This house could be so perfect. The location couldn't be better, the house is beautifully decorated and mostly spotlessly clean. It is a little pricey for the area but we were prepared to pay this as it looked so nice.
We were not prepared for the additional charges considering we paid £120 per night. The ad lists open fireplace as an amenity, however the firewood and coal provided will actually cost €14 per week. If you fail to bag your rubbish correctly you will be fined €20. This feels very mean and certainly takes away from the 'luxury' feel of the property.
We checked in and were given the keys and told nothing except the location of the house and where we could park (not on site parking as advertised, a free carpark across the street which was very busy and often full).
Upon checking out in their shop in the town, a staff member asked for card details for utilities, saying she would read the meter and charge me accordingly.
We queried this as this was the first we had heard and were told it was standard practice for all airbnb guests and it would have been on the listing when we booked. Tracy took my full card details (including security code) and *wrote them down* in the shop diary along with my full name. 10mins later after checking the airbnb listing, and all of our emails from them we went back into the shop, the staff member was away from the desk and the diary was open on the page with my full name and card details, I was able to take a photo of this page without being observed. After pointing out the charges not being disclosed in advance and asking for assurance we wouldn't be charged, Tracy was adamant she was right and refused to accept our position. It was only after a phone call to her colleague and a look on airbnb herself she agreed not to charge us and made us feel like she was doing us a favour. Tracy refused to tear out the page containing my card details but did scribble them out.
I am sure this has happened to many other Airbnb guests before us who accepted the charges without question trusting that this is a professional operation. I can now see that the listing has been updated to include utility charges, however this is in breach of Airbnb policy which states no charges should be paid directly to host.
We left contact details but as of yet we have received no apology or communication from Sarah who we never met but seems to be running the show.