Worest experience, bad host, however Airbnb declined my request

[Yinghao0]

After two years of COVID restrictions, all of us were looking forward to the reunion. The house looks amazing in the photos, this could have been perfect for the new year celebration. We were really looking forward to the stay. But here is what happened.
1. Host asked me to book without Airbnb several times, please see attached screenshot.

2. We drove nearly 8 hours to the house. There is no hot water to the entire house, and there is no water at all to all bedrooms upstairs. none of us can have a shower, the toilet won't even flush. We contacted to host many times, after several communications with the landlord, the landlord told us that there is nothing they can do. So we were left with the situation overnight. And the plumber only turned up around 12 o'clock the next day.

3. Bloodstain on one of the bedsheets. Please see the photo attached.

4. Dirty when check-in. (strong musty and damp smell around one side of the house, previous visitors rubbish on the toilet).

5. The host was pretty rude when communicating.

6. One of my friends has got allergic dermatitis due to the dirty bedsheet in her room.

7. One of the shared toilets won't flush after the water issue was addressed

8. Quality of the mattresses were extremely poor. It isn't reflecting how much we paid the stay for. Two of my friends had to sleep on the floor.

9. It says free WiFi in the advert, but it didn't say limited usage. The mobile network isn't the best where the house is located, but the host's WiFi package provides only 20G to a house with six bedrooms. So on day two, the usage was reached the maximum limit. As you can imagine, it isn't ideal for a group of friends.

04/01/2022 9:00: 
The host requested £400 from me. I was shocked.
The reason for the report is: My place required unexpected cleaning, Items were damaged
I know that the host is one of those people. So I took photos of all rooms when I check out. According to her photo, we only can see the unclose windows. And I double-check with my friend, the window is fine, he just forgot to close it. In this case, I declined her request.

04/01/2022 10:00
The host leaves very bad reviews on my account.

04/01/2022 10:10

I report this host on Airbnb Support.
04/01/2022  16:12

I got a message from Airbnb Support, and ask me to airbnb.com/resolutions
04/01/2022  16:44

I submitted my request on the resolutions page.
04/01/2022  18:10

The host rejected my request.
04/01/2022  13:05

I got a message from Airbnb

Unfortunately, your claim/request has been declined. I know how important this is for you and I have tried to explain the situation you've had. They advised me that we are not able to process any refund at this point. I would like to inform you as well that when issues occur during a reservation, we encourage you to inform your host and Airbnb. We had stipulated our Terms of Service on the website which you had agreed when you had signed up an account with us, and you have to provide your host ample time to get these addressed. On situations that your host has confirmed an ongoing issue and still may not reach into an agreement, that is when Airbnb gets involved and as we are not personally there to validate the situation, that is where documents become so important when we take over the case.


I do not really care about the refund, just want the host has be punished.

[Huma0]

@Yinghao0 

Your experience sounds really horrible, and the sheets look gross, but it's hard to know who is telling the truth here. It sounds to me like mistakes were potentially made on both sides.

1. No, the host should not have asked you to book off platform as this is totally against Airbnb policy. Personally, I would have taken this as a big red flag and booked somewhere else.

2. It's completely irrelevant that you drove eight hours to the house. That was your choice and has nothing to do with the host. You cannot blame them for that. However, no water is obviously a big issue and obviously a far from ideal situation. Still, it doesn't surprise me at all that the host was unable to send a plumber out sooner. It's hard enough here in London, but in a remote location during the Xmas/New Year's holidays, I would imagine it's impossible to get someone out straight away, especially as I imagine it was already late at night.

3. That looks gross and unacceptable. However, if you are unhappy with the accommodation and the host is not addressing the problems (did you ask for clean sheets after discovering they were dirty?) then you are supposed to report it to Airbnb within 24, not complete your stay and then complain afterwards.

