This was my first time booking an Air BnB myself. I did not know how the system worked. Apparently there is an app. I did not know this, and somehow got messages through my email, which seemed fine to me. My info in the email said I could check in between 4 and midnight. I thought that was kind, as I didn't know what my arrival time would be, as it relied upon another prior event. I was out of wifi range for a number of hours when I was enroute, but let her know that I was going to come after the prior event. I also sent her my cell phone number so we could connect, if needed. I did not get a call from her, so I figured everything was fine.
When I arrived, the location was dark. When I finally connected with the host, she was exacerbated, caustic, frustrated that I didn’t know about the app, that I hadn't told her exactly when I was going to arrive and that I had ignored her messages on the app. She didn’t believe me when I said I didn’t know about the app, and accused me of ignoring her earlier message: which I didn’t get because I didn’t know about the app, and because there is a delay in messages being forwarded to my email, plus I didn't have wifi or email access for several hours that day.
She accused me of being deaf when I couldn't take in 5 points of information as quickly as she wanted to tell me.
She angrily showed me the landmarks she had sent me information about in the app: a tree and a sign, both of which were invisible in the dark and so even if I had had the info, the info would have been useless to me.
When I said that I had sent her my cell phone number, she angrily announced that she didn’t own or use a cell phone, as though I should know that. I am not sure how I am supposed to know that with someone I just met.
There I was, a person new to Air BNB being yelled at in a dark place by someone I just met, after a long day. I felt so unwelcome that I left and didn’t return. She has my money.
Perhaps she’ll use my money to buy lights for the next guests to make the landmarks she would like guests to follow visible in the dark.