We were left standing on the pavement in the cold with two small children and told we would have to wait over 1.5 hours before they could check us in.
We arrived within the check in window but the host had been confused because we originally asked about flexibility to check in earlier or late since we were visiting friends and not fully in charge of our own time.
He proposed a much later time (that wouldn’t work for us) and with no confirmation from us, or ANY further communication, he left the area (!!!!) and traveled over an hour away so that check in during the advertised time was rendered impossible.
We had never accepted the time he had offered, instead we had changed our plans to make sure we could arrive on time for the advertised check in window, never thinking the would make that impossible without even thinking to discuss it.
I appreciate we could have been more explicit in our communication but any traveler reading this will understand how difficult that can be when out of home and juggling many moving parts.
And, regardless of any of that, if a host is leaving the area and going far enough away that they make it impossible to check in during the advertised time, the burden of responsibility for communicating that is on them. It is not ok to do that without confirmation and zero warning!!!!
So there we were, with young children desperate for the bathroom, a group of new friends waiting for us at the restaurant (great first impression!) and no ability to get into the property we had booked.
It was a horrible position to be left in.
The host was unapologetic, unhelpful, blamed us and refused to either refund us or to let us in for at least 90 mins.
We were therefore left out of pocket for the full amount (despite never being able to access the boat!!!) and having to pay a lot for a last minute hotel room.
I could not be more disappointed with the experience and with Airbnb (on this occasion).