4. Yes, of course the place should be clean and there shouldn't be rubbish left by previous guests (you haven't really specified what kind or how much rubbish was on the toilet, so I am not sure how serious this issue was). Musty smells in very old properties like this, especially in damp and cold climates is pretty normal I am afraid. Also, the listing has plenty of reviews and the majority don't complain about cleanliness. I am surprised that others did not complain if the place was really that dirty, especially the sheets.

5. It sounds to me like the host was already fed up with you. Perhaps it was because of the whole payment issue, perhaps it was the communication prior to the stay. The previous guests report very fast and good communication from the host.

6. See comments above RE cleanliness.

7. 8. & 9. Again, if there are issues that the host has not/will not address after being informed of them, then you should report to Airbnb asap, not complain about it and ask for refunds AFTER your stay, as the Airbnb rep told you: "when issues occur during a reservation, we encourage you to inform your host and Airbnb. We had stipulated our Terms of Service on the website which you had agreed when you had signed up an account with us, and you have to provide your host ample time to get these addressed. On situations that your host has confirmed an ongoing issue and still may not reach into an agreement, that is when Airbnb gets involved,"

As for your host asking you for damages. How do you know the window was not broken? Just because your friend said he/she just left it open (also very irresponsible as that's probably a big security risk for the owner) doesn't mean it wasn't broken for sure. In addition, the host's complaints about the state of the place on check out echo one of your other reviews:

"Sorry I was unable to return your deposit as you did not follow my rules as you returned my keys late, you did not take out your rubbish and you did not remove the lien form the beds. If this is not done I retain the deposit as a cleaning fee. A refundable security deposit of 50 UK STERLING must be paid in addition to your booking fee. Please ensure your (refundable) security deposit of 50 pounds UK Sterling is paid prior to arrival. I return all deposits, but I need you to remove all the sheets and all linen from all beds; do the dishes and take out all rubbish from all the bins (bathroom and kitchen), or else I retina the deposit as a cleaning fee. Deposits are also retained if you check out late, without permission. There is a large rubbish bin to the right of the main complex doors."

You say you do not care about the refund and just want the host to be "punished", but they already have been by your 1 star review. It's clear from the host's ratings that your review cost them their Superhost status. It's clear from the other reviews and ratings that they would have been on target for this, until you left 1 stars, which is extremely damaging for even a host with a perfect 5 star rating.

How else would you like them to punish the host? 

I am not saying you are lying. There are two sides to every story and it sounds like you were very unhappy with your stay. However, in a case like this, Airbnb is also going to look at the host's track record as well as your own. It would be difficult to punish a host with a great track record on the basis of claims by a guest who already has another review describing similar issues.

[Elaine701]

@Huma0 

If you're thinking that Airbnb's outsourced support has the time or inclination to examine the history of both the host and the guest before coming to a conclusion, you're probably giving them too much credit. 

Both the host and the guest appear to be at fault here. CS, in their haste to get it off their desk will most likely be binary in their final judgement. One will win, the other will lose. End of discussion. Next... 

[Huma0]

@Elaine701 

Yep, certainly in many cases the rep can't understand basically policy or just reads from a standard set of responses/sends you links that don't address the specific question you have asked.

Airbnb CS gets a lot of stick on the CC and rightly so. It is often appalling and it's definitely gone down hill in the past couple of years. However there are some well trained reps. It's kind of the luck of the drawer.

In my personal experience, when I have had an issue of a 'he says, she says' situation with a guest (unless it's a case of asking for a review to be removed, and even then sometimes in those cases too), the rep absolutely does look at my track record because they always comment on it. They make comments on how what that particular guest has said is not consistent with reviews from my other guests, my ratings etc.

So, yes, they do look at these things fairly often. It really depends on who the case manager/s assigned. My experience of CS has been patchy. The reps are either useless or they are quite knowledgeable and thorough. I would never tar them all with the same brush.

