Absolute disaster!!! Ended up being trapped in the communal area of the entrance. We followed instructions as provided on the day of check out, we left keys inside the flat and closed the door. We then found ourselves trapped in a small communal area to which we couldn’t get out. No windows, no backup key, no way to get help other than my phone, no instructions whatsoever. We called and called the numbers provided in the air bnb’s emails back and forth from the agency and called from 8.20 till Monica answered at around 8.30, we explained the scenario and she said the other guests must’ve locked the door. She said we should wait at least 40 minutes as she was on the other side of town.
We had a train to go on at 9:05 and a connecting flight on the other side. If we had missed this we would’ve been stuck in Italy which would’ve cost considerable funds of which I am doubtful the agency would reimburse us for.
In my opinion the company did not carry out a sufficient risk assessment which as has resulted in guests being trapped in a small section of their accommodation. This is an extreme breach of health and safety and in no way acceptable. How an agency think it’s reasonable to put customers in this situation due to poor forward thinking on their part is highly concerning. Then to attempt to charge us for breaking out is ridiculous.
No one should be trapped anywhere, especially not as a result of disgraceful health and safety standards set by this agency. If myself or girlfriend had a medical issue such as claustrophobia this could’ve been even more emotionally distressing than it was.
Air BNB reviewed the case and did not charge me as they felt in this instance I was correct. Stay well away if you don’t want to risk being trapped in a building upon checking out