Speaking as an AirBnb Superhost for many years, I am very familiar with what constitutes a superior vacation rental and great customer service. Sonia's unit in Rome was located in a spectacular location. The lively neighborhood was safe and had some fabulous restaurants and shops.
Yet, check-in was a total nightmare! It took us a while to find the building while dragging our suitcases over the cobblestones and asking strangers for directions. After we finally found the apartment, we were told to enter a number in the keypad, but there was no keypad on the door! So we called Sonia. She said that the key was not there and that we had to find another building on another street and get the (first) key. So again we dragged our luggage over the cobblestones, asking for directions to the second apartment building. After roaming around, we gave up exhausted and sat down to dinner with our suitcases. We had a long talk with the Matrde who helped us find the second apartment after dinner. We got the first key and then were told to go back to the first building with our luggage and go up four flights of stairs. From there we had to type in a different code. After chasing around the neighborhood, we finally made it into the apartment. The entire experience was totally ridiculous!
When we entered, the first thing we noticed was that the apartment did not look the same as the one in the listing. The lead photo on the listing of the red and white bedspread with the crown curtain was nowhere to be found. In its place was drab bedding. By this time, we were both exhausted and beyond agitated. We went right to bed.
Sonia let us know the next day in no uncertain terms that she was very upset that we did not let her know that we got in the unit. I felt like a child being scolded. (I'm Italian, so I can hold my own, but I chose to let it pass.) After the chastisement, she demanded copies of our passports to give to the police. It seemed ridiculous that she was going to turn us into the police for not texting her, so we refused to give out personal information. She texted us several times demanding our passports for the police, but we did not respond. She became a little unglued.
We figured there would be some drama at check out, so before we checked out we took pictures of the condition of the apartment and the keys left on the table. We were right, more drama ensued. When we were on our way to the airport, it dawned on us that copies of our passports may have been a requirement to stay in the unit. By then it was too late to do anything and to be frank, I was done dealing with Sonia.
Would we stay there again? Maybe if we wanted a good scavenger hunt with luggage in tow, after flying overseas for 10 hours, we would. I think next time we will stay in the neighborhood, but find a unit with fewer stairs and easier check-in. As for the owner, well we chalked it up to the charm of the Italian culture.