[Elaine701]

@Huma0 

For me, the last time I had a satisfying interaction with CS was probably in 2018, when we had a guest who somehow cracked glass in one of the showers. But the guest admitted it and agreed to pay, so it was an easy job for CS. 

Since then, my experiences with CS have been frustrating, confusing, and well, a useless waste of time. And now, I avoid CS at all costs. I've had no interaction with CS since our last guest disaster in 2019, in which I was left with significant damages and clean up costs, simply because the offending guest said no. 

Having said that, because I no longer interact with CS, it's possible that they may have improved in some ways, but I wouldn't know. Yet considering what has happened to other hosts simply for seeking help, I'm not sure if I want to find out. I've established my own bank of "host to air missiles" (so to speak) and that seems to be working as a deterrent so far. 😉 So, I don't really need CS. 

...but I might need them someday, should some dubious guest decide to lob a few missiles at us in an effort to get a free or cheap stay. In that case, I'd hope to get one of those you refer to as "quite knowledgeable and thorough". But I'm not banking on it. 

🤨

[Huma0]

@Elaine701 

No, I wouldn't say they've improved since 2019. Quite the opposite.

When I first started hosting in 2016, I found CS to be actually very good and was surprised how much hosts complained on the CC about them. I realised it probably depended on where you lived. Hosts in the US often mentioned that it took forever to get through to someone on the phone, but I always got straight through to someone and that was before I was a Superhost with the 'hotline'. As long as you called during office hours, you would reach the team in Ireland, who looked after the UK and they were absolutely brilliant. 

After I got Superhost, then I would get through to the first available rep, sometimes in Ireland, sometimes elsewhere. Then it was more hit and miss but still, in the majority of cases, a good experience. I never got through to a US call centre.

Once the pandemic hit, it all went seriously downhill. I never, ever get through to Ireland anymore and have a feeling that that call centre may have been closed down, which is a real shame.

After all the nightmares of trying to sort out missing payouts and wrongly awarded refunds, I avoided calling CS if possible and, until recently, hadn't been in touch with them for a long time (then again, I wasn't hosting for months). Lately, I've had to call many times (guests are getting weirder in my opinion) and it's been, as I said, "patchy".

Some reps are clearly well trained and understand policy very well. They look into the details of the situation to make sure they understand what is going and then they resolve it quickly. Others are totally clueless and can't understand a word you are saying. The case gets passed from rep to rep and, every time, the new person is conveniently out of the office for the next few days. In the meantime, you get repeated BOT messages asking you to close the case even though no one has got back to you. It's very easy to give up in frustration. So, yes, I do understand why you can't be bothered to deal with them.

[Elaine701]

@Huma0 

Y, I'm with you. Guests seem to have gotten weirder around the end of 2019.. I suspect it's the result of Airbnb's enormous success. It's not a cool, chic cult platform anymore. It's big business, with millions of customers. And if you've ever dealt with some gargantuan internet service provider or electric company, or even Facebook, you know how that goes. 

My biggest problem with Airbnb isn't the lack of support. It's that they intervene too much, and incompetently. If they just never responded to anything, it might be more expectable. But to intervene, get it wrong, cause damage, and then walk away... 

That's why I won't bother with them. Too risky. 

Anyway, a fine evening to you 😉

[Mark116]

@Elaine701  The difference between Airbnb and the cable/phone/utility is that those are predictable.  You can expect long waits, delays in getting action, and possibly not get the result you desire, but this type of poor customer service is lackluster, but not actively damaging. The power company is never going to ban you from the electricity grid.  Airbnb is completely unpredictable.  They might do this, or that, or ban you or basically make any kind of totally capricious non factual judgement, and other than trying to get media coverage, there is nothing you can do.  So, to me, it is much worse and dangerous. 

