My Dad and his wife drove from Wisconsin to Arizona to stay in an Airbnb they were renting from January to February. They are snowbirds for these two months and look forward to this trip every year. They have been trying to find one house to rent every year, but have not had great experiences with any rental so far, with an exception of 1.
On 12/31, my dad had tried to call the host to let her know that they would be arriving 1-2 hours before check-in. He wanted to find out if he and his wife could check-in a little early. They got no return phone call from the host. The next morning, they asked me to contact her. I did so via text and she confirmed that there were guests in the house and they would need time to have their maintenance team come and clean. If they could check-in early she would let me know.
They arrived on 1/1/24, in the afternoon and were able to check in 1 hour before check-in becuase the cleaning team was finished with the home.
The next morning, on 1/2/24, they got up and sent me a text. They found that the house had all chipped or broken plates and bowls, they had 1 glass and some plastic tumblers. The carpets were really dirty and stained with what appeared to be urine. (in a no pet home). The back door handle fell off when opening the door and there was blood all over the sheets of the bed. While texting me, they had also found what appeared to be a dusting rag on the ceiling fan as well.
I contacted the host, since she had responded to me the previous day about their arrival. I explained what my dad and his wife had told me, and sent pictures of everything except the door handle and the bloody sheets. They didn't take pictures of those two things. The host explained that the carpet stains were scrubbed the day before by their field manager and she couldn't get the stains out. She also said the rag on the ceiling fan was glued to the fan and wasn't able to be taken off. She thought it may be to keep the fan in balance. She also said there were more glasses in the cabinets but my Dad and his wife were unable to find them. They did not want to be held responsible for what seemed to be missing items and cleaning the carpets. She offered to have the Field Manager contact them to come out to the property. I agreed, and gave her their phone number to give to the Field Manager. She said she would have the Field Manager contact them to visit.
Later that day, I received more pictures of dirty teflon coated pots and pans and found there was only 1 sharp knife in the home to use. The pots and pans were caked with food and completely scraped up. My Dad and his wife went out and bought all new glasses, knives, plates, bowls and pots and pans to use during their two month stay.
The next day, 1/3/24, I asked if anyone had contacted them regarding a visit at the house. No one had contacted them. I had scheduled a tour of another house so they wouldn't have to stay in the current home due to what I thought was an unacceptable situation. They toured the new house and really liked it. It was clean, it had all of the amenities they needed in order to live there for two full months.
I contacted the owner, explained their situation. My Dad and his wife contacted Airbnb. By 2pm, they had spoked to 3 different Airbnb agents explaining their situation. They waited to get a call back and by 6pm still hadn't heard from Airbnb. They have now moved out of the original house and into the new one. They have explained their situation to Airbnb, sent pictures, and have had to tell their story 8 times. Now Airbnb has decided that the situation wasn't severe enough to offer a refund and have told them to try to get it from the host. They were never contacted by the host to rectify the situation. They were never contacted at all ever by the host. She never returned their phone calls. The host only contacted me via text about sending someone out.
Airbnb states in their policies that "claims must be made no later than 72 hours after discovery." Which they had done. Airbnb's policy also states that..."Accomodations are not habitable at check-in for any of the following reasons: *They are not reasonably clean and sanitary, including bedding and towels." "They contain safety or health hazards." I would consider bloody sheets and a broken back door handle a violation of "reasonably clean and sanitary" And a "safety or health hazard." Airbnb has denied their refund.
I can't believe that Airbnb would consider this situation, not severe enough for them to cancel and receive a refund. Can anyone please help with this situation?
