I had a mixed experience staying at Jan’s place. I want to be fair and discuss both the positives and negatives with this important caveat, namely that it may be different if Jan is staying there himself during an AirBnB stay. So, here goes--even if it's difficult for me to write a basically negative review.
Positives: the apartment is really clean and locating on a quiet street. The room is really lovely and as seen in the photographs. Jan is himself a really attentive host; I was always able to reach him with any questions. I was able to use a dishwasher as well as a laundry machine.
Negatives: quite a few of different sorts. First, one really just rents that one room. Jan made it clear that guests really only have access to that, the kitchen, and the bathroom. The bedroom closet was off use. Jan put a clothes rack, but there was no place to put clothing, &c. otherwise. There was no special room (shelves, &c.) in the bathroom or the kitchen. I used the kitchen counter to store groceries; normally one would prepare food there, so I’m not sure where things would go if Jan were also present. The bedroom had a guest bed that was fairly basic and uncomfortable. There was no room especially made for guests in the refrigerator. The general sense was really of renting a living room with a bed thrown in for the time being.
This is not anyone’s fault, but the building’s water supply was really hard even by Berlin’s (infamous standards). One needs to use decalcifiers with doing laundry, and the water in the bathroom is hard on skin. The apartment is also high up without an elevator, meaning heavy luggage would pose a problem.
The biggest problem were interactions with Jan, unfortunately. He’s very pleasant. But leaving behind the apartment, he asked me to take care of watering several plants and collecting his mail (he receives a lot) regularly. The plants are all beautiful, but this meant about ten minutes of work every morning and evening. Then a more extensive automated watering system meant occasional refilling—which was fairly complex, messy, and at least once prone to not functioning and flooding. I got soaked once and had to clean up the kitchen. Jan asked me to do this shortly before I arrived, and I did not feel like I was in the position to decline. Then he often contacted me multiple times a day to ask about the plants and other things. I was working in Berlin and found this really distracting and another chore. Finally, he insisted that a neighbor with a key come by to look over the plants once. To reach the balcony, this meant passing through the rented room. I did not want a stranger to enter when I was not there, and Jan insisted that I contact him directly by WhatsApp (hence sharing my phone number—which I did not wish to do) to schedule a time. The neighbor was friendly, accommodating, and not doing anything strange, but again this was an unreasonable request—or less a request than a demand, ultimately, and a stressful, annoying one. Finally, before leaving, I made sure to do all the plant watering, &c., before the automated watering system broke and leaked water over another neighbor’s balcony. I had to pack my things and make a train; Jan basically kept sending messages without pause until I made arrangements for a neighbor to come immediately after I left. It was a small experience but left a bad taste.
Final thought: it might be a decent place to stay if Jan is there. Given that I paid a little more for this than for comparable listings, I was frustrated in that I felt like I was paying for the right to be housesitting, watering plants, collecting mail, and more, while really just getting a guest bed thrown down in a room. I want to emphasize that Jan is really pleasant but, on the whole, I was really unsatisfied. Maybe I should have been more clear in what I was comfortable doing; maybe it was a cultural difference. But I would recommend speaking about the above with Jan in advance of staying at his home, that is, what his expectations are for you as a guest and what your expectations are for him as a host.