One of the most horrible experiences of my life.
This review is going to be a long one, however, in short, if you like verbal abuse and would love to have the host repeatedly break into the apartment with their own key while you are asleep and without giving you a heads up that they are coming, you are going to love this accommodation and Halldis.
So, I will start from the beginning. A few days after making a reservation with Halldis, I was asked to give them more information regarding my personal details and the time at which I would prefer to check in. I was also requested to transfer them more money for the local tourism tax. Naturally, I complied and told them that I would like to check in at 16.00 (which was the earliest indicated time one could check-in) or earlier, if possible. To this, I was replied that in case I would like to check in earlier, I would have to email the local Halldis office and ask them whether it is a possibility, which I did. I received no response from the local Halldis office and assumed that we had agreed that the check-in would take place at 16.00. I did not receive any emails, SMS messages or any other communication from Halldis. So, a few days later I landed in Venice and called the local Halldis office to let them know that I am ready to check-in. This was the beginning of the nightmare that I experienced with Halldis at Venice and I wish that I had been wiser at the time and would have just checked in at any hotel instead.
The guy who answered the call YELLED at me during the whole conversation, calling me names and asking why I had not answered to any SMS messages, that he had apparently sent me. I tried to explain to him that I had not received any messages and he could have simply contacted me via email or Airbnb if he had any questions. However, he did not even let me finish a single sentence. I was told that I was extremely rude, had no manners and asked whether it was the first time I was travelling. Now, when I say that he was yelling aggressively, I am not exaggerating. He told me that he had already rented out the flat to another person who is much nicer than I am and has better manners (keep in mind that I had paid all of the extra taxes Halldis has requested and had not received any refunds or notifications that my booking was cancelled). I was shocked at that point. Again, I was not allowed to speak or ask any questions. So he continued and told me that he will call the flat owner and that he MIGHT show up in 30 minutes or so and maybe he can find me somewhere else to stay. He added that I was very lucky if he showed up.
I can not express, how shocked I was at that point. Having travelled that far and had just been treated like that for no reason and been told basically that I had nowhere to stay. If there was a miscommunication Halldis could have contacted me in so many other ways, I truly do not understand where all of his anger came from. Not to mention that according to Airbnb policy, the communication and any financial transactions should take place through Airbnb in the first place.
Sometime later the flat owner came and since he was very polite and nice, I decided to let that horrible experience pass and checked in.
A few days pass and through my sleep, around 8.00 in the morning, I hear loud and aggressive banging on the door. Naturally, I tried to ignore it as I had no idea who could it be. Coupled with the experience I had with the Halldis property management agent, I was afraid to open the door as I had no idea what would come of it. The night before I had left my keys in the lock of the front door as a safety precaution and God, that served me well on that day. Since I did not open the door, whoever was trying to get in got their own keys and started to open the door. Luckily, the door did not open as the other set of keys was already in the lock, however, the intruder tried to get in, banging aggressively and pulling and pushing the door for about 15-20 minutes. I was afraid for my life and that point and decided to write to Halldis through Airbnb asking if I should call the police or was there some miscommunication on their part.
A few hours later I received a response explaining that they had someone come in to fix something on the apartment. Now, I had not been given a heads-up on the situation. I was not asked whether it is okay for someone to come in. I was in bed when that happened and I have never been so afraid in my life.
A few minutes later I received an SMS from the local Halldis guy (to clarify: by local I mean the guy who yelled at me, as from what I understood, whenever I wrote to Halldis via Airbnb, someone who does not do the regional management will answer) TELLING, not asking, but telling me that the guy will come again at 13.00 and that he has his own keys. Now, what the hell? Like truly. I was not OK with this and after the whole experience with Halldis, and after especially what happened earlier in the morning I was not having it. This is an invasion of privacy and given I had not given consent for them to enter the flat while I was staying there, it is trespassing. So, I politely told him that it was not OK and that I