I came to Melbourne for 1 week for a holiday to catch up with family and to attend a couple of events.
I tested myself after I arrived as I had come from NSW where there were number of Covid cases. When I arrived, Kathy was very welcoming and helpful to begin with until I found out that I tested positive for COVID-19. When I told her she started demanding that I compensate her for the fact that she couldn’t let the room opposite. She seemed to suggest that I was responsible for catching the virus and accused me of taking advantage of the situation because no one else could stay in the house due to my positive status. I then contacted Airbnb who said that they would pay the money she asked of me. Even after they told her they were going to pay the money she continued to send me text messages saying that I was responsible and that I should ‘square up’. She received all the money I was due to her for the rent of the room I was occupying. While I was isolating, she would visit the house and bring people there to view the rooms including the room I was in at the time. On my first day out of isolation I came back after being out for the day to find that she had a guest in the room opposite and I don’t know if she did a deep clean of the communal areas or if she told the guest about me having had COVID. I spoke to Jeff the following morning and asked if Kathy had told him of my previously positive. He said not. She even told me that I should be testing myself every day to see if I was negative. I told her that there was no point in someone who had recently tested positive doing a test and that only applies people who were negative.
Today when I can checed out I realised when I got to the train station that i had forgotten my rain jacket. I called Kathy who said she would bring it to me. I waited for half an hour after sending her a message telling her where I was waiting. She maintained she didn’t receive the message and that I had said that I was coming back to the house. She then offered to send the rain jacket to me after I had sent her the postage cost.
I have stayed in Airbnb properties all over Australia as well as in a number of countries of the world i.e., Italy, New Zealand, The Middle East and South America and have had exceptional experiences with hosts, but this is one of the worst experiences I have had including catching COVID.