First, let me start out by saying that this is a very cute cottage, way out in the country. When we arrived, it was very clean and lovely. Not much in town, but we were staying here to be close to the Waitomo Caves. The Hosts were responsive when we asked for a fan as we like to keep the doors and windows closed at night to prevent bugs. However, around 10 pm, even with the doors and windows closed, small crickets started coming in the house around the front sliding door. They would come in from behind the slider curtain, creep over the top, and fly across the room to the kitchen light, the only light we had on in the house. I killed several dozen of them by washing them down the drain and with paper towel, but then sprayed the kitchen when we went to bed. We put towels around the bottom of the doors, but in the morning could see that some got into the bedroom and bathroom anyway. Very little sleep was had that night and it was more than a little traumatizing. In the morning we left early for our cave experience and did not return.
The hosts did apologize for the issue and researched and saw that due to Mother Nature, the crickets were particularly bad this year. We messaged back and forth about the issue and they were very apologetic and offered to refund for our stay. However, we were only refunded for the one unused night. I will continue to work this issue with AirBnB.
I realize that this issue was out of the hosts control for the most part. These little crickets get in through the smallest of areas. The only issue that I have is not being refunded for the entire stay as it was not a pleasant experience. The hosts state that this was based on a recommendation from AirBnB. I would have prefered more direct communication from the hosts regarding the refund. Also, I hope that this does not continue to be an issue for the hosts as the house makes a great AirBnB.