Host refuses to refund guest despite BLACK MOLD found in home!

[Hillary-and-Adam0]

I'm absolutely furious! 

My mother and I checked into an Airbnb in Granada after a long trip from Chicago, through London & Malaga, to Granada.  We were eager to check in and get settled and relax.  However, I noticed water on the floor of the kitchenette (and the bed wasn't far from there -- it was a one-room place), and I looked under the sink to see if there was a problem with the pipes, and I found BLACK MOLD all over the back wall where there had clearly been water damage.  We had smelled something musty when we had first entered the place, but figured it was just an old building -- it was the mold! 

Worried that we'd be left homeless for the night, I immediately booked another AirBnB nearby (one that had "instant booking"), and we left.  Once checked into the new AirBnB down the street, I sent the first place's host a polite message saying what we had found, and told him that unfortunately, we would not be able to stay there, and would like a refund.  Well, the guy put up a fight! 

He said I wasn't behaving "correctly," and that I was trying to find things to complain about!  WHY would I want to have to worry about finding another place last-minute like that, if there was no SERIOUS problem with his place?  It makes no sense!  I had taken photos of the water on the floor and the water damage and BLACK MOLD on the wall, and I sent him the photos.  He said, "That's burn."  LOL!!! 

So, he fought me over it, and I told him that if he wouldn't grant the refund for an uninhabitable place, I would involve AirBnB.  So I did.  And after seeing the photos and hearing the description of the premises, THEY REFUSE TO REFUND ME!!!  They said that I didn't abide by the policy of contacting the host and letting him try to resolve the situation!  AS IF YOU COULD RESOLVE BLACK MOLD IN AN HOUR!!!  Black mold is a toxic, serious problem that affects the air quality -- especially for people with asthma like me, which I also told AirBnB -- and it needs to be professionally eradicated, which takes at least a few days.  I told AirBnB that it's not a typical "spill" or something that the host can clean up in a few minutes.  It's a serious problem that would take DAYS to resolve, and my mother and I were only in Granada for a few days! 

And what was I supposed to do, leave us HOMELESS for those 3 days that the host would be resolving his home's MOLD issue???!?!??!  It's so unfair, and I'm absolutely FURIOUS about this.  I tried writing to customer service again, and after a few days, I've received the same response.  I'm incredulous.

Does anyone have any suggestions of how to get through to higher-ups at AirBnB to get this refunded?  And to get this guy reported for renting out MOLDY premises?  I can't believe that they even saw PHOTOS of the mold, and did nothing about it!  I'M SO MAD!

[Hillary-and-Adam0]

Leaving this post now.  I think if I'd posted in a guests' forum, the responses would have been very different.

My mistake.  Best wishes for reasonably clean homes in your future travels, everyone!  🙂

[Sarah977]

@Hillary-and-Adam0  Actually, if you spent some time reading through a few pages of posts on the Help section of these forums, you would find that hosts many, many times side with the guest when they've had a bad situation with a listing or a host. We also offer advice to guests who we feel have been unfairly treated. Bad hosting and bad listings reflect badly on the Airbnb platform and so that ultimately harms all of us. We'd like to see bad hosts and unacceptable listings removed from the platform as much as guests would. So the responses you were given here weren't dependent upon you being a guest and the responses being from hosts, they were because we felt you went about this in a way that is contrary to Airbnb TOS. Not one response said that it was okay to have to stay in a place that reeks of mold or mustiness. 

[Linda108]

@Hillary-and-Adam0   I think you did the right thing for yourself and for your mother.  Safety and health are the most important factor.  As a very experienced host (don't see your listings now but you have a ton of reviews) I would imagine that you would have reacted differently to the accusation and refund request.   You would have responded professionally and not defensively.  At least you would have taken steps to invvestigate, which probably would take time.  You might have even needed a mold expert to assess the problem so you could take the appropriate steps to address the issue.  So an immediate agreement to a refund might not have been possible, right?   It appears that while you did what you needed to do for the health and safety of your mother, perhaps expecting an immediate agreement to a refund was not prudent.

[Hillary-and-Adam0]

Agreed.

[Cormac0]

@Hillary-and-Adam0 

What do you think about Host being forced to have an animal in their homes and all the health issues associated with it, poo, pee, saliva, fleas etc?

I'm not an expert on what constitutes black mold, but I'm curious as to why you look under the sink?

What was the toilet seat like? did you get a chance to  inspect that? 

[Hillary-and-Adam0]

Um...what?! LOL What are you even talking about? Who in this situation was forced to deal with an animal with poop and fleas? 🤔

I looked under the sink because there was water on the floor in front of it, as I think I already said.

And no, no inspection of toilet seat. Contrary to what you're implying with your sarcastic comment, I wasn't going around looking for issues.  The place smelled like musty basement when we arrived, and I eventually realized -- by noticing the puddles of water on the floor -- that there was water damage being the sink, causing leakage into the floor and mold in the cabinet.