[Sarah977]

@Yinghao0  If a guest has certain requirements, they should inquire as to whether those will be available before booking. I am referring to your complaint about the Wifi. This is what looks like a remote, rural property, so while it does say it has Wifi, for you to assume that means the Wifi is high speed and unlimited and that a large group can all be using their devices all the time is not an assumption you should ever make.

What I also find interesting is that in addition to that past review you have saying you did not clean up after yourself or return the keys, I see you have 5 reviews from guests as a previous host yourself, two of which mention that the place you offered for rent was dirty.

It's rather hard to believe your dramatic account of how awful this place, which has tons of great reviews, was, as well as your insistence that you left the place clean.

[Gillian166]

 thank you for reassuring me that some people are aware that wifi in a rural area is not the same as city wifi. Whilst i now live in the city myself I still struggle to deal with the attitude of city people when they come to the country for a "retreat", only to demand all the same amenities as the city. if you're going to enjoy a family reunion why is fast, unlimited wifi so imperative? 

[Huma0]

@Gillian166 

Because some people are unfortunately addicted to their phones. It always shocks me when I see people dining in a restaurant and all looking at their phones rather than talking to one another.

A few years ago, I was on a work trip with other journalists. We finally had a bit of a break and went to have an alfresco drink and snacks at a cute restaurant by the river. I noticed that no one would put their phone down. There were about 8-10 of us, but I was the only one not on the phone checking how many likes I had just got on social media.

I suggested everyone put their phones in the middle of the table and the first person to touch their phone would pay the bill. Everyone agreed, but most immediately started to get anxious. It took less than five minutes for the first person to break. They just couldn't handle it at all. Sadly, they still refused to pay the bill!

I have also noticed that the first question a lot of people ask when entering a bar, pub, cafe, restaurant or whatever is, "What's the WiFi password??!!"

[Gillian166]

Journalists are notorious for being addicted to Twitter, they think it's the real world. 😆 I've been to a dinner party (years ago this was) and had a woman say "excuse me for a second" turn her back on me and then start scrolling through twitter. It was incredibly rude, but nowadays I suspect this behaviour is pretty commonplace? I think that one experience made me hate Twitter, I don't use it.

[Huma0]

@Gillian166 

Yes, only in my sector it's now Instagram...

I understand that these people need to post things, as do I, as it's now part of our jobs and unavoidable. What I don't get is, once the posts are done, why the need to check the phone every few seconds to see how many likes they have.

Luckily most of my friends outside of the industry don't do that and we focus on each other when we go for a drink or meal, but everyone's still got their phones on the table, just in case...

[Sarah977]

@Huma0  That's one of the saddest most pathetic things- when you see people out for dinner together and they are each glued to their cell phones. I always wonder why they even bothered to go out- they could have just ordered a pizza, each taken a slice to their room, and play with their phones.

I have been in shops, standing there waiting to be attended to, while the employee is engrossed in their phone. I've said, "Excuse me, are you being paid to attend to customers, or to play with your phone?"  They look up, disoriented, like you just woke them up out of a dream, put the phone down and do their job.

[Sarah977]

@Gillian166  I only just recently was able to upgrade to a better Wifi service- there was nothing available where I live before but cell-based Wifi, which was metered and expensive.

I was quite clear in my listing ad that my Wifi was limited and not at all fast, and unsuitable for guests who need to work online. No Netflix, no streaming. Guests could check their email, surf the net a bit, but that's about it.

Because of the nature of my listing and the guests I market towards, I never had an issue with it. A couple of guests even told me that they were glad I had limited Wifi- that they spend way too much time online, that it's crazy addictive, and that they didn't spend money to come on a beach vacation to spend their time  staring into a screen.

My youngest daughter tries not to use her phone at all when her 2 year old is around, and isn't even into letting me do Zoom calls with my granddaughter. She wants to keep her innocent of the screen world as long as possible. 

I totally respect that and love that the result is that my granddaughter is totally in love with books. She wants to be read to all the time, and is super good at amusing herself with imaginative games, doing art projects, etc.