Airbnb is my number one accommodation choice wherever I travel to and I have been using it a long time. This host really made my Singapore experience more stressed. He did not attempt at the smallest bit to adapt or change his way of living to the person he is renting to, yet expected me to completely adapt to his world. And that is okay, but not when someone is paying you 2300 SGD per month. I never once, in the 3-4 months I stayed, felt welcomed in his house. I was only like another revenue stream for him, which is very unpleasant.
In the beginning it was less obvious but the longer I stayed the feeling of unwelcomeness increased.
The good things about the apartment are its location, because it is located near the center, the room was airconditioned and it worked perfectly. In the beginning the host was mostly okay, sending me locations of where to go to Singapore and similar.
Whenever I used some amenities that used electricity it caused problems. The washing machine, and the dryer were the first instance of it. Even though I am paying for the comfort, I should be not fully exercise it in order save up the host money? Why am I paying a premium price for them then? Furthermore, the bedsheets that were provided were of such low quality that they were ripping on the slightest pull, I had messaged him about this, and was told that he would talk to the helper about them. I never heard about them again, and the problem was not fixed.
I received messages suggesting that I should cut down on my AC use, or turn off my lights more because the bill was too high. Again, I am paying for all of that, so I should be able to use it without someone notifying me to stop using the lamp during the day, or be less in the house because you told me you would.
To elaborate the latter, I received complaints stating that I was spending too much time in the room and that I was only going to university 2 days a week. I had stated that I am going to be at university probably 5 days a week. My schedule, which I received after arriving to Singapore, was mandatory 4 days a week on campus for at least 7-8 hours, on certain days it was more like 14. The first 2-3 of weeks had public holidays and less university obligations, so the hosts expects me to be out of the house more so he could not have a high electricity bill. Hence, 2 days a week was a lie and a false accusation. Furthermore, in the first couple of weeks, he was constantly telling me to install the application Revolute with his invite so he can get extra $20 from the referral.
The biggest problem was when the door of my room was locked from the inside and I could not get in the room for a couple of hours. He told me that I could go out of the window in his room (4th floor) and move towards my window (5m away) and go in that way, try to open the door another way, or PAY for a locksmith. Makes sense that I have to pay for a door in his house randomly locking itself. As I had meetings for the university, I was trying to open the door quickly using cards and strings and accidentally had broken the lock and part of the door frame. Now, I admit this was my mistake I should have been more careful, but the door should not have been locking itself in the first place. Finding the contractor who would fix the door was difficult because he needed to be involved, but refused to actively be because he “needed to make money”, and was threatening that he would charge his time, in addition for paying for the contractor that he would get, if did not do it exactly like he wants without him being involved in it. This was all after I had found two contractors, both of which he gave me contacts, and I paid for the last one.
For me this was not worth it, as the price you pay for the “comfort” of a private bathroom and AC is diminished by the host periodically messaging you to cut down on the use.
LAll of the people I was with in Singapore remember how often I was stressed due to the host. It truly made my exchange semester a much worse experience.
I sincerely hope the host improves.