Unacceptable Host Behaviour

[Muktika0]

Hi,

I recently had an incident at an Airbnb in Sterling, VA, where the host recklessly refused to provide adequate heating during a snowstorm with temperatures outside plummeting to 15°F.

# Incident Summary
The host shut off the central heating at night, ignoring my pleas about the potential drop in indoor temperature. I begged her to turn it back on, and she finally did at 1 am, but then shut it off again at night, causing the house temperature to plummet to 63°F by 6am. After a horrible night, I reached out to Airbnb support and left for work.

# Host's Unacceptable Solution
When I returned to the Airbnb, the host suggested using a new heater she had obtained, and came into my room to explain how to use it the very minute I got there. She refused to leave, emphasizing that I should use the heater and she should continue to have the central heating shut off at nights. I requested and explained to her multiple times, showed her google alerts and weather alerts issued in the area and potential hazards it can cause, and health impacts it can have including hypothermia. I requested her to not engage further so I can change, charge my phone, and contact Airbnb support for immediate help, as I was still shaken by the previous night's experience.

# Refusal to Accept Host's Solution
I refused to accept the host's proposed solution, as it did not address the underlying problem of the lack of central heating. I wanted to speak with Airbnb support to report the incident and request assistance under the AirCover policy, as I had endured a night of extreme cold and discomfort.

# Safety Concerns
This posed significant risks of:
1. _Pipe freezing and bursting_
2. _Fire hazards_: The host's suggestion to use a room heater in a closed space without central heat
3. _Health risks_: The extreme cold could have caused hypothermia, frostbite, or even death

# AirCover Policy
The host's actions violated Airbnb's AirCover policy, which requires hosts to provide "functional heating" to maintain a comfortable temperature during winter and snow storm weather alert.

# Request and Host's Response
I demanded that the host keep the central heating on, but she refused. I was forced to vacate the premises due to safety concerns, but the listing is still active.

# Refund Request
I'm demanding a full refund under the AirCover policy due to the host's gross breach of their responsibilities. Airbnb's response that the host's cancellation policy applies is unacceptable.

# Questions
1. What are my rights under the AirCover policy?
2. Isn't this a clear case of host negligence?
3. Why is Airbnb applying the host's cancellation policy despite the host's egregious failure to provide a safe environment?

Please help, any advice is highly appreciated. Thank you.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Muktika0 Thankfully you have no rights as the host presented you with an entirely workable solution. 63F is not a cold temperature for a bedroom at 6am!

[Muktika0]

Thank you for your response. The guest room was not adequately heating up. After multiple requests to the host, she refused to have the thermostat on in normal heat mode set to 75F or 72F, i was okay with anything as far as heater was running from 1am to 6am for 5 hours as i had a long travel day and whole work day the next day. I kept my room door open to let the air flow as per her suggestion, I requested multiple times, I was super cold and with many blankets, sweaters and socks. Maybe 63F was not too cold, but given the snow storm and heavy wind outside, i was cold and i requested my host as any person would who is cold and seeking a good warm night sleep. 

thank you. 

[Fiona256]

63 F is not at all cold. You are overdramatising the situation. My kitchen, where I am sitting as I write this reply at 13:00 is at 13.2 centigrade just now (55.4 F) and our central heating will not come on until 16:00, when it will eventually reach its setting of 18 centigrade (64.4 F). We have no heating on at night. Heat in bedrooms at night is unhealthy.

This is at 57 degrees north in north west Scotland - the same latitude as Moscow.

[Muktika0]

Thank you for your response. I will keep that in mind. 

[Karen4033]

It sounds like you need to be talking to Airbnb Support. But, I personally think you are being slightly ridiculous. Your host obviously tried to fix the situation with a space heater, which are safe and used to heat spaces. The host did provide heat. The fact that you don't think this is acceptable and that you must have CENTRAL heat is semantics. 63 degrees is not cold - day or night. 

I hope venting on here helped you. But I wouldn't expect Airbnb to do anything when you seem to be the problem. Perhaps you should have contacted the host before booking to make sure your specific and particular requirements are met.  

[Muktika0]

I appropriate your response, thank you. 63f was cold for me, and i requested the host multiple times that I’m cold with 3 blankets and socks on as well. She also came to my room and saw that it’s freezing. I had previously discussed about the heater that I’m not coming from a warmer place and new to snow weather. I also requested her politely 4 times to not turn off the thermostat as my room was freezing. I also discussed before moving in to have the central heat on for the night we were having heavy snow storm. I am not the home owner, I’m a guest, I can only request politely and then seek advice for help. 

[Joan2709]

@Muktika0 

Temp was 63deg F....

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# Safety Concerns
This posed significant risks of:
1. _Pipe freezing and bursting_
2. _Fire hazards_: The host's suggestion to use a room heater in a closed space without central heat
3. _Health risks_: The extreme cold could have caused hypothermia, frostbite, or even death

Safety Concern 1 -

Pipes don't freeze at 63deg, it would need to be below 32degF for awhile before that happens. I'm sure the Host is aware of what the temperatures will be with the heat off at night; they don't want burst pipes either I assure you.

Safety Concern 3 - 

63deg F will not cause hypothermia, frostbite or death. Again, it would need to be below 32deg in order for that to happen.

I will say the Host should have noted on the listing that the heat is turned off at night. 

Aircover

Sounds like you have already researched Aircover for Guests and are in communication with Airbnb on that.

Future Bookings

In the future, it's probably best to message the Host before booking that you will require heating to be left on throughout the night and require a temperature range of XXdeg to XX deg be maintained for your comfort. This way you can be sure you'll be comfortable and safe. Some hosts do limit the temperature range on a thermostat to 68deg-75deg to prevent guests from damaging cooling/heating systems, or to prevent outrageous utility bills; especially for longer stays. Electricity costs in many areas are very expensive. Again, this should be disclosed on the listing.

[Muktika0]

Hi Joan,

Thank you for explaining this. I really appreciate your response and guidance. I did speak to the host. For some reason, the guest room had a vent that wasn’t cooling the room at all. The thermostat was set to normal heat, not extreme heat, at 75F and inside temperatures were 70F when the host requested to turn off the thermostat. After multiple requests that the temperatures are drastically dropping inside the room, and also having my room door open for the air to flow, shutting the thermostat caused signify cat temperature drop and I was shivering all night. I am seeking guidance from other hosts if this is an appropriate behaviour of an host or something that you would anyways do to save the electricity bill?

Thank you.