We booked the bach last minute on the same evening of arrival (because our intended place to stay wasn't able to accommodate us due to an issue with other guests). Maggie first declined our booking request due to the short notice and advised that we could stay from the next day. However, she changed her mind quickly after we said that we would have to look for alternatives in that case, which would have meant for her to miss out on the booking. We quickly paid for the 5 nights whilst driving to the place. On arrival, we noticed that the bach isn't really suitable for us. It was below 10 degrees that night and the setup of the property (somewhat like a campsite) which includes an unheated toilet room felt uncomfortable. There are heaters in the main house. However, there are no glass windows but only a clear plastic covering in front of window openings which allow cold draughts to enter. Overall, we were a bit underwhelmed by the tired condition of the house and its interiors. Cleanliness also wasn't great as there was still a bit of food stuck to a bowl in the kitchen and blanket in bed had several people's hairs on it (sheets itself were clean though). We sent a message to Maggie the next morning to let her know that unfortunately the house isn't suitable for our young family in winter with a sniffly toddler. As the minimum booking term is 2 nights, we requested to change her booking to 2 nights only. Maggie didn't reply. A day later we messaged her again to confirm that we left the bach and offered to change the booking to 3 nights (instead of the 5 that we paid for). Again, Maggie didn't reply. We sent a third message to ask her why she is ignoring us. She replied very briefly stating her cancellation policy. We do understand that she applies a strict cancellation policy. However, 1. we didn't book months in advance and, therefore, didn't block the house for any other bookings. 2. We informed her less than 24 hours after booking the bach that we cannot stay for 5 nights. We paid $1,005 total for a brief stay that was a disaster for us, and the financial aspect definitely made it worth. Maggie also didn't check in with us to see how we can improve the situation, which made us feel absolutely ignored.
We are still sad about this experience and feel that we need to share this with other travellers - because we feel that Airbnb hosts also have a responsibility towards their guests and their decisions shouldn't only be driven by $$.