Andrea is too busy in his life to be a good host. I didn’t expect hand holding or a personal tour guide from Andrea. What I did expect is Andrea to take the time to welcome me into his flat. Go over any details he had concerns about during my stay in his flat and alerting me of any changes he had made regarding his amenities.
All Andrea did was meet me when I arrived in Florence and hand me a set of keys and verbally go over how to open the lock on his front door.
Andrea’s actions showed me he is a host who rents his apartment for the money and if anything goes wrong he is too busy with his life to deal with it personally. I experienced how unprofessional he handled a situation of a broken washer. It could have been rectified very simply and in a calm manners
The night before departure from Florence, I texted Andrea regarding departure procedures. He never responded. At 7 am I texted again and also said I had issues with the washer. He responded immediately with several harsh texts. He stated that the same thing had just happened 10 days prior with another couple and he made them purchase him a new washer.
He continue to text that I wasn’t allowed to use the washer without his permission. I responded via text it was listed in the amenities when I booked. It was listed in his host folder of house rules, it is still listed in his Airbnb description. No notes were left in the apartment. I never received an email, phone call or text regarding the washer. I told Andrea I had no problem paying for damages. Let’s discuss it.
Andrea said he was too busy to meet me at the flat to discuss the issue. He could have called me but he did not.
Andrea then texted I was to meet his father and sister at the flat to discuss the broken washer. They seemed very nice but spoke little to no English. The father and sister then called Andreas friend to translate in English. It was a nightmare! The two of them crowded around me holding a phone in my face with someone I’ve never met yelling at me. The friend kept saying I was to buy a new washer and I was to pay $390 in cash. I felt trapped, scared and uncomfortable and I began to weep. I was getting ready to depart the city and all the cash I had in me was $360 eu. I gave them all the cash I had and departed. One hour later Andrea made a claim with Airbnb for $44.01. He has never called me in person or tried to discuss anything.
Very unprofessional and not the treatment I have ever received with the dozens of Airbnb and VRBO rentals I have stayed at in numerous cities or countries.