Overall, I would have chosen a different Airbnb to avoid the check in fee and having to communicate with the host Andrea and their greeter Alessio. Providing some pros and cons to the place.
Pros:
- great location in Florence close to the train station.
- felt safe even late into the night
- Airbnb is spacious for 2-3 people
Cons:
- Be warned there is a check in “fee” where a greeter will unlock your Airbnb for you. This is an unnecessary fee that the Airbnb host imposes on you and it is written in the house rules all the way at the bottom of the Airbnb listing and you also need to click “See more” to actually understand there is a check in fee. So pretty easy to miss, which the hosts are banking on! The hosts could simply leave the keys in a lockbox to make it easier for travelers but it seems they want to collect extra money from travelers.
- I was originally charged 55 euros to check in at 11pm. My flight ending up being delayed, which I had no control over. I was told I would need to pay 85 euros in cash for late checkin or else I would not have a place to stay. This did not make me feel welcome into a new country and was borderline extortion. The host also does not follow Airbnb rules to keep payments on Airbnb.
- The host and greeter do not follow Airbnb rules to keep communication on the Airbnb app. The greeter was also not friendly to interact with.
- There is too much over communication by multiple people for this Airbnb. They also require you to fill out check in and check out info on a separate site called sweet stay which put unseaworthy burden on travelers with limited internet connection.
- I told the host I would leave feedback for other travelers to let them know that they would not provide a receipt for the check in “fee” of 85 euros to me upon asking. The host then proceeded to call me multiple times until I had to tell her to not call me as there was nothing to discuss.
- I asked for a replacement of the mosquito repellent plug ins but never got one, so I couldn’t leave the windows open. Given there is no A/C in the Airbnb, this made the experience not great in the hot Italian summer.
- lastly, the door to the bedroom is like 5’10 in height at most. I bumped my head multiple times being 6’4 and wished it was mentioned somewhere the Airbnb is not tall friendly.