Beware when booking this property that the host is not locally based…and it shows.
The property itself is nice. The host, however, has a lot to learn about the hospitality business. Suffice to say we encountered problems during our stay, and the communications with our host really soured the experience for us. A few items to note:
Upon arrival, the walkways were un-shoveled and had become so icy that we felt unsafe. When we brought this to our host’s attention, the original response was that they were supposed to have been shoveled and that she would take care of it ASAP. It never was throughout the 4 days of our stay.
The check-in instructions clearly stated that a garage door opener would be waiting for us in a bowl on the counter. It was not and was nowhere to be found which started a lengthy and circular dialogue in which she kept telling us it was supposed to be there and us assuring her it was not.
While we were able to access the garage without the opener, we locked the door to secure the space to find there is no key. This small yet critical detail was not communicated until it was too late. In fact, we noticed it was added to the house guide during our stay, and yet we were blamed for locking ourselves out.
She offered us a discount for our trouble yet became combative when we took her up on it.
Bottom line, we were met with broken promises and solutions that were to her convenience but not to ours as she grew increasingly confrontational, reminding us that “it’s been a brutal winter”, “I am in Vancouver, this is outside of my control”, “relying on contractors is not something I can ensure”, and our personal favorite, “it’s an Airbnb, not a hotel”.
To be clear, we are quite familiar with the difference between an Airbnb and a hotel. However, what our host does not seem to grasp is that there is a baseline of accountability that is expected when you charge a fee to stay in your place. And to be made to feel that “we” were the problem here is what was really most disappointing.
Let the buyer beware.