About a week prior to my arrival I reached out to Bram to confirm that everything was “ok” - he simply did not respond. A few days prior to my arrival I reached out yet again, this time inquiring about the possibility of checking in a few hours earlier than expected. Again, no response. On the day of arrival I follow the (vague) instructions posted on AirBnB to ensure check in went smoothly. Some things I noticed shortly after settling in:
Massive piles of trash (including food waste) scattered and piled throughout the garden. Some of it is still there. I called & texted Bram about this within 24hr of arrival and he did not reply (starting to see a pattern here?). After several days he replied and said he would remove it. For at least two weeks it remained there - and much of it still sits there.
Due to the mass amounts of trash, I had several encounters with skunks and raccoons in the garden.
The room was rather blatantly dirty. I am allergic to cherries yet I’ve found at least four or five cherry pits on the ground.
The communal fridge was full of old/ stale/ expired foods. They are still, meaning that this fridge has most likely not been cleaned in a VERY long time.
Moving forward, here are a “few” more issues to have arisen during my stay:
More often than not the bathroom on the bottom floor does not have any toilet paper. The toilet on the bottom floor doesn’t flush properly - it needs to be manually opened and reset every time, which was not stated on AirBnb. Moreover, the shower in this bathroom also takes a very long time to drain, meaning it is clogged and has not been cleaned properly. This is a critical sanitary issue as we are in the midst of a global pandemic and it cannot be ignored.
A few days after moving in I was sitting in my room. All of a sudden, I hear a passcode being entered and the door to my room unlocks. A woman whom I did not recognize opens the door. She apologizes and explains that she had just moved out of this room and was not aware that I was currently staying here. Continuing, she explained that she was simply there to retrieve a mirror she had forgotten and would be on her way. While this in itself is not an issue, I found it somewhat concerning that other people such as prior guests had such easy access to my private room. Seems like a security hazard.
No matter what the issue / request / question etc... may be, Bram never fails to take at least a day to respond, and usually he is of no help whatsoever. I have heard several housemates make similar complaints.
The wifi quality has been awful since my arrival, even though the router is located in my room. This aside, the wifi has completely stopped working for more than 3 days. Some housemates and I individually tried reaching out to Bram about this but his replies are vague and he utterly failed to resolved this issue. As someone who studies online and requires wifi for work (as many of the other housemates do) this is extremely problematic and simply put: unacceptable.
As I arrived home one evening I went to unlock the door to my room using the code (which has always worked) and the digital lock tells me that “this passcode doesn’t work right now”. I messaged and called Bram multiple times and (yet again) he didn’t respond in a timely manner. One of the housemates had forgotten to close the main door to the house so I was able to get inside through there. As I was never given a key or instructions as to enter through the front of the house I was very lucky someone had accidentally left the door open or I would’ve been locked out for the night. By the time Bram got back to me I was in my room, and he told me he’d “take a look next week”.
The photos of the BnB are rather misleading, the house is much older than it appears online.
Basic Hygiene and wifi are always important, however during a pandemic such as the one we are currently faced with, they become especially vital. Unfortunately, Bram cannot seem to provide either - even though both were promised on his listing. I would hope that AirBnB launches an investigation into Bram & his property to ensure the sanitary measures are maintained because as I stated earlier; this is unacceptable (especially given the high prices of the rooms).