Capisce now?

[Cormac0]

I understand you're clearly focused on yourself and the issue you and your mother had.

@Hillary-and-Adam0 

I was merely pointing out that on these blogs we regularly get Host that have had issues with "support dogs?" that have done poos, peed and damaged furniture belonging to hosts and it was my attempt to broaden out the conversation. Host have had little or no support from Airbnb regarding this matter…

[Inna22]

@Hillary-and-Adam0 

Perhaps it is the snarky comments towards some of the posters that made us less likely to appreciate your side of the story. If addressing as @Huma0 Murder-she-wrote and @Mark116 (I think) your honor in a sarcastic tone is how you “politely” contacted the host, I am not surprised he was apprehensive.

I understand you wanted to get your mom out of the situation and you would not have stayed there no matter what so I appreciate the fact that you could not wait around for the host to get back to you. And perhaps this is one unfortunate situation where this standard policy of waiting for host response should not have been applicable. However it is the policy and most of the time it works as intended. Allowing CS to start making exceptions will lead to an incredible amount of unfair outcomes. This is one of the very few policies that actually protects us hosts as most others are swayed towards guests. Perhaps you can peruse this further and get a courtesy refund from Airbnb.

[Hillary-and-Adam0]

It's tough to remain polite and respectful when people are disbelieving everything you say -- even going as far as to contradict science and common sense simply to have something seemingly wise to say. I've met presumptuous, condescending, "mansplaining" (which I didn't know women could do too), at times insulting remarks with snark, yes. And I stand by it, and I'd do it again.

But thank you for all your input.

[Niel3]

"Leaving this post now. I think if I'd posted in a guests' forum, the responses would have been what I wanted to read."

There, fixed that for you.

[Hillary-and-Adam0]

No, you didn't. But glad you got your little bit of thread fame. Hope it was everything you hoped it would be.

[Stephanie]

Hi everyone,

I can see this discussion is heating up and want to remind everyone be try be respectful of each others experiences. I know it can be frutrating sometimes but please remember that this community is for helping and supporting each other. 

Thanks for your understanding,

Stephanie

[Hillary-and-Adam0]

Thank you for your message, Stephanie. I truly did post here originally to get exactly that -- help and support from the community for what I felt was an obviously bad situation. And a couple people have explained politely that my mistake was, unfortunately, not waiting around for the host to arrive and verify that the stuff I saw was mold, and offer to resolve the situation himself. I see that now. But reasonably speaking, there was nothing he could do about black mold -- which it 100% was -- in one evening, so I assumed he would be apologetic and offer a refund, as I absolutely would if I were in his shoes. I've hosted many times: I'd be mortified if my home smelled the way his did, and had mold the way his did.

I suppose it's not commenters' fault that they didn't read the polite and professional exchange between me and the host (well, polite from my side), nor is it their fault that they weren't there, so can only go off of photos. But I wasn't asking for debate or for validation about what I saw and smelled: that was never in question. I wanted to know what to do in this situation. I didn't need a bunch of people telling me their thoughts on mold, hygiene standards, tropical places, and even dogs being allowed in homes (what??). So no, unfortunately, I don't feel this thread was supportive at all -- very much the opposite. But I also realize now that high-level contributors are also often people who salivate over a discussion like this, because they can be remotely judgmental and get "commenter points" to level up in this whole Airbnb Community thing.

So, my bad for misunderstanding the purpose of this forum. Won't happen again.

[Paul154]

Ah Springtime in Andalucia....

Spain is one of my favorite places to visit.  BUT, the coldest most miserable sleeps have been in damp Andalucian beds with moisture laden walls. Poor roof drainage is endemic in the Mediterranean. On top of that is the "Manana" attitude  as in "Manana it will be hot and dry and the moisture problems will go away"

I learned to ask to check the beds for moisture before I rented a hotel room.

Anyway, sorry Airbnb did not back you. If it truly was damp and moldy smelling, the host could not have fixed it timely. Opening the windows for fresh air would have been cold and uncomfortable. Bleach cleaning the mold would have created unpleasant fumes and work in your unit.

Rest assured, IF the unit is as bad as you claim, the host knows 100% that he has a moisture problem. 

Was this your first complaint to Airbnb?

[Hillary-and-Adam0]

Dear Lord, THANK YOU, Paul, for simply believing me and what I'm saying. You're a breath of fresh air. This was my and my mother's first time in Andalusia, and we loved it despite this experience starting off the trip for us.

This is my second complaint to Airbnb in at least six years of hosting and traveling with them. The other one was two years ago in Venice (which was amazing), when I had rented a private room in an apartment. The place ended up being not only filthy, but also full of pot smokers and everything smelled like marijuana. So Airbnb allowed me to find another place.