Long stay, bad experience: RATS. FLIES. NO REFUND. Escalated to Airbnb support.
We found Irene's place after she posted on a Rentals In Tasmania facebook page. She offered her place at a reduced rate of $500 for a week with a minimum 4-week stay as she was going to be out of the country. We took her up on this offer and paid $2000 for 4 weeks.
We mentioned we were bringing our 4-wheel drive, so she left out a 4-wheel drive book, which was kind. The cottage is well stocked, with pantry items as well as lots of cooking equipment. There are plenty of thrillers to read and a big TV to watch movies on.
On the first night, we noticed a few flies inside the property. We replied to the host's welcome message asking if there was a fly a swatter. Host replied soon after saying there wasn't.
It was our 2nd night at Heatherbell cottage when we were sitting on the couch, we heard scratching above our heads. My partner went outside to check if there was something on the roof but the noise was coming from the floor space between the living room and the bedroom. We looked at the beams and saw droppings.
We messaged the host to inform her of what we were seeing, and we would be going into town on the weekend and could pick up some traps. The host apologised and said that she had never had mice before, perhaps the dogs keep them away and yes we could do what we need to sort the issue.
During the next few days, things escalated. In the bathroom, we were sweeping up dozens of flies every day. We couldn't work out where they were coming from as we kept the bathroom window and the door to the bathroom closed.
We noticed behind the log burner there were lots of droppings collecting.
Additionally, we were awaken at night by a loud noise followed by lots of scratching sounds. We were too freaked out to go downstairs in the night but when got up the next morning we saw that an apple that had been in the fruit bowl on the kitchen table was now on the floor of the living room next to the sofa. There were bites taken out of the flesh, and the skin had been chewed and spat out.
We immediately sent pictures of the evidence to the host to let them know what had happened: 2 dustpans full of dead flies, the chewed apple and the droppings. We mentioned that there had been a storm a few nights earlier and the exterior of the mudbrick walls had been falling off in chunks, was this making holes for the rodents and insects to come through? We also mentioned that we were thinking of leaving.
The host replied. In her message she said, "getting rid of flies begins with hygiene around the home", "As for the mouse situation, again, it is winter, you are in the country." She offered to pay for a handyman to set traps, if we could organise that and send her the receipt.
I was offended by her message. However, for us to organise a call out, and put up the money upfront, is beyond the terms of our agreement, so I raised a case with the Airbnb resolution centre. We requested a partial refund, we thought it was fair to pay for the nights we stayed (~$1000) but as the accommodation was uninhabitable, we would be moving out and would like a refund for the unstayed nights.
We were surprised that the host declined our request. She then said that she would send us a bill for us to pay for the accommodation at full price "I can send you the full costs of staying at my cottage ($149 per week day night and $159 on weekends) including air bnb cleaning fees ($49 plus additional if home isn't left clean)." Which we were extremely offended by. She also told us to keep the windows and doors shut - what a way to live?!
The last straw is that we saw a rat. We left immediately.
Airbnb were involved through the resolution centre. We supplied Airbnb with the screenshots of the host's messages, all the photos we took of the flies, and evidence of rodents. We also took a video of the clean and tidy manner in which we left the cottage as evidence that we weren't unclean or doing damage to the property as the host was suggesting in her messages.
Upon seeing the documentation, our Airbnb caseworker got us a refund for the nights we didn't stay, we believe Airbnb paid out of pocket for this refund.
I wish I could post the photos with this review. They say it all really. If you would like to see the photos, you can message me directly.
Things I did not mention to the host but want to share with other guests before they book:
* There is a water pump at the back of the house. This is underneath the bedroom window and you can hear it go off every 5 minutes through the night.
* If you like natural light, you'll want to keep the front doors open, however in winter, this will let all the hot air out. So you must choose, whether to be in the dark and warm or let the cold air in.
My final thought is this:
We were paying guests and we paid $2000 for the privilege. If the host wanted house sitters, she should have paid for some.