This was the first time in a Airbnb apartment which I felt not being like at home. The apartment itself (not a luxury penthouse as advertised!) is nice and the location is great.
A few things went wrong. This was the first time that I felt being deceived by a host. The apartment is advertised as ‘Luxury penthouse’ and you have to pay for number of visitors, which is fine. However, before the arrival date, Dorien asked us if we wanted ‘full privacy’ .. “[Dorien] there is an option to book the full apartment so you have your full privacy. The extra fee for this would be €50,- per night extra. Let me know if you just want the bedrooms and share the common areas with me or if you like the full apartment.” The confusion started here, where I wrongly thought that I was paying for a second room where the house only has one room. The second room is a ‘changing room’ with no beds.
Clearly I didn’t see the signs that something was wrong. When I accepted to pay the extra fee for the extra bedroom (again, there is no extra bedroom) I was asked to pay “[Dorien] Ok, thanks for confirmation. You can pay the €250 through Airbnb or in cash at arrival. What do you prefer?”. I paid through Airbnb because I felt that it was the best way to follow the rules.
Also, at arrival on the first day, and after coming to know what was the 250 Euros for, the host asks us “if someone calls or rings the bell, please tell them that I’m working, and then call me immediately” because this Airbnb is on ‘private room’ mode and in theory I need to be here.
Frankly, there were some very straightforward clues that somehow I could not spot and identify at that moment (my mind was focused on my work and interviews) and felt that I was played by ‘smart’ people.
I will ask Airbnb to review my case and go through all the communication history to prevent this to happen to other visitors.
Stay safe.
Note: I saw at least two comments portraying similar issues regarding the extra 'privacy' payment.