As for the apartment: My GF loved it! And to be honest: It is very well located, everything is exactly as advertised, and it is, albeit not really to my own taste, actually quite adorable.
As for the host. Well… let me put it like this:
They say “Parisians don't have a reputation for being the most polite people in the world” and that they “can come across as spoiled or arrogant.” Unfortunately I can’t really say that my brief encounter with our host Clara changed my personal version of this prejudice.
However, due to rather pleasant conversation earlier on, I’m inclined to believe that the biggest part of our, let's say, not so smooth arrival in Paris was primarily a misunderstanding.
In this light, taking into consideration that Clara is a beginner at her new ‘job’ (..) and she is still willing to learn and to adapt, I would like to give our former host the benefit of the doubt, and moreover: some free tips !!!
Sooooo, here we go:
Next time you just might…
* Consider the possibility of leaving the keys in a drop zone / take away point, or whatever, to avoid situations like this all together (when circumstances call for it).
* Consider the fact that some people have never taken (nor ever will take) ‘Uebers’ for principal reasons (hyper-capitalism etc.)
* Consider the fact that, although you might never take them, it turns out that subways/metro’s actually -do- ride from all train stations to your neighborhood, until very, very late at night.
* Consider communicating more clearly:
Saying that you like us to tell you at what time we will arrive is really not the same thing as asking us that you’d like us to arrive as early as possible [because you have an early flight the next day (...)].
My GF just didn’t understand why you kept ‘pushing’ this question (for like 3 or 4 times) and just to illustrate this even more clearly: when she shared this with me, my interpretation was that that would probably have something to do with you wanting to stay at your apartment for as long as possible…
* Consider the idea that the only thing that ringing a couple of lost and overwhelmed tourists’ phone most likely will do (for like 7 or 8 times! as we were feeling stressed in the metro already - who, b.t.w., already told you about their unfortunate change of plans, and who already apologized for that for that matter) is to frustrate and annoy them…
* Consider the idea that even furthering this rather aggressive approach, and more or less threatening to leave your guests stranded in Paris without a place to stay “if we don’t arrive within” bla: an unrealistic amount of time… might not exactly contribute to our mutually desired result as well…
* Consider ‘friendly suggesting’ (and perhaps even showing some empathy with -their- situation, which -they did- communicate quite clearly) instead of telling (almost ordering) your guests what to do, and resenting them some time later for ‘not listening to you’...
* Consider most of all:
-> Not getting angry at your guests... <-
Not ever and no matter what actually, but certainly not when it’s far from clear what’s going on, and absolutely never without (until this very moment b.t.w.) ever taking your own part of the miscommunication into account (or at the very least not sharing this with us).
* Consider remembering that ‘customer is king’, and perhaps at the same time remember that it may be wise for you, as a host, to ‘play your part’ - instead of acting like (your usual self?) you did…
Now... since (in my -to be frank- often a little too direct, too sharp and quite often, well,..., also not so humble opinion) this review should be about the accommodation, way more, than about (my first impression of) the host, and taking into account that my GF adored the apartment, I’ll still give it 5 stars…
…but I will also share this text for those who put at least some value into their host and are less prone to fall for superficial ‘marketing communication skills’ – hereby also giving our former host the choice of ‘going with it’ (and possibly to reply with ‘her point of view’) and to at least show some character now, or to take all the hassle of changing her account (yet another free tip! ;p) hopefully learning from this experience either way.