PROS: Excellent location. Naschmarkt two minutes walking. Vienna State Opera a little more than 5 minutes walking. Choice of good eating spots & supermarkets all around. Master bedroom is spacious. Living/dining room very spacious. Small useful balcony to enjoy morning tea. Some thoughtful personal touches from the host - a framed photo from our Airbnb DP, small bags of confectioneries. Prompt responses from host before our arrival.
NOT SO GOOD-(1) Sadly very misleading communication, leading to hugely sub-optimal choice of apartment by us. I had specifically told our host in advance that a TV set in the flat was vital for us and had even asked about the location of the TV in their apartment. At no time during this chat prior to my making the reservation did the host tell us that there is no TV at all in the flat! Upon landing at the Vienna airport I received multiple messages from the host that she herself would meet us at the apartment. But we were met at the flat by a very young (and very nice) man of barely 17 years of age. He showed us around the flat quite competently but had no explanation to offer when, to our dismay, we found that there was no TV in the flat at all. I then explained to the young man how important the TV was for my family, and how I had specified that to the host before making the reservation. I asked the gent to convey this feedback to the host and to ask her to revert to me asap.
Sadly, for the next 72 hours, we did not hear from the host at all. Then, on the second day of our stay I sent a long message to the host over Airbnb chat expressing my frustration at the absence of the TV set, & the very surprising silence on her part. That message was sent by me on the 15th of May. Today it is 9 days since I sent that message. To date I have not received any response from the host, in fact not even an acknowledgment!
But from 17th May onwards (date of our departure) I have received repeated messages from the host, imploring me to give a 5* rating to the flat and offering me various inducements such as a 5* rating for me in return/ a warm welcome to the host's other property in Algarve (Portugal)/ even a chance for me to draft the host's feedback for me!!
But incredibly, in none of these messages from the host, there was even a mention of my repeated feedback that we were very disappointed by the absence of a TV & more by the failure of the host to warn us about this when she was asked prior to the reservation!
What made this even harder for us was that a couple of days before our arrival at the apartment I found that we needed this flat for an extra day, over & above the original reservation done by me. When I contacted the host about this she agreed to extend our reservation by a day but asked for more than 50% over the daily rate charged for the original booking. I paid up immediately even though it was a very high charge for the one extra day, thinking that I am making a late request and I have to agree with whatever the host demands. So we ended up paying Rs 57,000 for the first three nights (original booking) and Rs 31,000 (for the additional night).
(2)There was one other major issue faced by us. We had specifically chosen a flat with a lift since my wife suffers from osteoporosis and is medically advised not to climb stairs. We had checked in on Friday night. On both Saturday & Sunday nights, upon our return to the flat we found the lift was not working. No warning of any kind by anyone was given us in advance. As a result, on both these nights we all had to navigate our way up an old spiral staircase in almost pitch darkness using the torch of our hand phones as help.
(3) Less bothersome but still a nuisance was the loud noise from the wooden flooring when anyone of us walked anywhere in the flat! Practically every floorboard creaks loudly.
(4) There is one 'full service' bathroom, one WC & one bathroom with only a bathing area. This did not match the flat specs as listed on Airbnb of 2.5 bathrooms.
Apologies for this extensive feedback but for us, this one was really different from all other Airbnb experiences, especially our immediate next stay at Prague!
Maybe it is better to meet the guests' expectations which have been agreed in advance, than to try and manage the guest feedback in hindsight?