My husband and I booked Alexandra’s place. We reserved it because we wanted to tour the city, and it was in central Paris. This was essential for taking our wedding photos at The Louvre on Thursday, 9/22.
We were also drawn in by her raving reviews from other guests.
Alexandra was extremely communicative leading up to our stay, and she let us know about the check-in process a day in advance. She also helped us navigate our route via text from the airport to her place.
When we arrived, she greeted us at the door with a smile and showed us around the place. She also invited us (especially me) to use the items in her home, particularly in the bathroom and kitchen area.
We were very hungry when we first arrived after traveling in from Italy. So, we asked her about a nearby supermarket which she directed us to. My husband and I bought groceries and came back to the place to cook.
The next morning, we woke up to go for a run. While we were in the room getting dressed and ready to head out to for the run, Alexandra knocked on our bedroom door.
She said that she could not find the sink stopper. My husband told her that he removed it when he brushed his teeth and then placed it back inside the sink when he finished. I also told her that the sink stopper was in the sink when I entered the bathroom to brush my teeth because the water rose to such a high level that I had to remove it so that it did not overflow.I also told her that I placed it back inside the sink.
This discrepancy almost caused an argument between me and my husband, as we both tried to figure out who could have possibly missed placed the sink stopper between the two of us.
Alexandra took the lead with the search for the sink stopper, opening the bathroom cabinets searching around on the floor for the missing item. My husband also joined her and looking for the item as well. He also opened the bathroom cabinets, got down on all four (hands and knees), and turned on his cell phone light to look for the sink stopper in the bathroom.
Alexandra then opened the washing machine, which is to the right of the sink to look for the sink stopper. There was nothing inside so she closed it back.
Even though we had no idea what happened to the sink stopper, my husband offered to pay for it to keep the peace. We even offered to walk to a nearby hardware store to find a replacement. Alexandra told us “not to worry about it” and that she would go to the hardware store to price it herself. She also said that she would come back and communicate the price to us. We’d planned to pay for it, even though we knew that we did not misplace the sink stopper.
Even with all of this happening, before we went for our run, I asked Alexandra if I could put a small load of clothes into the washer. It was my undergarments. She said yes. She then showed me how to use the washer by opening it. Again, there was no sink stopper inside. She also showed me where the detergent was located and exactly how much detergent to use.
Then, I asked her if she had a dryer and she said no. Instead she directed me to foldable hanger device that I could use to dry my undergarments. She said to be careful because water drips from the clothes to the floor. I said okay. I could place a towel under there.
To avoid getting water on her floor — especially because she appeared extremely meticulous about the floor as we woke up to her cleaning the floor with wipes that same morning — I asked if I could hang my undergarments on a hanger from inside the closet and then place them outside in the sun on the patio. She responded, “yes “however you like”. She said “however you like” at least 3 times.
She told us that she needed to leave the house by 11am, but we ended up leaving before her around 11:12am or so. Still, Alexandra graciously helped me to make a small cup of coffee before we left. Then, we all said goodbye to one another.
When we returned from our run and errands, I took my undergarments out of the washer. Then, I heard a metal object drop to the bottom of it. I looked inside and it was the sink stopper.
It was at that point that I ran to the kitchen where my husband was beginning to cook lunch and told him that I’d found the sink stopper in the washing machine. We both thought that this was strange because Alexandra opened the wash machine in front of us before we left the house, and there was nothing inside.
Shortly after, I happily messaged Alexandra through the Airbnb message portal. I sent her a picture of the sink stopper with a message that read “we found it”. I felt relieved.
I had also began to hang my undergarments on a hanger that I got from inside the bedroom closet. I then placed them on the patio in the sun like I’d discussed with Alexa earlier in the morning.
It was at this point — while walking from inside the patio inside the bedroom that I saw a message on my phone on the nightstand from Airbnb support. I did not have WiFi nor an international plan while we were out earlier, so Airbnb messaged that they’d be trying to contact me several times and that Alexandra wanted to cancel our reservation for “personal reasons”.
We were shocked. Stunned. In disbelief.
Please note that we were in the middle of cooking lunch in the kitchen when we received this message. I