I have been a superhost for over 9 years for a busy apartment in NY as well as a guest in multiple Airbnb listings throughout the world. Therefore I understand the importance of caring for your guests and addressing their concerns as well as providing detailed and accurate information about the listing. This was absolutely my worst experience and the first time I ever felt scammed.
This listing doesn’t at all clarify the neighborhood is a “favela” slum and it’s impossible to access besides being unsafe. This slum is not accessible via taxi service. All services refused to drive up into the neighborhood to the building due to safety concerns. You have to walk up a very steep hill for about 10 mins to get to the building so if you have luggage it’s impossible. This was never communicated prior to heading to check in.
Also the building is not following the Covid protocols that Airbnb requires. Unlike other safer neighborhoods around Rio you will not find people wearing masks and being cautious.
Communication with property manager and host was unclear and last minute right before check in. Then this Host who was very quick to reply about taking the booking didn’t reply to any concerns and refused any even a partial refund when we decided not to stay after seeing the place. The host was completely not accommodating and did not even address our safety concerns. He also pushed us to extend our stay to accommodate his minimum nights which we went out of our way to change another reservation and be flexible for but he then provided no flexibility for us when we decided to leave and protect our safety & health. We were basically scammed out of our money and didn’t spend one night at the place after seeing the many safety & health risks.
We were expecting a higher end experience based on the images and pricing but this is not the case at all. Way too overpriced for where it is. It should not even be 1/2 the price. 5-star hotels in the area are cheaper and are in safe neighborhoods.