unsafe wiring, then the host is potentially breaking the law.

[Alexandra1922]

I stayed in a place in Aus that had exposed wires - it appears they never but it a light switch in the wall and have left a hole in the gyprock with wires being exposed.. Is this allowed?