I honestly don't know what to write about my experience, but I will state the issues that I encountered.
I booked the place since the host is a Superhost on Airbnb and had good reviews. When the host accepted the booking, he mentioned that he is away in Europe and I would need to coordinate with his roommate. On the day of checking in, I had to let myself in because the roommate had messaged me saying he was supposedly "not feeling well". When I did meet him a while after checking in, he was sort of dazed and disoriented and held a glass is his hand. The roommate mentioned that he too had just moved in earlier on that day and had paid for 2 months of accommodation to the host while he is away. I was not sure of what to make of the situation at that time. I went out for a quick lunch and came back to find the place was smelling of alcohol and that led me to believe that he was drinking. I started feeling very uncomfortable since this is not one would expect at any accommodation (be it a hotel or Airbnb) for which you have paid a significant amount of money.
I got in touch with the host and asked when he was actually returning and also I got in touch with Airbnb immediately trying to explain all the issues. The host did not respond till much later and all he had to state was that the guy was his roommate. This lack of clarity was enough and I started searching for another accommodation. The Airbnb customer agent got in touch with the host and it seems he denied that his roommate drinks at all. The host clearly has a "no partying or events" in the house rules. Does that apply only for the guests?
I communicated to the host that I am not comfortable and would be checking out and he did not send me any response at all. I got to know from the Airbnb customer service agent that the host also refused to refund my payment since it was my choice to move out. The Airbnb agent, while trying to be helpful, said that it's up to the host to accept and initiate any refund. I spent the night without unpacking my stuff and I frantically searched for a new place and moved out the next morning.
The Airbnb support said they would need some evidence like photos or videos to prove my claims. How would I provide evidence of alcohol smell? Also, it's not as if I would keep a camera on all the time to record what everyone does around me all the time. I am very annoyed at how this whole experience turned out to be. The host could have at least acknowledged that something was not right and should have agreed to refund most of the amount, if not all of it. After all, there should be some consideration about how a guest has to deal with the overall experience of the place. I do acknowledge that some guests expect the sun and the moon, but this was a real issue that I highlighted.
Apparently, since the policies are in favor of the host, there is no incentive for them to accept any of this and can retain the money since this was a long term booking. I, on the other hand, had to move out for my own sanity since I could not spend a month at the place. I moved to another place where I am feeling comfortable. Now I have to deal with the support staff again trying to get my money back, and I know it's a lost cause due to the policies in place. The agent I spoke with previously mentioned that they can just refund the Airbnb service fee and the decision to refund the other portion will need to be taken by the host.
Again, the whole intention of this review is to ensure that other guests do not have to face such incidents. I am sure that the host trusts his friend, who is staying there in his absence, and he expects him to be on his best behavior. But there should be some trust placed on the guest as well, especially when the host himself is not around at all, and I strongly feel that the host could have dealt with this in a better way. Anyways, it's just my bad luck to have come across this place.